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Potatoes often get a bad rep for being fatty food—with French fries, hash browns, and those thinly-cut but easily treacherous chips on instant recall, can you really blame a girl for steering clear of these “evil carbs?”

Contrary to popular belief, however, potatoes are actually good for your body; plus, they don’t wreak quite as much havoc on your weight as you think. One 148-gram US frozen potato (dubbed the “Healthy Potato”) only packs 110 calories, none of which are from fat; with its skin on, the same tater is also a great source of potassium and fiber. And don’t think that this Vitamin C-rich tuber is good for nothing more than a mealy munchie. It’s true, potatoes are comforting in their frequently fried forms—but they can also be used in gourmet dishes such as the French gratin dauphinois and the Italian gnocchi (trés sophisticated, wouldn’t you say?).

Statistics show that people who live in Metro Manila generate an average of half a kilo of garbage every day. That’s a lot of garbage. Consider another number: only 10 percent of this total amount is recycled or composted. Now doesn’t that make you think?

It's simple, really. If one of your resolutions for the year is to start living green, the best place to begin is in your own home. Recycling is a simple habit that everyone can adopt. It just takes a little effort to prepare different bins in your kitchen for segregating recyclable materials and actually stick to the practice every time you toss something, but it’s worth the extra trouble, and since the practice is becoming more widespread locally, it’s becoming easier as well. Here are some common items that can be recycled and how to dispose of them properly:

Batteries. When the car battery’s on the fritz and you’re jonesing for a new one, you can take advantage of the trade-in promos some battery distributors have. If you’re just looking to get rid of the old one, you can drop it off at gas stations participating in the Bantay Baterya project. For your everyday batteries—the type you use in radios or flashlights—make sure you remove them from your gadgets before they start to corrode. To ensure proper disposal (these things can be toxic and can explode) bring them to authorized recycling centers—when looking for recyclers, look for those who specifically accept metal and batteries.

You’ve written your New Year’s resolutions and made plans for 2010. But have you taken the time to calendar your household chores? It may not sound as exciting as a summer getaway in Palawan, but mapping out a home maintenance plan for the whole year is a critical task to tackle early on. Dr. Eleanor Malicdem, associate professor in the College of Home Economics in the University of the Philippines Diliman and an expert in household resource management, says it’s important “to determine assigned household tasks to family members… [and help you] complete the chores necessary, so you can also schedule other activities.”

To help you plan your monthly tasks, here’s a schedule you can use as a guide:

January

Take down the Christmas tree and other décor and put them back in storage.
Remove all lights and ornaments from your Christmas tree. Sort out ornaments by kind—all Christmas balls in one box, all figurine-like tree ornaments, all ribbons, and so on. Put Christmas lights back in their boxes as close to their original packaged state as possible so the bulbs won’t break and the cords won’t get entangled.

Check if the areas you tidied up during your year-end cleaning frenzy are still well-maintained.
Dr. Malicdem says December is a good time to have a general cleaning in your house—with the holidays and New Year approaching, most homeowners feel inspired to greet the coming year with a clean abode, in addition to the need to have the house ready for various Christmas parties. Come January, after all the gatherings you hosted for the holidays, see to it that each area of your house is still in its clean pre-holiday state.