Health for life

No time to waste! Let’s get right to it.

1) The Kitchn: 10 Things to Buy in the Next 60 Days to Save You Money
Supermarket are holding some huge sales right now, meaning you can stock up on food used all year-round. Butter it up, everybody.

2) Casual Kitchen: Organic Food, Chemicals, and Worrying About All the Wrong Things
ComPLETELY agree with Dan here. Sometimes, our fears are amplified so much by hype, we get distracted from the real issues. Case in point, pesticides.

3) 344 Pounds: Discrimination Against Fat & Obese People
Interesting viewpoint on prejudice leading to an even more eye-opening discussion thread.

4) Divine Caroline: 10 Sugary Cereals to Avoid
Marshmallow Froot Loops are 48 PERCENT SUGAR? Are you JOSHING ME? It’s one of those things you knew, but don’t really know until someone translates it into a stat like that. Yowza.

5) Public Radio Kitchen: What Not to Get the Cook on Your List
Um, not that we’re ungrateful. But … yeah. Lots of cluttery tools out there.

6) Chow: Best and Worst Recipes You Made From a Cooking Show
Oo! Fun, huge thread. Paula Deens Gooey Pumpkin Bars represent very, very well (with good reason).

7) Mama Says: School Lunches
A glimpse into modern cafeteria cuisine.

8) Jezebel: What Fast Food Really Looks Like
Ooo … reality bites. Entertainingly so.

9) Obama Foodorama: Huge BiPartisan Coalition Urges House to Pass Childhood Nutrition Legislation in Lame Duck
Damn right.

10) The Simple Dollar: Some Thoughts on a Plant-Based Diet
Updates on Trent’s vegetarian experiment. Insightful. A spreading trend, perhaps?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Gawker: The Internet Has Killed Cooks Source
It will live to “edit” articles no more.

Obama Foodorama: Improved Nutrition Labels on Food Packages Coming Very Soon, Sebelius Says
We’ll see, Sebelius. Well see.

Plixi: The Windows at Barneys
I had a dream like this once.

stonesoup: Defrosting 101 – The Quickest and Safest Methods Without a Microwave
Behold: THE SUN! (Just kidding.)

THANKSGIVING

• Food 2: Thanksgiving on a Budget
• Jezebel: Social Minefield – How to Properly Feed Your Guests
• The Kitchn: Help Me Find a Green Vegetable Dish for Thanksgiving!
• The Kitchen: The Pie Guide – 22 Tips, Tools, and Ideas for a Perfect Pie
• Money Saving Mom – How to Host a Frugal Thanksgiving for Guests With Food Allergies
• Serious Eats: Harold McGee’s Top 10 Thanksgiving Tips
• Words to Eat By: How to Enjoy Thanksgiving Without Blowing Your Diet

AND ALSO

Gawker TV: Tina Fey’s Famous Friends Pay Tribute at the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Does Jon Hamm ever stop being so dreamy? Seriously now. Oh, also, Fey is my hero. (Well, her and Ina Garten. If they ever combined forces to produce Baoot 30 Rock, my life would be complete.) (P.S. Alec Baldwin as Jeffrey. It could work.)


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!

Man. If the links are any indication, its gonna be a good weekend. I can feel it, folks. Happy June.

1) stonesoup: the absolute beginners guide to the art of seasoning [5 ingredients | 10 minutes]
Man, this blog just keeps getting better. Today, it’s on seasoning your food well, and what to do if you under- or overdo it.

2) NY Times: Saving Time and Stress with Cooking Co-ops
Oo! I love this. It’s like a potluck, but in take-home Tupperware. Sure, there are drawbacks (one dastardly participant relied too much on Hamburger Helper), but cooking one meal for many, and then getting six meals back, seems like an all-around win. (Photo is from the piece.)

3) Casual Kitchen: On the Benefits of Being a Part-Time Vegetarian
The CK household cut their meat intake by a few meals per week, and the benefits have been totes faboo. Here, Dan explains why, what happened, and how you might embark on the same glorious path.

4) NY Times: Food is the Thrill at Some Bachelor Parties
Move over strippers, here come Bruschetta Chicken Dippers. Or something. Point is, engaged peeps are apparently forgoing traditional bachelor and bachelorette parties for full-on gourmet experiences. Is it because Americans are getting married at more advanced ages, thus reducing the demand for some chick/dude in spangled undies to flash her/his bosoms/pecs? Beats me. I just want some pork belly.

5) Get Rich Slowly: The Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of the Budget
On the link between debt and fat, and how going cold turkey may not be the best approach for either. You’ve heard the message before, but never in so entertaining and thorough a manner.

6) Salon: The dark side of the farmers market boom
Are farmers heading to cities to sell their food, leaving their less affluent neighbors to make do with Wal-Mart tomatoes? Sounds nefarious. Salon explores.

7) Consumerist: Restaurants Want You To Spend More, But Wont Stop Selling Cheap Food
Oops. You know all those dollar menus and special deals that fast food joints offered during the recession? Now that our collective money situation isn’t quite so dire, restaurants are having problems weaning customers off the bargains and on to more profitable meals. Not so good for business.

8) CNN: McDonald’s Warned: Drop the Toys or Get Sued
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (or CSPI, presumably) might/is sue/suing over the inclusion of toys in Happy Meals. They claim tiny Buzz Lightyears and Shreks entice kids to choose unhealthy food. As an ex-McDonald’s employee, I can only say … I guess? I don’t recall. It was 1996. Bringing them up from the basement was a big pain in the tuchus, though.

9) Food Politics: Alaska Fishing Politics – Fish Processing
Marion Nestle is doing a blog mini-series on the fishing industry in our northernmost state. It’s more complicated than you think, and an interesting microcosm of our issues in the lower 48.

10) Chow: 9 Cooking Apps Worth Downloading to Your iPhone
Dunno if this applies much for the frugalists out there, but Husband-Elect would become Ex-Husband-Elect if I didn’t link to these apps. (He loves apps. Apps, apps, apps. It’s all I ever hear about. “Hey honey, did you get those apps?”)

HONORABLE MENTION

Eatocracy: 5@5 - Chef Eric Ripert
See? Hot, world class French seafood chefs make mistakes, too. (Photo from site. Also? Humina.)

Epi-Log: Volunteer Options for Food-Loving Teens
Hey kids! How are you spending the summer? Here are four food-type volunteering organizations that could use your free time.

Hillbilly Housewife: Spring Cleaning One Room at a Time – the Oven
I move to a new apartment every year specifically so I don’t have to do this. Then, last month, it caught up with me. The experience was … I don’t remember. I blocked it out.

The Kitchn: 10 Ways to Use Pesto Besides Pasta
You knew “sandwich spread” was gonna be in there, but the rest are pleasant surprises.

Serious Eats: Supreme Court Makes its First Ruling Genetically Engineered Crops
It’s a strike against Monsanto … I think.

Slashfood: Throw That Wrapper Away or Pay
Lawmakers in San Francisco might start taxing fast food customers for garbage disposal. It’s half environmental measure, half fundraiser for the city. But is it right?

AND ALSO

Cracked: The 10 Most Important Things They Didn’t Teach You in School
For MADs snotty younger brother, Cracked sure has some spectacular web pieces. This one is no different, with #10 and #9 being must-reads. (Due warning: Theyre profane must-reads, but must-reads nonetheless.)

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!

Change in Weight More Important Than Where You Start

Some overweight older adults don’t need to lose weight to extend their lives, but they could risk an earlier death if they pack on more pounds.

In fact, the nationwide study found that people who were slightly overweight in their 50s but kept their weight relatively stable were the most likely to survive over the next 16 years.

They had better survival rates than even normal-weight individuals whose weight increased slightly, but stayed within the normal range.

On the other hand, those who started out as very obese in their 50s and whose weight continued to increase were the most likely to die during that period.

Overall, the results suggest that about 7.2 percent of deaths after the age of 51 are due to weight gain among obese people, at least among the generation in this study, said Hui Zheng, lead author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.

“You can learn more about older people’s mortality risk by looking at how their weight is changing than you can by just looking at how much they weigh at any one time,” Zheng said.

While some extra weight seemed protective in this study, Zheng cautioned that these results applied only to people over 50. His previous research, published in Social Science & Medicine, suggests that being overweight may not be helpful for younger people.

“Our other research suggests that the negative effect of obesity on health is greater for young people than it is for older people, so young people especially shouldn’t think that being overweight is harmless,” he said.

This new study was published online this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Co-authors are Dmitry Tumin, doctoral student, and Zhenchao Qian, professor, both in sociology at Ohio State.

The researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of Americans born between 1931 and 1941. This study analyzed 9,538 respondents who were aged 51 to 61 when the survey began in 1992. They were re-interviewed every two years until 2008, and the researchers had information on how their body mass index (BMI) changed at each interview and whether they died at any point before December 2009.

Body mass index measures weight relative to height and is often used to evaluate obesity.

Zheng and his colleagues classified respondents into six groups, depending on their BMI at the beginning of the study and how it changed over the 16-year period they were surveyed.

While slightly overweight people (BMI of 25 to 29.9) whose weight was steady had the highest survival rate, those who moved from overweight to obese (BMI 30 to 34.9) were close behind.

“This suggests that among overweight people at age 51, small weight gains do not significantly lower the probability of survival,” Zheng said.

The third highest survival rate among the six groups was normal weight individuals (BMI of 18.5 to 24.9) whose weight increased slightly, but stayed within normal range.

Next came the Class I obese (BMI of 30 to 34.9) whose weight was moving upward.

“You can learn more about older people’s mortality risk by looking at how their weight is changing than you can by just looking at how much they weigh at any one time.”

Next to last were normal weight individuals who lost weight. Although the study attempted to control for illnesses among those studied, it may be that many of these individuals dropped weight because of illness.

The most obese individuals (BMI of 35 and over) who continued to add weight had the lowest survival rate of the six groups.

There weren’t enough people who started out as overweight and obese and lost weight to include in this analysis, Zheng said.

“We can’t really evaluate the effectiveness of planned weight loss on mortality. Even in the normal-weight people in this study, there was no way to tell whether weight loss was planned,” he said.

Zheng noted that the study took into account a wide variety of demographic and socioeconomic factors that may play a role in both weight and mortality among Americans. The researchers also controlled for whether the respondents smoked, whether they had a variety of chronic illnesses and even how they rated their own health. The results stood even after all of these factors were taken into account.

Why is being slightly overweight protective for older people?

“It is probably because the older population is more likely to get illnesses and disease, especially cancer, that cause dangerous weight loss,” he said. “In that case, a small amount of extra weight may provide protection against nutritional and energy deficiencies, metabolic stresses, the development of wasting and frailty, and loss of muscle and bone density caused by chronic diseases.”

Younger people are less likely to get many of the diseases that afflict older adults, which is one reason extra weight is not good for them, he said.

But Zheng said the main message for everyone, including older adults, is that packing on the pounds, especially if you’re obese, can be hazardous to your health.

“Continuing to put on weight can lower your life expectancy,” he said.

You guys? I think this is the strongest link roundup ever on CHG. Everybody (EVERBODY), all across the internet (EVERYWHERE) was totally on their games (GAMES). Read on, and have a lovely weekend.

1) New York Times: 101 Fast Recipes for Grilling
Just in time for Independence Day, Mark “The Minimalist” Bittman comes through with a barbecue brainstorm of epic proportions. Read it and weep. Or eat. Or weepeat, which is when you eat and cry at the same time. I’ve done it with blueberries. It wasn’t pretty.

2) Money Saving Mom: How to Start Your Own Produce Co-op
Guest poster Deja Armstrong smashes a home run with this fab post about families going in together to save on produce. Her plan is logically laid out and looks to be quite the money saver. If you have a craving for bananas and a willing neighborhood, it’s a must-read.

3) Casual Kitchen: Why Reducing Food Waste is Harder Than it Looks
Super-interesting take on the relationships between ood borne illness, sell-by dates, and the sheer quantity of wasted food in America. Just a great piece, with a neat follow-up: When Do You Throw Out Food?

4) Lifehacker: Low or No-Heat Meals for Easy Summer Cooking
This tip-and-link-filled post ties in beautifully with CHG’s No-Cook Month. Um, seriously, we might not even need to have it now.

5) Surviving and Thriving: Don’t Hate the Payer, Hate the Game
First, mad props for that title. Second, Donna’s using her coupons, AND she’s going to call the cashier out if the register makes an error, AND she’s occasionally using change to buy something. If you don’t like it, get delivery at home, yo. (Note: I agree with her on all of this.)

6) BuzzFeed: 12 Terrifying Jello Recipes
AUGH! What is this horror? NOOOOOOOOO. Wait. Huh? Oh. Mmm … Tongue Mold.

7) Get Rich Slowly: Slow and Steady – More Thoughts on Physical and Financial Fitness
GRS Staffer April Dykman adapts JD’s 12 core beliefs about money to pertain to weight. And they fit beautifully. My fave: “It’s more important to be happy than to be skinny.” WORD.

8) USA Today: Native Americans embrace tradition to defeat diabetes
Here’s a shocking statistic: 16% of American Indians have diabetes.
Here’s an encouraging solution: A movement is starting. Many communities are changing their diets, buffets, and restaurants to include traditional, produce-heavy dishes. Awareness, she is being raised.

9) Wise Bread: How to Split Food Expenses With a Significant Other
Husband-Elect and I do this: I buy the groceries, keep a record of receipts, and send him an e-mail entitled “Billz” at the end of the month. Then he pays me and we drink wine. How do you guys handle food costs? (Actually, this may be a great post for a later date. What think you?)

10) The Atlantic: How Supermarkets Could Fight Obesity
Wow, this is neat. Grocery stores are starting to address how they can market healthier foods to potential buyers. The key issues: “How can we turn grocers considerable merchandising skills to help slim us down? With supermarkets arrays of sampling programs, displays, interactive shopping carts, and shelf signage, can we not more easily capture shoppers attention to purchase healthier foods?”

HONORABLE MENTION

The Atlantic: A Wild Foods Library – 11 Books for Foragers
From Hunter Angler Gardener Cook guru Hank Shaw, a collection of books for find-your-own foodies.

Consumerist: How Do UPC Codes Work?
The more you know.

Crop Mob
If you feed hipsters, they will help you harvest your food. (Related: If you build it, he will come.)

Health: The 50 Fattiest Foods in the States
New York is well represented by Nick Tahou’s Garbage Plate, boasting an astounding 93 to 203 grams of fat per order. Holla, Rochester!

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook: Dining on Daylilies
Did you guys know daylilies were edible? I didn’t. (P.S. This blog is generally incredible. If youve never been, make haste!)

The Kitchn
15 Fresh Picnic Salads for the 4th of July
A Roundup of Illustrated Recipes
How Should I Store Leftover Tomato?
Two recipe comps and a good answer to a nagging question.

Mother Jones: Is Washing Out Sandwich Baggies a Waste of Time?
MoJo concludes that it’s worth it, environmentally speaking. Calculations and reasoning inside!

Politics of the Plate: Recession Ends for Organic Dairy Farmers
Diary farmers were hurting badly a year ago. Now they’re on the rebound. Thanks, economy! (Scroll down to see.)

Serious Eats: How to Start Your Own Compost Pile
It’s a little more complicated than chucking food scraps into a big mound. But not much.

This Mama Cooks: Healthy summer salads for Fourth of July – eat your red, white and blues!
Look at all the pretty colors!

Time Out New York: Cheap Eats
My fellow Empire Staters! The issue is out. Grab a fiver and get chomping.

Urlesque
27 Pictures of Clothing Made of Food
Topless Jack Nicholson Eating a Sandwich, Sunning Himself, Becomes a Meme
Link #1: I wasn’t sure if this would be worth, but Cloris Leachman’s leafy green dress is genuinely beautiful, as are many of the following foodie fashions.
Link #2: You want the sandwich? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE SANDWICH.

Village Voice: Susan Spicer, New Orleans Chef, Sticks It to British Petroleum
The oil spill is wrecking her business, and Chef Spicer wants retribution. Man, I hope she gets it.

Words to Eat By: Christine’s Asian-Inspired Noodle Salad
The recipe looks good, and so do the tips for feeding small children by guest writer Christine Gross-Loh.

Zen Habits: Eating Healthfully – A Long Term Vision
Leo’s site recently made Time’s Best Blogs of 2010 list. And while this is a guest post, it’s still a good example of why readers keep coming back. Thoughtful, calm, and measured, it’s whole-life-long approach to food should become a mantra.

AND ALSO

Hyperbole and a Half: This is Why I’ll Never Be an Adult
Suite Judy Blue Eyes, I love this blog. Another winnah from Allie Brosh, who describes my work tendencies exactly and hilariously.


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!

Before we get to today’s links, the results are in from Tuesday’s Ask the Internet question. We queried: do you include tax when you tip a restaurant server?

THE READERS HAVE SPOKEN, and between thread comments and Facebook replies, it came down to a single vote. A single vote! No kidding:

• Yes, I include tax when I tip: 29 VOTES
• No, I don’t include tax when I tip: 30 VOTES

Henceforth, you don’t have to include tax! (Unless you want to.) With that dilemma solved forevermore, let’s go to el linkage.

1) River Front Times: 20 Unholy Recipes – Dishes So Awful We Had to Make Them
Possibly the post of the millennium: St. Louis bloggers attempted 20 different vintage recipes of varying awfulness, from Vienna Sausage Shortcake to Pickle-Stretcher Salad to Asparagus-Macaroni Loaf. The results are the culinary equivalent of Kurtz’s death scene in Apocalypse Now. (Thanks to Neatorama for the link.)

2) The Atlantic: The Great Grocery Smackdown
Great piece on Wal-Mart’s new produce initiatives, which include more organics and locally-grown fruits and veggies. In a blind taste test, the author matches some of the megacorp’s products up against Whole Foods versions of the same things. The results are surprising and encouraging. A must-read.

3) New York Times: When Children Are Overweight, Changes for the Whole Family
Solid piece on how a family’s lifestyle changes when its trying to correct a child’s poor eating habits. While you should never put a minor on a medically unsupervised diet, these subtle switches seem to make sense.

4) Wise Bread: 7 Ways to Cut Your Food Bill Without Clipping a Single Coupon
Quick-but-thorough primer on the basics of frugal grocery shopping. Definitely check it if you’re new to the field. (Which I call “grocerologyiatry.”) (Im still working on the name.)

5) GOOD Magazine: The Emotional Quotient of Soup Shopping
This is super interesting, and probably emblematic of how food graphic designers work nowadays. Campbell’s just redesigned their label to appeal more to shoppers’ emotional reactions. Did you know, neurologically speaking, that we don’t give a crap about spoons? It’s true.

6) New York Post: My Personal Kitchen Confidential
Not Eating Out in New York blogger Cathy Erway saved $7200 over two years by cooking at home, avoiding takeout, and skipping restaurant meals. When you live here, it’s so, so, so super easy to blow all your dough on food. This is a valuable reminder that theres another way.

7) Re-Nest: How to Buy and Store Bulk Foods
As my storage is limited to whatever I can cram in an unplugged toaster, this wonderful post doesn’t apply so much to me. But sweet readers, with your newfangled “pantries” and “shelves,” might find it super helpful.

8) Jezebel: Jared Fogle and the Plight of the Celebrity Dieter
Subway’s weight loss poster boy has gained back 40 of the 200 pounds he lost. In the grand scheme of things, this is still a huge triumph: the guy lost 160 pounds and kept it off. However, advertising-wise, this means big trouble for Subway, much like Kirstie Alley’s gain was bad news for Jenny Craig. It’s a warped, twisted way of looking at dieting, but an interesting media discussion nonetheless.

9) The Simple Dollar: The Minimal Tip
Rounding out our discussion on restaurant tipping: have you ever given nothing? Trent has, and here, he discusses the reasons. (Honestly, it sounds merited.) Followed by a massive comment debate.

10) CNN: Jamie Oliver: Eat your chips, just not every day
Go for details on Jamie’s victorious TED plan for correcting childhood obesity in America. Stay for the accent. Roit!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Dad Cooks Dinner: Weekly Dinner Plans
A different way of attacking menus. I like.

Hillbilly Housewife: 5 Steps To Safely Disinfect Your Wooden Cutting Boards
Non-bleach secrets to purifying your chopping blocks. (Note: not with hellfire.)

The Kitchn:
Quick Reference – A Guide to Herbs and Spices
30 Gold Medal Tips that Pack Some Punch in the Kitchen
What’s the Deal With Reactive and Non-reactive Cookware?
This week’s highlighted posts include an excellent primer on jarred flavors, kitchen hacks galore, and a question that has puzzled pan purchasers since the beginning of time.

Money Saving Mom: What is Your Stock-up Price on Toilet Paper?
If you ever wanted to learn about price discrepancies across the nation, read this comment thread. Mine: $0.66/roll. It don’t get much better in BK.

The Simple Dollar: Optimizing Your Grocery List
There’s efficiency, and then there’s EFFICIENCY. These strategies fall into the latter category.

BLOG CARNIVALS

Hey! We made some blog carnivals this week! Check ‘em out yourselves for a cornucopia of craft and personal finance articles, from every corner of the interweb.

• Len Penzo: The Carnival of Personal Finance #244
• 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven: Make it From Scratch Festival

AND ALSO

Esquire: Roger Ebert – The Essential Man
A few years ago, film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to a series of cancer-related surgeries. Since then, he hasn’t had a bite to eat or a drop to drink. He’s completely lost his ability to speak. Yet, he’s living louder than ever, mostly through his blog, his movie reviews, and his prolific Twitter feed. This moving, revealing article chronicles a day in the life of new Ebert, and if it’s not too cliché, it gets a huge thumbs up.

Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert’s Last Words
Heres Ebert’s response to the Esquire piece. Filled with astute observances, including but not limited to, “Low self-esteem involves imagining the worst that other people can think about you,” and "Resentment is allowing someone to live rent-free in a room in your head.” Win: Ebert.

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!

Welcome to the Food Network Liveblog/Running Diary, Part 3.  (Part 1 over here, Part 2 here.) There are 9-1/2 hours down, with 9-1/2 to go. Just a fun reminder: I’m checking comments constantly, and will highlight favorites as we go along. So chime in! Can’t wait to read.

RSS subscribers, a quick note: these posts are being updated every few minutes, and subsequently, wont appear on the feed in full. They are on the homesite, though, if youd like to peruse.

P.S. As with the BL Liveblog, this will go backwards, with the most recent commentary appearing up top.

12:00am
End of Part 3! On to the 4th and final part!

11:59
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: nope
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: nope
HEALTH QUOTIENT: nope
VERDICT: 2/10, for infuriating me with ... factory line footage.

11:58
Now profiling snackmakers Pirates Booty. Its the same damn conveyor belt with different food on it. You wont fool me, Summers!

11:52
Unwrapped is profiling organic grocery store Whole Foods, a.k.a. Whole Paycheck, a.k.a. That Place Where I Cant Afford Apples. Theyre trying to "dispel the myth that organic has to cost more." Unmentioned: "sell $40 chicken legs."

11:45
Its a quarter to midnight and Im drinking iced coffee. The hallucinations should start soon. My Christmas tree is already starting to look like a Tim Burton movie.

11:40
Alternate names for Unwrapped: The Conveyor Belt Show, People in Hairnets, White Owners/ Non-White Employees, and Drippy Chocolate.

11:33
The Husband-Elect and I have a private joke about this show in that sometimes, we have entire conversations using Marc Summers vocal inflections:
Me: "Hon, can you get me ... a cup of coffee?"
Him: "Would you like ... a little milk?"
Me: "Maybe also ... a paper napkin?"
Him: "Of course, Ill ... be right back."

11:31
THE SHOW: Oh god ... Unwrapped.
THE HOST: Marc Summers
THE CONCEPT: How boring mass produced food is boringly made.

11:29
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: zero - Weird Al Yankovic shirts is Altons perred look
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: sky high
HEALTH QUOTIENT: medium
VERDICT: 12/10, for being my TV boyfriend (with apologies to Tim Riggins).

11:27
Alton now preparing a Dutch Pancake, or, as its more commonly known, a Pancake That Pays for its Half of a Date.

11:25
How much I wanted to see "Its Complicated" at the beginning of the day: 54%
Number of commercials for "Its Complicated" seen today: approximately 30
How much I want to see "Its Complicated" now: -4%

11:21
Holy ... the recipe for Yorkshire pudding is almost exactly the same as the recipe for popovers! This show makes everyone smarter. Is there any doubt its the best on Food Network?

11:20
We have suddenly jumped to Yorkshire pudding, as defined in the 1500s. We have gone Back to the Future, and Doc Alton Brown is our guide, Marty.

11:15
The popovers are being filled with all kinds of disturbing things - fruit, ice cream, broth, etc. Wheres the butter? Wheres the jam? They are afraid and alone. Unfrozen Caveman Popovers.

11:12
Have those popover signs been popping up throughout they whole show? They have, havent they? Im not a genius, then. Im merely brilliant.

11:09
Oh! Hes buying a popover pan. Hes making popovers. Im a genius. All hail me.

11:05
This is brilliant. Altons given us the show recipes ingredients, but hasnt revealed the name of the recipe itself yet. We have to figure it out ourselves. He is the Will Shortz of TV chefs.

11:02
Alton is explaining flour, and hes uncomfortably close to the camera. He has 257 eyebrow hairs.

11:00
THE SHOW: Good Eats! Finally!
THE HOST: Alton Brown!
THE CONCEPT: Cooking nerd schools us, is generally pretty great.

10:59
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: 0
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: pretty high - theyre volunteers
HEALTH QUOTIENT: theyve been working out, so its okay
VERDICT: 6/10, for the lack of yelling.

10:57
Miss Brenda just got a look at her new home, and shes stunned. The dining room almost knocked her over. What a sweet lady.

10:47
Fill in the blank! There is a disturbing amount of food _____:
A) stitting outside without rigeration
B) in close proximity to the ground
C) being prepared by men whose primary talent is sweating

10:42
Irvine is hilariously reluctant to yell at his fellow volunteers. Its like watching a pit bull with a Barbie jump rope tied around its muzzle.

10:40
In regard to Bobby Flays repeated Throwdown drubbings, reader Kat writes: "Challenging anyone and everyone to a Throwdown is getting slightly embarrassing, especially when you lose every dang time. Im only trying to protect you, man."

10:38
The manufactured drama in this show is freakin killing me. Have they ever not finished in time?

10:36
Our brown rug is now a brown rug with red spots. Merry Christmas!

10:31
Sweet and sour sauce spill. Back in a minute.

10:24
Ooo - I lied. This is an hour-long show. Irvine is safe ... FOR NOW.

10:17
This show ends in 13 minutes and no ones started cooking yet. Theyre about to have some very angry Habitat for Humanitarians on their hands. And they have hammers.

10:14
Does everyone in Mississippi play banjo or blues guitar? Is that a prerequisite to live in the state? On Long Island, you have to know the lyrics to every Bill Joel song.

10:12
Robert is squaring off/doing a dance of love with the local soul food restaurant owner. If theyre not making out by the end of this, I will eat my own socks.

10:03
At the end of the show, theyre giving Brenda keys to her renovated home, which was ruined in Katrina in 2005. Yknow, weve been looking at pictures from the hurricane for three years now, and its still infuriating and sad.

10:00
THE SHOW: Dinner Impossible
THE HOST: Robert Irvine
THE CONCEPT: The Chef has to feed 1000 volunteers in Biloxi, Mississippi. He has nine hours.

9:58
End of show. Father Leo won, duh.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: none
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: pretty high
HEALTH QUOTIENT: fairly high, I guess. Im flustered
VERDICT: 9/10, for avoiding the obvious holy cow jokes

9:58
The bed music sounds like its excerpted from Rocky 16: Rocky Goes to Crate & Barrel.

9:52
Dear Pope Benedict,
Hi there! How are you? So glad you seem to be doing well. I was just wondering - is there a way to incorporate more fajitas into the average mass? I promise I would go more often.
Hugs,
Kristen
P.S. I understand if you dont want to dignify this with a response.

9:48
Father Leos secret marinade ingredient: "holy water." And he was taught to chop by Mother Theresa. What a cool life, Batman.

9:43
Father Leo is a ham of the highest order. Can I say that? Will I still get into heaven?

9:41
We have entered Hour 12 of the blogathon. There is a butt-shaped jello mold where my actual butt used to be.

9:38
A haiku about Father Leo:
Awesome ninja priest
preaches peace but will nunchuk
you if provoked, dude.

9:33
Leos a breakdancing Catholic priest who loves cooking and has a third-degree black belt. He also has many, many religious cooking puns in his back pocket. Bobby is a dead man. And his soul isnt too safe, either.

9:30
THE SHOW: Throwdown
THE HOST: Bobby Flay
THE CONCEPT: Bobbys challenging a priest for the Best Fajita crown. Expect a lot of holy plays on words.

9:28
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: none - will the mustache suffice?
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: surprisingly relevant - there was a budgetary aspect to the challenge
HEALTH QUOTIENT: uh - okay, I guess
VERDICT: 7/10, for the mustache

9:27
The fire chief/eree has an incredible handlebar mustache not unlike this Emperor Tamarin.

9:22
Bobbys adding honey to his tomato sauce. Ive never seen that before. Italian grandmamas that read this blog: does this happen?

9:20 
If my ears doth not deceive me, Keith just called his poultry "chicken bosom." Im using that from now on and claiming it as my own. No one will ever know. MUAHAHAHAHA.

9:19
But seriously, Keith ate him.

9:18
Oh, how I jest. Both men are still alive. Their fight will be fought in an arena of food.

9:15
Bobby walked into the firehouse to propose the challenge and Keith ate him. It was awful.

9:12
Big difference between Bobby and Keiths cacciatore: Flay uses red wine, while the fiighter opts for white, figuring it goes better with chicken. I think I have to go with the Iron Chef here, folks. Red wine + tomatoes = party in my mouth, and everyones invited.

9:10
Chicken cacciatore literally translates into "hunters chicken," or "chicken that you caught with a big gun and then soaked in tomatoes until its bloody-looking."

9:06
Do you have a distinctive accent? Does it get worse when youre around your family? Mine does, and Bobbys is too, the longer he hangs out with these New York fiighters.

9:01
New York City firehouse chef Keith Young is 6-foot-6, and has a Long Island accent thats almost as big. He loves "protectin prah-petty" and "caw-melized onions." I love his bald head.

9:00
THE SHOW: Throwdown
THE HOST: Bobby Flay
THE CONCEPT: The Chef of note challenges a renowned Chicken Cacciatore cook to discover whose version is best.

8:59
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: none - but the bird of paradise blouse made up for it
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: n/a
HEALTH QUOTIENT: below absolute zero
VERDICT: 10/10 - insanely entertaining, yall

8:54
Michaels here! Hes dressed in a Santa suit to enhance his natural Santa-ness, and even in the jacket, its apparent hes lost significant weight. Paula has too, come to think of it. Anyone know what theyre doing?

8:53
Paula is calling her decorator out for bringing store-bought cookies to the swap. The decorator looks mortified, like you just told her she has toilet paper stuck in her teeth.

8:52
Reader Robyn has an excellent question: "What happened to the lady who won the last Food Network Star?"

8:48
Yall, were not done yet! Paulas decking the halls in a tasty way. Or something. Its late, and I just ate two pounds of sesame noodles.

8:44
Crossover alert! Paulas brought in Bobby from HGTV. Hes teaching her how to wrap cookies all pretty-like, with ribbon and such. History Channel wishes it was this riveting.

8:38
If our first child is a boy, were naming him Paul Dean. He will be Southern, super gay, and totally delightful.

8:33
How do the Deens have so many family recipes? It seems like every dish has been in their family since the beginning of time. We have one family recipe, and its for wallpaper paste.

8:32
Jamie and Bobby sighting! Theyre making ... sand tarts? What the hell are they saying?

8:29
Seen today: Ina, Giada, Bobby, Tyler, Rachael, lots of Paula
Unseen today: Mario, Ace, Sara, Anne Burrell, Santa Claus, James Bond

8:22
The further we get into this show, the more apparent its become that Paula might be partaking in some Christmas spirits. I wish I could join her, but there are EIGHT HOURS OF BLOGGING LEFT. Eat your heart out, Jerry Lewis.

8:14
Also, theyre toasting nuts. Hee. Toasted nuts.

8:11
Hee. The lady cooking with Paula now is named Mrs. Susie Butts. In college, I worked making cold calls to hundreds of people with (really real) names like Warren Peace, Homer Simpson, John F. Kennedy, and Mrs. Shitrit.

8:06
Paula 2009 is the kind of grandma youd introduce to all your friends, and then take to a champagne bar/drag club to hang out with ladies with names like Barbara Ghanoush and Honey Crisp. The next day, shed disappear back to Georgia and youd be sad for like, 100 years.

8:04
Time for another multiple choice question! Paula is wearing:
A) a brightly-colored shirt
B) Jimmy Buffet
C) several pomegranates
D) a Polynesian barbecue

8:02
Paula 2009 is SO MUCH MORE GLAM than Paula 2006. Whereas Paula 2006 probably enjoyed bridge and 60 Minutes, Paula 2009 would wear leather pants and tour with the Scissor Sisters.

8:01
THE SHOW: Paulas Cookie Swap
THE HOST: Paula Deen
THE CONCEPT: Friends and family of the Deenster are dropping by with their favorite cookie recipes. Jamie and Bobby are here! Finally, yall!

7:59
End of show.
3/4-SLEEVE SWEATERS: zip
FRUGALITY QUOTIENT: n/a
HEALTH QUOTIENT: n/a, unless youre into eating trees
VERDICT: 5/10, for lack of terrifying Carrie juge and bizarre four-level pineapple tree topper that will never leave my nightmares

7:55
Edible Film Baker is getting reamed by the judges. (A pun! Its a pun!)

7:52
L.A. guy just told his mom to clean up his mess! Its a shocking parent/child role reversal and its making me uncomfortable. The familial hierarchy exists for a reason, people!

7:47
How I know the Husband-Elect is the right guy: he saw me after ten hours of blogging and didnt scream "CRONE!" and run away to Timbuktu.

7:44
Staten Island baker is using an edible film paper, which I had no idea existed. I will be licking a lot more random paper now. Yknow, to test it out.

7:42
Question for readers: would you want to eat ornaments that have been shoved in a sap-filled Christmas tree? Where squirrels and birds might have lived? I suck on tinsel every now and then, so no judgment.

7:40
The Long Island bakers brother is hilariously inept.
Interviewer: What do you like, David?
Brother: Sports and ... uh, sports.
~~~
Brother (holding up ornament): Where should I put these?
Baker: Its a Christmas tree, David.

7:32
Food Network Drinking Game, Rule #2893752: If something can go wrong with a Food Challenge ingredient, it will. And it wont be something youd ever expect. "Oh no, my tortilla is too flaky!" "Oh no, my edible silver beads are too roll-ey!" "Oh no, my cream puffs are becoming too moist, which will disconnect them from the adhesive chocolate!"

7:30
Another baker basically took some lasagna ingredients, spray painted them, and threw them up wherever theyd fit. Im not sayin I could do that, but Im very good at sticking lasagna in trees.

7:22
One baker is making garland out of metal tubing and cream puffs. Another is doing it with amber sugar-covered chestnuts. These may end up tasting like roofing material, but they sure look good.

7:16
In New York, theres a childrens behavioral adjustment program commercial that promises to fix your kids bad habits. One part claims it will even "turn your childs attitude around in one minute or less." Imagine the possibilities there. I imagine it will involve threats to send kids to China.

7:11
Food Network brought in the contestants parents and siblings in as special assistants, and there is immediate friction between the Staten Island mother/daughter pair. I hope this doesnt devolve into Jersey Shore-style shenanigans. Theres not enough spray tan in the world.

7:10
Lisa Simpson is trying to find her way north, and Bart has a faucet stuck to his ... damn, this isnt the right channel.

7:06
There is a shocking lack of Carrie Whats-her-face, the terrifying British judge that usually reduces the contestants to weeping piles of mushy goo. Its going to be up to the guy with the glasses and spiky hair who isnt Guy Fieri (TGWTGASHWIGF), and I dont think he has the cojones.

7:03
Todays competitors are three New Yorkers and a dude from L.A. whose "mother would cry if [the tree] wasnt pretty enough." Has mom trained him well enough? Will the New Yorkers bring their crowbars? Can everyone make nice flowers? FEEL THE EXCITEMENT.

7:01
THE SHOW: Food Network Challenge - Edible Ornaments
THE HOST: The guy with the glasses and spiky hair who isnt Guy Fieri
THE CONCEPT: Cakemakers are taking real trees and covering them with edible ornaments

Sorry I’ve been a bit incommunicado this week, folks. I was babysitting my brilliant, blue-eyed cousins while their mama gave them a sibling. (More on this in next week’s Ask the Internet.) But hey! Look! Links!

ETA: You guys! Ack. Weve been made aware of the problem with the non-disappearing ads on Explorer. Were currently working to make it go away. Apologies for that.

1) Get Rich Slowly: Extreme Personal Finance – Eating Well on One Dollar a Day
Whoa. This is hardcore. “On the final day of his project, Jeffrey summarized his purchases. During the month of May, he spent $27.08 to purchase $597.96 worth of food.” Well worth the read.

2) The Kitchn: 15 Essential Dips and Spreads for Summer Parties
OMG, it’s a dip bonanza! I’m printing this out and spooning with it for a few hours. If you need me, hit my cell. Or make me some pita chips.

3) Related posts:
Money Saving Mom: 28 Extreme Measures We Took to Stay Out of Debt
Get Rich Slowly: Surviving and Thriving
Link #1: Wow. These are some of the more radical steps Crystal and her husband took to stay debt-free while he was in law school. I can relate to some of them – not owning a car is pretty easy in Brooklyn – but others … just wow.
Link #2: Donna had $130 to her name after her divorce, but scratched and clawed her way to solvency and peace. Quite a tale, yo.

4) Related posts:
Hillbilly Housewife: Nutritious And Frugal Food Choices That Stretch The Family Budget
Frugal Dad: How to Stockpile Food for Survival
Link #1: What are the absolute baseline foods you need if disaster should hit your pantry? Can you afford them? Will they provide decent nutritional value? HH has ideas.
Link #2: A nice companion piece to HH’s post. This could be particularly relevant to folks in Louisiana right now. Jeez, what a mess.

5) New York Times: In New York, Local Meat is Easier to Find
Based on the title, you’d think we have cows and chickens wandering the streets of Brooklyn, waiting to be hit by Chinese delivery trucks and turned into kebabs. Alas, that ain’t it. In reality, we have a big number of fabulous farmers markets, a bunch of regional breeders/farmers, and a population that’s clamoring for more (and has the money to pay for it). Is this the changing face of meat? Hope so.

6) The Kitchn: From Our Readers - Tips for New Graduates and New Cooks
High school and college grads! Are you being freed into productive society, with little idea of how to boil water, much less make a decent pork chop? Never fear. This neat roundup of I-Wish-I-Knew-Then cooking ruminations should help.

7) Casual Kitchen: Why Do Products Go On Sale?
Man, what a great question! And what a thorough, informative answer about one of the reasons. Really, this explains a lot about Honey Bunches of Oats.

8) Associated Press: Millions forced to wait for food stamps benefits
The backlog in food stamp applicants has left quite a few families without means of feeding themselves. Texas, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and bizarrely, Rhode Island, are among the states hardest hit. (Apologies. I just never think of bad things happening to Rhode Island, probably since it’s only slightly larger than my living room.)

9) Slashfood: Zero-Waste Living – Could You Do it?
When we began eating healthier (dried goods, more veggies, etc.), we reduced our trash by a huge amount. But reducing it entirely? Is that even possible? As it turns out, maybe.

10) New York Times: Study Examines a Diet From TV Ads
What’s wrong with food advertising? This: “If Americans ate only foods advertised on TV, a new report says, they would consume 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the amount of fat they need, but less than half the dairy, and fruits and vegetables.”


HONORABLE MENTION

Chow: The Top Grocery-Store Etiquette Gaffes
In the center of Brooklyn, there’s a Pathmark that doubles as the starting point for the Apocalypse. (Consumerist has written stories about the Target next door, where Satan buys his discount furniture.) I wish everyone that’s ever visited would read this column.

Consumerist: Which Food Brands Are You Most Loyal To?
291 comments, and it’s looking like Heinz and Diet Coke prevail.

HuffPo: Consumer Reports Gives Top Rating To 7-11 Chardonnay
Woo hoo! White wine and taquitos, together at last.

Money Saving Mom: Time-Saving Tips for Cooking from Scratch
Good tips and link roundup about ways to save time and money in the kitchen.

The Simple Dollar: Summer Meal Series #1 – Honey Mustard Chicken Strips
Trent’s posting an inexpensive, taste-tested, child-friendly recipe every week all summer. This is his first foray. Looks pretty good.


AND ALSO

Neatorama: Rice University Students Invented Salad Spinner Centrifuge to Detect Anemia
A few days ago, I read an article about prep school boys who set up a Fantasy Sex League, assigning values to girls/classmates based on appearance and sexual acts performed. It made me sick in the WHAT IS WRONG WITH HUMANITY type way. (P.S. Way to go, guys! Those organizational skills should come in really helpful after your first rape convictions.)

Then, immediately after, I read the Neatorama piece, about college students at Rice University who were challenged to create “an inexpensive, portable tool that could diagnose anemia without access to electricity.” So, they made a centrifuge out of a salad spinner. It’s now being tested in Malawi and Swaziland, and it made humanity okay again. Woo hoo! Yay kids!

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 missed last week’s links due to fun family things/receiving the most awesome meat thermometer in history. Subsequently, this week’s links are bigger than anything, up to and including certain Guatemalan sinkholes. Buckle up!

1) Forbes: Snake Oil in Your Snacks - Foods masquerading as drugs have become a $160 billion business.
Have you ever bought bread because it says “OMEGA 3!” on the package? Or yogurt that claims to help your immune system? Yeah, me too. But this spectacular article on the largely unsubstantiated health claims made by food manufacturers might convince you to shelve those products permanently. Absolutely required reading.

2) Men’s Health: 20 Worst Drinks in America 2010
Jaw dropping! The amount of sugar in one Dairy Queen Moolatte is roughly equal to that found in one dozen Bavarian Crème Dunkin Donuts. (Note: As is my understanding, these aren’t the caloric equivalents, in which other ingredients factor, but the sugar equivalents. It’s an important distinction.) (Still pretty shocking, though.)

3) Deadspin: The Public Humiliation Diet – a How-To
Hilarious dude’s take on a 60-pound weight loss. Surprising how many strategies line up with what’s proven to work (weigh yourself, eat quality sweets, etc.) Due warning: obscenity abounds, but it’s for a good cause.

4) Seattle Times: An unemployed restaurant critic finds a different kind of culinary satisfaction
He used to have a $1300/monthly expense account for restaurants. Now he’s on food stamps, happy with whatever comes his way. Ed Murrieta’s story is alternately moving, sympathetic, and lately, disturbingly relatable.

5) Jezebel: Famous Foodie Has a Problem with Feminists
Love Jez, hate this piece. Pollan might have a somewhat unrealistic view of a working class family’s day-to-day existence. (The guy teaches at Berkeley. What do you want?) But it’s glib, sensationalist, and dangerously misleading to interpret his message as, “Get back in the kitchen, broads!” Painting him as a lady hater misses the forest for the dang trees.

6) Get Rich Slowly: Get Your Kitchen Gadgets for Less at Your Local Restaurant Supply Store
Fortunately, NYC is crammed wall-to-wall with these things, where you can buy whisks, graters, knives, and pots for a fraction of what you would at Crate and Barrel. (Not to be confused with Cracker Barrel.) Checking your ‘hood for one will be worth the research.

7) Wise Bread: Bargain Shopping at Whole Foods – 12 Strategies for Success
Whole Paycheck (note: Whole Foods) is intimidating to a lot of us (note: everybody), but WB (note: Wise Bread, not Warner Brothers) has some excellent pointers (note: devious tips) on how to buy there without losing your shirt (note: Whole Foods does not actually hold topless contests).

8) stonesoup: How to Stock a Minimalist Pantry
A.k.a. What to Do With Your Kitchen When Space and Time are More Limited Than You’d Like. Eat your heart out, Bittman. (P.S. Obsessed with this blog lately. Look around if you get the chance.)

9) Chow: When Are Cheap Eats Too Cheap?
Apparently, there’s a lower limit to what fast food joints can charge for their goods. Because when you offer a double cheeseburger for less than $1, it’s not profitable anymore. Incidentally, what goes into a double cheeseburger that costs less than a buck? Do we really want to know?

10) Slashfood: The Bad Tip Follow-Up
What Can I Get You Folks, about restaurant etiquette, is Slashfood’s best recurring feature. Last week, it tackled The Bad Tip: should a waiter ever ask a customer why he got stiffed? I say … no, but I can be convinced otherwise.


HONORABLE MENTION

The Atlantic: Cheap Chickens and Industry Fat Cats
Think what you will about the immigration debate, but: the reason many of us can afford decent food at all is because illegals work tirelessly to give it to us for negligible money and zero benefits, while corporate interests make millions off of their backs and our paychecks. Wanna fix things? Start with the Chairman of the Board, who buys golden toilets while the rest of us scrounge for coupons.

Casual Kitchen: How to Master the Last Minute Meal
It’s 6pm. You’re hungry. You don’t know what to make for dinner. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

Chow
Babies in Bars
Hey Stranger, Help Me Start a Business
Refrigeration Reformation - What should stay cold, colder, and coldest in your fridge
Link #1: Sweet Home Alabama, anyone?
Link #2: How to fund food startups.
Link #3: Learn to arrange your fridge for maximum efficiency.

Food Politics
The Bisphenol A saga heats up
Dismal Reports on Dietary Supplements
Food Politics: The Slaughterhouse Problem
Link #1: More on the canned goods controversy, and a neat tutorial from Slashfood on how to avoid the stuff.
Link #2: News flash! Gingko biloba, St. John’s Wort, and other supplements are more useless than a cotton spork.
Link #3: Problem - we have a lot of humanely-raised animals, and no place to make them into meat.

Jezebel: Your Fetus Can Taste Your Food
Ooo! Neat! A study found that, “Infants whose mothers ate a lot of fruit during pregnancy are more accepting of fruit when it is introduced to them during weaning.” Subsequently, eating produce during gestation could mean your baby will dig healthy foods.

The Kitchn: Bring Back Home Ec?
Come for the post, stay for the 76 comments. (Note: I took Home Ec in high school, learned very little, but think we need it anyway. Howzabout you?)

Low-Calorie Diet: 4 Healthy Foods You Thought Were Junk
Oh, beef jerky. You complete me.

Man vs. Debt: Eating Yourself Into Debt
If you’re wondering how much bad food can ultimately cost you, this should inform/give you a heart attack.

Money Saving Mom
Being Frugal in a High Cost of Living Area
Play the Drugstore Game
Link #1: Live in the big city without going broke! Read this!
Link #2: Good reminder why shopping at CVS, Walgreens, etc. can mean big savings.

Neatorama: Figs and Wasps
Do you really want to know about the wasps that live inside figs? Yes and no. On one hand, EEK! On the other hand, they need each other to survive. No harm, no foul.

New York Post: Crooks to cooks - Rikers has Top Chef con-test
Love this story about young inmates training to cook in a professional setting. The best rehab.

New York Times
Digital Meal Planning
Their Future, Made By Hand
Link #1: Nice review of the Emealz online meal planning system, which looks like it might be worth the dough.
Link #2: We’re here! We’re unemployed! We’re making you an empanada!

Politics of the Plate: Regional, Not Local, Sourcing May be the Solution to Our Broken Food System
Think local, eat regional. Makes sense.

Serious Eats
10 Tips to Take to the Farmers’ Market
How to Make Risotto
Studies Continue to Prove: Nuts, in Moderation, Are Really Good For You
Link #1: More tips for your weekly jaunt.
Link #2: surprisingly healthy, always impressive.
Link #3: Mmm … psmashios.

stonesoup: The Number 1 Mistake of New Vegetarians and How to Avoid it
In short: you gotta plan for this, yo.


AND ALSO

Serious Eats: A Pint With David Flaherty, Terroir/Hearth
This is my friend Dave! He is awesome.

Epic Win FTW: ATTACK!
Heh. Heh heh. Heeeeeee. Hee hee hee. Heh.


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!

Today, its lotsa food politics, a temporary (but sufficiently fabulous) Thanksgiving section, and a guest appearance from the greatest Scandinavian cook in history. (No, its not Marcus Samuelsson.)

1) Christian Science Monitor: The End of Cheap Food
Fascinating, relatively short piece on world food economics, in which it’s explained why countries with improving qualities of life will ultimately drive up global grocery costs. The last quote kind of sums it up: “Americans have become accustomed to cheap and abundant food … They’re about to get a rude surprise.”

From Diet-blog.

2) Chicago Sun-Times: Kids in kitchen are worth the trouble - Hands-on cooking at an early age can help foster mental, social skills
Mirror neurons, meaning, responsibility, higher-level learning, sensory learning, active learning, simplicity, skill building, and purpose. What do these things all have in common? Yes, theyre words, spelled with letters. But they’re also qualities developed/enhanced when your kid helps out in the kitchen. Hand em some butter knives and get goin’, ‘rents!

3) Daily Mail UK: Eating fruit and vegetable peel could combat cancer
Banana peels: they’re not just for tripping up Yosemite Sam anymore. Turns out, garlic skin, pineapple cores, and … stay with me here … kiwi husks (yep) are superb cancer fighters. Sure, they need a little extra prep, but maybe it’s worth it? Maybe? Yeah, I need a minute to think about that kiwi thing.

4) Food Politics: The food movement’s new frontier: “ultra-processing”
This Marion Nestle piece has been all over the interweb this week, thanks largely to its neat summary of a larger article in the Journal of the World Public Health Nutrition Association (or, in journal acronym parlance, JWPHNAUIDOHFEUNSFUS). The author, Carlos Monteiro, devised a tri-level classification for processed foods. Level 1 is unprocessed, Level 2 is minimally processed, and Level 3 is ultra-processed, and includes almost every convenience product out there. Guess which is the unhealthiest? Yeah. It’s that one. Interesting stuff, not least because Nutritionism is highlighted as a veddy bad ting.

5) HuffPo: Whole Foods Doubles Net Income
Wow. You knew Whole Paycheck was doing well, but not this well. They attribute the growth to, “more competitive pricing and efforts during the quarter to appeal to its core customers concerns about healthy eating, animal welfare and sustainable seafood.” Makes sense. Everybody, invest now!

6) Good Eater: For Young Locavores - Eating Local on a Budget
I’m trying to think of ways to describe this piece that don’t already appear in the title, but that headline pretty much sums it up. So, hey! Young locavores! Check this thing. It’s about eating local on a budget. But you knew that.

7) The Simple Dollar: Review – Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half
Trent lays out a chapter-by-chapter summary of the new book from the Economides (“World’s Cheapest”) Family, expanding on key theories within the text. Really, it’s kind of a primer for thriftier, healthier eating in itself, making it worth the read.

Debbie Stabenow

8) Serious Eats: Midterm Elections - Who Will Be the Next Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee?
Agribusiness stalwart Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) is out (with a vengeance), so who’s to take her place? According to Obama Foodarama, it’s looking like Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who may be in a position to challenge Big Ag on certain policies.

9) Wise Bread: 6 Plant-Based Diet Tricks for Carnivores
This dovetails nicely with Leigh’s piece from yesterday, if you’re looking to chop some meat. Er … cut some meat out of your diet. Oh, English language. How you confound me sometimes.

10) AOL News: Security Gourd - Man Fights Off Robber With Squash
Butternut squash: more effective than handguns, and only ten times as heavy. Im thinkin the NYPD might want to look into this.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Chow: What’s the Difference Between Types of Oatmeal?
Don’t know your instant from your steel-cut? Now you do.

Money Saving Mom: What Meals Can I Cook Without an Oven?
As it turns out, many.

stonesoup: Knife Skills – How to Chop Like a Chef
I link to lots o knife skills posts, cause theyre important. Anyway, here’s another one.

THANKSGIVING

• Chow: 10 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dishes
• The Kitchn: Help Me Make a Festive Meatless Dish for Thanksgiving
• Serious Eats: How to Choose Wine for Thanksgiving

AND ALSO

The Swedish Chef: Cårven der Pümpkîn
I’m a week late on this, but is der Swedish Chef ever unwelcome? No. And there’s a chainsaw. Mork mork mork!



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!

First off, thanks to everyone commenting on Wednesday’s post. I’ve rarely read such a thoughtful, well-reasoned discussion on the internet, and it’s wonderful beyond words. (Er, except these words.).

Second, on to the links!

1) Jezebel: “Let’s Move” - Michelle Obama’s Anti-Obesity Program Looks Promising
Post of the week, man. This breakdown of MObama’s obesity initiative covers much of the same territory Marion Nestle does (see #2), but with the added bonus of hundreds of excellent comments discussing all sides of the issue. Even better, Jez goes on to post an excerpt from a National Review piece by Julie Gunlock, who has absolutely no idea what she’s talking about. It’s opposition for opposition’s sake, and it’s heinous.

2) Food Politics:
The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation
Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity: Applause!
What Mrs. Obama’s Campaign Does Not Do: Food Marketing to Kids
Everything you ever wanted to know about this weeks newly unveiled anti-obesity program, but were afraid to ask/attempt to navigate government websites.

3) The Atlantic: How to Wield a Knife
Gory and fascinating look at knife safety in a butcher shop. The tips will help you remain injury-free. The scar stories will fascinate and repulse you. (The guy buried a cimeter knife in his arm! GAH.)

4) Oregon Live: Thin Budget, Smart Choices
Maybe the best article about healthy budget grocery shopping I’ve ever read, and an excellent companion piece to Wednesday’s CHG article. Expert Ellen Damaschino buys a full week of food for a family of four on a food stamp budget. (P.S. We get a mention at the bottom! Woo!)

5) AVClub: Taste Test - MREs
The sensitive palates at The Onion tried six different MREs, the military-issued ready-to-eat meals legendarily loathed by the fine members of our armed forces. Hilarity ensues, with reactions ranging from, “The cheese spread is almost exactly like a chunk of Velveeta that’s been left out too long and is starting to sweat” to lots (and lots) of disgusted cursing.

6) Chow: Know Your Legumes
A virtual encyclopedia of beans, lentils, and split peas for those looking to expand their legumic consciousness. Trippy, man.

7) BoingBoing: Highlights from TED 2010 - “We Can Eat to Starve Cancer”
So, check this: cancer needs angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels) to grow and spread. The produce-heavy foods listed herein slow the process, and consequently, could help slow cancer. I don’t know how thoroughly researched this is, but if it’s appearing at TED, there has to be some legitimacy there. Plus, it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?

8) The Kitchn: How to Select the Best Produce – Fruit and Vegetables
Print out this convenient pair of rundowns, stick ‘em in your wallet, and *poof*, you’ll never buy an unripe cantaloupe again! (Also: I just forgot how to spell “cantaloupe.” I think I’m getting dumber.)

9) New York Times: One Bowl = 2 Servings. FDA May Fix That
The feds could ask manufacturers to provide more accurate, prominent calorie/portion labeling on food packaging. Because who eats half a can of soup?

10) Money Saving Mom: How Buying Less Can Set You Free
Let this zen post be your frugalist mantra from now on. All will be well. Ohm.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

BlogHer: 44 Chili Recipes for Super Bowl XXLIV
Awesome! Just in time for the big game! (*Husband-Elect whispers in ear*) Uh … awesome! Just in time for Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget a breath mint.

Cooking Light: Food Court Survival Guide
Quick slideshow highlighting the healthiest choices at eight major fast food chains.

EcoSalon: Want to Lose Weight? Eat a Really Big Breakfast.
Kicking your morning off with a large meal will help keep you sated throughout the day. Another pancake, please. (Thanks to Casual Kitchen for the link.)

MSN Smart Spending: Organic Economics – The Budget Version
Nice beginners guide to buying organic food with limited finances.

Mom Advice: The Best Steakhouse Dining Experience on a Poor House Budget
Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Neatorama: Lose Weight Without Exercise While Eating All You Want – For Real! Yay, Science!
All you have to do is move to a much higher altitude. This must be why Coloradoans are so thin and sporty and stuff.

AND ALSO

Fat Nutritionist
Smart, informed, non-judgmental, body positive, occasionally profane, Canadian. What more could you want?

(Photos from WhiteHouse.gov and Wikimedia.)

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!

We had a wonderful week here at CHG thanks to oatmeal, Lois S. Kellogg, and yall. In gratitude, Im sending a tray of Cholives to everyone who logged on. But before that...

1) Fed Up: School Lunch Project
Mrs. Q is a teacher at an unidentified school in Chicago. This year, she’s eating lunch from the kids’ cafeteria and documenting the whole ordeal. It ain’t pretty, folks. Bagel dogs, ahoy! (Pic from the Mrs. Q.)

2) Parent Hacks: Let little kids "help" with cooking by placing the mixing bowl on the open dishwasher door
Simple. Brilliant. Different. Better. Moms and dads (especially of brilliant little girls named Julia), read on!

3) The Kitchn
Warm and Restorative – 15 Favorite Soup Recipes
Fresh and Flavorful – 15 Lighter Recipes From the Kitchn
Two more recipe countdowns from the Kitchn. I’m gonna start just reserving them a spot here.

4) New York Times: Snack Time Never Ends
The revelations in this article: better than “The Song That Never Ends,” but still pretty irksome. Almost half of U.S. children eat three snacks a day? That seems … excessive. (*Runs off to eat snack.*)

5) Washington Post: Michelle Obama Promises Childhood Obesity Plan
MObama’s launching a new initiative focusing on health and activity in schools, communities, and beyond. Say what you will about recent political developments, but this woman is kind of my idol.

6) Chow: How to Eat Less Meat - Tips on de-meatifying your favorite dishes
Smart, helpful slideshow discusses principles that might make you crave meat less, eat more veggies. Umami, texture, and acid figure prominently. Mmm … acid.

7) Slate: How Do Companies Determine Serving Size?
So this is interesting: did you know that a pint of Ben & Jerry’s is supposed to contain four separate servings? And that these, and pretty much all portion sizes, are determined by guidelines established in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when we were all eating much less? Hunh.

8) The Atlantic: Calorie Labeling Works
According to a new study, “people do change their ordering behavior when they see calorie counts [on menus] —though not the first.” Slow and steady, guys! The more people are aware of their food, the better. Except maybe at Taco Bell. Denial is kind of helpful there.

9) Philadelphia Enquirer: Eat Up, Be Well
You read a lot of “What CAN we eat?” rants these days, but they’re rarely phrased as well as this piece by Dianna Marder. Diet is not a one-size-fits-all kinda thing, bucko.

10) The New York Times: If Your Kids Are Awake, They’re Probably Online
Jaw. Dropping. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “[Kids] ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day with … a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device.” Are we officially in the Matrix now? When do they sleep?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

344 Pounds: Guide to Losing Pounds
Tyler may be the most prominent dieter/lifestyle changer in the blogosphere right now. Here’s how he dropped 125 pounds. (Thanks to Casual Kitchen for the link.)

The Atlantic: School Gardeners Strike Back
I like to imagine this is about superhero gardening strike teams, fending off the forces of evil using only hoes (heh) and radioactive packets of tomato seeds, but it’s actually a response piece to Caitlin Flanagan’s hatchet job from last week. My dreams, deferred.

Get Rich Slowly: The Art of the Potluck
Confucius say: if inexpensive, fun, creative family gatherings are what you’re looking for, access your inner potluck planner. Then go eat.

Hillbilly Housewife: Foraging for Food in My Kitchen
In a world ... littered with "eat from your pantry" posts ... comes a woman ... who did it successfully. This is her story.

Kalyn’s Kitchen: How to Make Ham Stock (and Recipe Ideas)
Chicken stock gets too much play. Get out and ham it up, everybody!

The Kitchn: Extra-tall Cutting Boards for Extra-tall Cooks
As a potential Harlem Globetrotter myself, I declare this winner of the Meadowlark Lemon Award for Achievement in Making Tall People’s Lives Easier.

Lifehacker: Make Five-Minute Sorbet in a Ziploc Bag
Any budding Alton Brown’s out there willing to try this? I’ll provide the plastic bag and intricate cheers during the shaking portion of the program

AND ALSO

Epic Win FTW
An entire blog filled with awesomeness. Scroll through back posts for instant day brighteners like:


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!