Rarely do I see information that is as useful as "The Minimalist" article that was posted on the front page of the New York Times Dining Section the other day. It lists fantastic healthy and tasty alternatives to so many of the canned, boxed and dried items that often clog up our pantries for months on end.

If you haven't seen it, here's the link: www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/dining/07mini.html

It's got great, healthy substitutions for everything from bread crumbs and salad dressings to vanilla extract and canned vegetables.

Mark Bittman must have been working on this article for months in order to pull together such a great list of easy, practical and economical information. Anyone who cooks should take a minute to read through this artcile. The recommendations it contains will save you time, money, and most of all, enhance the quality and nutrition of almost any dish you make.

Thanks for the great work, Mark!