Health for life

Thats a popular question around here. Rather than try to argue the merits of one diet over another, Ill point you to a study that appeared in a January 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers compared the effectiveness of 4 popular diets:

• Atkins (low carbohydrate)
  
• Ornish (low fat)
  
• Weight Watchers (calorie restriction)
  
• Zone (carb/protein/fat balance)

They randomly assigned 160 people to one of the diets above. After a year they assessed their findings.

They found all diets produced a modest weight loss, and all improved scores of cardiovascular health (the more weight the subject lost, the lower his cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and insulin levels) - as long as the participant stuck with the diet. The more extreme diets such as Atkins and Ornish had the greatest drop-out rates.

Maria Adams, author of the summary article Ive linked below, included this comparison table:



________
For a summary of the study:
Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets: A Comparison

For the study itself (abstract only, subscription required for full article):
Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction

Apologies for the excessive link compilations, folks. Well return to regular blogging on Monday. In the meantime - its the best of December 2009. Lots of liveblogging this month, including the Biggest Loser finale and the all-day Food Network marathon, from which the world may never truly recover. And by “the world,” I mean “my lower back.” (Hyuck hyuck hyuck.)

Happy reading, everybody, and thank you for making CHG as joyous as it is.

DECEMBERS NEW RECIPES
Almond Milk
Chicken Fried Rice
Lighter Baked Ziti
Mushroom Bhaji (Mushrooms in Tomato Onion Sauce)
Red Cabbage with Apples


DECEMBER ARTICLES

We watched Paula, Emeril, Alton, and company for 19-Hour Food Network Running Diary: The Whole Thing and Various Conclusions. Then we blogged about it.

First, we got some practice with The Biggest Loser Season 8 Finale: Livebloggin’.

If you ever wanted to eat healthier without a cookbook, then you might dig Lighten Any Meal: 10 Easy, Inexpensive Steps to Healthier Recipes.

Leigh clued us into faux flesh with Newsflash! Scientists Getting Closer to Lab-grown Meat.

In this month’s Ask the Internet, we answered a wedding beer question, brought up an ethical dilemma concerning bad produce, wondered about unused Christmas food, and suggested family recipes for a vegetarian, a meat-eater, and picky kids.


FOR MORE CHEAP HEALTHY GOODNESS...

1) Have your say!
We love creative comments and thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous new Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, minus the soul-crushing frustration of Bejeweled.

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. And that’s always nice. P.S. Thank you to EVERYONE who so generously bought for Christmas. It was much appreciated.

5) Remember: it’s “supposedly,” not “supposubly.”
With your help, we can stop this terrible affliction in the new year. Happy 2010!

Today’s question is inspired by the front of Cook’s Illustrated.

Q: Everyone has little tips, tricks, and hints that make their lives easier in the kitchen. What are your favorites?

A: Here are my two:

1) I don’t like using supermarket plastic bags to pack my produce. It feels wasteful. But throwing them in a regular canvas bag inevitably results in bruising and cuts. Enter the recyclable wine bag.


Now, I place individual fruits and veggies into one of the six compartments. It protects the skin and keeps them from rolling around. Of course, I still use plastic if it’s a big bunch of wet romaine, but this is a nice solution for a good chunk of my groceries.


2) Dragging a knife sideways across a cutting board surface will dull the blade, but fast. So, when I’m chopping herbs or mincing garlic, I use the dull side to gather them into a pile. That way, the blade stays sharp and I don’t get food all over my hands.


Readers, how about you? What are your best little strategies and tips for cooking, shopping, and/or eating?

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

As I shared with you last week, my everyday diet is about 90% vegan. My cereal swims in almond milk; nonhydrogenated vegan margarine graces my biscuits; and tofu, flax seeds, and powdered egg replacer bind my cookies and cakes.

When I do eat dairy and eggs, I make it count with good cheese and eggs from chickens that got to run around on some dirt and grass. I am an obsessive label reader, talk to farmers at the market, and, because I’m frugal in other ways, am willing to pay a little more for animal-friendly(er) cheese and eggs.

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting a quaint little “farm” in semirural North Carolina, run by three generations of my family. Okay, “farm” is a stretch. My parents have been raising back-yard chickens for two years, with the assistance of my sister and her three boys; and I, finally, got to try the fruits of everyone’s labor.

HL, the middle boy, is the most enthusiastic caretaker of the brood. Within minutes of my arrival—and well after dark—he offered me a tour of the coop and reassured me to not “be embarrassed if you step in chicken poop in the back yard. It’s everywhere. I do it all the time.” He’s 11.

Gingerly but confidently holding Rooster Cogburn, the tiny bantam rooster, the next morning HL showed CB and I around the coop my dad and sister built for the 12 hens and single rooster. They live in a cozy, wood coop with nesting beds and high beams for roosting. The enclosed pen keeps them safe from the hawks that frequent the nearby wood.

For several hours a day, “the girls” are let out to roam the 1/2-acre backyard. My sister is vigilant about protecting them from predators: snakes, rodents, and those pesky hawks. She once caught two blacksnakes by hand, put them in a big plastic tub with a lid, and trucked them over to her place to “keep down the copperheads.” Apparently, after a mile, snakes lose their way and won’t be back to pester the girls.

The brood consists of white Leghorns, stripey Barred (Plymouth) Rocks, black Australorps and Jersey Giants, and bantam-sized Black Breasted Reds, including Rooster Cogburn. My dad makes no bones that these chickens are more pets than farm animals. He laughs, “They all have names; they’re pets.” Among the current brood are (Chicken) Noodle, Peep, and Annakin.

My family’s reward for their hard work and TLC is fresh eggs every day, even now that its getting colder and toward the end of the season. I’d never had eggs that fresh from the farm and they were delicious. Now, I won’t pretend they were the best eggs I’ve ever eaten; I can’t tell the difference between grocery store eggs and the organic, farm-fresh I normally buy (most people can’t).

But knowing these eggs had come straight from the chicken—chickens lovingly cared for and fed (organic seed and corn) by my family—was pretty special and made me feel good about taking home a dozen.

There are times when I get lazy and buy supermarket cheese or eat an omelet at the local diner* (who knows where they get their eggs), though I think I’ll be less likely do so after witnessing my parents’ backyard farm in action. Knowing where my food comes from is important to me, and I make my best effort to live my beliefs without making myself crazy.

Thanks family and adorable chickens; in so many ways, this is the best frittata I’ve ever eaten.

*Supporting groups like Farm Sanctuary helps ease my conscience, and adopting a turkey is one of favorite my Thanksgiving traditions.

~~~

If this tickled your fancy, direct your attention to:

• Golden Delight Egg Salad
• Roasted Red Pepper, Artichoke, Parmesan, and Olive Frittata
• Shaksouka

~~~

Roasted Winter Squash Frittatta
Serves 2


Roasted Winter Squash
2 cups winter squash, peeled and cubed
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Frittatta
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp almond or soy milk
salt and fresh black pepper to tasted
1 tsp olive oil
2–3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 – 1 1/2 cups roasted winter squash
3 cups arugula (or leafy green of your choice), torn into pieces

Instructions
For the roasted squash
1) Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half and scoop out guts and seeds. (Rinse and roast seeds separately for a tasty snack.) Caully peel away skin and cut squash into 1/2-inch cubes.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, toss 2 cups of squash cubes with olive oil, fresh thyme, and salt. Pour into a baking pan and cook for about 20 minutes, until tender. Stir at the 10 minute mark. When squash is cooked through to desired consistency, remove from oven and set aside. Two cups of squash will cook down to about 1 to 1 1/2 cups.

For the frittata
3) Meanwhile...In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs with almond or soy milk. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper if desired. Set aside.

4) Set oven to broil. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet with an oven-proof handle. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is ideal for the job. Saute garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat, then add thyme. Cook together for 1 minute.

5) Add arugula to herbs, cooking until greens are wilted. Add squash and stir until heated through. Pour egg mixture over vegetables.

6) Allow the egg to set, about 10 seconds, then stir. Repeat: allow egg to set, stir. Let egg to cook for 2–3 minutes. Then caully move pan to the top oven rack, under the broiler, for 2–3 more minutes until top of the egg is set. Be sure to use an oven mitt or pot holder when grabbing the skillet handle from the oven. (Learn from my absentmindedness!)

7) Slide frittata onto plate and serve with salad and crusty sourdough bread for a perfect fall brunch or supper. Be prepared for kisses.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
244 calories, 13.7g fat, 3g fiber, 13.9g protein, $.85

Note: My cost is lower because I got my eggs for free (weee)! If I’d spent the usual $4.00/dozen for fresh eggs from the farmers’ market, my cost would increase to $3.01 total and $1.51 per serving.

Calculations
1 tsp olive oil: 39.6 calories, 4.6g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.03
3 cloves garlic: 12 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.04
1 tbsp fresh thyme: 1 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.10
3 cups arugula: 12 calories, 0g fat, 1.5g fiber, 2.25g protein, $1.25
1 1/2 cups roasted winter squash: 134.6 calories, 2.3g fat, 4.5g fiber, 1.5g protein, $.21
4 eggs, beaten: 284 calories, 20g fat, 0g fiber, 24g protein, $0.00
2 tbsp almond or soy milk: 4.8 calories, 0.4g fat, 0.12g fiber, 0.12g protein, $0.06
TOTALS: 488 calories, 27.3g fat, 6g fiber, 27.75g protein, $1.69
PER SERVING (TOTALS/2): 244 calories, 13.7g fat, 3g fiber, 13.9g protein, $.85

Another month, another fabulous round of posts and comments from readers. February is the greatest, and not just because of the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, the Olympics, and Pa’s birthday. It’s the greatest because y’all make it that way. I’m mentally sending warm fuzzies as a thank you gift.

FEBURARY RECIPES
Baked Loaded Potato Skins
Cremini Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers, and Feta on Ciabatta Bread
Gingersnap Oatmeal
Kasha with Root Vegetables and Dill
Ketchup
Oatmeal with Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, and Scallions
Sardine Avocado Open-Face Sandwiches
Seitan Carolina Barbecue Bites
Southwestern Chicken

FEBRUARY ARTICLES

This month, we tackled CHG’s core mission with Food Money Matters: Why Healthy Eating Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive.

Then we spread the love with Eat Cheap and Healthy – How to Help Others?

Leigh taught us the ins and outs of our favorite cooking liquid with Olive Oil - Buying, Storing, and Using it, Demystified. Gotta love that lady.

Super Bowl Recipes: 50 Cheap and Healthy Party Foods guided us to the light.

We’re right in the middle of The $25 Food Project: One Man, Seven Days, 21 Meals. It should finish up Tuesday, with a full report on Wednesday. In the meantime, here’re the wrap-ups from first four days, :

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4

This month’s Ask the Internet was all over the place. In a good way, of course. We addressed:

• Healthy Valentine’s Dinners
• How to Tip a Waiter
• Pink Foods and Recipes
• Three Food Choices – a Hypothetical Question

FOR MORE CHEAP HEALTHY GOODNESS...

1) Have your say!
We love reading comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous new Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, and no one will ask you to join Farm Town or Mafia Wars or whatever.

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. Maybe shilealagh for St. Patrick’s Day? Thatd be nice.

5) Go see Shutter Island!
But don’t bring the kids. Some guy in our showing had his three-year-old in tow. I like to think that CPS was waiting for him outside the theater.

April: there were showers. There were flowers. There were even the New York Mets, exercising their baseball powers. And here at CHG, it was a lovely month. Let us now look back on 30 days of local produce, questionable food photography (see: recipe #1), and the best little ol’ posts you ever did see. To borrow from the great Stan Lee, excelsior!

APRIL RECIPES

Breakfast Couscous Custard with Peaches
Crustless Spinach Mushroom Quiche
Lemon-Ginger Dressing
Roasted Asparagus with Chickpeas
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Sweet Potato Kugel
Tofu Bahn Mi
Whole Wheat Pasta with Asparagus and Turkey Sausage


APRIL ARTICLES

‘Twas a month of lists here at CHG, and it all started with The 10 Cheapest, Healthiest Foods Money Can Buy.

Then we moved on to Cheap, Healthy Asparagus: 81 Recipes for the Springiest of Spring Vegetables.

And ended up at … oh, wait: Couponing for People Who Hate Couponing: A Zero-Stress Guide to Clipping Big Bargains isn’t a list. We’ll mention it anyway.

Hey! Remember On Progress? No? In retrospect, a more descriptive title would have helped. But dont be afraid to resh your memory!

Leigh told us all about Vegetarian Meal Planning for Meat Eaters, which was super helpful (as she tends to be).

Jaime asked: Why Eat Local? Then she answered her own question! Girl knows her stuff.

As for Ask the Internet, we wondered about all sorts of things. Like, f’r instance:

• Favorite Wedding Foods?
• Grain Recipes for Vegetarians? (No Beans.)
• I Can’t Believe This Food Product Exists.
• Recipe Help?

FOR MORE CHEAP HEALTHY GOODNESS...

1) Have your say!
We love reading creative comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even our fabulous Ask the Internet column, where y’all can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your Girl Scout Troop. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, minus the guilty feeling that youre missing something much more important!

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. And that’s always nice.

5) Remember: Don’t spill Nerds (the candy) into a baby’s diaper while you are changing him.
Don’t ask me how I know.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have completed our survey of the Best Deals at Trader Joes! Thanks to everyone who wrote in. There were 58 total commenters participating – 54 from the blog, 2 from Facebook, and 2 via email. And? Looking at the top ten vote-getters, this is going to be one hell of a party.

To review the process from last week: Every product mention got one vote. (So, if three different commenters wrote "butter," it got three votes.) Some things, like honey, elicited one clear vote and were easy to tally. Others, like cheese, were much more varied, producing several similar-but-not-exactly-alike answers. In those cases, I tallied the category as a whole, and then elaborated on individual responses within parentheses. (Um … if that makes sense, which it only kind of does. But youll see.)

Some overall observations:

• On the whole, frozen, organic, and restricted-diet (gluten-free, etc.) goods did very, very well, as did TJs house brand products, especially: Roasted red pepper boxed soup, Joe-Joes, Three-Buck Chuck, and Greek yogurt. 
• Overall, it appeared as if you dont necessarily shop at TJs for the basic necessities, but rather, for beloved extras - chocolate, wine, edamame, etc. 
• Almost half of you voted for some kind of cheese. Yowza.
• Votes for bread were split. A few liked TJ breads a LOT, while others mentioned it wasnt quite up to snuff.
• I loved how many people wrote WINE in all caps. Vino lovers, unite!

Without further ado, here are your answers. Print this thing out and take it with you on your next trip to TJs.

Wiki Commons Sprew

25 VOTES
Cheese (2 votes brie and goat, 1 vote each for cheddar/stilton, smoked gouda, shredded mexican, fontina)

21 VOTES
Nuts (3 votes almonds, 1 vote pistachios)

16 VOTES
Yogurt (12 votes Greek yogurt)

13 VOTES
Wine (1 vote organic, 2 votes Three-Buck Chuck)

12 VOTES
Dried fruit (3 votes mango, 2 vote bananas, 1 vote strawberries and cherries)
Olive oil

10 VOTES
Frozen veggies (2 votes green beans and corn, 1 vote each bell peppers and asparagus)

9 VOTES
Frozen edamame

8 VOTES
Cereal (1 vote Barbaras Bakery, 1 vote Honey-Os)
Chocolate (4 votes 1-lb. bars, 1 vote white chocolate)
Hummus
Marinara/Pasta sauces (1 vote organic)

7 VOTES
Bananas (1 vote organic)
Cookies (1 vote Maple Leaf, 1 vote Oatmeal Cranberry Dunkers, 4 votes Joe-Joes)
Eggs (1 vote organic)
Pasta (3 votes whole-wheat)
Peanut butter

6 VOTES
Boxed soups (3 votes roasted red pepper, 2 votes tomato, 1 vote black bean)
Bread ( 1 vote Cinnamon Swirl Bread, 1 vote pain au chocolat)
Canned beans (3 votes black)
Coffee
Jams (1 vote blueberry, 1 vote raspberry)

5 VOTES
Frozen Fruit (2 votes berries)
Ice cream (2 votes coffee-flavored, 1 vote Coconut milk)
Pizza Dough (generally frozen)

4 VOTES
Almond, rice, and soy milks
Apples (2 votes organic)
Bars (1 vote cereal, 1 vote Luna/Clif, 1 vote Fiberful, 1 vote Walks Into Bars)
Frozen pizza
Frozen prepared meals (1 vote veggie lasagna)
Milk
Salsa (1 vote Serrano)
Stock/Broth
Tortillas (1 vote organic, 1 vote whole wheat)

3 VOTES
Butter
Canned artichokes
Dairy (1 vote RBST-free)
Flat breads (1 vote Feta & Jalapeno, 1 vote Mediterranean)
Flour
Olives (1 vote canned)
Potstickers
Spinach
Tortilla chips
Trail Mix
Vitamins

2 VOTES
Almond butter
Beer
Frozen pre-cooked brown rice
Frozen veggie burgers (1 vote Morningstar Farms)
Gluten-free rice pasta
Ground beef
Organic whole chicken
Quinoa
Seltzer
Tofu

1 VOTE
Avocados, Bacon, Baby arugula, Balsamic vinegar, Balsamic vinegar dressing, Basmati and jasmine rice, Boxed Indian meals, Broth concentrate, Buttermilk, Canned crab, Capers, Cat food, Cilantro and yogurt dip, Clementine oranges, Coffee filters, Cottage cheese, Cranberry juice, Cream, Dog treats, Doggy glucosamine condroitin, English muffins, Facial cleansing pads w/tea tree oil, Flowers, Fresh produce, Frozen basil cubes, Frozen chile relleno, Frozen croissants, Frozen fish, Frozen hash browns, Frozen pie crust, Frozen shrimp, Gorgonzola gnocchi, Gorgozola crackers, Granola, Ground flaxseed meal, Gyoza, Hatch Green Chiles, Honey, Hot dogs, Individual Mac and cheese, International foods, Jarred hearts of palm, Kashis TLC crackers, Kefir, Kosher chicken/turkey, Laundry detergent, Lemons, Limes, Marinated mushrooms, Mayo (sorry Kris), Meat, Multi-grain pancake mix, Nitrate free meats, Olive tapenade, Organic carrots, Organic sugar, Pesto, Pineapples, Roasted red peppers, Romaine hearts, Pre-cooked lentils, Sausages, Shiitake mushrooms, Smoked salmon, Soy (fake) chorizo, Soy creamer (TJs brand), Special-diet foods, Steel-cut oats (McCanns) , Sun-dried tomatoes, Sushi platters, Sweet potato chips, Tabouli, Tamales, Taquitos, Tempeh, TJs chicken nuggets, TJs spaghetti-os, TJs peanut butter cups, Tomatoes, Tuna, Tuna meals, Veggie sticks

Sweet readers, is there anything youd like to add to this? Maybe something we missed, or another suggestion for a specific store survey? Thanks again for all your replies - this was really fun. (*runs off to buy cheese*)

~~~

If you enjoyed this, youll surely like:

• The Best Deals at Big Box Stores: A Cheat Sheet
• Food, Frugality, and Fighting Brand Loyalty
• Lighten Any Meal: 10 Easy, Inexpensive Steps to Healthier Recipes

Oh, sweet readers. Remember October? Looking back, it was a good month, wasnt it? We laughed. We cried. We had a crazy hailstorm that punched monster holes in all our hydrangeas. (Or maybe that was just us?) Lets reminisce together.

OCTOBER RECIPES
Kale and Balsamic Tofu Salad
Low-Fat Apple Coffee Cake
Malt Vinegar Oven Fries
Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Pine Nuts
Pumpkin Butter
Savory Squash Pie

OCTOBER ARTICLES

We named The #1 Rule of Personal Finance, and were wondering if, frankly, you agree.

Leigh declared, “As for Me and My House, We’ll Serve the Veggies!” And we liked it.

She also created a neat little spreadsheet to help you with Converting Those Pesky Weights and Measures.

Serving Sizes and Portion Control: A Primer ... uh … primed you … about stuff.

I got to yammer about good pasta and vicious chickens in What I Learned About Food in Italy.

We got all zen with When NOT to Eat Cheap, Healthy, and Good (Er, Well).

Winter Squash 101 (Plus 18 Recipes!) discussed everything you always wanted to know about said vegetables, but were too tremulous to ask. (Yes, tremulous!)

And rounding out the month, we Asked the Internet about:

• Best Kitchen Tips?
• Best Meals to Bring the Laid Up?
• Thanksgiving Recipes That Travel Well?

For more Cheap Healthy Goodness…

1) Have your say!
We love reading creative comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous new Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, without any accompanying not-so-fresh feeling.

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. And that’s always nice.

5) “I lost my mood ring. I don’t know how I feel about that.”
Hee.

It’s been a banner month here at Cheap Healthy Good, with record subscribers, more than 200,000 pageviews, and enough oatmeal to turn us all into Mr. Ed. Thank you, sweet readers. So much. You are, as always, the freakin’ best.

JANUARY RECIPES
Dijon Roasted Potatoes
Lemon Pudding Cakes
Palak Paneer (Indian Cheese and Greens)
Paneer (Fresh Indian Cheese)
Roasted Delicata Squash with Thyme
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree
Tomato-Avocado Salsa
Veggie Burgers

JANUARY ARTICLES

This month, we learned How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off: 10 Rules to Live By.

A good way to accomplish those goals: make Cheap, Healthy Master Recipes: Eight Versatile Dishes Entirely Adaptable to Your Tastes.

A good way to not accomplish those goals: follow the recipes in Vintage Cookbook Hoedown: The Quick Cook Book (1961) by Lois S. Kellogg.

Of course, maybe your family likes that kind of stuff. Or maybe they don’t. Maybe they hate food! In which case, Overcoming Your Cooking Obstacles, Part II: So, Your Family Doesn’t Cook is for you.

And if you want to save some cash on it all, try Meal Planning – An Experiment and Conversion.

Remember, though: the internet is always here to help. In this month’s Ask the Internet columns, we explored:

• Favorite Oatmeal Recipes
• Indoor Herb Garden Advice
• Kitchen Wedding Registry How-tos and last, but never least,
• Light Super Bowl Snack Ideas

FOR MORE CHEAP HEALTHY GOODNESS…

1) Have your say!
We love reading creative comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous new Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold: our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, minus the soul-crushing frustration of Bejeweled.

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. And that’s always nice.

5) Use the word “literally” correctly!
Because when you dont, bunnies die.

People who exercise along with taking statins to lower their high cholesterol levels can dramatically reduce their risk of dying, a large new study suggests.

"The reduction in death is independent; whatever statins do is independent of what exercise does," said lead researcher Peter Kokkinos, a professor in the cardiology department at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"When you combine the two, you get even better results," he said. "If you are taking statins, your mortality is about 35 percent lower versus not taking statins, but if you exercise, your mortality level decreases as your fitness level increases to the point where you can reach a 70 percent reduction in mortality."

Kokkinos is talking about regular moderate exercise -- not vigorous workouts. "Thirty minutes a day of brisk walking -- not a whole lot," he said.

Statin drugs include Lipitor (atorvastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), Crestor (rosuvastatin) and Zocor (simvastatin).

Some people cant take statins because of side effects, Kokkinos said. "For these people, exercise alone reduces your risk just as much, if not more, than statins," he said. However, he stressed, "we do not recommend that people do not take their statins."

Exercise works by stressing the body making it stronger, Kokkinos said. Its an evolutionary adaptation to protect the body from being overcome by changing stressors, he said.

"Get off the couch -- walk," Kokkinos said. "About 150 minutes a week of brisk walking is all you need."

The report was published online in the Nov. 28, 2012 edition of The Lancet.

For the study, Kokkinos team analyzed the medical records of more than 10,000 veterans with high cholesterol levels treated in Veterans Affairs hospitals in Washington D.C., and Palo Alto, Calif. Of these, 9,700 were men and 343 were women.

The researchers judged the fitness levels of the participants by looking at the results of standard treadmill exercise tolerance tests, which were given between 1986 and 2011.

Fewer deaths occurred among participants who were taking statins and were physically fit. Over 10 years of follow-up, those who were the most physically fit had the lowest risk of dying, the researchers noted.

These fittest people actually reduced their risk of dying by about 60 percent regardless of whether they were taking statins, according to the study.

These difference in death risk could not be explained by age, weight, ethnicity, gender, history of cardiovascular disease, risk factors for cardiovascular disease or medications, the researchers said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 71 million Americans have high cholesterol, which is an important risk factor for heart disease, the authors pointed out.

One expert familiar with the new findings cautioned that exercise is not a replacement for statins in those with high cholesterol. The best results are among those taking statins and who are the fittest, he emphasized.

"Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in men and women in the United States," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Statin therapy has been proven in multiple clinical trials to substantially reduce cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in men and women with or at risk for cardiovascular disease," he said.

Some people have assumed that if they are engaging in regular exercise and are physically fit that they may not benefit from statin treatment and some physicians consider statin therapy only for patients who have failed attempts at lifestyle modification, Fonarow said.

This new study shows that at all levels of physical fitness, statin therapy was independently associated with lower risk of dying. The very best 10-year outcomes were among men and women taking statins with the highest fitness levels, he noted.

"These findings further reinforce the remarkable real-world clinical effectiveness and safety of statin therapy to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease," Fonarow said.

It’s been our BME (Best. Month. Evah.) here at CHG (Cheap Healthy Good), both in terms of traffic (over 450,000 pageviews!) and comments (whee!). Thank you, sweet readers, both old school and new wave. Here’s hoping we can keep the streak alive. (Crap! I mentioned the streak! Somewhere, Joe DiMaggio is tut-tutting me all classy-like.) One more article coming tomorrow, and then it’s on to April.

MARCH RECIPES

Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Broccoli with Roasted Red Peppers
Chickpea Cutlets
Curried Apples and Acorn Squash
Dal with Rice and Ginger
Rice Pudding
Salsa Couscous Chicken OR Moroccan Chicken
Vegetarian Chili
White Bean Dip


MARCH ARTICLES

Remember when we fed the Husband-Elect for $25 that one week? Thems was good times. There’s even a clip of our Early Show appearance here! We ended the whole deal with The $25 Food Project Finale: Recipes, Conclusions, and an Exit Interview

Our greatest bombs were documented in CHG Hall of Shame III: Return of the Breadi.

Leigh asked and answered: HOW Old is that Oatmeal? When to Clean Out the Pantry.

Then, she exclaimed mightily, "I Want to Be a Tofu Butcher!"

There was that two-part series on the Junk Food Tax, starting with Reasonable Public Health Measure or Evidence of a Nanny State? and ending with Reader Ideas, Opinions, and Solutions.

Oh, and hey: Need a Weekly Meal Planner, a Grocery List, or Price Books? We Have 36 of ‘em.

Ask the Internet, was ever-so-lovely, as always. We inquired about the following:

• $25 Grocery List from Scratch?
• CSA Reviews, Ideas, and Experiences?
• Fast Breakfast for Students?
• Food Funny?
• Hominy Recipes?

For more Cheap Healthy Goodness…

1) Have your say!
We love reading creative comments and participating in thought-provoking discussions. There’s even a fabulous Ask the Internet column, where readers can write in with various inquiries and/or offer helpful suggestions. Sweet.

2) Spread the word!
Like us? Link to us! Refer us to a bookmarking site! (We have StumbleUpon and Digg buttons now!) Or just talk us up to your mom. That’s nice, too.

3) Behold our social networking!
Subscribe to our feed, join our Facebook page, or check out our Twitter … thing. They’re super fun ways to kill time, minus the soul-crushing frustration of Bejeweled.

4) Buy from our Amazon Store!
If you click on the Amazon widget (lower left hand corner) and buy anything from Amazon (not just what we’re advertising on CHG), we get a small commission. And that’s always nice.

5) Remember: when a neighborhood kid drops an empty Papa John’s pizza box on your front stoop, it’s within your rights to pelt him with water balloons.
Oh, Brooklyn.