The Joys of Junk and More Hot Links

New York Times - Money Is Tight, and Junk Food Beckons
My, this sounds familiar. I am not yet making tortillas from scratch, but I do bake a lot of our bread, muffins, and sandwich rolls. I've switched to dried beans and never buy pre-cut or washed produce. It takes a little more work, but it saves us enough money that we can actually eat more than just grains.

Honestly, though, I have to wonder where all this cheap junk food is. A pound of chips costs more than a pound of any of the raw vegetables I bought at the grocery store today, even including the vegetable oil I might use in cooking them.

If you want to talk fast-food versus grocery-store prices, I suppose it's less clear cut. Still, I think fast food wins out for most people because of its convenience, not its cost.

New York Times - Stretching: The Truth
Punning headline aside, read this article to learn the correct way to stretch as part of a warm up. Hint: Not the way you probably learned in P.E.

ABC News - Ten Foods to Fight Colds and Boost Your Immunity
I get sick less often when I stick to a healthy diet (including avoiding foods that trigger my digestive issues). I don't know for sure it's my diet and not some other factor helping my immune system, but surely eating healthy is also good in its own right.

New York Times - Calories Do Count
It's hilarious how restaurants are spinning their scramble to offer lower-cal menu items as solely due to giving the customers what they want, not AT ALL due to legislation forcing calorie counts out of the shadows. They have to promote that agenda to fight off further calorie-posting laws, but the truth is, consumers wouldn't be demanding less caloric items if they hadn't been confronted with JUST HOW MANY calories are in their favorite dishes.

Well Blog - Still Spooked by High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Now you can respond to those silly commercials.

Health - Heart-Healthy, Cost-Conscious Recipes and Food Tips
A roundup of some of the latest healthy eating news from a conference.