More fun facts from Real Simple magazine!

2 smashing things to make with pumpkin puree:

• Pumpkin Pancakes (Serves 4) Prepare 1 cup dry pancake mix according to the package directions. Whisk in 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree.
• Pumpkin Whipped Cream (Makes 2 cups) Beat together 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, and 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin puree until soft peaks form.

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." - Sophia Loren

The first waffle-iron patent in the U.S. was issued in 1869 to Cornelius Swartwout of Troy, NY.

3 lemonade cocktails, ala Real Simple magazine.
(Each serves 4.)

Lemonade Margarita
Mix 2 1/4 cups lemonade and 3/4 cup tequila. Garnish with lemon rounds.

Lemon-Champagne Sparkler
Mix 1 cup lemonade, 2 cups Champagne or some other sparkling wine, and 2 tablespoons cranberry juice cocktail.

Gin Shandy
Mix 1 cup lemonade, one 12-ounce bottle ginger beer, and 3/4 cup gin.

Mmm, yummm... Drink up!

4 big moments in pickle history courtesy of Real Simple magazine.

• Aristotle praised their healing effects in 350 B.C.
• Julius Caesar fed them to his troops, supposedly believing they lent physical and spiritual strength.
• Cleopatra insisted that eating them enhanced her beauty.
• Christopher Columbus brought them to the New World on his 15th-century voyage.
  

Some of these websites are really great! (Taken from HG newsletter)


Wondering how many calories are in that plate of nachos? Or just how many
of those nachos you can eat without gaining weight? How about how many
laps around the track it'd take to burn 'em off? Or maybe you just need a
place to track all the calories and crunches, pounds lost and goals gained?
HG's got the 411...

Calorie-Counter Alert!

CalorieKing is BY FAR the most ginormous, accurate, and easy-to-use
website for nutritional info we've seen. You can search the Food Database for
free and find out how many calories, fat grams, carbs, etc., are in pretty
much any food imaginable. Aside from restaurant nutritionals, data on
supermarket items, and fast food breakdowns, the folks at CalKing also give
overall averages on generic items (a tuna sandwich, for example). Plus, you
can easily alter the serving size to match your actual intake, and the site'll
calculate those numbers instantly. This site is a royal lifesaver and we drop
in daily!

Feel the Burn...

Everything you do burns calories, from cycling in your spinning class to
snoring (hopefully not in your spinning class)! But you may be burning more,
or less, than you think. Fitness Partner will calculate calories burned at your
specific weight for more than 200 activities. The best part is that you can
view 'em all as one giant list and compare the activities. (Other sites make
you enter and view the activities one at a time.) CalorieLab is another cool
site for counting how many calories you burn. Choose from a list of diverse
categories like occupation (masseuses burn more calories than traffic cops),
indoor exercise machines, and self care (blow-drying your hair burns more
than showering). Some of those are a little silly (we're NOT recommending
you try styling your hair for 3 hours in place of a workout!), but it's
interesting stuff for sure.

Get Personal...

Knowing how many calories to consume in a day is great, but what about
your other daily needs like fat, carbs, protein, and more? And finding out
your BMI is a good start, but what about what to do to improve it? iVillage's
health calculators will tell you all that and more. Find out your target heart
rate and get advice on the areas of your lifestyle that may need
improvement. Good stuff, people!

One-Click Wonder...

SparkPeople is one awesome website, humans. There's so much to do, it's a
little ridiculous (in a completely good way!). Join for free and get busy
tracking exercise and calorie intake, chatting up experts and fellow members
in the community section, browsing through and sharing recipes & tips, plus
lots more. Members (and even those just dropping by) can view fitness
videos and read up on the latest health news. Basically, this site does
everything but scramble your eggs for you and drive you to the gym. Hooray!

This is also cut from yesterday's HG newsletter. Read up :)

The Buzz... Please take a minute to check out this list of the 272 highest-calorie fast food items. Some human spent a lot of time compiling this. (It's not 100% up-to-date, but it's still super-helpful.) It's ranked from highest to lowest, the highest being a 1,680-calorie shake and the lowest being a 700-calorie chicken sandwich. YOWZA! ***Food is great, and food that makes us more attractive is even better! A Japanese research team recently unveiled data that proves blackcurrants not only improve blood flow, but may also reduce dark circles under your eyes. AWESOME! *** D.I.Y. French-fry fanatics, you may want to pay attention. A new product called the ActiFry is now on the market and gets your spuds (and spud swaps) more fry-like than a regular old oven and with a minimal amount of oil. We tried it, and it's pretty cool! Thing is, it's basically a "unitasker" -- meaning it mainly does one thing really well and takes up a lot of space. Plus, it's SUPER-pricey. Those low-fat fries might be worth it, though... ***And finally... WE'VE HIT 800,000 SUBSCRIBERS!!! The lucky winners of a year's worth of Popchips AND VitaTops EACH are Magaly (the 800,000th subscriber herself) and Nina (the awesome friend who referred her). Congratulations, you two, and get ready for some SERIOUS snacking. Now, how on Earth are we gonna outdo ourselves when we hit A MILLION subscribers?! That's all we've got. HG out!

This is straight from Hungry Girl's daily newsletter, important information people!

Eat Right: Potentially Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we're here with some helpful info. Getting the right nutrients could up your body's cancer-fighting abilities, so here are some fantastic foods that may aid in breast cancer prevention...

Nuts and Seeds - These guys are full of healthy fats and potential anticancer properties. Go for almonds and walnuts (check out Emerald's 100 Calorie Packs of Natural Walnuts and Almonds), flax seeds (we love Kashi's Pumpkin Spice Flax granola bars and thin-crust pizzas made with flax seeds), and pumpkin seeds (give it up for Kashi again, with its delicious seed-sprinkled Mayan Harvest Bake).

Fruits and Veggies - The more, the better. Broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and berries are all excellent sources of phytochemicals, which may assist in disease prevention. BTW, eating your veggies raw or lightly cooked is the best way to retain those good-for-you nutrients.

Whole Grains - Experts say high-fiber carbs might not trigger cell growth in breast tissue the way that white carbs (like flour and rice) could. So go for oats, bran, whole-wheat flour, and brown rice.

For more about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, including recipes, resources, and how you can help, click here. Knowledge is power, people!

Check out Macy's Feeding America campaign for ways you can help!

Thanks to my Facebook status, many have asked for my recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. Yields about 36 cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (12 oz pckg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

You're welcome and enjoy! :)