Health for life

Big news this week, as the USDA released their new food guidelines and Mark Bittman started his new occasional editorial series for The New York Times. Also, there’s this … thing? This Sunday? I don’t know. I think some people are eating at it. And there’s some kind of ball.

1) Get Rich Slowly: Fight Rising Prices By Building Your Own Food Bank
This guest post from Donna Freedman advocates – in a new and intelligent way – the stockpiling of food in your home. It’s not so much that you’ll never eat it, but enough to get you through the winter, especially when Mama Nature feels the urge to drop another three feet o’ precipitation on your car.

2) Lifehacker: The Geek’s Guide to Rebooting Your Kitchen
Dig this one-minute video about maximizing kitchen efficiency. Then read the more detailed descriptions, which will undoubtedly help you in your quest to reorganize. Then think about the video again, asking yourself, “How did the cat manage to be in the way at all times?” Then ponder cat ownership.

3) New York Times: A Food Manifesto for the Future
Remember that Bittman piece we spoke of up top? This is it. His proposals for a better food future read wonderfully, but have a long way to go before they’re actualized – if it ever happens. Still, it’s nice that they’re even out there. (Think positive!)

4) Cracked: 6 Subtle Ways You’re Getting Screwed at the Grocery Store
Perhaps not as classic as Cracked’s “6 Animals That Just Don’t Give a F#@k” from November, but very helpful nonetheless. Caution: Beware the saucy language. (Also, the Ides of March.)

5) Food Politics: The 2010 Dietary Guidelines: Enjoy your food, but eat less!
Marion Nestle breaks down the new USDA guidelines in easy-to-understand bulletpoints. (Seriously, they’re really easy to understand. They average about five words each.) Bonus: she’s attached the link to the PDF itself. Browse through if you’re feeling motivated.

6) Zen Habits: The Simplest Diet for Lean Fitness
In which Leo Babauta counsels against extreme changes to your eating and exercise plans. He adjusted his gradually, until it his body was working optimally. Best part? Never felt a thing.

7) xkcd: Learning to Cook
This one-panel comic has been all over the food ‘net this week, but it’s so good, I’m linking to it again. (No picture, so you have to click! MUAHAHAHAHA!)

8) The Kitchn: Halving Casseroles: Tips for Reducing the Size of a Recipe
Oooo … I need to do this ALL THE TIME, since it’s only HOTUS and me at home. (Also, the cat. But he has a pretty strict casserole policy. If I make one, it’s all his, or we get clawed.)

9) New York Times: Mushrooms Fill in the Blanks for the Meat-Free
Ahh … the power of fungus. I’ve known of mushrooms’ curious ability to sate ever since my friend H. grilled me my first big ol’ Portobello in college. Now, the Times is sharing five recipes of its own. (Or, of other people’s. You know how it goes.)

10) Café Johnsonia: S.M.A.R.T. Goals
The SMART system to creating goals means they should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and should have a timeline. (There are also a few other acronyms in there, but the internet only has so much space.) They guidelines are pretty much applicable to anything, but especially achieving bodily health. Mama likes. (P.S. Beware you spell “SMART” right. Otherwise, this.)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Business Week: TV – A Sneaky Part of the Food Pyramid
USA TODAY: Kids Fed Unhealthy Foods Learn to Per Them
USA TODAY: Catch of the Week – 8 Ounces of Fish in Your Diet
Washington Post: Military personnel take extreme measures to meet body-fat and weight rules

AND ALSO

Parks and Recreation: Ron Swanson’s Pyramid of Greatness
INTENSITY: Give 100%. 110% is impossible. Only idiots recommend that.


Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

As promised!

1) Money Saving Mom: How do You Feed Hungry Teenagers Without Breaking Your Budget?
I have never seen a human being eat so much in a single day – or sitting – than my brother did at age 15. Moms, I salute you, and I salute your suggestions in this extensive comment thread. Now, who’s up for half a pizza?

2) Village Voice: The 10 Easy Diet Rules of the Sietsema Weight Loss System
Number six is a little strange, but this common sense approach to dropping a few pounds from the Voice’s food critic is worth a gander.

3) Lifehacker: Master the Art of Low-Effort Cooking
Behold! It’s all your rice cooker, microwave, and hot pot questions, answered! If I had read this in college (heck, if the internet existed like this in college), I would have eaten far fewer chicken fingers.

4) Jezebel: The Hierarchy of Food Needs
Interesting pictorial representation of what humans require from food, moving from rock-bottom basic needs to more extravagant wants. It goes a long way towards explaining hunger and obesity in America: when folks don’t have access to the basics, it’s foolish to think they’re going to give a flying you-know-what about much beyond that.

5) Serious Eats: 6 Ways to Build Your Spicy Food Tolerance
Also effective for iocane powder, for your inevitable battle of wits with Vizzini.

6) The Simple Dollar: 48 Things Frugality Has Taught Me
What a neat read. I’d love to do something like this soon. What about you guys?

7) Lifehacker: Keep Your Eyes on Your Food to Avoid Overeating
More evidence that visual cues are invaluable to gauging the amount of food we consume.

8) Huffington Post: The Myth of Superfoods
There’s more, but here’s the main thrust: “If you want to get the most from your diet, youre much better off focusing on dietary diversity rather than loading up on the top 10 foods some magazine says you should eat more of.”

9) The Kitchn: 9 Essential Things for a Joyful Gluten-Free Life
You guys! Who can’t do the Wheaties! Look at this.

10) stonesoup: 7 Tips for Cooking with Vino
Number 4: “Don’t expect all the alcohol to be removed by the cooking process.” Say wha?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Casual Kitchen: Who Does the Cooking in Your Home? The Results May Surprise You
Via Twitter, Dan asked followers who did the majority of household cooking. 80% of the time, it’s the ladies.

New York Times: For Moister Chicken, Tuck the Flavor Inside
Chicken wraps, in which the chicken is the wrap.

The Simple Dollar: The Challenge of Couponing
Interesting take on coupon sites. Dunno if I agree, but if you have a couponing problem, yo, Trent solves it.

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Sweet readers, hope y’all enjoyed Leigh’s April Fools joke from yesterday. Just to confirm: her 19-year vegetarian streak is still going strong. Not even bacon can break her resolve. God knows I’ve tried.

Have a wonderful, jellybean-filled Easter weekend, and well see you back here Monday. In the meantime, the links!

1) MSN Smart Spending: Store- vs. name-brand cereal - What kids think
Guest poster Len Penzo rounded up the neighborhood kids for a six-cereal taste test. Name brands win by a small margin, but generics put up a good fight. And? The price difference is enough to endorse generics. Off to find some Tiny Frosted Wheat Squares!

2) Jezebel: Jennifer Hudson’s Pitch Perfect Weight Watchers Campaign
Oh, wow. This is nothing but win: the Oscar winner is pitching for WW these days, and nowhere in either of her TV spots does she mention the actual amount of weight she’s lost. Both ads focus entirely on feeling healthier and setting a good example. And I am telling you, I like it. And YOU, and YOU, and YOU, you’re gonna love it (too).

3) Urlesque: The Best Peep Dioramas of All Time
Yo, other sites. I’m really happy for you, and Imma let you finish the rest of your posts, but Urlesque has some of the best peep dioramas of all time! Seriously! They’re really cute! Peep “Up” will just about kill you.

4) To Your Brain, Bacon And Chocolate Are Sort Of Like Cocaine
No surprise: Rats ate crappy food. Rats became obese.
Surprise: Rats’ brain wiring changed in the process, making more food necessary to maintain the same rush. Later, rats ignored electric shock to get to their stashes. Now, people are not rats, but you could extrapolate some pretty stunning conclusions from this.

5) Slashfood: Seafood Buyers Get Scammed
Yikes! Think twice about buying fish from a supermarket, sweet readers. Many are including water weight in their official measures, meaning y’all “may be paying up to $23 a pound for ice.” Mmm … tilapiapops.

6) Casual Kitchen: Eight Myths About Vegetarians and Vegetarian Food
Dan goes mythbusting. And while nothing explodes or is dropped from a tall building, his conclusions are nonetheless informative, riveting, and pro-vegetarianism. It ain’t just for Deadheads anymore.

7) New York Times: Bill on School Lunch is Scaled Back; Abuse of School Lunch Isn’t
Parents, heed the call! It was gonna happen: with all these food orms, the school cafeteria has finally, justifiably come under fire. This post is a nice summary of the issues at hand, and should be perused if your kids don’t pack their lunches.

8) Neatorama: Shove a Stick Up … Your Food?
This post proves the, uh, long unproven: you can slam ANY food on a stick, up to and including: meatballs, pie, bacon, tempura octopus, and scorpions. That last word is not a misprint.

9) The Simple Dollar: Low-Calorie Food and Long Term Costs
Preach, brother.

10) BlogHer: 10 Tips to Help Reduce the Psychological Toll of Childhood Obesity
Depression and being bullied are pretty common among overweight kids. If you know a victim, employing these caring, thoughtful strategies might ease the burden.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

No links here, but Chow’s 4/1 headlines had to be mentioned. A few prime examples:
Knife Skills for All Ages – Little Fingers, Big Blades
Make Your Own Partially Hydrogenated Trans Fat
Man Feels Emasculated by Brie
Guy Fieri Wins Peabody
10 Ways to Go Green That Dont Involve Personal Sacrifice

Culinate: Chicken Soup, Eight Ways
Noodles got you down? There’s life in variety. (And more noodles.)

Jezebel: The First and Last Time We Will Acknowledge Kitchenistas
Some of my more fashionable fellow New Yorkers are turning their cabinets into shoe racks. Gag me with a freakin’ Manolo.

The Kitchn: Pulled Pork Shoulder – Ways to Use it All Week Long
Slow cook it once, pull from it Monday through Friday.

Lifehacker: Consider Maple Syrup as a Healthier Sweetener
It comes from trees! It’s practically a vegetable! Well, maybe not, but it could be a healthy alternative to high fructose corn slop.

NY Daily News: Corporate Accountability International poll shows Ronald McDonald contributes to obesity epidemic
One woman claimed, "He is a deep-fried Joe Camel for the 21st century.” Did not mention, “completely terrifying.”

Scordo: The Scordo Pasta Challenge – Vincenzo Eats His Way Through Every Known Pasta Shape
In which the author attempts to eat all 158 (scratch that - 310) kinds of pasta before 2014. Genius or insanity? Only time and the search for pagliaioni will tell.

Serious Eats: Kitchen Hack - Use Your Toaster to Heat Taco Shells
This is brilliant. What else can you stick in there? (Note: not forks.)

AND ALSO

Snippet & Ink Inspiration Boards
Um ... so, Im, uh, getting married this year, and I, uh, spent about 47 hours browsing this cavalcade of awesome. Ladies, you will not be disappointed. You either, dudes.


Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Let the breakthroughs begin!

Ask a typical physician to describe some of the most important advances in the history of modern medicine, and her list will likely include vaccines, anesthesia, antisepsis, antibiotics, imaging, obstetrical safety, contraception, early intervention trauma care, the fight against tobacco, heart-lung bypass, transplantation, and endoscopic surgery.  The public health-minded may also include clean water, food safety, motor vehicle safety and public water fluoridation.

Many of these successes caught the imagination of patients and doctors alike, which partially accounts for our collective societal hunger for more “big bang” medical advances. Its theore no wonder that there was early credit for the "blank shots" of genomics, the electronic record and evidence-based medicine.
  
The Disease Management Care Blog doesn’t doubt that some breakthroughs (novel anti-cancer chemotherapies, the extension of human life-spans or a cure for spousal-induced DMCB deafness) are waiting just around the corner. These surprises are probably lurking outside the academic-media spotlight involving underfunded and contrarian scientists.  They will come from unexpected directions.

Yet, that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been momentous changes in health care. There have been and, whats more, theyve escaped the attention of the medical-industrial complex.  Thats because they have more to do with how health care delivery, thanks to the twin forces of the internet and consumerism, is being radically reorganized. 

Think of it as the Decade of Healthcare Redesign.  Ten elements of this Redesign include:

1. Downjobbing: many tasks that were restricted to highly trained specialists are increasingly being performed by non-physicians, patients and technology.

2. Social Media: patients can not only access the internet for information, they can use the internet to pool input and solicit personalized advice from like-minded individuals

3. Democratized Artificial Intelligence: In addition to social media, we’re on the verge of being able to remotely access AI to generate a reasonably accurate list of diagnoses, suggested tests and recommended do-it-yourself treatments that include the option of doing nothing.

4. The Decline of the Credential: while the academic-industrial complex will continue to churn out superbly trained physicians, massive on-line education will enable persons to gain a surprising level of lay-expertise.

5. Predictive Data Mining with Risk Stratification: we can’t afford to treat every person the same way. Analytics are already enabling individuals to understand which of their individual risk factors have the best ratio of actionability and pay-off.

6. Big Data and Concurrent Research: Going from analog/unique to digital/tabulated means that we can pool data and find correlations that lead to medical insight as fast as the fastest server and processor can crank the numbers.

7. Team-Based Care: Its impact at the bedside, in the operating room and in the primary care clinic is greater than the sum of its parts.

8. Remote Robotic Surgery: think of the World’s Best Surgeon being able to use ultra-fast satellite communication technology to wield surgical instruments from the other side of the country. Just so long as there’s in-person back-up near-by, wouldn’t you want that?

9. Medical Tourism: As the rest of the globe imports the best that western medicine has to offer minus the United States’ overhead costs, the cost of overseas air travel is no longer be an impediment to patients or insurers.

10 Big Government: For better or worse, Washington DC has its nose under the health care tent. In the unlikely event that Obamacare gets repealed, top-down diktats will forever be a part of the landscape.  Get used to it.

Many thoughts and well-wishes going out to Japan today. To my knowledge, the Red Cross is not taking donations yet (11am EST), but are staying abreast of the situation. Check their updates here.

And with that, the links.

1) The Awl: How to Split a Check at a Restaurant
This one was all over the interwebs this week, since writer Neel Shah offered up somewhat controversial advice on footing a dining bill. He says if you’re under 25, you pay for what you ate. If you’re over 25, you split the check equally. Naturally, this isn’t fair to non-drinkers, but there’s an alluring simplicity to having everyone cough up the same amount of dough. Opinions?

2) Food Politics: The perils of food nutrition and resesarch
Marion Nestle explains how she discerns good food research from bad food research, and maybe, how we should, too. She mentions three criteria: biological plausibility, factoring for other influences, and the study’s sponsor.

Wiki Commons my100cans

3) USA Today: Is it healthy to drink diet soft drinks? The answer is fizzy.
That study Nestle was specifically erring to? Is this one. Theres an observational link between diet soda and an increase in risk for strokes and heart attacks. Is it genuine? Im not sure, but will tell you after I finish this lovely Diet Pepsi.

4) New York Times: Creamy, Brothy, Earthy, Hearty
Mark Bittman gives up 12 vegetable soup recipes, that honestly, you can extrapolate into an infinite number of slightly different dishes with the mere addition or subtraction of a few select ingredients. Also, I wonder if he based the title on The Who’s Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy album. Also, derf.

5) Get Rich Slowly: The GRS Garden Project – February 2011
JD and his wife Kris are starting their yearly garden project up again. If you ever wanted to see how lucrative growing your own produce can be, both in a fiduciary and flava sense, this monthly series is a must-read

6) Walletpop: Top 10 Fruits With the Most Nutritional Bang for Your Buck
It’s a quick list, but as those things go, it’s a good one.

7) stonesoup: 3 uber-simple lunches you can make at work in less time than it takes to go out and buy something
Think you don’t have time to cook yourself a delicious meal? Not so fast, bucko.

8) Money Saving Mom: What do you do when you don’t feel like being frugal anymore?
Short, to-the-point three-step post about what to do when you feel like taking a break. Great advice within.

9) New York Times: In New Food Culture, a Young Generation of Farmers Emerges
(And they’re all really, really hot.) Agriculture is the new culture, period, as many independent croppers are youths in their ‘20s and ‘30s. The downside: money. As in, there ain’t none.

10) Village Voice: Is it Okay to Eat My Stinky Food in the Office?
Ack. No! Okay, maybe. But it depends on the stink. Don’t go cracking open a durian by my desk, or I will staple you to a manila folder.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Consumerist: Grow Your Own Everlasting Salad
Gardening tips, great title.

New York Magazine: Best of Food Issue
And the winner is: all of us.

Time Magazine: A Food Fight in the Budget Debate
More on the budget cuts, and how they could affect federal food departments.

AND ALSO

Paula Deen Riding Things
Scratch that. The winner is the internet. If you havent seen this site yet ... Paula herself approves.


Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

You know what, sweet readers? I’m tired of doing the same ol’ link roundup each Friday. So, this week, I thought I’d change it up and present you with my top ten very favorite things in life. (It’s kind of like Oprah’s list, except no one gets a Volvo in the end.) For special fun, let’s count ‘em down backwards. Hope you enjoy!

10) Golf
Is it a sport? A game? A hobby? A long walk over interminable greens taken by doughy white guys (and Tiger Woods) for eons at a time, narrated by men who are actually whispering, so as not to awaken the seniors who have mistaken the course for their retirement home living rooms? Only god and my dad know for sure.

9) The finale of Roseanne
(SPOILER ALERT) C’mon. You know Dan should have died in Season 5, anyway.

8) The country of Andorra
Once upon a time, I rode with family and friends through terrifying mountains and aneurysm-inducing switchbacks to reach this fine nation, one of the smallest in the world, only to find it’s a big mall for Vespa helmets. But the fine selection of Andorran Sausages (bologna), procured at a rustic local eatery (old diner), consumed next to an awe-inducing collection of European athletes (Luxembourg’s Winter Olympic team – not kidding) made up for the scooter ephemera.

7) Hootie and the Blowfish
Who didn’t hear “Only Want to Be With You” all through high school – in cars and restaurants, Starbucks bathrooms and Girl Scout potlucks, Buddhist retreats and Catholic mausoleums? I can only assume its demanding melody and complex lyrics (“I only wanna be with you / I only wanna be with you”) still resound for young Republicans even today.

6) Sandra Lee’s Baked Potato Ice Cream Recipe
It’s ice cream, dressed like a potato! Think of it like pizza in a lima bean suit, or Jon Hamm wearing a Kim Jong-il costume, or something that you love made to look homely and kind of melting. Sweet!

5) The subway
I wouldn’t trade any of it, whether it’s the surprisingly powerful 94-year-old woman elbowing me on to the third rail, the Williamsburg manorexic ironically wearing the same eyeglasses I was forced to don all through elementary school, or the seemingly button-down businessman clipping his nails over a screeching pack of Park Slope seventh graders all named Julian. I mean it.

4) Armando Benitez
Being a Mets fan would be great if it wasn’t for the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings of every ballgame. Fortunately, we’ve always had guys like ‘90s reliever Armando Benitez, who made sure that every pitch was as exciting as it could possibly be. Sometimes, you could actually see him thinking: Up by 12 runs against the Yankees? Let’s make this into nail-biter!

3) The Prince of Tides novel by Pat Conroy
This book makes me wish I didn’t have emotions.

2) Sinusitis
It’s really neat, that with all the junk packing our skulls – brains and muscles and arteries and whatnot – that our maker left a few holes full o’ nothin’. And it’s even neater that sometimes, those holes can get filled with stuff. And that stuff can be any color of the rainbow, and as soft and squishy or as elastic and bizarrely putty-like as you’ve ever seen. We’re like walking art projects, really, just waiting to be forcefully expectorated on to the nearest Kleenex canvas of life.

1) Mayonnaise
Wow! Mayonnaise is so …

I mean, I love the way it …

Um, so smooshy and…

Okay, you know this is an April Fool’s thing now. I can’t even pretend. Happy Friday, everybody!

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Lots of good little stories today, along with a chicken saga of near-epic proportions. It will beak you out.

1) Politics of the Plate: Co-opting an Unsustainable Food System - Student-Run Collectives Replace Junk Food Franchises on College Campuses
With a headline like that, this had to be about UC Berkeley. Fortunately, those crazy hippie kids have the smarts and drive to back up their freewheeling ideas, like a healthy food co-op to replace a planned fast food chain. Hooray for the future! Its looking bright, and somewhat jam bandy.

2) New York Times: Chicken Vanishes, Heartbreak Ensues
A diverse Brooklyn neighborhood comes together for a stolen chicken. Its like Steel Magnolias, minus the accents, characters, armadillo cake, and diabetic shock, but with a chicken.

3) Donna Freedman: I Have “Frugal Fatigue” Fatigue
Sing it, sister. To paraphrase Livia Soprano, “Oh, poor us.” (Um. I don’t know if it’s possible to convey Nancy Marchand’s vocal inflections in three words of text, but trust me: She said that really, really sarcastically.)

4) The Simple Dollar: Does Cutting Meat, Eggs, or Dairy from Your Diet Save Money?
Yes, but it also costs you time. Are you willing to sacrifice one for the other? Trent explores the Triangle of Compromise.

5) Money Saving Mom: Free Downloadable Recipe Cost Calculator Spreadsheet
Man, this could be really, really handy. Check it out, and if you’re having problems with the Excel Doc, check the comments for troubleshooting tips.

6) Wall Street Journal: Fiber-Rich Diet Linked to Longevity
It begins with this: “People who consumed higher amounts of fiber, particularly from grains, had a significantly lower risk of dying over a nine-year period compared to those who consumed lower amounts of fiber,” and just gets better. Best pack the quinoa.

7) Obama Foodorama: One Study Finds that Posted Calories Don’t Keep Kids From Choosing Junky Fast Food
Call me crazy, but could it be because they’re children? Who have almost no conception what a calorie, gram of fat, or milligram of protein could possibly mean in the grand scheme of their diets? Great. Now I feel like Andy Rooney.

8) More: The 5 Nutrients You’re Not Getting.
A breakdown of potassium, fiber, calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, plus where to find ‘em

9) Frugal Dad: A Grocery Shopping Hiatus – How Long Can You Eat from the Pantry?
Guest poster Laurel Gray wants to see how many days she can go without hitting the supermarket. She’ll write back with updates. I’m guessing 22, before the lack of dairy and fresh produce force her into a Kroger. Anyone taking bets?

10) 344 Pounds: Ten Small Benefits of Losing 100 Pounds
You knew that clothes would fit better, and walking up stairs wouldn’t be as difficult, but how about less sweating, better posture, and the ability to sit in restaurant booths? Quick and interesting.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Lifehacker: The Best Foods and Strategies for Eating at Your Computer
Not that I do this. Hey! Look over there! It’s zombie Cary Grant! (*runs away*) (*sits at computer*) (*eats*)

New York Times: For Actresses, is Appetite a Big Part of the Show?
You know how the skinniest of Hollywood ladies always have to front, like theyre constantly scarfing mile-high stacks of pancakes for breakfast? Why is that?

The Simple Dollar: Inspiring Others to Financial Responsibility Without Being Preachy
There’s a fine line between clever and annoying.

AND ALSO

Urban Edge: Honest Real Estate Broker?
This is a shockingly accurate portrait of apartment hunting in New York City.



Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

1) BBC: UN Holds Key Meeting on Food Prices
Today in Rome, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is gathering, “sparked by global fears about high food prices.” Among their concerns: the Russian export ban due to recent drought, riots in Mozambique over high grain prices, and the continually rising price of grain-currently at a two-year high.

2) Food Politics: A Decent Food Safety System: Will we ever get one?
Marion Nestle explains how politics shapes and hinders U.S. food policy, and wonders if we will ever get it right.

3) MOMA: Counter Space: Design + the Modern Kitchen
A new exhibit at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art explores how the kitchen influences politics, design, pop culture and vice versa. The images curated here are captivating, even on the website. I can’t wait to see them in person.

4) Jezebel: Why Should Home Cooking Be Women’s Work?
Jezebel takes a reasoned and level pick axe to the arguments in a piece that calls for a return to “feminine cookery.” In the Daily Mail op-ed, writer Rose Prince blames feminism for obesity, fast food, and Gordon Ramsey. Hey, now that’s going one step too far.

5) NYT: Our Towns — Fresh Vegetables Where Fast Food Reigns
A low-income Long Island community embraces its new farmers’ market, made possible by by local revitalization and sustainable agriculture groups. “‘There seems to be this perception that low-income communities don’t have the same needs and interests when it comes to food, and we do,’ said Clara Gillens-Eromosele, one of the leaders of the Roosevelt revitalization group. ‘We’re not looking to have more fast food in our community. We’re looking to educate people about alternatives.’”

6) Boing Boing: Four Reasons Why High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Probably Not the Devil
Balanced take on why HFCS is no reason for dietary panic. But the over consumption of sweeteners could, in fact, be...Satan.

7) FDA Won’t Require GM Label on Salmon
Salmon: the new mystery meat.

8) Slate: How Can the FDA Tell Whether GMO Fish Are Safe?
It’s all just fish parts, right?

9) Serious Eats: A Preliminary Canned Tomato Taste Test
Bloggers from Serious Eats’ pizza-focused sister Slice tasted a bunch of tomatoes, ranging in price from $0.99 to $12.39, and rated them in categories, like sweetness, acidity, texture, and color. The results: spendy does not equal a good tomato.

10) BBC: Why Do So Many People Like Toast?
A study by Cardiff University found that when we smell the chemicals released as the sugars in the bread caramelize, our memories of childhood are triggered. Nutshell: toast reminds us of home.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
HuffPo: 6 Biggest Food Myths, Busted
From eggs to microwaves, Eating Well’s Joyce Hendley challenges some of the conventional wisdom about food and cooking.

How Stuff Works: 10 Most Common Fast Food Ingredients
This list of the most ubiquitous fast food components contains many of the usual suspects (sodium and HFCS) and a few rogue entries I did not expect.

Gothamist: Sandwich Shop Turns Health Dept. “B” Lemon into Lemongrade
It’s all in how you spin it!

Slashfood: World Record Mac’N’Cheese
I’m bringing the world’s biggest spoon!

The Kitchn: 6 Ways to Tidy Your Pantry in 10 Minutes
Another awesome list of tips from the The Kitchn.

AND ALSO
Craftzine: Maker Faire CRAFT Demo Profile: Tugboat Printshop



If you’re a DIY geek in the New York City area this weekend, you must check out the World Maker Faire, hosted by Make Magazine at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY. There will be demos, exhibits, and amazing wonders of the old-school and high-tech to behold.

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Great googly moogly, the links are numerous this week. Meaning theres like, a lot of em. Let’s get to it.

1) Jezebel: Can Feminists Wear Aprons?
The recent apron trend (no, seriously) becomes a jumping off point for an honest discussion about cooking and feminism. First and second wavers fought hard to provide work options beyond the home. Many third wavers are finding big-time fulfillment in whats traditionally considered domestic work, like mastering the kitchen. Both, of course, have tremendous value. Maybe feminisms greatest accomplishment is that we have a choice now. (Or we can do both. Why not?)

2) Slate: The Pioneer Woman vs. Thomas Keller
Author Jennifer Reese prepped two fried chicken dinners for her family. The first used recipes from Ree Drummond’s homey Pioneer Woman Cookbook, while the second meal came from Thomas Keller’s upscale Ad Hoc at Home. The verdict: split, leaning towards the cattle rancher. Read on to learn why.

3) Washington Post: Will work for food? Try Food Corps
Starting in 2011, Food Corps (an AmeriCorps program) will seek to place one-year volunteers in schools across America to, “help school food service directors source local food for cafeterias as well as develop healthful-eating curricula that might include school gardens, visits to farms and farmers markets for parents and students.” This … is … genius.

4) The Simple Dollar: Finding Your Own Value Balance at the Grocery Store
This solid posts come down to two key ideas vital to smart food shopping:
-Buy what works for you.
-Do the research when its important to you.

5) The Kitchn
10 Ways to Eat Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)
17 Incredible Recipes for the Slow Cooker
Some of Our Favorite Kitchens From Small Cool 2010
Weeknight Dinners – What Throws You Off Your Game?
Another week, another glowing lineup of informative, pretty posts from The Kitchn. The Small, Cool Contest is a highlight.

6) Culinate: Family Food Perences
On meal planning for a picky family with various intolerances and leanings (gluten-free, lactose intolerant, vegetarian, etc.). Yowza. Tips included, thank goodness.

7) ABC News: School Lunches Pose National Security Threat
Whoa! According to a group of retired military leaders, “Childhood obesity is jeopardizing military recruitment … leaving 27 percent of young adults ‘too fat to fight.’” It’s the “number one reason that young Americans are unfit to enlist.” And they’re blaming school lunches as part of the cause.

8) The Economist: Elmo/Broccoli
In a recent study, given a choice between broccoli and chocolate, 78% of kids went with chocolate. But when researchers slapped an Elmo sticker on the broccoli, the split became an even 50/50. Moral of the story: Must hire Muppet to endorse this blog.

9) Culinate: Locavore basics - Eight budget tips for going local
Neat, quick rundown of the local eating strategies we’ve discussed the last few days. Read it and take notes. With a #2 pencil. Because they’re fun.

10) New York Times: Newcomer to Food Television Tries for a Little Grit
Food Network’s spinoff Cooking Channel is aiming for a hipper feel, increased culinary focus, and more diverse lineup. Will it work? Probably, I think. Will it be less … loud? God, I hope so.


HONORABLE MENTION

BBC: Jamie Oliver to spend own millions on school meals
The Naked Chef plays it like he lays it. Or something.

Get Rich Slowly
2011 Death and Taxes Poster Now Available
Why I No Longer Track Every Penny I Spend
A pair of good posts from JD. The first, in fine graphic form, will tell you exactly where your taxes go. The second will show you how sweet life can be when you have your own spending under control.

Money Saving Mom: Why it Pays to Watch the Register
I’ve become one of those ladies who speak up when I’m overcharged for food. Don’t hate. Liberate (your wallet).

Natalie Jost: Paint Old Baking Pans for Storage
Cute!

New York Times: The Tables Turn
Hey! Restaurants are doing okay again. That was a close one.

Serious Eats: How to Sharpen a Knife
FYI, do not do it with your teeth. The sound is horrifying, and people will assume you’re an extra for Deadwood.

The Simple Dollar: Does Re-Washing Ziploc Bags Really Save You Money?
Not really. But it does briefly alleviate my crushing guilt.

Wise Bread: 12 Cheap Pineapple Recipes
I’m including this post because I always buy pineapples, thinking, “Oh, man! There’s so much I want to do with this pineapple!” And then we end up eating half of it raw the day before it goes bad.

Words to Eat By: Back in the (Weight Watchers) Saddle, Again
Debbie’s back on the WW wagon, and I can relate. It’s something that should be emphasized more by weight loss programs: maintenance requires constant vigilance, probs for life.


BLOG CARNIVALS

We made two this week!

• Carnival of Personal Finance #253: Punch Debt in the Face
• Festival of Frugality #226: Beating Broke

AND ALSO

Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock and Roll Side
You guys? Though I’m not a mommy blogger (mogger?), can I recommend this CD to all the parents out there? It’s smart, catchy, super fun, and totally un-annoying, as kiddie music tends to be. (Rocks, too.) “Cow Planet” has been stuck in my head for two weeks now, and “Penguin Lament” is downright hilarious. (P.S. It’s toddler-approved! My nephews-to-be freaking love it.)


 [Picture of Jessie Steele apron from Kitchen Critic.]

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

The links are back, yo! Its a new year, and to go with it, we have some new sources, along with proven favorites like Marion Nestle and the minimalist, uh ... (nothing rhymes with "minimalist," except maybe "Stephanie Zimbalist," but if anything did, I would put it here) ... always great Mark Bittman.

1) Grandparents.com: Recipe Section
I maintain this now! It’s my job! So, I’m posting it as #1. You might exclaim, “Why, she’s gone mad with power. MAD, I tell you.” And in reply to that, I cackle maniacally, shake my fist at the heavens and reply, “Yup.” (P.S. As you would expect with a grandparentally-oriented website, the cookie section is particularly solid. Not my doing, but my predecessor’s.)

2) New York Times: How the Microplane Grater Escaped the Garage
Loved this neat piece about microplane creator Chris Grace, who was just trying to file some wood. It’s like the penicillin legend, only delicious and less yogurty.

3) Food Politics: Predictions – National Nutrition Issues for 2011
Marion Nestle gazes deeply into her crystal cantaloupe and comes up with eight food policy issues (see: the title of her blog) that will be on everyone’s lips in the coming year. Most prominent: safety and school eats.

4) 344 Pounds: Stop Making Excuses for Weight Problems
Somewhat bluntly worded? Yep. Somewhat totally true? Absolutely. And it’s advice it’s about time I took. (Why, hello, post-honeymoon/holidays precipitous weight gain! I missed you so.)

5) Jezebel: The Problem With the Special K Challenge
In a nutshell: It’s nutritionally and calorically no good. But there’s a much more extensive, detailed explanation inside.

From Flickrs megleo

6) Washington Post: Consumer Reports Insights - Breakfast is important; tips for making it nutritious
Old news, reconfirmed, but with lots of interesting, helpful, and practical solutions to cramming breakfast into a busy day.

7) The Kitchn: 10 Inspiring Blogs on Vegan Food & Cooking
You! Meatless, eggless, and cheeseless people! Heed my call! Read this and weep no longer, for your diets have been saved from a eon of snow peas and cold spaghetti.

8) Food Network: Paula Deen’s English Peas Recipe
Come for Paula’s recipe. (Butter + peas = buttered peas.) Stay for the incredible comments. (Skip the first three. They’re a tad bitter.)

9) Bittman: Muffins, Infinite Ways
Not only is this a solid master recipe for all sorts of muffin-oriented treats, but “Muffins, Infinite Ways” will be the name of my first album.

10) Serious Eats: 5 Veggie-Packed Frittatas
Not only is this a solid post about healthy variations on the standard egg dish, but “5 Veggie-Packed Frittatas” will be the name of my first child.

AND ALSO

Saturday Night Live: Amusement Park Ride
Dunno if y’all saw SNL this past weekend, but Jim Carrey hosted, and about 2/3rds of the way through the show, they aired this sketch. It’s about a young couple haunted by animatronic figures when an amusement park ride breaks down. And it’s awesome. I forgot what a phenomenal physical comedian Jim Carrey is. Look at his face. LOOK AT HIS FACE!



Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Sweet readers! I would have submitted this sooner, by my cat has somewhat forcibly taken up permanent residence on my bosom. What’s the protocol for this?

That aside, we have a solid, fairly diverse link roundup today, including a late #1 entry that might just be the greatest thing in the world. Besides “Fart Barfunkel,” I mean.

1) The Kitchn/Just JENN: Look! A Star Wars Theme Party
If the Death Star watermelon doesn’t reel you in, the Han-Solo-trapped-in-carbonite-jello will snag you for sure. Don’t miss the Leia cupcakes or the Sarnac Dip, either, if you know what’s good for you, Luke. Er, I mean, reader.

2) Eating Rules: October Unprocessed
Blogger Andrew Wilder is going 31 days without eating an iota of processed food. How he’ll handle Halloween, I have no idea (Et tu, mini Snickers?), but I like his moxy. And his updates. He’s already a week in, but feel free to join him in the challenge.

3) Jezebel: Healthy Living Blogs Maybe Not So Healthy
Are food and exercise blogs helping others live healthier, or encouraging extreme eating and exercising? A recent Marie Claire article came out firmly in the latter’s corner, but Jez makes good points on both sides. Promoting disordered diets is something we really try to steer clear of here, while still acknowledging that occasionally, folks might want to drop a few pounds. I hope that’s always clear. If not – crap – please let me know a.s.a.p.

4) Washington Post: Public Health Advocates Worry that Dietary Advice Will Get Lost in Translation
The government is revising its dietary guidelines this year, and many are looking at the new advice as a trial, testing whether the Obama administration is serious about the Let’s Move initiative. Because in the past? The feds have kinda been talking out the sides of their mouths on this one.

5) New York Times: After Growth, Fortunes Turn for Monsanto
Holy moly. Monsanto’s stock dropped 42% since January. Not only are farmers growing fewer specific crops than the company projected, but it’s being outpriced by Chinese competitors and out-PR’d by everybody else. Yowza.

6) HuffPo/Eating well: Food Labels That Lie
Are “natural,” “organic,” and “local” all they’re cracked up to be? You can probably guess the answer, but this piece includes some good explanations as to why.

7) SF Gate: Whole wheat, but not the whole story
Wondering how to choose the best supermarket bread? From Marion Nestle: “Inspect labels to make sure the first ingredient is whole grain, the total number of ingredients is small and devoid of unpronounceable chemicals, the fiber content is at least 2 grams per 1-ounce serving and the label says 100 percent whole wheat.” Word.

8) ReadyMade: Stop Wasting Food
We’ve seen these kind of food saving tips before, but never all together or put so well. Scroll down a little to find ‘em.

9) Money Saving Mom: Are Food Savers Worth the Money?
Speaking of saving food ... the bags are pricey, but if you eat a lot of meat and/or hunt for your dinner,  readers say the vacu-pack machine is well worth the investment.

10) Culinate: The Beauty of the Immersion Blender
A.K.A., Ode to the KitchenAid Stick. Husband Man and I received one for our shower, and it has saved my sanity, not to mention quite a few sleeveless tees.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Consumerist: Hide Lunch from Office Thieves in Healthy Meal Boxes
Want co-workers to lay off your PB&J? Stick it in a Lean Cuisine box. Oddly, people tend not to touch those.

Coupon Sherpa: 20 Things it’s Cheaper to Buy Than DIY
Computers are a given, but homemade olive oil might also be a tad more time-consuming than necessary.

Hulu: Good Eats
Full episodes for free! Go see!

Neatorama: Bacon Costume
Unpictured: His wife, Mrs. Eggs.

Serious Eats: Paula Deen to Launch Line of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Wait. Is butter a vegetable?

The Stir: Anatomy of a Chicken Nugget
No! Why? Ack. Ew ew ew ew ew.

Surviving and Thriving: Why you need renter’s insurance
My friend D’s apartment was broken into a few years ago. The thief took his laptop, his comb, and his copy of Cool as Ice. (No joke.) If you treasure your own copy of Vanilla Ices acting debut, renters insurance is the way to go.

AND ALSO

The Oatmeal: Working from Home
Yep. This about sums it up. Click on the link to see the rest of the comic.


Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

It’s a rough week for working moms, a good week for buying food cheaply, and a terrible week for heavy wine bottles and weak shelving. Read on for the magic.

1) Wise Bread
5 Things Other Grocery Stores Should Steal from Trader Joes
Best Money Tips - Eat Healthy for Under $5 a Day
Best Money Tips – How to Get Groceries for Free
Sex Up Your Sandwich – Ideas for Budget Conscious Brown Baggers
Not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR way relevant posts from the fine folks at Wise Bread this week. Read ‘em and … well, don’t weep. But enjoy them thoroughly. That’s what they’re there for.

2) The Kitchn
How to Cook Moist and Tender Chicken Breasts
How to Start a Food Storage Plan on $10 a Week
On Cooking Through Your Pantry – Using Up Odds and Ends
Coming in a close second, this trio of super-useful Kitchn posts.

3) Culinate: Eating like monsters - 12 ways to get kids to eat well
Ooo! Dig these creative suggestions for feeding kids, which are so much more constructive than, “Puree vegetables and stick em in tastier foods.” I want to live in Laura Grace Weldon’s house at dinnertime.

4) Squawkfox: 1 Chicken, 22 Meals, 49 Bucks
Loved this post, which uses a humanely-raised, all-natural chicken for an experiment similar to CHG’s 1 Chicken, 17 Healthy Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo. It can be done healthfully! Includes pictures and a grocery list.

5) Serious Eats: New USDA Report Says You Can Eat Right for $2.50 a Day
While it’s definitely possible to get enough USDA-recommended produce for $2.50 per day, author Leah Douglas raises good points on some missing details in the recent nutrition report. One thing is clear: While progress is being made on what the government considers to be a healthy diet, there’s still a ways to go.

6) Hunter Angler Gardener Cook: Why Salt Matters
Excellent tutorial on artisanal salts accompanied by gorgeous pictures of the same. Read it, then print it out and staple it to your wall.

7) Businessweek: The More Mom Works, the Heavier Her Kids Get - Study
Let’s ignore the fact that men weren’t mentioned until the very end of this article, as if they have little obligation to feed their children. (ANGRY LATENT FEMINIST HULK SMASH!) Instead, we will say that the weight gain coincided with hours worked, as opposed to employment itself, which is somewhat comforting. I guess.

8) Time: Toddlers Junk Food Diet May Lead to Lower IQ
Bad foods consumed at age three can have an adverse effect on intelligence by age eight, a new study finds. The IQ drop isn’t gigantic, but why take the risk? After all, an apple a day keeps your brain ... uh ... very ... yay?

9) Consumerist: Should Restaurant Refund Me For Edamame Appetizer With Free Giant Worm?
Yes. But wait! There’s more!

10) Epicurious: Budget Boosters – 35 Ways to Stretch Your Food Dollars
There is a slim possibility I’ve linked to this before, but I can’t seem to find it, and it’s good enough to deserve a double-mention anyway. It’s a great primer and not a slideshow, so – bonus.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kalyn’s Kitchen: Five Fun Things on a Friday and My Family Rocks
Love the first craft idea.

Salon: Charting anti-obesity progress
A look back at the year in MObama’s food initiatives.

Salon: Regrets of a Stay-at-Home Mom
Well, this doesn’t terrify me at all. (*enrolls in medical school*)

AND ALSO

Urlesque: Watch 100 Wine Bottles Crash to the Floor
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!



Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

This week, its a little bit of childhood obesity burnout, a very good Mothers Day question, and a video you will love to pieces.

1) Chow: But Mom...
I would argue that Mother’s Day might not be the time to expand your mom’s palate, but this is still a fabulous question: How do you pry your parents away from the same ol’ restaurants?

2) Culinate: Culling in the Kitchen - Does He Really Need Six Loaf Pans?
In which an ardent cook resolves to chuck the extras in his kitchen, and finds them somewhat intimidating. Hey, we’ve all bin there. Except me, I mean. (*Runs to conceal all seven of her French White Corningware casserole dishes*)

3) The Kitchn: Best Recipes for a Healthy Potluck
Potlucks and healthy recipes. This is my kind of comment thread.

4) Washington Post: Why Being a Foodie Isnt Elitist
Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser pens a longish essay on why giving a flying you-know-what about food shouldnt be looked upon as fascist. (Yes, fascist. The guys been called a fascist for daring to suggest that our meat supply may not be the safest.) Caring is a good thing.

5) Food Politics: Food Stamps and Sodas
Should folks on SNAP be able to buy Pepsi with their food stamps? Some argue that not “allowing” them would be “insensitive and condescending,” but after caul consideration, Marion Nestle is for it. I dont know that I agree, but her arguments are worth reading. (Also: I know we link to Nestle every week, but no one is more thoughtful or informative when it comes to American food and eating.)

6) Wall Street Journal: Why Wood Pulp Makes Ice Cream Creamier
You know cellulose, that powdery stuff that coats grated cheese and can be found in Coffeemate (not to mention several bajillion other food products)? It’s apparently made of wood. Harmless wood, but … wood. You know how, sometimes when you’ve eaten a food for a really long time, and after years and years you find out that food is actually made of bark and roots? That is what is happening to all of us right now.

7) Time: The Sad State of American Kids Food Environments
Lots of stats. They’re bad. (Ack. All this awareness of childhood obesity is wonderful, but to be honest, Im kinda reaching overload.)

8) US News: Family Meals Keep Kids Slimmer, Healthier, Study Finds
No surprise. If you havent checked out Laurie Davids The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time,which makes for excellent reading material as well as a neato cookbook, do so. Its all about this kind of stuff.

9) The Kitchn: Desserts with Three Ingredients or Less
10 ingredients, 11 totally different desserts. Neat little rundown.

9) Money Saving Mom: 3 Ways to Cut the Meat Without Decreasing Nutrition
Quick, useful, and in two cases, heretofore unknown by me, tips for reducing your meat intake.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Reuters: Do Video Games Make Kids Eat More?
With apologies to Portal 2, I will give you ten dollars if you answer correctly. (Note: I will not actually give you ten dollars.)

USA Today: Shifting Focus a Lot at Work Could Wreck Your Diet
Um … what if your job IS shifting your focus? Yuh-oh.

AND ALSO

Story Corps: No More Questions
Story Corps mission "is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives." Those stories are occasionally animated, like that of Kay Wang, an 87-year-old grandma who passed away just a few weeks after telling her tale. Its ... awesome. Happy Moms Day, everybody.


No More Questions! from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Even on the 100th anniversary of RMS Titanics sinking, the Disease Management Care Blog cant make it through a single sitting of either A Night to Remember or James Camerons Titanic.  It only cares to watch the films last half hour.

That doesnt mean that the DMCB cant use the tragedy as a Medicare metaphor. 

To wit:

1.  We still believe the guarantee that Medicare is unsinkably going to meet its obligations.

2.  The threat is a huge fiscal iceberg that we know exists. It will not be seen until it is too late.

3.  Medicares design experts were likewise stunningly wrong.

4  The regulations, made years if not decades ago, remain hopelessly obsolete.

5. The twin unpredictable Black Swan mirages and tides of a) "savings" and b) technology can only be recognized in retrospect.  And there are other "unknowns" out there.

6.  Those presently in charge can be wrong about remaining calm: if the ship is listing, its time to panic and run for the lifeboats.

7. Once disaster strikes, ill-conceived actions can make things worse.

8.  Whether its news or movie media, much of what we think we know is a littered with historical inaccuracies.

9.  If the ship goes down, the lowest socioeconomic classes will suffer the most.

10. When we deal honestly with the lessons of a disaster, we can eventually build a better and safer system.

It’s been good times for cheap and community-based edibles these last seven days, folks. Not only did New York Times Magazine publish its annual food issue, but Lifehacker dubbed it “Food Week.” So, happy Food Week to you all! And to all a good Food Week!

1) Lifehacker: Food Week
From favorite quick meals to understanding the food pyramid to a solid kitchen tutorial from Minimalist Mark Bittman, Food Week is your guide to simplifying and bettering your time spent galley-bound. Excelsior!

2) Mental Floss: The Origins of 10 Food Phrases
Neat! Want to know where “Egg someone on,” “selling like hotcakes,” and “bring home the bacon” come from? (Hint: it’s not Facebook.) This research-happy rundown will edumacate you in the tastiest possible way.

3) New York Times Magazine: Food Issue
Where to start? With the warm-n-fuzzy piece on communal eating in America? With Michael Pollan’s epic group meal? With Amanda Hesser’s compilation of the best NYT recipes, ever? Ooo – I know. With badass scar stories from famous chefs, where accidental amputations abound.

4) Seattle Times: School lunch has so many issues to chew on, its tough to change
We can all agree that school cafeteria meals need to healthy up, but fast. (Well, except you, Laura Ingraham.) So, what’s the holdup? Well, lunch ladies are fighting budget shortages, kids’ perences, and parental noncompliance among other things. Perspective: This article has it.

5) The Food Waste Trilogy
Epi-Log: 5 Clever Ways Not to Waste Food
The Kitchn: How to Stop Wasting Food
Salon: Seven Tasty Ways to Stop Wasting Food
A recent study revealed Americans chuck a quarter of our food, or almost 350 MILLION barrels a year. Oops. If you’d like to lower that number, these three guides can help you on your way.

6) NBC LA: Top 5 Ways to Find Honest Vendors at Farmers Markets
What? My beloved beet salesman may be a bunco artist? My mussel merchant, a mountebank? My poultry purveyor, a pettifogger? How can I foil these felonious frauds?

7) Casual Kitchen: The Do-Nothing Brand
I bet you didn’t know: “The generic product and the branded product that you see sitting next to each other on the store shelf are often made at the very same factory by the very same manufacturer.” Okay, maybe you knew. But the economics of it are pretty interesting, still.

Alain-Ducasse.com

8) Time: Alain Ducasses Weapon Against Poverty - Cooking Classes
Really neat story about the French chef’s 15 Femmes en Avenir (15 Women with a Future) project, inspired by his own cataclysmic plane crash in the ‘80s. Can a lobster save a life? Maybe so.

9) Culinate: GMO Primer
Who here knows next-to-nothing about genetically modified foods? Yeah, me neither. Fortunately, this quick, informative summary of a much larger book is a solid introduction to the subject.

10) Rodale: Eating Healthy Foods Can Save You Money
See? SEE? The subheading nearly says it all: “A new study shows that shifting your food dollars to beans and grains gives you the healthiest bang for your hard-earned bucks.” Tips to follow.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

For the Love of Food: A Dinner for Friends
Veggie stick ranch cups! Convenient and totes cute.

Gizmodo: Watch Six Months of a Happy Meal’s Eternal Life
There’s an old saying that after the apocalypse, the only things left will be cockroaches and Cher. After this, I think we can add Mickey D’s to that list.

HuffPo: Why Fall Fruits and Vegetables Are So Dang Good for You
Good nutrient rundown of autumn produce. Here’s a preview: Vitamin C is all around you.

The Kitchn: From Alabama To Wyoming - Farm Stands In All 50 States
Get them squashes, kids!

Melissa Clark: Whole Wheat Pasta – The Taste Test
Winner: Bionaturae. (Who?) Loser: Barilla. Unexpected!

Money Saving Mom: How We Save $20 in 15 Minutes
Make your office lunch, but do it at night, suckas!

New York Times: Reader Photos – What Kids Want to Eat
First, iCarly brought us spaghetti tacos. Now, from kids all across America come culinary wonders like Goldfish Tomato Sauce Sandwiches and Farina with Sprinkles. Behold their creations!

Philly.com: A Portrait of Hunger
Reality, 2010 Edition.

Wise Bread: 5 Best Money-Saving, Healthy, Homemade Salad Dressings
Top your salad the right way.

AND ALSO

Hyperbole and a Half: The God of Cake
Dying laughing. What a great start to the weekend.


Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

Happy Halloween, sweet readers! Today, we delve deep into the anthropology of candy, the downsides of fundraisers, and the benefits of soup and vegetables.

Oo! Also! Movie suggestion! If you havent seen 2008s Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In, rent it for the 31st. It will move you and scare your pants off at the same time. Im dead serious. Those (we) Scandinavians know horror. And the luge. But mostly horror.

1) New York Times: Is Candy Evil or Just Misunderstood?
By day, Dr. Samira Kawash is ludicrously well-educated administrator, mom, and jellybean addict. By night, she’s CANDY PROFESSOR, a blogger exploring Americans’ cultural relationship with jujubes, lollipops, and Gummi bears. It’s a sweet article, in every sense of the word.

2) The Atlantic Food: The Meanings of Halloween Candy Psychopath Stories
All Hallow’s Eve approaches, my pretties. This year, don’t fear razor-bladed Snickers or poisoned Mary Janes. They’re pretty much an unsubstantiated myth, fostered by our fear of contamination and the unknown. Who knows? CANDY PROFESSOR knows. (Seriously. She wrote this.)

3) Oregon Live: Soup swaps help stock your freezer and foster friendships
Ooo! Wanna procure a variety of delicious, nutritious meals for pennies? Hold a soup swap. This piece gives you the guidelines, along with six good-looking recipes.

4) The Atlantic: The Dark Side of Benefit Dinners
Porchetta chef Sara Jenkins is leery of benefits for two reasons: 1) They often seem more like self-congratulatory parties for their respective parent organizations, and 2) She’s repeatedly expected to buy, prep, and serve a massive amount of food for free. It’s a reasonable argument, and one worth exploring if youre planning, funding, or attending a fundraising dinner anytime soon.

5) Casual Kitchen: Cooking Up Advantages Out of Disadvantages
Love this piece about accidental innovation when you’re too busy to do it on purpose. Aren’t we all more productive when we’re busy?

6) The Simple Dollar: Can Once-a-Month Cooking Really Work?
Personal finance guru/home cook Trent details the beginnings of his family’s OaM experiment, which will be employed full-force when his wife heads back to work. Can they pull it off? Will the meals become too repetitive? Is it something they can do consistently? Read on and find out.

7) HuffPo: Screamin’ Grocery Store Deals: 16 Cheap, Organic Foods
Fab organic deals in somewhat irritating slideshow form. Take a glance if you don’t mind the extra clicking. (Does anyone else loathe slideshows? Man, they make me crazy. HuffPo is a constant culprit.)

8) The Independent: Excessive Meat Eating Kills 45,000 Each Year
You know, you see a lot of articles pinning metabolic syndrome on obesity and poor diets, but you rarely see them specifically blame meat consumption. This is a UK publication, is probably why its allowed to happen here. Interesting read.

9) Gen X Finance: 8 Ways to Save Money When Going Out to Eat
I love any frugality piece acknowledging that leaving the house is necessary to maintain one’s sanity. Also, food is good. So, um, read this.

10) USA Today: Food allergies more likely in kids born in winter
It’s understood that these claims are legitimate, but don’t they sound a little like obscure baseball stats? Like, kids born in winter after the seventh inning on days ending in 3, 7, or 8 are more likely to have a shellfish intolerance and less likely to hit for the cycle? Am I watching too much of the World Series? Answer me, Tim Lincecum!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Cooking Manager: Interview with Cheap Healthy Good Kris
The lovely Hannah graciously asked to interview me earlier this week. These are the squash-tastic results

The Guardian: Global food crisis forecast as prices reach record highs
Oh, crud. Not again. Imagine 2008’s crisis, but make it much longer.

HuffPo/Eating Well: How to Save $2,997 on Food Without Even Trying
Standard but solid roundup on common ways to cut back on your food expenditures. If you’re new to this, it’s definitely worth a gander.

stonesoup: 7 Things You Should Know About Eggplant
I didn’t know about #2. As Gram used to say, "You learn something new everyday, and could you please turn up my Lawrence Welk Show? Thanks, dear."

Time.com: Lardcore – Southern Food With Hardcore Attitude
The article is incidental. Whoever came up with “lardcore” should be kissed on the mouth. Somewhere, Henry Rollins is eating fried chicken and angrily smiling.

Wise Bread: How to Save $1500 on Coffee
Should you buy an espresso machine? Believe it or not, it might be a solid investment if you’re a joe-holic.

AND ALSO

Electric Company: Morgan Freeman as Count Dracula, Taking a Bath in a Casket
Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!



(Banana and candy pics from Wiki commons.)

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!

1) Salon: What to Know about the Great Egg Recall
Francis Lam provides a calming read on the egg recall and how to stay safe in its wake.

2) Food Politics: Further Thoughts on Egg Recall
The egg recall is just the latest indictment on the factory farm system. Marion Nestle points out some of the high points and puts a face on the crisis.

3) The Ethicurean: Neophobia 101: When picky eaters confound Ethicureanish intentions
Parents, do you have a picky eater at your table despite all your best efforts? Check out this charming tale from The Ethicurean. But play it cool.

4) HuffPo: Record Breaking Vegetables
Ohio: represent!

5) Casual Kitchen: The Economics of Wasteful Foods
Another terrific post from Dan at Casual Kitchen on food and economics, as he deftly points out that we get WAY more for our money when we skip the "time-saving" foods and stick to the real thing.

6) Food Politics: Do We Need Meat Substitutes?
Speaking of convenience foods, this collection of articles about the development of fake meat is fascinating and kind of queasy-making. I’ll stick with lentils and tofu.

7) Mother Jones’s Blue Marble Blog: What Sustainable Seafood?
Blue Marble highlights an op-ed in the Sept. 2 issue of Nature (paywall) criticizing the standards of the Marine Stewardship Council. The MSC determines which fisheries are bestowed with the “sustainable” label used to endorse fish sold in big supermarket chains like Wal-Mart and Whole Foods.

8) Jezebel: The Mind-Boggling History of Fad Diets
When I was a teen with a horrible body image, I would daydream about getting a tapeworm, but I never followed through.

9) Slashfood: New Food Stamp Pilot Enlists Discount Produce
The Dept. of Agriculture is granting Massachusetts $20M for its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which will temporarily provide a 30% discount on fresh produce to a test group of food stamp recipients.

10) Unplugged: 10 Oven Tips that Cut Costs and Keep You Cool
Handy reminders and new ideas for keeping it cool during the last days of high temps while still using the oven. Um...there are two items about cleaning it. Via The Kitchn.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Object By: Crocheted Veggies
Japanese artist jungjung has whipped up the most delicious vegetables you’ve ever seen. Via CRAFT Magazine.

Civil Eats: Hydroponic Roof Garden Supplies Manhattan Restaurant
A Manhattan restaurateur grows all the produce for his bistro’s menu on the roof of the building. This story combines two of my favorite things: fresh veggies and urban roof gardens. Seriously, let’s put some more green up there, people!

Gothamist: Did Bacon Make CT Wendy’s Cook Threaten Co-Worker?
It’s nice to know some people take food safety seriously.

AND ALSO


Comic artist Natalie Dee has our number.

Thank you so much for visiting Cheap Healthy Good! (We appreciate it muchly). If you’d like to further support CHG, subscribe to our RSS feed! Or become a Facebook friend! Or check out our Twitter! Or buy something inexpensive, yet fulfilling via that Amazon store (on the left)! Bookmarking sites and links are nice, too. Viva la France!