Just made this and it was delicious!

French Toast Bake

12 servings

1 pckg (12 oz) sausage links
12 eggs
1 can (30 oz) pumpkin pie filling
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
15 slices white bread, cubed
Confectioners' sugar
Maple syrup

Cook sausage according to pckg directions. Cool slightly; cut into 1/4-in. slices. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, pie filling, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. In a very large bowl, combine sausage and cubed bread. Add pumpkin mixture; stir to coat. Transfer to a greased 13-in x 9-in baking dish.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-40 mins or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with syrup.

Love this article!

Maybe save reading it for January 1st, but here's a great article to get you into some good habits. I think I might print it and put it on the fridge :)

It could kill a horse...

Check out this article about the most extreme dishes out there right now. Unbelievable!

Mac n Cheese Soup

Again, I made this my own but subbing in certain things, but overall awesome recipe!

1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup celery (I used more and also added about 1/2 cup carrots)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup dry white wine (didn't use this)
2 cups chicken broth (added extra)
1 tsp dry mustard (added extra)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (also added black pepper)
2 cups whole milk (used skim)
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
1 tbsp lemon juice (didn't use)
salt to taste
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (didn't use)
2 tbsp minced fresh chives (didn't use)
(added hot sauce and crumbled bacon on top)

Cook macaroni in a pot of salted water; drain and set aside.
Sweat onion and celery (and carrot) in butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in flour to coat and cook 1 minute. Deglaze with wine and simmer until nearly evaporated. Stir in broth, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne. Simmer until slightly thickened, 5 minutes, then whisk in milk and warm through. Do not let boil or base may become grainy.
Add cheddar, allowing it to melt completely. Stir in macaroni, lemon juice, and salt; remove from heat.
Combine blue cheese and chives in a small bowl. Garnish each serving with blue cheese mixture.

(Also pictured is the book I just finished reading - Michael Pollan's Food Rules" An Eater's Manual. It was really good!)

November Health Tips

• Keep a journal to record positive changes that you've made.
• March in place during your next phone conversation to get more steps in your day.
• Try a half cup serving of peas with dinner tonight. This will give you more fiber than a bowl of oatmeal.
• Looking for ways to save calories this Thanksgiving? One less bit of pecan pie can eliminate 115 calories.
• Focus on family and friends during your holiday parties rather than the food being served.
• Change up your side of fries for a salad when dining out.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth to reduce your chance of spreading germs.
  

White Chicken Chili in Acorn Squash

This is what I made for dinner last night and it was not only healthy but delicious! When you read the recipe, you'll probably wonder why there aren't any spices and be tempted to add some - DON'T! I followed the recipe (almost) exactly and it was perfect!

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded (I boiled two breasts and chopped them)
1 can tomatoes with Mexican spices
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
4 cups chicken broth (I used probably two at the most)
1 cup prepared salsa
1 small bunch of spinach or Swiss chard, cleaned and chopped (I omitted this)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (also omitted)
4-6 oz shredded Mexican cheese

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil and onion. Saute onion until just translucent. Add chicken, tomatoes, beans, corn, broth and salsa. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes, then ad spinach or chard and cilantro. Sprinkle cheese over the top as a garnish.

What I added was bake an acorn squash cut in half (guts removed) with cooking spray and salt and pepper on top for around 30 minutes and serve the chili in the open squash half.

YUMMY!

Foods that boost your immune system

(from USA Weekend)

• Lemons restore the body's acid-alkali balance, maintaining natural pH levels that support healthy bacteria instead of the viruses that thrive in acidic conditions.
• Green tea and white tea are a powerful duo, stimulating and aiding your immune system in the disease-fighting process.
• Kidney beans and chickpeas contain the necessary daily protein required for a strong immune system.
• Brazil nuts are the No. 1 source for selenium, an antioxidant that helps rejuvenate our bodies and kill off germs.
  

October Tips

• Stick with an exercise program for a month. This will make it easier to keep to your routine.
• Read a good book for inspiration.
  
• Make only a few large trips every month to the store to lower your grocery bill.
  
• Going out for dinner? Decide what you are going to order ahead of time if you are familiar with the restaurant.
• Add meaning to your life - volunteer.
• Try to cut back on your caffeine consumption.
  

If you have time to kill, peruse the 2010 Zagat survey. Five Guys has the best burgers hey? I still haven't been there! I guess I better now.

Quick Tips

Make fruits and veggies about half of what you eat at every meal.

Shop the edges of the supermarket rather than the middle.

Need a little energy in the afternoon? Drink a glass of icy cold water.

Looking for a healthy snack? Try 3 graham cracker squares topped with 1 tbsp of peanut butter.

Start a monthly dinner club with friends.

Cut 100 calories a day to lose 10 pounds a year.

Well I guess this link doesn't need much of an introduction. I saw this smoothie recipe on TV today and thought y'all might want to try it. Let me know how it works out for you!

Some random tips for you!

• Feeling tense? Make asparagus with dinner to help relieve your stress.
• Make a rule to have dinner with friends once a week.
• Create a habit of eating dinner 3 hours before going to bed most days of the week.
• Top 1/2 medium sized baked potato with salsa and 1/4 cup shredded low fat cheese for a hearty snack under 200 calories.
• Stick to good carb choices. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans are excellent sources.

In the July/August issue of Food Network magazine, they shared some AWESOME hot dog ideas. I'd like to share a few of the more delicious-sounding and unique ones with you :)

• Taco Dogs Wrap grilled halved hot dogs in grilled flour tortillas; top with shredded cheddar, lettuce, salsa and sour cream.
• Chimichanga Dogs Rub hot dogs with chili powder and wrap each in a flour tortilla. Dip in beaten eggs, then dredge in flour and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable oil until golden; sprinkle with cheddar and bake at 375 degrees until the cheese melts. Top with salsa, sour cream and jalapenos.
• BLT Dogs Fry thick bacon strips until crisp, then fry hot dogs in the drippings. Serve on toasted buns with mayo, shredded lettuce, diced tomato and the bacon.
• French Poodles Melt sliced brie on grilled hot dogs; serve on sliced baguette and top with chopped cornichons and dijon mustard.
• Cuban Dogs Split griddled hot dogs in half lengthwise. Layer on sub rolls with sliced ham, dill pickles, yellow mustard and Swiss cheese. Cook in a panini press or buttered skillet flattening, until golden.
• Boston Terriers Saute 1 diced onion with 1/4 pound chopped bacon. Add 1 cup white beans, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon each brown sugar, mustard and cider vinegar; add hot dogs and simmer until thick. Serve on toasted buns.

Let me know if you try any of these!

Here are some fun food tips I got in an email recently.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster..

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
Spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
Of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.
This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
As peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

The Worst Foods for your Cholesterol in America

Trans-Fattiest Soup
Schlotzky's Wisconsin Cheese Soup Bowl
5 g trans fat 460 calories 33 g fat (14 g saturated) 1,821 mg sodium
Schlotzky's Web site proudly claims "our soups are made with the highest quality ingredients and freshly cooked every day for optimum flavor." In the Bizzaro World of fast-food marketing, "high quality" translates into nearly a day's worth of sodium and twice your daily limit of trans fat. This dish has the dubious distinction of being one of the only soups we've ever seen with a significant trans-fat load. Even if you switched from the oversize bowl to a cup, you'd still take in 4 grams of the stuff. Our suspicion is that a decidedly low-quality cheese is to blame. Cheese has fat, of course, but only the cheap imitation stuff contains partially hydrogenated oil.
Eat This Instead!
Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Cup
109 calories 5 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans) 1,029 mg sodium

Trans-Fattiest Cold Treat
Dairy Queen Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard (large)
6.5 g trans fat 1,440 calories 67 g fat (33 g saturated) 165 g sugars
Not a single Blizzard, shake, or malt at Dairy Queen comes without trans fat - which is ridiculous, because most other ice cream and smoothie places manage to leave it out of their products. This Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard is terrifying on every nutritional level: It's the sugar equivalent of 6 packs of peanut M&Ms, the caloric equivalent of nearly 6 McDonald's hamburgers, and more than three times your daily limit of trans fat. Seek out relatives safety in DQ's line of soft serve sundaes.
Eat This Instead!
Hot Fudge Sundae (small)
300 calories 10 g fat (7 g saturated, 0 g trans) 37 g sugars

Here are some tips from the monthly wellness calendar from work!

• Don't eat in front of the TV today.
• Intentionally park in the farthest spot from the door while running errands today.
• Say "hello" to five people today.
• Remember to get three 8 oz servings of low fat dairy everyday.
• Visualize one medium fruit serving equal to a tennis ball.
• When you go out to lunch, choose a selection from the appetizer menu as your main dish.
• Mix one packet regular oatmeal with 1/2 sliced banana and a 1/2 cup strawberries for a breakfast under 200 calories.
• Wear hearing and eye protection while mowing the lawn.
• Cut up fruits and veggies right away and keep in containers that can be easily transported.
• Add some core strengthening exercises to your current exercise routine.
• Save more, spend less. Distinguish between your wants and needs.
• Make a vegetable you've never tried before for dinner tonight.
• Air-popped popcorn has 31 calories per cup. Reward yourself with a movie and low-fat popcorn tonight.
• Keep a calendar of the days you exercise. Try to fill up most of the week.
• Try eating foods today only found in a garden.
  

I really need a refresher on this part of the book (Eat This Not That: The Best & Worst Foods in America); it's called Conquer the Food Court - 5 savvy strategies for enlightened mall munching.

Be a Bargain Shopper
You spend countless hours comparing prices and hunting for bargains, so why drop that wall of prudence when you hit the food court? Instead, look around and see what calorie bargains you can find. Maybe the chicken noodle bread bowl isn't the best option when you can get the same soup from a real bowl somewhere else. And maybe you'll feel better about passing on the fried chicken drumstick when there's a grilled chicken breast just 200 feet away. Sure the food court is teeming with waistline-expanding temptations, but every temptation has a healthy substitution. You ust have to shop smart.

Shop It Off
It seems a little cruel how they insist on placing the sweet-tooth kiosk right in the middle of the mall, seducing shoppers with the enticing aromas of freshly made fudge, warm gooey brownies, and soft-baked cookies. How are you supposed to resist an allure like that? One battle at a time, that's how. Sail straight past the cookie counter without stopping and promise yourself that if the cravings persist, you'll double back and have your treat. Believe it or not, there's a good chance you'll forget all about it. A UK study found that chocolate cravings diminished by 12 percent for regular chocolate eaters after they walked for 15 minutes. That means so long as you keep moving, you'll keep your cravings at bay.

Carry a Water Bottle
This is a rule that can save you calories anytime, anywhere. That's because thirst is far too often confused with hunger. Your brain just does a lousy job differentiating between the two. Keep yourself hydrated and you'll be much better prepared to spend your time in the stores instead of the grub lines. And here's the really good part: Guzzling just 1 bottle of cold water will help you burn more calories while you shop. That's because, as German researchers discovered, 16 ounces of cold water can boost metabolism by 24 percent for a full 90 minutes. Swing by the beverage vending machine as you enter the mall and then sip away as you shop.

Pack a Snack
The mall's selection of snacks is lackluster at best; think French fries, pretzels, muffins, and other quick-fix carbs. The irony is you'll probably need a small snack to help you make it through the day without racing to the nearest deep fryer. A study at Florida State University found that men with low blood sugar (i.e., men who went too long without a snack) performed the worst on tests that evaluate self-control, which means they're liable to make bad decisions in the food court. So what's the key to a good snack? Protein. French researchers found that a high-protein snack eaten 4 hours after lunch delayed the desire to eat dinner by 60 minutes. That will put off your hunger long enough for you to make your final purchases and head home for a real meal. Try stuffing into your purse or pocket a bag of nuts, jerky, or a protein bar. We like Odwala's Super Protein.

Plan for a Small Dinner
Sometimes your defenses flop and you find yourself bellied up to an oversize plate of noodles and fried chicken covered in a murky brown sauce of dubious oriental origin. It's okay; don't panic. you might have one more chance to salvage your day. When Boston researchers tried to pin down the cause of weight gain, they looked at the eating habits of adolescents. As it turns out, both "lean" and "overweight" subjects overate in the food court. What set the two groups apart was the amount of food consumed the rest of the day; the lean students cut back no ther meals, while the overweight students continued to eat full-size portions. Why does this matter? Because it's not the number of calories consumed in one meal that makes or breaks your diet: It's total calories consumed over the course of the day. Compensate for your food-court blunder by cutting your normal dinner in half and you can fall asleep no bigger than when you woke up.

...continued...

Worst Slush
Sonic Route Large Lemon-Berry CreamSlush (20 oz)
630 calories 15 g fat (9 g saturated, 0.5 g trans) 99 g sugars

To be fair, this belly blaster is more of a shake-slush hybrid: half sugar-saturated ice and half high-fat ice cream. Think it sounds tasty alongside a Sonic Cheeseburger and fries? Maybe so, but that's a meal that will cost you more than 1,500 calories.

Drink This Instead!
Small Strawberry Real Fruit Slush (14 oz)
210 calories 0 g fat 52 g sugars


Worst Milk Shake
Cold Stone Creamery Gotta Have It PB&C Shake
2,010 calories 131 g fat (68 g saturated) 153 g sugars
The PB&C is intended to denote peanut butter and chocolate, but the more accurae translation might be potbellies and cardiovascular disease. After all, this one drink does pack more calories than a dozen ice cream sandwiches and more saturated fat than nearly 20 large orders of McDonald's French fries. And what's even more depressing is that no shake on Cold Stone's menu, not even the small sizes, falls below 1,000 calories. Choose a small ice cream and use the 1,640 calories for something with at least a trace of nutritional value.
Eat This Instead!
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Like It Size
370 calories 24 g fat (13 g saturated, 0.5 g trans) 28 g sugars

The Worst Drinks in America

Worst Bottled Coffee
Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino (13.7 oz bottle)
290 calories 4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated) 46 g sugars
Most people don't associate coffee with milk shakes - like loads of sugar, but that's exactly what's happening inside this bottle. Add one of these to your diet every morning and you'll add about 28 pounds of flab to your body in a year.
Drink This Instead!
Java Monster Lo-Ball Coffee + Energy (15 oz can)
100 calories 3 g fat (2 g saturated) 8 g sugars

Worst Bottled Beverage
Sobe Liz Blizz (20 oz bottle)
310 calories 1 g fat (0.5 g saturated) 77 g sugars
Don't be fooled by the natural motifs that adorn Sobe's bottles. Spin this one around and you'll see that it's made from water, sugar, skim milk, and cream. We've said it before and we'll say it again: Don't buy products with cartoon animals on the front.
Drink This Instead!
Sobe Lean Energy (20 oz bottle)
13 calories 0 g fat 2.5 g sugars

Worst Soda
Sunkist (20 oz bottle)
320 calories 84 g sugars
All full-sugar sodas are evil, but they weren't all created equal. A 12 oz can of Coke - the tooth-rotting standard - contains 140 calories and 39 g of sugar. That same size can from Sunkist packs 190 calories and a staggering 52 g sugar. Tack on the extra 8 oz in this orange monster and you begin to understand why soft drinks are oten cited as one of the top contributors to obesity and diabetes in this country.
Drink This Instead!
Honest Ade Orange Mango (16.9 oz bottle)
100 calories 24 g sugars

...continued...

Worst Mall Food in America
Cinnabon Regular Caramel Pecanbun
1,100 calories 56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans) 47 g sugars 141 g carbohydrates
Cinnabon and malls are inseparable. Consider it a symbiotic relationship: Researchers have found that men are turned on by the smell of cinnamon rolls, and further studies have shown that men are more likely to spend money when they're thinking about sex. But just because Cinnabon might be good for Gap doesn't mean it's at all good for you. This dangerously bloated bun contains nearly an entire day's worth of fat and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. (For those keeping score that's as much as you'll find in 8 White Castle hamburgers).
Eat This Instead!
Cinnabon Stix
379 calories 21 g fat (6 g saturated, 4 g trans) 14 g sugars 41 g carbohydrates

Best Breakfast Sandwich
Panera Bread Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
380 calories 14 g fat (6 g saturated) 620 mg sodium
Researchers in Connecticut determined that, compared with people who ate bagels for breakfast, people who ate eggs consumed fewer calories throughout the rest of the day. The primary reason is protein, which digests slower than carbohydrates. This sandwich has 18 grams of the muscle-building, stomach-filling nutrient, so you can browse easier knowing your morning shopping spree won't turn into an afternoon eating binge.

Best Treat
Auntie Anne's Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel, no butter
380 calories 1 g fat 29 g sugars 400 mg sodium
Let's be clear: This is no health food. But by the standard set by the food court's oversize and oversweetened pastries (we're looking at you, Cinnabon), this bread knot's actually not so bad. The pretzel twisters will gladly bake you one without butter, which eliminates a quick 90 calories of pure fat and if you can manage to bring along a partner in crime, you can enjoy your treat for only 190 calories.

...continued...

Worst Soup
Panera Bread New England Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl
1,070 calories 44.5 g fat (28 g saturated, 1 g trans) 2,320 mg sodium
Soup in an edible bowl? The only more egregious nutritional pairing we've seen lately is Domino's audacious idea of serving pasta in a similarly hulking bread vessel. Next thing you know you'll be ordering your cheeseburger on a plate of pizza Okay, maybe not, but here's the deal: This sourdough bowl contributes an extra 590 calories to an already dubious bowl of chowder. Switch to a better soup and nix the soggy vessel or you might drop before you shop.
Eat This Instead!
Forest Mushroom Soup (bowl)
250 calories 18 g fat (8 g saturated) 1,150 mg sodium

Worst Sandwich
Panera Bread Full Chipotle Chicken on Artisan French
1,070 calories 55 g fat (15 g saturated, 1 g trans) 2,570 mg sodium
Panera, home to soups, salads, and a general feeling of well-being (not to mention free Wi-Fi!), benefits from a beaming health halo - a perceived virtuousness that doesn't necessarily play out in the hard realities of their nutritional stats. Yes, you can carefully construct a well-balanced 500-calorie meal, but you can also unknowingly consume 1,500 calories without breaking a sweat. Take this sandwich: It begins innocently enough (chicken and white bread), but is supported by a scurrilous cast of bacon strips, high-fat chipotle sauce, and a tarp of Cheddar cheese, the most fattening of the cheese choices. The result is a lunch with more calories than 11 Rice Krispies Treats and a serious crack in the health halo.
Eat This Instead!
Full Smoked Turkey on Sourdough
470 calories 17 g fat (2.5 g saturated) 1,680 mg sodium

The following few entries will feature the Best and Worst Mall Foods in America

Worst Slice of Pizza
Sbarro Stuffed Pepperoni Pizza (1 slice)
890 calories 42 g fat 3,200 mg sodium
The architecture of this thing makes it les like a slice of pizza and more like a pizza-inspired Chipotle Burrito. it relies on an oversize shell of oily bread to hold together a gooey wad of cheese and pepperoni. The net result is a pizza pocket with two-thirds of your day's fat and more than a day's worth of sodium. And the traditional pizza slices aren't much better; few fall below 600 calories. if you want to do well at Sbarro, think thin crust with nothing but produce on top.
Eat This Instead!
New York Style Fresh Tomato Pizza (1 slice)
450 calories 14 g fat 1,040 mg sodium

Worst Burger
Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger
920 calories 62 g fat (29.5 g saturated) 1,310 mg sodium
We applaud Five Guys, first for their delicious burgers and second because said burgers don't come coated with trans-fatty oils (unlike too many of their competitors). But their regular-size burgers are still way too big, and the fact that they call their substantial single-patty option a "small" burger encourages overconsumption. The bacon cheeseburger is the most caloric, but none of the other options are less than 700 calories either. instead, consider a "little" burger, which will fill your stomach without requiring you to plug a new hole at the end of your belt. Plus, you can load it up with all the produce you want.
Eat This Instead!
Little Hamburger
480 calories 26 g fat (11.5 saturated) 380 mg sodium 39 g carbohydrates

Worst Chinese Meal
Panda Express Orange Chicken with Fried Rice
1,025 calories 44 g fat (9 g saturated) 1,640 mg sodium
It's unfortunate that this dish happens to be one of the most popular on Panda's menu. Consider the recipe: battered and fried, then coated in a sugary syrup. It's like Colonel Sanders meets Willy Wonka. Pair with a scoop of fried rice and you've got a dish with serious flab-enhancing potential. Here's a better survival strategy: Skip the rice altogether and choose steamed veggies instead. Then pick any entree besides orange chicken.
Eat This Instead!
Broccoli Beef and Mixed Veggies
260 calories 15 g fat (3 g saturated) 680 mg sodium

The Best and Worst Foods for When You're Sick

Eat This

• Ginseng. In a Canadian study, people who took 400 milligrams of ginseng a day had 25 percent fewer colds than those popping a placebo. Ginseng helps kill invading viruses by increasing the body's production of key immune cells. you can find ginseng supplements at most pharmacies or brew up a cup of ginseng tea.
• Green tea. EGCG, a chemical compound that is potent in green tea, has been shown to stop the adenovirus (one of the bugs responsible for colds) from replicating. Start pumping green tea into your system at the first sign of a cold and you should be able to stave off worse symptoms. The best brand to brew? Go with Tetley; it was the most effective brand in studies.
• Oranges. The zinc and vitamin C in oranges won't prevent the onslaught of a cold, but they might decrease the severity and duration of your symptoms. One orange provides more than 100 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C.
• Olive oil and avocados. Foods rich in healthy fats, such as olive oil and avocados, help reduce inflammation, a catalyst for migraines. One study found that the anti-inflammatory compounds in olive oil suppress the same pain pathway as ibuprofen.

Not That!

• Caffeinated beverages and energy drinks. Excessive caffeine screws with your sleep schedule and suppresses functions of key immune agents. And insufficient sleep opens the door to colds, upper respiratory infections, and other ills. What's more, caffeine can dehydrate you, and hydration is vital during illness: Fluids not only transport nutrients to the illness site but also dispose of toxins.
  

Worst Dip
Kraft Cheez Whiz Original Cheese Dip (2 tbsp)
90 calories 7 g fat (1.5 g saturated) 440 mg sodium
The way most people dip, 2 tablespoons means 4 chips' worth of dip. And when have you ever stopped at 4 chips? That means these empty calories - all processed cheese goo spiked with nefarious food additives - add up quickly, as does that shocking sodium number. there are too many great dips (salsa, guac, hummus) to rely on the Whiz for flavor.

Worst Chip
Gardetto's Special Request Roasted Garlic Rye Chips (1/2 cup)
160 calories 10 g fat (2 g saturated, 2.5 g trans) 40 mg sodium
Gardetto extracts the worst part of its original snack mix and tries to serve it as a gourmet snack - a sneaky move that might have serious repercussions for even casual munchers. Each single serving exceeds the amount of trans fat deemed safe to consume daily by the American Heart Association.

Worst Vending Machine Snack
Austin Cheese Crackers with Cheddar Jack Cheese (1 pckg)
200 calories 11 g fat (2 g saturated, 4.5 g trans) 390 mg sodium
The American Heart Association cautions consumers to cap their trans-fat intake at 1 percent of their total calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that's about 2 grams, the amount in 4 of these crackers. Care to keep your heart ticking longer than the shelf life of this package? We recommend leaving the Austins on the rack.

PIZZA TIME!

Worst Veggie Pizza
Papa John's Pan Crust Garden Fresh Pizza (2 slices)
740 calories 38 g fat (12 g saturated) 1320 mg sodium 78 g carbohydrates
You'll read this statement over and over again in this book because it bears repeating: Just because it's topped with veggies doesn't make it healthy. The real problem here isn't the toppings, though; it's the excessively thick, greasy pan crust that sinks this veggie-strewn sip. Two slices of this garden-fresh pie will set you back the caloric equivalent of more than 8 Rice Krispies Treats. Save more than 300 calories by switching from the 12" an slice to a larger pie (14") with a thinner crust. Just another example of why crust is king when trying to find a healthy pie.
Eat This Instead!
Thin Crust Garden Fresh Pizza (2 slices)
420 calories 22 g fat (5 g saturated) 940 mg sodium 46 g carbohydrates

Worst Pizza in America
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Individual Pizza
2310 calories 165 g fat (54 g saturated) 4920 mg sodium 120 g carbohydrates
The problem with deep dish pizza (which Uno's knows a thing or two about since they invented it back in 1943) is not just the extra empty calories and carbs from the crust, it's that the thick doughy base provides the structural integrity to house extra heaps of cheese, sauce, and greasy toppings. The result is an individual pizza with more calories than you should eat in a day and more sodium than you would find in 27 small bags of Lays Potato Chips. Oh, did we mention it has nearly 3 days' worth of saturated fat, too? The key to success at Uno's lies in their flatbread pies.
Eat This Instead!
Cheese and Tomato Flatbread Pizza (1/2 pizza)
405 calories 16.5 g fat (7.5 g saturated) 1065 mg sodium 46 g carbohydrates

Each month, my work sends out a Health and Wellness Calendar with each day featuring a different tip to implement in your home. I thought I'd share a few that I plan on starting.

• Purchase products at the store with recyclable packaging.
• Keep a working fire extinguisher handy. inform everyone in the house where it is.
• Use tall and narrow drink glasses rather than short and wide. you'll consume 25-30 percent less.
• Create a habit of eating on a regular schedule.
• Tell yourself you will achieve your goal.
• Add pureed vegetables to thicken tomato sauce.
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth today.
• Dip your fork into your salad dressing before stabbing your lettuce.
• Cut up fruits and veggies right away for easier snacking throughout the week.
• Relax at least 30 minutes before going to bed tonight.
  

Worst Tex-Mex Entree

Chili's Fajita Quesadillas Beef with Rice and Beans, 4 flour tortillas, and condiments
2240 calories
92 g fat (43.5 g saturated)
6390 mg sodium
253 g carbohydrates
Since when has it ever been a smart idea to combine 2 already calorie- and sodium-packed dishes into one monstrous meal? This confounding creation delivers nearly a dozen Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts' worth of calories, the sodium equivalent of 194 saltine crackers, and the saturated fat equivalent of 44 strips of bacon. Check please!
Eat This Instead!
Guiltless Carne Asada Steak
371 calories
10 g fat (7.5 saturated)
1436 mg sodium
11 g carbohydrates

Worst Turkey Burger
T.G.I.Friday's California Turkey Burger
950 calories*
There was a time when turkey was a reliably lean substitution for ground beef, but then eager-to-please restaurants started "beefing" up the turkey by slathering it with oil, increasing the portions, and sticking it between 2 buns dripping with butter. Pastoral as this burger may sound, it can't escape the fact that it elivers more calories than a Wendy's Baconator. Unfortunately, T.G.I.Friday's doesn't offer anything decent in the burger department, so if you want something meaty to nibble on, you'd better go with a half rack of ribs (500 calories*).

Worst "Healthy" Chicken Sandwich
Denny's Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Honey Mustard Dressing
970 calories
58 g fat (10 g saturated)
2070 mg sodium
69 g carbohydrates
Here's a distinction you should familiarize yourself with: honey mustard versus honey mustard dressing. If you're like most people ,you probably assume they're 2 terms for the same thing, and that's exactly what Denny's is banking on. The truth is honey mustard dressing, unlike honey mustard, is calorically more akin to ranch or mayonnaise than it is to mustard. Don't waste the calories; instead look for items labeled Fit Fare - they represent the best Denny has to offer.
Eat This Instead!
Fit Fare chicken Sandwich with Applesauce
490 calories
7 g fat (1.5 saturated)
1460 mg sodium
67 g carbohydrates

Best and Worst Cafeteria Lunches

Best:

Roast beef and gravy
240 calories 11 g fat (4 g saturated) 625 mg sodium
Made from a lean cut of beef, a few slices of roast beef prove to be a relatively low-fat, low-calorie source of protein. And since cafeteria gravies are invariably of the "instant" variety, the only minor threat they pose is of adding a bit of extra sodium to the meal.

Chili with shredded cheese
300 calories 12 g fat (4 g saturated) 570 mg sodium
This cheesy, gooey mess is actually good for your kid? Hard to believe, but beyond being packed with enough protein to keep her full and focused the rest of the school day, a bean-laced bowl of red gives your kid plenty of fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants. Tastes great, is more filing, fights against cancer. what more could you want?

Tater Tots
150 calories 7 g fat (1 g saturated) 200 mg sodium
Cafeteria Tots usually avoid the harsh fry treatment in favor of a simple bake, which keeps the calorie count down.

Worst:

Turkey wrap
375 calories 14 g fat (5 g saturated) 575 mg sodium
Wraps start with the dreaded tortilla, to which the lunch ladies add fatty dressing (usually ranch or Italian), cheese (usually processed), and produce (usually token shreds of lettuce).

French bread cheese pizza
440 calories 19 g fat (6 g saturated) 930 mg sodium
The thick, doughy crust used by most school cafeterias packs on a heavy carb and sodium load, plus it provides the structural integrity for a haphazard application of cheese, doubling down on the calorie count.

Crispy chicken sandwich
400 calories 19 g fat (7 g saturated) 735 mg sodium
If they're going to take an innocent chicken breast, bread it, deep-fry it, and cover it in mayo, your kid may as well opt for the hamburger.

French fries
310 calories 18 g fat (7 g saturated) 400 mg sodium
French fries probably won't be lucky enough to avoid the boiling oil, where they soak up most of their saturated fat. More often than not, they contain as many calories as the entree sharing the plate with them.

Also in Eat This, Not That...

Worst Frozen Entree

Hungry-Man Classic Fried Chicken

1,040 calories
59 g fat (13 g saturated)
1,610 mg sodium

Hungry-Man? More like Lonely-Man, if you bulk up on enough of these calorie-fests. There's no way a single man needs a pound of fatty fried chicken, oily potatoes, and a brownie in one sitting. But if that one man were to eat this meal, he'd be wolfing down a foodlike substance that consists of more than 50 percent pure fat. Stouffer's offers a near-identical meal for a fraction of the calories.

Eat This Instead!
Stouffer's Fried Chicken Breast

360 calories
18 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
880 mg sodium

From Eat This, Not That! The Best (& Worst) Foods in America!:

Sushi 101
There are dozens of different ways to enjoy sushi, but if you want to be a true zen master of raw fish consumption there are rules that are worth knowing and following. Avoid another sashimi-gobbling faux pas by brushing up on some basic sushi etiquette.

• When you're not using your chopsticks, place them parallel to each other in the holder or on the dish. Never stick your chopsticks into your rice and leave them sticking up.
• When passing food from one plate to another, use the opposite end of your chopsticks to make the delivery, not the part you eat with.
• You can eat sushi rolls and nigiri with your hands, but you should eat sashimi with chopsticks. And forks should never enter the picture; sushi chefs don't want their creations tainted with the metallic tang of silverware.
• Eat sushi in one bite, especially sashimi and nigiri. The flavors and textures come in small packages for a reason - so that you can experience them all at once. There are a few exceptions, especially in the United States, where specialty rolls can be as big as cannons; you'll know an exception when you see it.
• The sliced ginger is for cleaning your palate in between different tastes, not for draping all over the delicate fish before you.
• As fun as it might be to evoke the nasal-clearing effects of wasabi overdose, that pile of concentrated Japanese horseradish is supposed to be used sparingly - if at all. A good sushi chef applies the correct amount of wasabi to his creations, meaning all you need to do is be ready to deliver them from plate to mouth.
• Rice-making is a craft that takes sushi chefs years to master, so don't go mucking up their perfect grains by drowning them in soy. if you want to dip, dip the fish side of the sushi into the sauce, not the rice side. The rice will soak up the soy like a sponge, compromising flavor and texture and leaving you with a surplus of sodium in your belly.
  

This was a Kashi advertisement in the newest Real Simple magazine, but I thought it was so informative that you might get something out of it too.

The 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the highest pesticide load

1. Apples. Tote a few dried, organic apple slices in your bag for an easy-to-carry, satisfying snack.
2. Bell peppers. Pick up several jars of organic roasted red peppers when they're on sale and you'll be able to whip up an easy antipasto anytime.
3. Celery. When you see organic celery in a market in the late summer or fall, snap it up. Then, when chopping it for pasta sauce or soup, make extra and freeze it for later.
4. Cherries. Toss organic dried cherries into a green salad - along with some toasted walnuts or pecans - to add extra flavor, texture, color, and nutrients.
5. Grapes. Keep a stash of organic green or red seedless grapes in the freezer and you'll always have access to an icy sweet treat.
6. Nectarines. Serve organic dried nectarines on your next cheese board. The sweet-tart flavor complements anything from Camembert to Manchego.
7. Peaches. Slice and freeze fresh ones to make summer-flavored slushies year-round. And experience an intense hit of flavor, whatever the season, by stirring a jar of organic peach preserves into a savory dish, like baked chicken.
8. Pears. When they aren't in season, buy naturally prepared jarred or canned organic pears and spruce them up by poaching for five minutes in a mixture of their natural syrup.
9. Potatoes. When you find organic potatoes, stock up. You can peel, parboil, and freeze them so you always have the makings of a fast side dish.
10. Raspberries. Puree a bag of frozen organic berries with evaporated cane juice crystals to taste, then spoon over chocolate cake or vanilla ice cream for an intense infusion of flavor and color.
11. Spinach. Make a delicious stuffing for chicken by chopping defrosted and drained frozen, organic spinach, then sauteing briefly with toasted pine nuts, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and raisins.
12. Strawberries. Freeze fresh organic berries when you find them in late spring and early summer - or buy frozen ones anytime - and enjoy them in pancakes, smoothies, and cereal year round.
    

Check out this article in the Rachael Ray magazine for the best pizzerias in America. Mmm pizza...

...continued...

Sonic: C
For whatever it's worth, Sonic manages to keep all of its burgers under the 1,000-calorie threshold, but just barely. Its sides menu, with a fat-loaded lineup of fries, tots, and onion rings, will push you well beyond that. And if you settle on a shake or a sugar-spiked "fruit" drink to wash down your lunch, you may have just doubled your caloric intake. it's best to view Sonic as a quick-stop snack shop because full-on meals can be dangerous.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
The Jr. Banana Split makes an awesome treat with only 180 calories. Besides that, there are a couple of staples that you should remember: the Jr. Burger, the Grilled Chicken Wrap, and the Grilled Chicken on Ciabatta.
Best: Grilled Chicken Wrap
Worst: Super Sonic Cheeseburger with Mayo

Subway: A minus
If Jared was able to shed 245 pounds on his own Subway diet, then surely you can find a dec ent meal to keep your gut in check. But beware of what researchers call the "health halo." Patrons who believe they're eating in a healthy place tend to reward themselves with extra cheese, mayonnaise, and soda, none of which woud have helped Jared lose a single pound. Avoid the halo shine and you'll be fine at Subway.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Stick to 6-inch cold subs made with ham, turkey roast beef, or chicken. Be sure to load up on veggies and skip the fattening sauces and dressings (calorie counts at Subway don't include cheese, mayo, or dressings).
Best: Ham Sandwich on 9-Grain with all the veggies you want
Worst: Footlong Meatball with Cheese

Taco Bell: B plus
Here's the good news: The next time you run for the border, you don't have to run all the way home to burn off the calories. Taco Bell combines 2 things with bad nutritional reputations - Mexican food and fast food - but provides plenty of paths to keep your meal less than 500 calories. The best way to do it is to stick with the Fresco Menu, where no single item exceeds 350 calories.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Grilled Stuft Burritos, food served in a bowl, and anything prepared with multiple "layers are trouble. Instead, order any combination of 2 of the following: crunchy tacos, bean burritos, or anything on the Fresco menu.
Best: Fresco Ranchero Chicken Soft Tacos (2)
Worst: Fiesta Taco Salad

T.G.I.Friday's: F
We salute Friday's for one thing and one thing only, and that's their smaller-portions menu. The option to order smaller plates ought be the new model to dethrone the dogmatic bigger-is-better principle that dominates chain restaurants. But no matter how small they shrink the entrees, we're still forced to fail this chain due to their strict policy of nutritional secrecy.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
We realized just how dangerous Friday's menu was when a New York City ordinance forced them to cough up the numbers on their caloric bombs. Our advice: stick to either their smaller-portions menu or check out the Lighter Side of Friday's menu, which promises to find you meals with around 500 calories apiece.
Best: Shrimp Key West
Worst: Jack Daniel's Ribs and Shrimp

Of course, all of my favorite places got the worst grades. Oh well... Let's eat!

Sorry for the delay folks; here's the continuation from March 6...

Olive Garden: D plus
We initially gave the Garden an F for failing to disclose their nutritional content. And we really appreciate the effort they've made to increase their transparency. But when a typical entree packs an average of 905 calories (and that's before you factor in appetizers, sides, drinks, and desserts), it's not time to celebrate just yet.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
While most pasta dishes are packed with at least a day's worth of doium and more than 1,000 calories, the Linguine alla Marinara and Ravioli di Portobello are both reasonable options. As for chicken and seafood, stick with the Herb-Grilled Salmon, Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, or Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto.
Best: Herb-Grilled Salmon
Worst: Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara

Panera Bread: B minus
Artisan they may be, but some of the sandwiches push into quadruple digits, and a train-length list of brownies, pastries, and cookies almost qualifies Panera as a dessert shop. Pitfalls aside, the healthy selection of soups and salads offers a much-needed reprieve from the carb-heavy bagels and breads.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Breakfast options abound with refined carbohydrates, so cut your losses and order the Egg & Cheese breakfast sandwich. Skip the stand-alone sandwich lunch. Either pair together a soup and salad or take the soup and half-sandwich combo.
Best: Half Asian Sesame Chicken Salad with cup of Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
Worst: Chipotle Chicken Sandwich on Artisan French Bread

Papa John's: C
Give Papa John's credit for being the only pizza franchise to offer a whole wheat crust, thus providing a viable, fiber-rich option to pizza lovers the country over. combine that with an innovative list of healthy toppings - including the surprisingly lean Spinach Alfredo - and you start to see hope for Papa John's devotees. The chain loses big points for its line of treacherous dipping sauces, its belly-building bread sticks, and its 400-calorie-a-slice pan-crust pizza.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
There are only two crust options to consider: thin and wheat. Ask for light cheese and cover it with anything besides sausage, pepperoni, or bacon.
Best: Garden Fresh Thin Crust Pizza (1 slice)
Worst: The Meats Pan Crust Pizza (1 slice)

P.F.Chang's: D plus
A plague of quadruple-digit entrees turns Chang's menu into a nutritional minefield. noodle dishes and foods from the grill all come with dangerously high fat and calorie counts, while traditional stir-fries aren't much better. Chang's does have a great variety of low-cal appetizers and an ordering flexibility that allows for easy substitutions and tweaks.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Order a lean appetizer like the Chicken Lettuce Wraps or the Seared Ahi Tuna for the table and resolve to split one of the more reasonable entrees between 2 people. Earn bonus points by tailoring your dish to be light on the oil and sauce.
Best: Wild Alaskan Salmon Steamed with Ginger (full serving)
Worst: Combo Lo Mein (full serving)

Pizza Hut: C
In an attempt to push the menu beyond the ill-reputed pizza, Pizza Hut expanded into toasted sandwiches, pastas, and salads. Sound like an improvement: Think again. Every sandwich has at least 680 calories and 75 percent of your day's sodium. The salads aren't much better, and the pastas are actually worse. The thin crust pizzas and the Fit 'n Delicious offer redemption with sub-200-calorie slices. Eat a couple of those and you'll be doing just fine.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Start with a bowl of Tomato Basil Soup and then finish with a couple of slices. Turn to anything on the Fit 'n Delicious menu for slices as low as 150 calories.
Best: Ham, Red Onion & Mushroom Fit 'n Delicious Pizza (2 slices)
Worst: Meat Lover's Personal Pan Pizza

Please take a look at this recent list of recalled products if you haven't already. It covers a lot!

...Continued

Domino's: B
The Bad News Pies on Domino's menu are the same as those at any other pizza purveyor: oversize crusts, fatty meats, and greasy shag carpets of cheese. But Domino's Crunchy Thin Crust cheese pizza is one of the lowest-calorie pies in America, which makes a sound foundation for a decent dinner. Just avoid the bread sticks and Domino's appalling line of pasta bread bowls and oven baked sandwiches.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Domino's thin crust has fewer calories than any other pizza chain's. Show your appreciation by making it your go-to order. Want toppings? Stick to ham and pineapple or pure veggies.
Best: Thin Crust Pizza with ham and pineapple (2 slices, medium pizza)
Worst: Chicken Bacon Ranch Oven Baked Sandwich

Five Guys: C
Without much more than burgers, hot dogs, and French fries on the menu, it's difficult to find anything nutritionally redeeming about Five Guys. The only option geared toward the health-conscious is the Veggie Sandwich, which also happens to be the only item on the menu to carry a load of trans fat. The burgers range from 480 to 920 calories, so how you order can make a big difference to your waistline.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
The regular hamburger is actually a double, so order a Little Hamburger and load up on the vegetation. And if you must indulge somewhere, don't do it with the fries - the difference between a large and a small is 1,150 calories.
Best: Little Hamburger
Worst: Bacon Cheeseburger

Jimmy John's: C
Jimmy adheres to the bigger-i-better syndrome that pollutes countless sub shops the country over. Two slices of 7-Grain Wheat Bread run an unthinkable 390 calories, making healthy sandwich construction impossible. Good thing Jimmy John's preps the food in front of you; that way, you can play foreman while the sub crew constructs your perfect low-cal sandwich.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Start with the sub-size French bread, which has 140 fewer calories than its wheat cousin. Then build a sub from a single lean meat - ham, turkey, or roast beef - being sure to replace mayo with Dijon or avocado spread. And stay away from the Italian cold cuts!
Best: Totally Tuna Unwich (lettuce wrap)
Worst: The J.J. Gargantuan

McDonald's: B plus
The world-famous burger baron has come a long way since the days of Fast Food Nation - at least nutritionally speaking. The trans fat is mostly gone, the calorie bombs reduced, and there are more healthy options such as salads and yogurt parfaits. But don't cut loose just yet. Too many of the breakfast and lunch items still top the 500-calorie mark, and the dessert menu is a total mess.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
The Egg McMuffin remains one of the best ways to start your day in the fast-food world. As for the later hours, you can splurge on a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder, but only if you skip the fries and soda, which add an average of 590 calories onto any meal.
Best: Egg McMuffin
Worst: Deluxe Breakfast with Large Biscuit, Syrup, and Margarine

Continued from yesterday...

Chili's: D
From burgers to baby back ribs, Chili's serves up some of the saltiest and fattiest fare in the country. In fact, 73 percent of its starter and entrees have more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium. The Giultless Grill menu is Chili's admirable attempt to offer healthier options, but even there the average entree carries 1,320 milligrams of sodium.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
There's not to much to choose from after you cut out the ribs, burgers, fajitas, chicken, and salads. You're better off with a Classic Sirloin and steamed vegetables or broccoli. Another solid option is the fajita Pita Chicken with Black Beans and Pico de Gallo.
Best: Fajita Pita Chicken
Worst: Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers

Dairy Queen: D plus
Dairy Queen has taste for excess that rivals that of other fast-food failures such as Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. But unlike Carl's, DQ offers a whole slew of abominable ice cream creations to pair with its calorie-riddled savory bites. here's a look at one hypothetical meal: a Mushroom Swiss Burger with Regular Onion Rings and a Small Snickers Blizzard - a staggering 1,650-calorie meal with 78 grams of fat.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Your best offense is a solid defense. Skip elaborate burgers, fried sides, and specialty ice cream concoctions. Order a Grilled Chicken Sandwich or an Original Burger, and if you must have a treat, stick to soft serve or a small sundae.
Best: Original Hamburger
Worst: 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket with Country Gravy

Denny's: D plus
Too bad the adult menu at Denny's doesn't adhere to the same standard as the kids' menu. The famous Slam breakfasts all top 800 calories, and the burgers are even worse. The Double Cheeseburger is one of the worst in the country, with 116 grams of fat, 7 of which are trans fat.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
The Fit Fare menu gathers together all the best options on the menu. Outside of that, stick to the sirloin, grilled chicken, or soups. For breakfast, order a Veggie Cheese Omelette or create your own meal from a la carte options such as fruit, oatmeal, toast, and eggs.
Best: Veggie Cheese Omelette with Egg Beaters
Worst: Flat Jack Sizzlin Skillet

In every Eat This, Not That book, the authors rate various restaurants based on nutritional information, or lack thereof. The Best & Worst Foods in America! gave the following grades...

Applebee's: F
We've tried repeatedly to get Applebee's to cough up the nutritional info on their menu items, but they won't deliver. Without full disclosure, we have no choice but to give them a flunking grade. (And while Applebee's takes its sweet time coming clean, we took advantage of New York legislation requiring chain restaurants to publish calorie counts to find out what they're hiding.)
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
The saving grace here is the handful of items created in partnership with Weight Watchers, the only items for which the restaurant offers any nutritional information at all. That doesn't leave you much to choose from, but unless you want to play nutritional Russian roulette, you're better off sticking to this menu.
Best: Garlic Herb Chicken
Worst: Oriental Chicken Rollup

Burger King: C
We got word from Burger King in October 2008 that they were finally removing the trans fat from their deep fryer. Excellent news, but don't think that means BK's menu is completely sans trans fat. The burgers and Whoppers are still sullied with the dangerous oils. Plus BK likes to smear 160 calories' worth of mayonnaise on just about everything, so you'd better get used to asking for your sandwich without. The unhealthiest of the Big Three burger joints.
SURVIVAL STRATEGY
For breakfast, pick the Ham Omelet Sandwich. For lunch, match the regular hamburger, the Whopper Jr., or the Tendergrill Sandwich with Apple Fries and water and you'll escape for less than 500 calories.
Best: Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich without Mayo
Worst: Triple Whopper Sandwich with Cheese

To be continued...

I thought this was really fascinating from a Hungry Girl newsletter this week.

Tips on Shelf-Preservation!

Ever find yourself standing at the fridge, sniffing some food item and wondering, "Is this still okay to eat? It SMELLS okay... but maybe it's not." Quit the game-play. If you want some tips on food storage, expiration vs. sell-by dates, kitchen safety, etc., go to ShelfLifeAdvice.com NOW. It's a REALLY useful resource that can help protect you from eating icky, spoiled food AND save you cash by keeping that food from spoiling in the first place. We're sooooo behind that. "How long do bacon bits last?" (Four months in the pantry!) "Has my baking powder gone bad?" (If it doesn't bubble in hot water, it has!) "How long can I wait before I need to get rid of this old jar of jelly?" (If it's more than a month old, believe it or not, it could be time!) ShelfLifeAdvice.com ROCKS. And FUN NEWS BREAK: Scientists in India say they've discovered a way to produce tomatoes that stay fresh a month longer. YOWSA! That's an extra 30 days you get to hang out with your tomato pal before chomping on it. Weeeee!

I tried this recipe the other day and it was so delicious! I used two smaller dishes instead of one big one so we could eat it twice :) YUM!

Three-Cheese Macaroni
(courtesy Food Network Magazine)
Serves 6

1 large egg
1 12 oz can evaporated whole milk
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 1/3 c grated muenster cheese, plus 4 slices
1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
4 c medium pasta shells

1. Whisk the egg, evaporated milk, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Toss the grated cheeses in a separate bowl.
2.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until almost falling apart, about 7 minutes. Transfer with a slotted soon to a bowl. Add the pasta to the same water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 c cooking water. Preheat the broiler.
3. Combine the egg mixture and the grated cheeses in the empty pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the cheeses melt and the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the cauliflower. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth and light (you can also use a regular blender). Stir in some of the reserved pasta water until creamy. Toss the pasta in the sauce; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a shallow casserole dish and top with muenster slices. Broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Worst Specialty Burger
Outback Steakhouse Blooming Burger
(1,880 calories)
By fusing one of the worst appetizers in America with an already-bruising line of burgers, the corporate cooks behind this faux-Aussie establishment have birthday a monster of a burger with more calories than 9 Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts. With no burger less than 1,530 calories, you'll have to turn to chicken if you want to eat at Outback and not spend the next day on the treadmill.

Worst Bacon Burger
Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
(1,901 calories)
Any burger whose name is 21 syllables long is bound to spell trouble for your waistline. This burger packs almost an entire day's worth of calories and 2.5 days' worth of fat. Chili's burger menu rivals Ruby Tuesday's for the worst in America, so you're better off with one of their reasonable Fajita Pitas to silence your hunger.

Worst Candy
Skittles Original Fruit (1 package)
It's hard to imagine any candy being worse than this. each colored bead is essentially sugar and corn syrup glued together with hydrogenated palm kernel oil.

Worst Cookie
Oreo Cakesters (2 cookies)
Sugar, white flour, and oil - a timeless recipe for bad health. The Cakesters have more than twice as many calories as a Chewy Chips Ahoy!

Worst Candy Bar
Twix (2-ounce package)
Twix takes the already-dubious candy-bar reputation and drags it through a murky pool of saturated fat. it would take 11 strips of bacon to achieve that sort of heart-stopped potential, which makes this one potentially hazardous after-lunch snack.

Worst Triple Burger
Burger King Triple Whopper Sandwich with Cheese and Mayo
This Triple Whopper is triple trouble. You could remove 2 patties and still be looking at more calories than you should tussle with in one sitting. And the fact that it's got more trans fat than you should eat in a day only adds insult to injury. The problem with BK burgers is that not a single one comes without the heart-harming trans-fatty acids, despite their long-standing promise to (someday) make their menu trans fat free. Your best bet when dealing with the King is to choose a chicken sandwich, instead.

Worst Fast Food Salad
Wendy's Chicken BLT Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing and Croutons
A little bacon on your salad is one thing, but this bowl of lettuce packs the saturated equivalent of 14 crispy strips of swine. Not the model of health most people bargain for when they opt for a pile of greens. You can improve matters significantly (to the tune of 160 calories and 18 grams of fat) by swapping the recommended Honey Dijon for Balsamic Vinaigrette. Better yet, opt out of this salad entirely and grab the more reasonable Mandarin Chicken Salad. Or a burger; believe it or not, most burgers on Wendy's menu are considerably better for you than this bowl.

Worst Chicken Entree: Dairy Queen 6-Piece Chicken Strip Basket with Country Gravy

It's amazing how many calories DQ can pack into 6 strips of fatty fried chicken. Don't blame the trans-fatty gravy alone - it only adds about 400 extra calories. This disastrous basket will send your blood pressure soaring with the sodium equivalent of 112 saltine crackers, and it'll drag you down for the rest of the day with its carbohydrate overload.

Eat This Instead: Grilled Flamethrower Chicken Sandwich

The Worst Fast-Food Breakfast in America is... *drum roll*

McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast (large-size biscuit) with syrup and margarine
[Anyone surprised?]
This breakfast comes with the works - scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuit, hash browns, you name it. Problem is, it also comes with more than half your day's allotment of calories and an entire day's worth of sodium. It's the caloric equivalent of 4 McDonald's cheeseburgers - can you imagine starting yoru day off like that? embrace the McMuffin, but just steer clear of sausage.

Worst Chocolate Dessert: Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie

Here is empirical evidence that food marketers are making our food worse and worse: In 2008, we listed this chocolate pie as the Worst Dessert in America. In 2009, it doesn't even take the bronze! Yet this hulking slice still packs as many calories as 3 Big Macs. That's right: Nobody would ever consider capping a meal with 3 Macs, so why would they order a slice of this stuff? When choosing dessert at Chili's, the only safe options are the Sweet Shots, drinkable treats with built-in portion control. Avoid the chocolate one, which rings in at 420 calories; any of the others should be fine.

I love me some Chili's, but if you're going to get anything other than the Sweet Shots, just share it!

According to Eat This, Not That: The Best & Worst Foods in America, the best sandwich is Subway's 6" Double Roast Beef with all the fixings on 9 Grain Wheat.

Why double the meat? Because for an extra 50 calories, you get nearly twice as much metabolism-spiking protein, which helps build muscle and burn fat. Plus doubling up on a 6-inch sub will save you 220 calories over the other alternative for hungry sandwich hounds: the dreaded footlong. Get your money's worth by loading up on the free veggies: peppers, olives, onions, tomatoes, and spinach.

Ya know those coupons you get with the paper and how some of them come with a recipe? I always thought they just made it up on the fly just to sell some products, and maybe they do. But this recipe was amazing! I tried it last night. I'll give you the original recipe and then how I made it.

Pineapple Sweet & Sour Chicken

2 cups MINUTE white rice, uncooked
1 can (20 oz) DOLE pineapple chunks
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sweet & sour sauce
2 tbsp less sodium soy sauce

Prepare rice according to package directions.
Drain pineapple; reserve 2 tbsp juice.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add pepers, onions and mushrooms; cook until vegetables are tender crisp. Remove vegetables from skillet; set aside.
Cook chicken in same skillet until chicken is browned and cooked through. Add vegetables back to the skillet with sweet & sour sauce, soy sauce, pineapple chunks and reserved juice. Heat through. Serve with hot cooked rice. Serves 6.

First, I cut this in half since I was only cooking for two. So I made 1 cup BROWN rice, used half the can of pineapple, but still a whole yellow pepper, 1 chicken breast cut up, no mushrooms and I sadly didn't have onion, so I added some hot sauce. And at the end, I mixed the rice in with everything so it would get coated in that sauce. It was so good, please try it and let me know how it turned out for you!

Check out this article. How cool right? I need to become famous enough to have a show at one of those theaters just to try his food :)

CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY

8. Think Big. Restaurants are not required to emblazon nutritional information on the side of their plates, which makes it nearly impossible to guess how many calories are in each meal. Care to venture a guess? Well, if you're like most people, you're not even int he ballpark. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that consumers given an obviously high-calories restaurant meal still underestimated the caloric load by an average of 600 calories. Use that as the new barometer to gauge the heft of your dinner.

9. Think thin. Want to know the easiest way to make a portly pizza? Here's a hint: It has nothing to do with toppings. Nope, the biggest problem facing your pie is the massive boat of oily crust hunkering along the bottom. Your best defense is to order it as thin as you can. Three deep-dish slices from a large Domino's pie, before toppings, will cost you 1,002 calories. Downsize that to a thin crust and you just burned off 420 calories without lifting a finger. Who knew losing weight was so easy?

10. Invite the kids to the grown-up table. Speaking of pizza, how do you rein in the kids' growing affection for cheese and pepperoni? Not by ordering them a personal pan found on so many kids' menus across America. The mini pepperoni at Pizza Hut runs 660 calories, and even the kids' regular crust pizza at Uno Chicago Grill has 780. And it's not just pizza; from 873-calorie "mini" turkey burgers at Ruby Tuesday to 981-calorie nachos at On the Border, kids' menus are often cluttered with problematic foods. Massive portions like this help explain how today's little ones consume 180 more calories per daythan their peers of 1989. That's a lot of girth over the course of childhood. Instead of ordering whole meals, combat the trend by feeding the small appetites with a little off your plate. A couple of slices of your thin pepperoni pizza, for instance, will cost only 400 calories. Half a cheeseburger? About 350 calories. Make this the norm and you'll save calories for them and yourself.

11. Side with sides. Some of the best of restaurant fare can be found in the side items section of the menu. Plates of black beans, roasted seasonal vegetables, and even skewers of "add-on" shrimp are prime fodder for a healthy meal. Stick to two and you can walk out feeling better for not having busted your calorie bank. (Oh, and you'll save cash, too - if you're into that kinda thing.)

12. Personalize your order. Think of the menu as a list of starting points. Any respectable joint in the country - even fast-food purveyors - will tailor to your wants, but only if you voice them. The caloric savings are as big as your imagination. Take a BLT - ask for mustard instead of mayo, then pick off a slice or two of bacon and you've just cut 250 to 400 calories from your sandwich. Use these to help you get the hang of it: Ask them to sub in whole-grain bread on your sandwich at Panera, to make your pasta with whole wheat noodles at Macaroni Grill, and to go light on the oil with your omelet at Denny's. There, wasn't that easy?

13. Order it to go. How many times have you finished your plate just because there wasn't enough to take home? Well, next time, make sure there's enough. Every time you order a full-size dinner entree, ask the server to deliver a to-go box with your food. The food is easier to divide before you start eating, and you won't have to fight the temptation of a half-eaten manicotti sticking in your face.

14. Be a dessert dodger. When the food-industry research company Technomic surveyed 1,500 people on their dessert habits, not a single person reported that they never ate dessert. To contrast, 57 percent said they ate dessert frequently. Of course, there's no problem with an occasional treat, but there is a problem when it takes on half a day's calories to the end of your meal. The average dessert at T.G.I.Friday's, for instance, packs 819 calories. So rather than order your own massive dessert, ask for an extra spoon and take a few bites from your table-mates' orders. You'll be doing everyone a favor.

Eat This, Not That's 14 Restaurant Survival Strategies

1. Front-load with protein. So what's the best way to start the meal? Easy - you want something loaded with lean protein. A study published in Physiology & Behavior showed that people who ate a protein-heavy appetizer consumed an average of 16 percent fewer calories in their entree than those who loaded up with carbohydrates. The effect is spoiled, though, if you wolf down a bunch of greasy chicken strips. Look for something like shrimp cocktail, which hasn't been deep-fried or slathered with cheese.
2. Beware of the booze. We know life's rough, but here's the deal: The standard cocktail has anywhere from 200 to 500 calories, yet those who drink before a meal actually wind up eating more come chow time. Researchers in the Netherlands gave people a premeal treatment of booze, food, water, or nothing. Those who had the booze spent more time eating, began feeling full later in the meal, and consumed an average 192 extra calories.
3. Beware of portion distortion. According to data collected by the Nationwide Food Consumption Survey, food portions are growing. Hamburgers, for instance, have grown by 97 calories since 1977. French fries have grown by 68 calories. The problem with this is, as the research points out, that people don't necessarily stop eating when they're full. Students at Cornell were given access to an all-you-can-eat buffet and told to go to town. Researchers took note of how much they ate; the following week, they served the same students portions of either equal size, 25 percent bigger, or 50 percent bigger. Those with 25 percent more food ate 164 calories, and those with 50 percent more food ate 221 extra calories.
4. Enjoy the conversation. It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to tell you that you're full. That means you need to eat slowly so you get the message before you've overeaten. That shouldn't be hard - just set your fork down every now and again and tell one of the many adventurous stories from your childhood. Told them already? Make up some new ones.
5. Avoid handouts. Just because it doesn't cost money doesn't mean it doesn't have a price. Munch on a couple of Olive Garden's bread sticks or Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits and you've just put down 300 calories before your meal arrives. A basket of chips at the Mexican joint? Expect a price tag around 500 calories, which can easily double the impact of an entree. Not so free now, is it?
6. Don't fall for combos. At every fast-food restaurant, as soon as you decide on an entree, expect to face some variation of this question: "Would you like to make it a combo meal?" Of course, you're tempted. This is the modern-day equivalent of supersizing, wherein you get an average of 55 percent more calories for 17 percent more money. It's also the cheapest way to get fat in a hurry. Just say no.
7. Drink responsibly. Sure, sure, you know all ab out the dangers of soda, but here's what you might not realize: A cup of sweet tea is only marginally better than Pepsi. Each glas you drink with dinner adds about 120 calories to your meal, and the same goes with juice. In fact, America's love affair with flavored drinks adds 450 calories to our daily diet, according to a study from the University of North Carolina. That's an extra 47 pounds of body mass to burn off (or not) each year. Switch to water, though, and it has the opposite effect: The more you drink, the more you shrink. Choose accordingly.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW...

I made this recipe last week and it was AMAZING. I had never made it before and I had to make some substitutions based on what I had in the house. So here's the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes, followed by what I adjusted.

Beans & Franks

3 16 oz cans pork and beans in tomato sauce
1 16 oz pckg frankfurters, cut into 1-in pieces
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup molasses
1 tbsp prepared mustard
4 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled
1/4 cup sliced green onions (optional)

In a 4 qt slow cooker, combine pork and beans, frankfurters, catsup, onion, molasses and mustard.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6-8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and, if desired, green onions.

I used one can of baked beans, 5 beef hot dogs chopped up, less ketchup, 1/2 red onion, molasses, extra mustard, no bacon or green onion, a can of creamed corn and half of a green pepper. The sauce created with the molasses is just delicious; I hope you try it !!

Continued from yesterday...

Show some restraint:

• Oil and vinegar. Your best bet since you control the ratio. Slick your salad with equal parts oil and vinegar, but be sure to add only enough to lightly coat the greens.
• Blue cheese. Delicious blue cheese comes at a caloric price. If you absolutely must have it, limit yourself to just one meat or other protein and load up on the low-cal veggies we've mentioned.
• Vinaigrettes. Now you're getting warmer. Assuming the vinaigrette is based on olive oil, you'll be getting a big dose of mono-unsaturated fats. Even so, since most vinaigrettes abide by the three parts oil to one part vinegar ratio, you're still looking at 100 calories per serving.
• Raising or /Craisins. They're fruit, yes, but they're likely to be coated in sugar. Opt for fresh fruit whenever possible.
  
• Corn. There are too many nutritionally superior vegetables at the salad bar to invest the calories on corn.
• Bacon. Bacon's gotten some bad press over the years, but one strip has only 40 calories and less than 200 milligrams of sodium. So a pinch of bacon bits is permissible; a handful, however, is not.
• Feta cheese. A smarter pick than blue, being that feta provides that same crumbly bite for fewer calories and less sodium. Still, only in moderation and only with a colorful crew of vegetables to back it up.
• Hard-boiled egg. Sick of chicken? Turn to the egg for another great source of protein. Mix with chickpeas, avocado, and red peppers for the closest thing to salad perfection.
  
• Avocado. Avocados provide a ton of heart-healthy fats and a rich, creamy bite to any salad. But just because monounsaturated fats are good for your heart doesn't mean they won't still make you fat. Try to choose between avocados and nuts.
• Iceberg. The least healthy of common salad bar lettuces. Its high water content makes for a low nutrient density. If you can't skip it, mix it in with darker, healthier greens.
• Sunflower seeds. One of nature's finest sources of vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps fight inflammation and lower cholesterol.
• Walnuts. Yes, they are absolutely jacked with omega-3s and antioxidants, but they're incredibly dense with calories. Keep it down to a tablespoon or two.

Avoid at all costs:

• Croutons. Think of these oil-soaked, enriched flour cubes as salad bar grenades - they'll blow your healthy salad away.
• Shredded cheddar. The worst cheese at the salad bar. Not only is it high inc alories and sodium, but the minuscule shreds tend to bury themselves in the bowl, making portion control a challenge.
• Ranch/Blue Cheese/Caesar. The type of dressing you use is the single most important decision you make at the salad bar. These three represent the most destructive dressings, clocking in around 150 calories and 15 grams of fat per serving.
• French/Catalina/Thousand Island. The trio of range dressings are only marginally less problematic than their white counterparts. That's because they're based on low-grade oils and excess sugar. Expect at least 150 calories for 2 tablespoons of one of these.
  

I was at a buffet this weekend and was completely intimidated by the choices - I mean, it's semi-obvious what's good for you and what's not. Baked fish is better than coated and fried; Spaghetti with marinara is probably a tad better than the macaroni and cheese. But when I got to the salad choices, I was totally overwhelmed. I remembered my Eat This, Not That book had a section on salad bar options, so I looked back at it afterwards and realized I probably could have chosen better toppings. Here's the Salad Bar Survival Guide to help you next time.

Feel free to scarf:

• Chickpeas. Like all legumes, chickpeas bring to the table both protein and fiber, the sultans of satiety. Add to that a healthy dose of antioxidants and you have the makings of a salad-topping superstar.
• Spinach. Pick darker greens for the base. Spinach, on the greenest side of the spectrum, has more vitamins and nutrients than can fit on this page, including folate, which helps ward off mental decline and beta-carotene, which helps protect your eyes and skin.
• Tuna. Tuna fish on a salad, as opposed to tuna salad swimming in mayonnaise, will provide protein and heart-helping omega-3 fats without the heavy caloric price.
• Chicken. Lean protein is the key to making filling salads, and none come much leaner than chicken. If you're banking on the bird, though, remember tht a healthy portion is the size of a deck of cards.
• Tomatoes. Throw some on for lycopene, which has been linked to reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. Tomatoes also provide vitamins A, C, and K.
• Carrots. You'll love them for their sweet crunch and their vision-boosting beta-carotene.
• Mixed Greens. The diversity of leaves assures you a bowl filled with a wide variety of nutrients and active compounds. The delicate nature of these little lettuces, though, means they don't hold up as well to heavy ingredients and dressings.
• Alfalfa Sprouts. These feathery salad additions have a cache of vitamins unrivaled by nearly anything else you can put in your body. Get in the habit of topping off your salad with these.
• Romaine. Compared with iceberg, romaine contains 3 times more folate, 6 times more vitamin C, and 8 times the beta-carotene. Makes a good, sturdy bed for more substantial salads.
• Beets. The scarlet crusaders help to lower blood pressure, maintain your memory, and fight cancer.
• Red or Yellow Peppers. Pick red and yellow over green peppers, which contain half the amount of vitamin C. The more colorful your salad, the greater variety of nutrients you'll take in.
• Broccoli. Vitamin C, fiber, calcium, and few calories. Need we say more?

TO BE CONTINUED...

If you're headed out to the bars this week/end to celebrate my birthday (as you should), read these tips first on the Best and Worst Bar Foods.

Worst Seafood Dish
Fish 'n' Chips
Don't be distracted by the cutesy name: fish 'n' chips are just deep-fried fish and French fries. If you're going to bother with seafood, choose peel-and-eat shrimp, which come with all the health-boosting omega-3s and -6s, and none of the artery-clogging deep-fried fats.

Worst Appetizer
Nachos with the works (cheese, beans, ground beef, salsa and sour cream)
These stats apply to just 9 fully loaded nacho chips. Chances are, though, that you aren't going to stop there. For a similar taste at only a fraction the caloric load, choose a simple cup of chili con carne. You'll pass on the carbo-loaded chips and fat-blasted cheese and dips, and you'll keep all the belly-filling, protein-packed meat.

Worst Fried Side
Jalapeno Poppers (4)
The peppers are rendered a helpless vessel for a glut of cream cheese and a deep-fried breadcrumb batter. Pop just 4 poppers and you've consumed your daily allowance of saturated fat and as many calories as you should eat during dinner. Calamari is really the only fried dish you'll find at a bar with any substance. yes, the calamari soak up their share of oil, but at least they bring otherwise-lean protein to your bar binge.

Worst Chicken Dish
Chicken Fingers (4) with ranch dressing
Neither of these is a model of sound nutrition, but nothing you eat at the bar really is. Buffalo wings have the advantage of escaping the breading that fingers invariably receive. which acts as an oil sponge in the deep fryer. But if you like to cool off your wings with blue cheese, the margin between these two chicken standbys narrows by 100 calories.

This salad was a huge hit at my birthday brunch yesterday. Highly recommend giving it a try - especially if you love Olive Garden's salad.

Health.com posted an article of 10 Resolutions to Start Today. They're realistic so they're actually do-able :)

Eat This, Not that -- The Truth about Diet Soda

• Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain. It may have only 5 calories or less per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages - even if they're artificially sweetened - may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert - everything.
• Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need. Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So 1 diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing 5 or 6 cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.
• There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor. Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some researchers claim to have linked it to brain tumors and lymphoma. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.
  

Want to pack the perfect lunch? Here are some tips from Eat This, Not That.

Dependable Drink
This is a high-stakes decision that few parents really think about. Considering that many kids' beverages have nearly as much sugar per ounce as soft drinks, tossing the wrong drink in the lunchbox could translate into 3 to 5 extra pounds by the end of the school year. Drinks should be either zero- or low-cal (water, diet drinks), high in nutrition (milk, 100 percent juice), or both (tea). Here are the best picks, in descending order.

• Water
• Lightly sweetened iced tea, like Honest Tea
• Low-fat milk
• 100 percent juice drinks
• Low-calorie kids' drinks, like Minute Maid Fruit Falls and Tropicana Fruit Squeeze

Sturdy Anchor
Avoid a lunch built on refined carbohydrates, as the intake of quick-burning carbs will leave your kid with an energy and attention deficit for the rest of the day. Focus on protein, fiber, and healthy fats that will help keep your kid satisfied, keep his metabolism running high, and provide some important nutrients, too.

• Turkey or roast beef and Swiss on wheat bread (sans mayo, but loaded with produce, if you can get away with it)
• Sliced ham, cheese, and Triscuits
• PB&J (made on whole wheat bread with a pure-fruit jelly like Smucker's Simply Fruit)
• Thermos of hot soup
• Grilled chicken breast
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Tuna or cubed chicken tossed with light mayo, mustard, celery, and carrot

Sides with Substance
Only 1 in 4 kids consumes the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, so pack a lunch sans produce and you're missing a golden opportunity to slip some much-needed nutrients back into their diets. As long as you have at least 1 piece of fruit or a servings of vegetables, adding a second crunchy snack is fine.

• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Apple slices with peanut butter
• Fruit salad
• Banana, pear, peach, or any other whole fruit
• Olives
• Almonds and raisins (mixed 50-50)
• Triscuits
• Small bag of pretzel sticks or Goldfish pretzels
• Baked! Lay's

Low-Impact Treat
You've gotta give them something they can brag to their friends about, right? A treat should have no trans fats, less than 12 grams of sugar, and no more than 100 calories. If you can eke some extra nutrition out of it, all the better.

• Fruit leather
• Squeezable yogurt
• Low-fat, low-sugar chocolate pudding
• Sugar-free Jell-O
• Rice Krispies Treats
• A square of chocolate
  

Eat This, Not That: The Vending Machine Survival Guide

Bars
Eat This: 100 Grand
Not That: Snickers
Eat This: Take 5
Not That: Butterfinger
Eat This: Kit Kat Bar
Not That: 3 Musketeers
Eat This: Nestle Crunch Bar
Not That: Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar

Crunchy Snacks
Eat This: Handi-Snacks Ritz Crackers 'n Cheez
Not That: Doritos Nacho Cheese Crackers
Eat This: Baked! Lays Potato Chips
Not That: Sun Chips Original
Eat This: Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts
Not That: Corn Nuts Original

Goodies
Eat This: Rice Krispies Treat
Not That: Pop-Tarts Brown Sugar Cinnamon
Eat This: Mini Chips Ahoy!
Not That: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies
Eat This: Welch's Fruit Snacks, Mixed Fruit
Not That: Original Fruit Skittles
Eat This: Kraft Cinnamon Bagel-fuls
Not That: Lance Glazed Honey Bun

Here's an interesting article for the new year that discusses different diet plans and which one is right for you. SHOCKER Weight Watchers wins :)

That Man vs. Food guy needs to come try out this burrito. It looks really good! Can I order it and just share it with like 4 people? yummmmm

The Best and Worst Cheap Eats in America

WENDY'S
Eat This: 5-Piece Crispy Nuggets ($1.29)
Free your chicken from bun and tortilla and you'll cut down on carbohydrates, plus the unencumbered chicken doesn't have an opportunity to get greased over with oily sauces.
Not That: Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($1.29)
Nearly every value menu as a fried chicken sandwich, and in nearly every case, it's the worst possible investment you could make.

KFC
Eat This: Hot Wings Snack Box ($1.99)
This is the leanest snack box KFC has to offer. Just don't ask for any biscuits with it; each one will set you back an extra 180 calories.
Not That: Popcorn Chicken Snack Box ($1.99)
It's simple math: The smaller the chicken pieces, the more surface there is to bread. More breading = more calories.

BURGER KING
Eat This: Whopper Jr. without mayo ($1.00)
The key here is to ask for "no mayo." Otherwise, you can expect an extra 9 grams of fat.
Not That: Spicy Chick'n Crisp Sandwich ($1.00)
The word "crisp" should tip you off that this chicken has been breaded and fried.

TACO BELL
Eat This: Crunchy Taco ($0.89)
You're better off eating 2 crunchy tacos over 1 bean burrito. You'll earn a few extra grams of protein and save yourself the sodium overload.
Not That: Triple Layer Nachos ($0.79)
As a general rule, the less it costs your wallet, the more it costs your health. What you want is a nutritional bargain, not free calories.

McDONALD'S
Eat This: Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait ($1.00)
McDonald's calls it a dessert, but we say it's a perfect treat anytime. Each cup of low-fat yogurt is loaded with calcium and vitamin A and gut-friendly bacteria.
Not That: 2 Baked Hot Apple Pies ($1.00)
McDonald's charges $0.89 for 1 apple pie or $1.00 for 2, which makes it incredibly inexpensive to get 25 percent of your day's calories with hardly a shred of redeeming nutrition.

JACK IN THE BOX
(I don't think we have these in Wisconsin?)
Eat This: Hamburger Deluxe ($1.00)
Unfortunately, Jack's value menu is riddled with trans fat, so with the exception of a side salad, this is the best you can do. But at least there are 14 grams of protein.
Not That: Jumbo Jack ($1.39)
In one handheld meal, Jack's super-size value burger sucks up more than half your day's saturated fat. it's not worth saving a buck.