Mousse!

Honey Mousse with Raspberry Coulis 

If you are concerned about using egg yolks, try pasteurized eggs.   

Prep time: 35 minutesTotal time: 155 minutesYield: 4 cups

INGREDIENTS:1/4 cup raw honey
2 egg yolks
pinch of kosher salt
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Honey Mousse

Combine the honey, egg yolks and salt in a 2-quart double boiler over simmering water. Whisk the mixture continuously for 8 minutes.  After 5 minutes the mixture will begin to become creamy. Whisk vigorously for the final few minutes, until mousse thickens.  Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. 

Once mixture is slightly cooled, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream and whisk to blend.  Set aside to completely cool.  

In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, add 7 tablespoons of heavy cream and beat the cream until thick, about 1 minute. Gently fold the honey mousse into the whipped cream until it is incorporated.  

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Raspberry Coulis

In a blender or food processor, add raspberries and puree.  In a small bowl, press the raspberries through a fine mesh strainer.  Disregard seeds.  Add agave nectar and lemon juice, stir to blend. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Raspberry Cream

In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, add ½ cup of heavy cream, beat the cream until thick, about 1 minute. Gently fold the 2 teaspoons of raspberry mixture into the whipped cream until it is incorporated. 

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

Prepare just before serving.  

In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, add ¼ cup whipping cream, beat the cream until thick, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until the cream is very thick.

ASSEMBLE:

Using four 8 ounce glasses or parfait cups, spoon equal amounts of the honey mouse into each glass. Repeat with raspberry cream and raspberry coulis.  Garnish with whipped cream, dust whipped cream with cinnamon and serve immediately.

NUTRTION FACTS:Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe.  Calories: 246; Total Fat: 16.4g; Saturated Fat: 9.5g; Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol: 156mg; Sodium: 58mg; Carbohydrate: 24.6g; Dietary Fiber: 2.8g; Sugars: 20.0g; Protein: 2.7g Vitamin A: 14%.  Vitamin C: 20%.  Calcium: 5%. Iron: 3%.  Nutritional Grade D+ 

Compound Butters

A Quartet of Compound Butters Recipe

I saw an old painter's palette at a flea market the other day smeared with vibrant shades of sunset oranges and cornflower blues. Later that day Wayne and I were sharing a gelato in North Beach and he was telling me about a gelataria that serves a sampler on a painter's palette, six tiny scoops for seven dollars - your choice of flavors. It all got me thinking about color. I got home and had a few sticks of butter in the refrigerator and decided to make a spectrum of compound butters. Compound butter can bring an explosive burst of flavor to a recipe and I don't use them nearly enough. My goal was to create butters that vibrant, colorful, and unique - I didn't want to make any I had tried in the past. I ended up making the following flavors: Dry Desert Lime Butter, Raw Serrano Butter, Dehydrated Strawberry Butter, and Smoked Paprika Butter.

Dry Desert Lime Compound Butter: I've been playing around quite a bit lately using tea as a seasoning. Many times I'll grind up tea leaves in a mortar and pestle and use it the way you might use a pepper. The fragrance that comes off the ground leaves is wonderful and brings an unexpected element to many preparations. Depending on the tea I am using this can range from smoky to floral to fresh and bright. In this case I choose a dried lime tisane (or herbal tea) instead. There is something haunting, vibrant and ancient in the taste of dried lime and I thought it might lend itself nicely to a compound butter for use on a range of foods like: sweet potatoes (mashed/roasted), grilled corn, as a spread on sandwiches, etc.

Dehydrated Strawberry Compound Butter: These little guys come in tubs that are sold at many natural food stores. You can also get raspberries, blueberries, blueberries, and one of my tiniest friends, Julian, loves to snack on the peas. Chop up the strawberries, whip them into the butter and you get a textured, color-flecked spread perfect for pancakes, toast, muffins and the like. The strawberries on on the very tart side of sweet so I sweetened this one up with a bit of sugar - I used Florida Crystals because I didn't want a browner sugar to impact its bright color.

Raw Serrano Compound Butter: This one is for the cornbreads of the world. It has a little heat and a lot of flavor. I used 2 medium serrano chiles, but you can scale up of down on the chile scale depending on your tastes. A pretty pale green butter flecked with dark green freckles I'm going to use it on crepes, and corn, and to toss fresh summer shell beans, and for pasta....really versatile. I think a great variation on this one would be to add roasted garlic and pan-toast the chiles before blending them in.

Smoked Paprika Compound Butter: Fragrant, delicious, and a stunning rusty-orange color a little of this butter goes the distance. It will lend itself nicely to brown rice, certain kabobs, sandwiches, corn soup (I'm setting myself up for a corn bender), toasted artisan breads, and zucchini muffins.

A couple other ideas I had in mind but didn't get around to:
- toasted, shredded nori with sesame seeds
- dried fig and Balinese long pepper
- harissa

Compound Butter: (clockwise) Serrano, Smoked Paprika, Strawberry, Desert Lime

A Quartet of Compound Butters

These recipes make batches of roughly 1/4 cup each. Feel free to double or triple batches depending on the quantity you are after.

Dry Desert Lime Compound Butter Recipe

4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature
1 or 2 Numi Desert Lime tea bags (depending on how strong you want it), cut open and the contents ground in a mortar and pestle
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Dehydrated Strawberry Compound Butter Recipe

4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar (I used Florida Crystals)
1/3 cup dehydrated organic strawberries, minced

Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Raw Serrano Compound Butter Recipe

4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature
2 serrano chiles, deveined and seeded, loosely chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Combine in a small bowl and puree with a handblender until the chiles are fully incorporated. Refrigerate.

Smoked Paprika Compound Butter Recipe

4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, room temperature
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Combine in a small bowl and refrigerate.

Buttermilk Cake

Salt-kissed Buttermilk Cake Recipe

I melt the butter for this cake, so sometimes while I'm at it I just keep going and brown it - this adds an entirely different deep buttery flavor. If you go this route, strain out any solids and let the butter cool a bit before stirring it into the egg-buttermilk mixture. As I mentioned up above - feel free to experiment with other types of seasonal berries and fruit. The coup de grace is a floppy dollop of sweet, freshly whipped cream on the side.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup fine-grain natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit
zest of 2 lemons
1 cup of raspberries (more if you like)
3 tablespoons large grain raw sugar
1 teaspoon large grain salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees, racks in the middle. Grease and flour (or line bottom with parchment paper) one 11-inch tart/quiche pan. Alternately, I've done this cake in a 9x13-inch rectangular baking dish - just keep a close eye on it after it has been baking for 20 minutes.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk, whisk in the melted butter, and the lemon zest. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until just combined - try not to over mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, pushing out toward the edges. Now drop the berries across top. I like to smush them a bit between my fingers before letting them fall to the cake - no so perfect looking and the juices meld with the sugar. Sprinkle with the large grain sugar and then the salt. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cake is set (or a toothpick in the center comes out clean), and a touch golden on top.

Serves about 12.

Baked Potat.

Sea Salt Baked Potato Recipe

I found some fantastic arugula, so that is what I used. But I could imagine using whatever green salad you like - spinach, baby romaine, maiche, etc. And I used big russet potatoes. The dressing calls for a raw egg yolk, if you're uncomfortable eating raw egg, swap in another favorite, luxe or creamy-ish salad dressing - this buttermilk one would be good, or this one, or the gribiche in Super Natural Every Day.

2 large baking potatoes
flaky sea salt
butter or olive oil
2 large handfuls of arugula

dressing:
1 tablespoon Champagne or tarragon vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
a egg yolk
a scant 1/2 cup / 100 ml olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 400F / 200C degrees. Scrub the potatoes, prick them all over with a fork, and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Bake the potatoes until tender throughout. This can take an hour for large potatoes. Less for smaller spuds.

While the potatoes are baking, make the dressing. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, egg yolk, and olive oil with a big pinch of salt. Then whisk in the cheese, and finally the lemon juice. Taste, make any adjustments, and set aside.

Slice a big cross into the top of each potato, then gently but firmly push in on the ends of each potato. This way the tops open up, and you can begin to spoon out a bit of the potato filling. Add a pat of butter/olive oil to each potato, or a splash of the dressing and a bit of salt. Toss the arugula with a generous amount of the dressing, and then pile it into the potatoes. You'll likely have some leftover dressing to enjoy as needed with the salad and skins.

Adapted from Nigel Slater's Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch, the US version, published by Ten Speed Press, 2011

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 60 min

TLT Sandwich

TLT Sandwich Recipe

I buy the Lightlife organic flax tempeh or the grain version. A bit of crumbled goat cheese might be good too.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or maple syrup)
3 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers

8 ounces of tempeh, cut into 1/3-inch thick strips

1 small basket of cherry tomatoes (2 cups)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or maple syrup)
scant 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 small head of romaine lettuce, cored, then cut into 1/4-inch ribbons
1-2 large avocados, mashed with a pinch of salt just before assembling
4 or 8 extra-thin slices of hearty whole grain bread, well toasted

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Whisk together the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, shoyu, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and adobo sauce. Pour 1/3 of the tempeh marinade into an 8x8 baking dish (or something comparable) - you want a dish that is just big enough to hold the tempeh in a single layer - this way it will be fully enveloped by the marinade. Pour the remaining marinade over the top of the tempeh, cover and keep in the refrigerator for a couple hours, overnight or until ready to use.

While the tempeh is marinating, go ahead and roast the tomatoes. Cut each tomato in half and arrange them in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together the olive oil, sugar, and salt and pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated, finishing with each tomato facing cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

When the tempeh is done marinating heat a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the tempeh slices for a few minutes on each side. You may need to do this in batches if you don't have a big enough pan. Set the tempeh slices aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.

To assemble each sandwich take one slice of bread and slather a generous layer of mashed avocado. Place a small helping of the shredded lettuce on top of the avocado, a few tomatoes, then a few slices of the tempeh, and more tomatoes. Enjoy either open faced or topped with another avocado-slathered bread slice.

Makes four sandwiches.

Patty

Jamaican Veggie Patties Recipe

You can certainly experiment with different sizes here, but don't go much smaller than a 4-inch cookie cutter. Any smaller and they tend to come apart at the seams - a bit like gaping mouths (see lead photo). Also, be sure to roll the pastry dough thinly - a true 1/8-inch. And lastIy, I can't resist brushing the patties with a bit of beaten egg before placing them in the oven - it makes the crust nice and golden, but also takes them out of the vegan category.

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Coarse sea salt
2 larges cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced carrots
1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow potatoes
1/2 cup fresh green peas (or frozen)
1/2 cup sweet fresh corn (or frozen)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Pastry:
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup chilled coconut oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water

For the filling: In a medium-size saute pan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut oil, the onion cinnamon, allspice, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, carrots, and potatoes, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the carrots and potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the green peas, corn, cabbage, thyme, and lemon juice, cover, and cook for 3 minutes more. Season with additional salt and the white pepper (or to taste) and set aside to allow the flavors to marry.

For the pastry: Combine 1 1/2 cups of the white flour with the pastry flour, turmeric, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set the remaining 1/4 cup white flour aside. Add the coconut butter to the flour mixture and rub with your fingertip until the mixture resembles fine sand, about 10 minutes (hs note: I've also make this dough by pulsing ingredients in a food processor with good results).

Combine the vinegar and water and mix well. Then, without overworking the dough, add the vinegar mixture by the tablespoon, while stirring, just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and begins to coalesce. Squeeze into a tight ball, flatten, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F and remove the dough from the refrigerator.

With the reserved flour, lightly dust a clean surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut six 6-inch circles from the dough (you can use a bowl). Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling onto the center of one side of each circle, leaving about a 1/8-inch border. Fold the other half over to make a half-moon, press to seal, and make ridges around the edge using a fork. (hs note: if your dough is at all on the dry side you may need to run wet fingers around the edge of the circles to help get a good seal).

Transfer the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve immediately with some hot sauce.

Makes six big patties, or a couple dozen smaller ones.

Reprinted with permission from Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine by Bryant Terry. (Da Capo Press, March, 2009)

Pri

Rhubarb

Rhubarb Rocks…your digestion!
Rhubarb is a high-fiber food, which means that it is a digestion super star.
Fiber is exclusively a plant nutrient, as plants need fiber for structural support. Animals have bones and muscles instead, so fiber is not a significant part of their composition. Increasing our dietary intake of plants in comparison to animal-based foods means an increase in our fiber intake. Makes sense, right? Countries with the most food processing and highest percentage of animal food intake (think North America in general) have the lowest consumption of dietary fiber – as little as 10-15 grams per day, whereas some African countries put us to shame with daily intakes as high as 75-100 grams! Low-fiber diets are associated with constipation, gastrointestinal disorders, diverticulosis, and colon cancer, while a high-fiber diet may very well prevent these problems.

So much of our nourishment depends on the healthy passage of food through our digestive tract. Without fiber it is impossible for digestion to take place in a balanced way. With imbalanced digestion comes the risk of poor nutrient absorption, and along with that comes compromised metabolism and inadequate health protection. The risk of most chronic diseases is lowest when whole plant foods, like a simple serving of rhubarb, are plentiful in the diet. Ideally, one should aim for at least 35 grams a day, and with a healthy, whole-foods diet, this is an easy goal to reach.
The combination of grilled rhubarb, along with the whole-grain spelt flour and oats in the cake, make this dessert a fiber-rich treat that you can feel good about.


The strawberry-rhubarb combo is a pretty classic one, yes, but I did want to stick to something seasonal. Plus, the strawberries in the cake work to offset, and compliment, the sourness of the rhubarb. Sweet. If you find the taste of the rhubarb too tangy (I like it that way), add more honey.
And if you are so inclined, I highly suggest tossing a few pieces of the cake on the grill too – it toasts up nicely and the slight crunchiness of the crust is another lovely contrast to the soft rhubarb and pudding-like interior of the cake itself.

Simple Strawberry Cake
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups whole spelt flour (or other whole grain flour)
½ cup + 3 Tbsp. rolled oats
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
zest of one lemon
1 cup strawberries, chopped
½ cup nut milk (or other milk to suit you)
1 cup applesauce
3 Tbsp. ghee or coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Whisk milk, applesauce, oil, honey and chia seeds in a bowl and set aside.
3. Combine all other dry ingredients, except for strawberries, and add to wet mix.
4. Fold in strawberries in as few strokes as possible.
5. Pour the batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with 3 Tbsp. rolled oats. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let cake cool completely before removing it from the pan.
7. If you are making Grilled Rhubarb with Vanilla Honey Sauce to accompany the cake, place portions of the cake on the grill right before serving. Plate cake and spoon sauce on top.

Grilled Rhubarb with Vanilla Honey Sauce
Ingredients:
8 stalks (give or take) of fresh rhubarb
4 Tbsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp. water
1 vanilla bean

Directions:
1. Preheat grill (or make a nice bonfire).
2. Wash rhubarb well and rim off tough ends. Place on the grill and cook for a few minutes, then flip each stalk after the underside begins to char.
3. Cook until the stalk is soft to the touch, it should be rather limp when you pick it up. The cooking time will likely vary according to the thickness of each stalk. Cook accordingly, watching that the thin ones do not burn!
4. While rhubarb is on the grill, prepare the sauce. Pour honey into a large bowl and whisk in water to thin. Slice a whole vanilla bean down the center, then using the tip of a knife, scrape along each half to remove the seeds. Place seeds in the bowl with the honey and whisk to combine.
5. When all the rhubarb is finished grilling, chop stalks into bite-sized chunks. Toss with honey and vanilla sauce. Serve over cake.

Source: Haas, Elson M. Staying Healthy with Nutrition. Berkley, CA: Wiley, 2006.
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EWG's Hall of Shame.

Banana Boat Baby Max Protect, SPF = 100

Sky-high SPF protects against sunburn but leaves skin exposed to damaging UVA rays.

One of at least 79 sunscreens on the market this year with high SPFs (greater than “SPF 50+”), this product protects babies from UVB radiation and the sunburns it causes but leaves them exposed to UVA radiation that penetrates deep into the skin. UVA is known to accelerate skin aging and cause skin cancer (IARC 2009).

A standard industry sunscreen model estimates that the actual UVA protection factor for this sunscreen is only 9.3 – a far cry from 100 (BASF 2010). The best possible UVA protection in U.S. sunscreen lotions is currently about 20 (BASF 2010). Sunscreen makers are waiting for the FDA to decide whether to approve a wider selection of chemicals that could help boost UVA protection. In the meantime, high-SPF products may tempt people to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns but upping the risks of other kinds of skin damage. EWG recommends that consumers avoid products labeled with anything higher than “SPF 50+” and reapply sunscreen often, regardless of SPF.

iS Clinical SPF 20 Powder & Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral Powder SPF 30

Loose powder sunscreens can enter the airways and may move from the lungs to the bloodstream. Health concerns include cancer and tissue damage.

These sunscreens are in a loose powder form. The particles of zinc and titanium they contain can offer strong UV protection for the skin, but they end up in the lungs, too, inhaled from a cloud of airborne particles with each use. There, they can cause damage. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies inhaled titanium dioxide as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” based on studies of rats and of people who work in dusty environments (IARC 2006).

Once in the lungs, the minerals may move into the bloodstream and throughout the body. In 2008 a research group based in China reported that nanoscale titanium dioxide like that used in many sunscreens can accumulate in the brain and cause lesions and other tissue damage (Wang 2008). Nano and micronized zinc oxide cause lung inflammation (Sayes 2007).

The bottom line? Sunscreen belongs on your skin, not in your lungs. EWG recommends that people stick to creams and avoid powders, pumps and sprays.

Hawaiian Tropic Baby Creme Lotion SPF 50

“Advanced UVA protection”? Not so much. Many U.S. sunscreens claim to provide “broad spectrum” protection that blocks both UVA and UVB rays, but the reality is that they don’t. Hawaiian Tropic Baby Creme Lotion SPF 50 lists “Advanced UVA protection” on its website and “UVB/SPF with UVA” on its label. But it would earn only 1 star in FDA’s proposed 4 star UVA labeling scheme, according to EWG analysis using a standard industry sunscreen model.

Hawaiian Tropic is not required to back up its claim of “advanced UVA protection,” and the fact is that no currently available sunscreen chemical has been shown to block UVA rays effectively. Regulations in Japan and Australia prohibit making such claims altogether for products that provide such weak UVA protection (Diffey 2009), but there is no such restriction in the U.S.

Based on a review of partial label information published by online retailers, EWG researchers identified 218 beach sunscreens that claim “broad spectrum” or “full spectrum” protection for 2010. Many would garner only “low” or “medium” UVA protection in FDA’s proposed labeling system.

Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection SPF 55

“Mild as water.” Sure it is.

Can a product be “mild as water to the skin” if the label warns to “Stop use and ask a doctor if rash or irritation develops and lasts”? And certainly when swallowed this product is nothing like water: “Keep out of reach of children” and “get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away,” reads the warning label.

Anthony Logistics for Men Sunstick SPF 15

Safe for eyes? Not really.

This product’s directions tell users to “Apply to eye area,” but the warnings advise: “Keep out of eyes.”

Since there are no regulations to ensure it, you would hope that common sense would lead sunscreen makers to formulate products for use around the eyes that are actually safe for the eyes.

No such luck!

Tip for consumers: Wear sunglasses and keep sunscreen (including from sprays) out of your eyes.

Panama Jack Naturals Baby Sunblock SPF 50

Potential hormone disruptor in baby sunblock.

Panama Jack advises users of this baby product to “apply liberally.”

Scientists who have researched a key sunscreen chemical in this sunblock, the potential hormone disruptor oxybenzone, advise the opposite: “It would be prudent not to apply oxybenzone to large surface areas of skin for extended and repeated periods of time, unless no alternative protection is available. There may be an additional concern for young children who have less well developed processes of elimination, and have a larger surface area per body weight than adults, with respect to systemic availability of a topically applied dose” (Hayden 1997).

Oxybenzone is readily absorbed through the skin; government studies have detected the compound in 97 percent of the population (Calafat 2008). In rodents, it mimics estrogen and increases the weight of the uterus (Schlumpf 2004). In people, higher maternal exposures to oxybenzone have been linked to decreased birth weight in girls (Wolff 2008).

This Panama Jack sunscreen is one of at least 26 sunscreens offered in the 2010 season with the word “baby” in their name and the chemical oxybenzone on their ingredient list. EWG advises consumers to avoid sunscreens containing oxybenzone. Plenty of safer products are available.

One more thing: This so-called “natural” sunscreen contains at least ten compounds that do not occur in nature. Most are made from petroleum.

Banana Boat Ultra Defense Sunscreen Stick SPF 50

Maybe it doesn’t break down, but it also doesn’t last forever.

“It doesn’t break down,” says the manufacturer of the Banana Boat sunscreen stick.

You might think one coat would do you for a whole day. Not so. Even though sunscreen makers like Banana Boat often use stabilizing additives to keep their ingredients from breaking down in sunlight, the product still doesn’t last forever on the skin. Sunscreens wash off in water and rub off on clothes and towels.

Tip for sunscreen users: Some sunscreen chemicals break down in the sun. They also wash off in water and rub off on towels and clothes – reapply them as directed.

Baby Blanket Tender Scalps Scalp Sunscreen Spray for Babies SPF 45+

Instant protection from sunburn, instant exposure to UVA rays.

“Instantly provides 45 times your babies’ natural protection,” claims the manufacturer. While that may be true for UVB rays and the red burns and blisters they cause, it’s not the case for UVA. This product would earn only one of four stars for UVA protection in FDA’s proposed rating system, according to EWG’s analysis. Your baby’s scalp may not get burned, but UVA rays could instantly penetrate deeply and cause skin damage and trigger cancer later in life. At least 18 other products EWG assessed claim “instant” or “immediate” protection.

The Skin Cancer Foundation

$eal of approval.

The Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF) lends its logo to hundreds of sun protection products. SCF approval is easy: just document that your product has an SPF of at least 15 and provide results of basic tests (for SPF, skin reactions and water and sweat resistance, if such claims are made). SCF also requires that companies pay a $10,000 donation by to join the Foundation’s “Corporate Council” in order to have their products approved.

SCF-approved products are not required to protect from UVA rays or to refrain from making the kinds of claims on safety and efficacy that FDA has proposed to prohibit in its 2007 draft sunscreen regulations. EWG’s review of products using the SCF seal found 45 sunscreens with SPF values exceeding the “SPF 50+” label that FDA proposed as the maximum in its 2007 sunscreen rule to avoid “misleading” consumers about how well these sunscreens protect from skin damage.

The Skin Cancer Foundation could ask its certified companies to comply with FDA’s 2007 draft regulations voluntarily – even FDA makes this request – but it apparently doesn’t, missing an opportunity to advance sunscreen protection. EWG learned from a foundation spokesperson that SCF plans to introduce a UVA requirement “in coming months” for companies seeking to earn the seal. It could not come soon enough.

The Food and Drug Administration

32 years (and counting) after its first draft sunscreen standards, still no final rule.

The FDA first issued draft sunscreen regulations in 1978 and last updated the draft in 2007. The regulations are still not final, despite multiple announcements of impending completion. Until the agency formally issues its rule, companies are not required to verify that their sunscreens work, including testing for SPF levels, checking waterproof claims or providing UVA protection. Nearly 1 in 8 sunscreens does not block UVA rays. Buyer beware!

The proposed regulations would require sunscreens to be labeled with a UVA star rating along with its SPF value. In the meantime, consumers should skip reading the claims and turn straight to the ingredient list looking for a mention of zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, Mexoryl or avobenzone. Buying products with those ingredients offers some assurance that the user will get at least some protection from UVA rays.

Whats wrong with high SPF?

Theoretically, applying SPF 100 sunscreen allows beachgoers to bare their skin to sunshine a hundred times longer before causing the skin to burn: Someone who would normally redden in 30 minutes could remain in the sun for 50 hours before a burn would appear.

But for high-SPF sunscreens, theory and reality are two different things. Studies have found that users of high-SPF sunscreens have similar or even higher exposures to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays than people relying on lower SPF products. The reason: People trust the product too much, go too long before reapplying it and stay out in the sun too long (Autier 2009).

In 2007, the FDA published draft regulations that would prohibit companies from labeling sunscreens with an SPF (sun protection factor) higher than “SPF 50+.” The agency wrote that higher values would be “inherently misleading,” given that “there is no assurance that the specific values themselves are in fact truthful…” (FDA 2007).

Since then FDA has been flooded with data from sunscreen makers seeking to win agency approval for high-SPF products, and store shelves have been increasingly packed with high-SPF products the agency has yet to validate. Johnson & Johnson (makers of Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens) submitted data in August 2008 to support SPF 70 and SPF 85 claims (J&J 2008). Playtex (Banana Boat sunscreen) sent data supporting high SPF claims in 2007. A Coppertone spokeswoman said, “Many manufacturers, including Coppertone, have submitted new data [on high-SPF products] for review and are awaiting FDA’s response” (Boyles 2009).

High-SPF sunscreens are popular. Sales have been on the rise for at least a decade, so it’s no wonder that sunscreen makers are fighting to keep them legal. In a letter to FDA 10 years ago, Neutrogena cited consumers’ clear demand for high SPF products, calling them “one of the fastest growing segments” of the market (Neutrogena 2000). Between 2004 and 2008, sales of high-SPF products in Europe (SPF 40 and 50+) swelled from 15 percent to 20 percent of the market (Jones 2010). In 2010, sunscreen makers have once again increased their high-SPF offerings in the US. Nearly one in six products now lists SPF values higher than “SPF 50+”, compared to only one in eight the year before, according to EWG’s analysis of nearly 500 beach and sport sunscreens.

Here’s what’s wrong with high-SPF sunscreens:

Extended sun exposure, same number of sunburns

Users of high-SPF sunscreens stay in the sun longer with a single application and get burned when the product’s chemicals break down, wash off or rub off on clothes and towels. Armed with a false sense of security, they extend their time in the sun well past the point when users of low-SPF products head indoors. As a result, they get the same number of sunburns as unprotected sunbathers and absorb more damaging UVA radiation, which many high-SPF products do not effectively block.

People seeking “intentional sun exposure” are most at risk from high-SPF products. In contrast to landscapers, gardeners, baseball players and others who spend defined times outdoors for specific jobs (“nonintentional sun exposure”), people in the intentional exposure category intend to tan or otherwise expose large areas of bare skin to the sun for prolonged periods (Autier 2009).

Studies of volunteers on summer vacation in France, Switzerland and Belgium found that those using high-SPF products extended their sunbathing time by 19-to-25 percent, used the same amount of sunscreen as those using low-SPF products, were likelier to start sunbathing at noon instead of the later hours chosen by the low-SPF users and got the same number of sunburns. From these studies it appears that by delaying sunburn, high-SPF products take away a key warning of UV overexposure. Sunbathers stay out longer and soak up more radiation, especially in the UVA range where sunscreens are relatively ineffective (Autier 2009).

Philippe Autier, a scientist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, concluded that high-SPF products spur “profound changes in sun behavior” that may account for the increased melanoma risk found in some studies. He advises that people seeking sun exposure “should be advised not to use sunscreen but rather to let their skin adapt and set strict limits on the time they spend in the sun” (Autier 2009). Though his conclusion has not been adopted wholesale by public health agencies, it is grounded in a growing body of evidence that raises basic questions about the efficacy of sunscreen for sunbathers and others intentionally seeking sun exposure.

Clothing is an effective alternative. One study found that melanoma risk was cut by 52 percent for parts of the body usually covered by clothing during summer outdoor work (Holman et al 1986). EWG believes that hats and shirts are the best sunscreen of all.

Increased exposure to potentially hazardous ingredients

High-SPF products contain greater amounts of sun-blocking chemicals than low-SPF sunscreens. These ingredients may pose health risks when they penetrate through the skin, where they have been linked to tissue damage and potential hormone disruption. If studies supported a reduction in skin damage and skin cancer risk from high-SPF products, the additional exposures might be justified. But they don’t, so choosing sunscreens with lower amounts of active ingredients – SPF 30 instead of SPF 70, for example – is prudent.

SPF factors are based on two-to-five times more sunscreen than people actually use

In the real world, people get far less protection than the bottle advertises.

Sunscreen makers establish a product’s SPF by testing their products on volunteers. The testers coat the volunteers’ backs with 2 milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin (mg/cm2), the amount stipulated in FDA’s draft sunscreen regulations (FDA 2007), and then expose them to sunlight-simulating UV radiation until a burn appears. The time needed to burn, divided by the time it takes to burn the volunteers’ unprotected skin, is the SPF.

In real life, people apply one-half to one-fifth the amount of sunscreen used in the laboratory SPF tests (Autier 2003, Azurdia 2001, Reich 2009). Because of the physics of sunlight, that cuts the protection factor not by a factor of just 2 to 5, but by between the square root and the fifth root of the SPF. That’s a much steeper “exponential” cut in protection (Faurschou 2007, Schalka 2009, Kim 2010, Playtex 2007). For example, this means that someone who applies one-fourth as much sunscreen as in the SPF test gets just SPF 2.3 protection from an SPF 30 product. SPF 100 becomes just SPF 3.2.

How under-application of sunscreen cuts effective SPF
(based on applying one-fourth the recommended amounts)

SPF on label	Average SPF of users at (0.5 mg/cm2)	% UV transmission (amount reaching skin)
15	2	50%
30	2.3	43%
50	2.6	38%
100	3.2	31%