Refrigerator Raid

The Weekly Tip

Small changes can make a big difference in your waistline!  The Weekly Tip is featured every Sunday at RefrigeratorRaid.com.  Try each tip for just one week.  If it becomes a regular habit in your life, it'll help you lose weight, eat healthy and get fit!

Take a hike!  Visit a nearby local, state or national park for an afternoon of hiking!  It's great exercise and fun for the whole family.  Remember to follow the basic rules of safety, bring plenty of water, and keep the pace brisk.  You'll burn calories as you climb the trails and walk the paths through nature.

Health Tidbits

•    Low GI breakfast may lower weight.  Link 

•    Women with family history of heart disease need to pay more attention.  Link 

•    Any exercise at all may help diabetics.  Link 

•    Wash your hands to prevent disease!  Link 

•    Keep teens safer by eating dinner with them.  Link 

•    More job injuries in overtime workers.  Link 

•    Exercise can reduce depression as much as drugs.  Link 

Protect Your Eyes With The Right Foods

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye condition associated with aging that can affect sight and lead to vision loss.  But new research reported by Reuters suggests that two foods--spinach and eggs--may help protect you against the disease.

So if you want healthy eyes as you age, why not combine those two foods in a tasty meal?  Here are a few examples of dishes--with links to recipes--that include both eggs and spinach:

•    Spinach Pasta Casserole 
•    Crustless Spinach Quiche 
•    Spinach Salad 
•    Spinach and Mushroom Frittata 
•    Spinach Souffle 
•    Creamed Spinach 
•    Spinach, Egg and Pancetta with Linguine 
•    Eggs Florentine 

Pay Yourself To Lose Weight

Want to drop a few pounds?  You may have more success if you pay yourself for weight loss!  According to a recent USA Today article, a recent study found that folks are more likely to lose weight if their bosses offer cash rewards as an incentive.  The research suggests that money does, indeed, motivate--even when it comes to weight loss.

So if you're trying to whittle your waistline, consider implementing a financial incentive strategy to keep you motivated.  Here are some suggestions:

Join up with others!  Find a group of likeminded folks who also want to lose weight, then hold your own "Biggest Loser" contest!  Each participant contributes a set amount of cash--such as $20 or so.  At the end of a specified period of time, the person who loses the most weight, fat or inches gets the money!

Pay yourself per pound!  For every pound you lose, put a certain amount of money--like $1 or $5--in a jar.  Once you reach a "goal weight," permit yourself to spend that money on something you really want, whether it's a new tech gadget or a weekend getaway.

Save up your calories!  Every time you resist the purchase of a high-calorie food--like vending machine snacks or supermarket checkout candy--stash the amount you saved in an envelope.  At the end of every month, use that cash to reward yourself with a small non-food treat, like a manicure or hardback book.

Runway Models Are Still Too Skinny

Two Latin American runway models died last year from complications related to eating disorders.  For a brief period of time, the media was buzzing with talk about the too-thin women who strut down the runways displaying the sharp edges of their bones--shoulders and hips and elbows and ribs--beneath designer clothing.

It seemed that the fashion industry had finally taken notice of the scarily skinny models, many of whom appeared to suffer from various eating disorders.  With the health of the girls at stake, it looked as if designers were ready to accept models with a less emaciated appearance.

But according to a recent Reuters article, New York's recent "Fashion Week" was a parade of stick-thin models.

Apparently, fashion designers prefer to have "walking clothes hangers" on the runway rather than real women.  Aside from health dangers for the models, these thin women feed the low self-esteem of young girls and encourage them to adopt unhealthy eating behaviors.  Check any "pro anorexic" website, and you'll find plenty of pictures of runway models that are designed to "inspire" young women to be thinner.

Are there very skinny people who have trouble gaining weight no matter how much food they eat?  Yes.  But they're the exception, not the norm.  Most of us--even many runway models--must struggle to keep the fat from creeping on.

I think the trend of thin runway models will continue until a famous model or actress from the United States dies from eating disorder complications.  I believe this type of tragedy must happen close to home before there will be enough public pressure to force U.S. fashion designers to change the size of their models.

The Weekly Tip

Small changes can make a big difference in your waistline!  The Weekly Tip is featured every Sunday at RefrigeratorRaid.com.  Try each tip for just one week.  If it becomes a regular habit in your life, it'll help you lose weight, eat healthy and get fit!

Pick your own! Check your local newspaper and yellow pages for "Pick Your Own" produce farms.  The whole family can enjoy an afternoon of picking apples from the trees or pumpkins from the vines.  You'll fill your kitchen with healthy fruits and veggies, plus all that activity burns calories, too!

Health Tidbits

•    New York restaurants don't have to reveal calories in their menu items.  Link 

•    Burger King is showing fewer TV ads that target kids.  Link 

•    Eat vegetarian to protect yourself against prostate cancer.  Link 

•    Kids' blood pressures are rising.  Link 

•    Outdoor exercisers need to watch out for pollution.  Link 

•    FDA considers adding "healthy" symbols to food.  Link 

Do Gas Prices Affect Your Weight?

Most people don't think there's much of a relationship between the price of gas and the extra spare tire around their waistline.  But a recent Reuters article suggests that, indeed, there may be a correlation!

According to the article, it's possible that higher gas prices may actually help people lose weight.  One reason is because folks will walk more and drive less.

Here are just a few ways you can stop burning fuel and start burning calories:

•    Park your car at one end of the strip mall and walk from store to store (instead of driving)
•    Park your car a mile from work and walk the rest of the way
•    Walk to the subway or bus stop instead of driving to your destination
•    Plan errands so you do them all in one day--then use the time you save to walk around your neighborhood

Microwave Popcorn Might Not Be A Healthy Snack

For years dieters have munched on low-fat microwave popcorn.  At just a few hundred calories per bag, it's a dream snack for anyone trying to lose weight.  And not only is it low calorie, but it's also loaded with fiber and tasty, too!

But a recent AP News report suggests that too much microwave popcorn might be dangerous to our health.  The article discusses Wayne Watson, a regular consumer of microwave popcorn.  It's possible that Watson developed "popcorn lung"--a serious lung disease--because of the chemical flavoring in his snack.  There's no definitive evidence to prove that microwave popcorn was the culprit, but the flavoring has already been implicated in lung disease among microwave popcorn factory workers.

So does that mean you should stop eating microwave popcorn?  The jury's still out.  But why not switch to other types of popcorn?

Popcorn made on the stove or in the air-popper has a fresher taste.  Moreover, YOU can control the amount of butter and grease that's used, and YOU know what types of chemicals or ingredients are being added to your snack.

A simple air-popper costs about $20.  But you'll save money over time because bulk popcorn costs less than microwave bags!

Personally, I think air-popped popcorn tastes so much better than the microwave version.  I've always thought microwave popcorn tasted stale and chemical-y.

Which type of popcorn do YOU prefer?

What's The Star Rating Of Your Grocery Basket?

Hannaford Bros, a New England supermarket, may have discovered a way to encourage better nutrition.  The company started giving a "star rating" to the food on their shelves.  And, according to a USA Today article, it's affecting our buying choices.  Apparently, shoppers are more likely to buy foods--especially packaged foods--if it gets a "star rating" for health.

The benefit of this program is that it allows the consumer to quickly make healthy choices in the supermarket.

However, I worry that it actually encourages laziness and a dependence on packaged foods because…

•    The healthiest foods tend to be those that don't come in packages--fruit, veggies, seafood.  Consumers might mistakenly believe that natural apple sauce, for example, is just as healthy as a regular apple.  (Regular apples have more fiber, plus they contain more cancer-fighting antioxidants.)

•    Rather than reading labels and learning about their food, consumers may come to totally rely on these stars for nutrition guidance.  And who's to say that these stars won't one day be influenced by the food manufacturers themselves, rendering the ratings meaningless?

•    The stars also do not ensure a well-rounded diet.  Skim milk and applesauce may be reasonably healthy foods.  But a diet that consists entirely of skim milk and applesauce is far from nutritious.  Again, education and knowledge about nutrition would solve this problem.

Although I applaud Hannaford Bros. for trying to make a difference in the health of their shoppers, I think the star rating system takes too much control away from the consumer.  The smart consumer will educate him/herself about proper nutrition rather than relying on a supermarket to decide which foods are healthiest.