Put Down The Hamburger

One in three Americans is obese, and one in five suffers from heart disease. Some point to pepsi coupons and inactive lifestyles as the culprits, but nutrition expert Kimberly Stahkal says the problem is bigger and more complex than that. She says that diets composed primarily of processed foods contribute to gradual toxic food poisoning (which is as scary as it sounds). Here are the foods she says you need to cut back on in a major way to get back on track:

Fried Foods  -- You know all the fat necessary to fry foods can’t be good for you – but a recent study in 2010  showed a connection between fried meat and bladder cancer, which is pretty unnerving. And even weirder, some scientific studies show that consumption of fried foods leads to increased occurrence of asthma in some patients.

Fast Food –Stahkal says that fast food isn’t really food most of the time, which is why it should be called “fast edibles.” Not only is it ridiculously high in fat, calories, and sodium, it’s very low in nutrients and is composed primarily of artificial ingredients and preservatives. So stay away! 

White Flour Products – Stahkal says white flour is one of the most dangerous processed foods out there, in part because it seems so innocuous. The whole grain in white flour is refined, bleached, and treated with chemicals so that it is hard for your body to process – and alloxan, a by-product of food bleaching, has been linked to pancreatic failure and type two diabetes.

Soda – Giving up Pepsi coupons may be one of the hardest things for people to do, but Stahkal calls soda “a recipe for disease disguised in a delicious, bubbly brew.” The acidity of soda is tied to tooth decay (whether the soda is diet or regular), and it’s hard on the kidneys too – soda drinking has been linked to kidney disease and renal problems. Plus, regular soda drinkers are 80% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-drinkers – so H20 is the way to go. 

Camo Diapers (Just In Time For Hunting Season)

           

         If you’re looking to give your little one a head start on big game hunting, best pick up a few huggies coupons. If your baby needs to blend in on the battlefield, huggies are what you need. And while neither of the aforementioned activities sounds appropriate for ages 0-12 months, the appropriate attire is available thanks to Huggies’ newest product: camouflage diapers.

            The camouflage nappies are part of Huggies’ designer line, which also includes wildly popular denim-look diapers. Designer diapers cost 20 percent more than plain ones, but that doesn’t seem to be deterring

Parents – more than 60 million denim-look diapers have been sold this year alone!

            It may seem extravagant to splurge on something that’s intended to be pooped in, but Huggies spokespeople say that diapers are an essential part of babies’ wardrobes in the summer months, when they often wear little else. If the designer diapers still feel extravagant, you can calm your conscience with the knowledge that, for every package of camo diapers sold, Huggies will donate a package of diapers to a military family in need through their Every Little Bottom charitable initiative.

            If jeans and camo aren’t your style, rival diaper manufacturer Pampers has a few options for you, including Cynthia Rowley-designed diapers and nappies in argyle and floral patterns. They’re just the thing for fashionistas in (potty) training, but don’t miss out – each designer diaper collection is available for only a limited time, so stock up with Huggies coupons while you can. 

            If you feel a twinge of eco-guilt every time you fill up the tank, use Pampers coupons, or forget your reusable grocery bags, these products (which are newly released or will be released this year) are right up your alley. 

Nissan Leaf Electric Car – Greenhouse gas emissions laws and the predicted increased availability of electric charging stations, so the Leaf is posed to be for the 2010s what the Prius was for the 2000s.

Wattson Energy Monitoring Device – Monitoring your energy costs? Watching your watts is a breeze with this device, which monitors household electricity use. The device, from DIY Kyoto, even lights up red when energy consumption goes up (say, you turn on the dishwasher) and lights up green when you reduce energy consumption.

SmartGrid Appliances – To save money and the environment, Whirlpool’s SmartGrid enabled appliances can be controlled remotely by the power company, which can lower thermostats, switch to energy-saver mode, and shut down appliances entirely during times of peak demand (hasta la vista, blackouts).

"G" Diapers – Even eco-friendly families have been reluctant to ditch Pampers coupons in favor of cloth diapers, which are a pain in the butt to clean. But no longer will parents have to chose between convenience and their love of the environment, because the G diaper features innovative two-part construction that allows you to flush the soiled inner lining while reusing the stylish outer-pants again and again. 20 billion diapers are dumped in American landflls each year, but this might take a bite out of that troubling figure. 

Biobased Products – The USDA launched a new "USDA Certified Biobased Product" category this year, so you can expect more and more companies to make use of biodegradable, sustainable packaging. Pepsi is already working on an entirely plant-based bottle, and those compostable potato-chip bags are getting less noisy. 

School Bans Mirrors, Controversy Ensues

                

                   Every day, high school girls spend their passing periods swapping makeup tips and gossip – but one British girl’s school is so determined to prevent the distraction of vanity that they’ve removed all mirrors from the school building!

                  The pupils at Shelley College in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire won’t be needing any makeup coupons this school year, because the school has banned makeup entirely. The zero-tolerance policy mandates that students must be checked for maeup and teachers may distribute makeup removal kits to students who do not comply. The policy was put in place to prevent pupils from storming the restrooms at class breaks to primp, which was seen as counter to the institution’s lofty ideals.

                  ‘There comes a point when you need to stop teachers spending half an hour in the day talking to girls about their make-up. It is more sensible to say it’s not allowed.,” said head teacher John McNally, who says that most parents and students have been supportive of the measure. ‘We removed the mirrors because there were a number of girls who were going in to the toilets at lunchtime and hanging around in there and eating their sandwiches.”

                  Apparently, the school first attempted to board up the mirrors, but girls tore the boards down to get around the ban and the mirrors were then uninstalled altogether.

                  Some pupils, however, are not in favor of the ban.

                  “Before the ban I’d wear foundation, mascara and eyeliner, now I don’t wear any. It is a bit unfair, I do believe too much make-up can be a distraction but so too can too little,” said student Emily Stonehouse, 14. However, students have noted that the bathrooms are less crowded now that they no longer need makeup coupons.

                  “When the mirrors were taken away, it seemed a bit extreme,” said Rebecca Mannifield, 14, said: ‘It’s okay that we’re all in it together, you realize nobody is no prettier or uglier, we all just look normal.”

Easy & Brilliant Makeup Magnet Board Project

         If you’re like most of the women I know, your makeup drawer looks like the site of a minor-scale natural disaster. I’ve got years of accumulated eyeshadows, lip colors, and products I bought with maybelline coupons. The problem is that the chaos is so severe I can’t always find the shade I want when I need it (which makes getting out the door in a flash a bi tricky) and I have a lot of great products that are under-utilized because I forget that they’ve been lost in the abyss of that crazy cluttered drawer.

         And if you’re like most of the women I know, you’ll be totally in love with this great organization idea from a crafty blogger named Laura. Faced with the same makeup mashup problem we’re all familiar with, she came up with an inventive and adorable solution that makes it easy to see what you’re working with and find what you want when you want it. It’s a magnetic board that displays your cosmetics and keeps them organized – genius, I know. You can find the step-by-step instructions for how to make your very own here. Even if you aren’t terribly crafty, the project is easy and inexpensive. At long last your maybelline coupon scores will be organized! 

Diet Coke-Propelled Cars?! Yep, they're real!

       If you’ve got Diet Coke coupons and Mentos, you’ve got everything you need to power a car … a lego car, anyway.

         Engineers in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Finland’s Abo Akademi have harnessed the chemical reaction that occurs when mentos mints meet diet cola to propel a miniature automobile constructed of lego building blocks. They call it the “CoMet” ( get it – COke + MEnTos, plus it’s super fast… oh those witty Finnish engineers!). It’s a relatively simple device, which is part of what makes it so brilliant.

         The foaming action initiated when mentos are dropped into the soda causes foam to burst out of a nozzle and start a spool spinning. A Fishing line is wound on the spool, and that line is connected to the car, so that the car is pulled by the line at speeds up to 40 kilometers per hour. That’s 24 miles an hour, which is pretty darn fast for a car that size.

         I really wish they’d figure out how to power full-sized cars this way – I think I could save a ton on gas with Diet Coke coupons, and it would be kind of neat to be able to drink the stuff that fuels your car. 

The Sweet Smell of Air Travel

          

          Have you ever boarded a flight and wished for instantaneous onset of a congesting head cold? That smell of chemicals, airport food court food, body odor and perfume can be pretty overwhelming. Airlines can’t require that their passengers use Mitchum coupons and they can’t ban food, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t doing anything to help ease the suffering of air travelers with sensitive noses.

         British Airways has recently confirmed that they’re considering a unique approach to the stinky-plane problem – using scent to mimic the experience of walking into a ritzy department store. They hope that passengers will subconsciously associate pleasant odors with the British Airways experience and will chose the airline over competitors as a result.

         The scent initiative is a part of the airlines marketing campaign to “Make Flying Special” by making the cabin of airplanes feel more like executive lounges.

         You might think this was a totally novel idea, but Singapore Airlines has used its own unique fragrance to welcome passengers onto its aircraft for years. But if you’re going to mimic a competitor, Singapore Airlines is the one: it’s been named “The World’s Best Airline” for years. Their fragrance is called “Stefan Floridian Waters” and is warn by the flight attendants who hand out fragrance-infused hot towels during the flight.

         If you aren’t flying British Airlines or Singapore Airlines, though, please use your Mitchum coupons and eat your fragrant cuisine before you board. Your fellow passengers will appreciate it. 

The Art of Menstruation Etiquette

         

           From the time you get your first period, the whole experience of menstruation can be pretty awkward. You have to learn special behaviors and acquire special products to cope, but somehow we’re expected to keep our use of tampon coupons and the fact that we’re bleeding for days at a time totally secret. It’s not easy!

            According to Susan Kim, co-author of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation,  a lot of women feel anxiety about their monthly cycle. It’s normal to feel "scared of anyone noticing even a trace of the process: a tampon falling  out of one's handbag, a spot of blood on the toilet seat or on the shower floor, a used pad left in the garbage, even someone glimpsing our unused tampons in the bathroom or a male clerk checking us out when we have to buy a box of pads," she says.

            If you feel this anxiety, it may be soothing just to know that you aren’t alone. Half of the population knows what you’re going through! Kim says that, from ancient times, menstruation has been culturally constructed as a shameful thing – but despite the superstitions, it’s natural and healthy to menstruate.

            You don’t need to go around announcing your period to everyone you cross paths with, but open conversation can help to dispel the stigma around menstruation. The more you talk about it in a way that is straightforward and unembarrassed, the less stressful menstruation will be, says Kim. So next time you head to the store with tampon coupons in hand, don’t get anxious – every woman goes through this, and every guy has a mother/sister/girlfriend/wife who goes through it, too. 

What Single Dudes Eat

My fiancé thinks I am a gourmet chef. He is terribly wrong – I’m decent at best – but he’s been cooking for himself for so long that his poor little tastebuds are pretty warped. He lived on a diet of Spaghettios coupons and cereal and those little microwavable pizza rolls for a loooooong time before he met me. We began talking about his previous culinary experince the other night and came up with this hilarious list of bachelor-approved dishes.

         Mac n’ Cheese. Preferably Easy Mac, because it goes from cupboard to stomach faster, though any kind will do. You’d be surprised how versatile this childhood favorite is – you can add salsa and make it Mexican. You can add barbeque sauce or Sriracha sauce to it. Or, here’s a helpful tip from bachelor-land: you can mix in Doritos or potato chips to make the dish crunchier. MMMMMMM.

         Quesadillas. Microwaves and prepackaged tortillas are a single man’s best friend. All you need to put dinner on the table is some kind of meat, some kind of cheese, a tortilla and a minute in the microwave.

         Ramen. This is self-explanatory.

         Cereal cocktails. No booze in this one, actually. But when you get bored of Captain Crunch and Trix on their own, you can mix up different cereals in varying proportions for a different flavor. My fiancé still make a cereal cocktail for breakfast every day, with no less than four kinds of cereal in a single bowl.

         Swanky Spaghettios. Sure, Spaghettios coupons are easy – but if you want to turn up the heat, add a chopped jalapeno before the Spaghettios hit the microwave and top them with grated cheddar. 

If you have other hilarious (and potentially unappetizing) bachelor menu items, I'd love to hear about them -- leave 'em in the comments section. 

Peach Pesto (sounds weird, tastes great)

        

            It’s peach season, and in my household, that means we eat peaches until we have them coming out of our ears. Peach cobbler, peach pie, peach smoothies, dried peaches, peach jam ….and as much as I love peaches, I get sick of them. So in an attempt to spice up our usual peach preparation techniques, I began looking for recipes that could incorporate peaches in an unexpected way. I found this recipe on the Huffington Post. If you’ve got some extra peaches and Barilla coupons, you’re going to love it!

INGREDIENTS

         1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

            1 teaspoon  unsalted butter

            4-6 oz Barilla spaghetti or your favorite brand

            2 fresh apricots, pitted and sliced into ½" half-moon shapes

            2 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into ½" half-moon shapes

            1 cup  prepared pesto

            1-2 garlic cloves smashed & finely chopped

            Sea salt

            Fresh cracked pepper

         Parmesan cheese

HOW TO
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

In a large heavy pan over medium heat, combine olive oil and butter until butter is melted. Add crushed garlic, apricots and peaches to pan and sauté until the fruit has softened. Be careful not to overcook the fruit, as this could make them mushy.

Finally, add pasta and pesto to the pan and toss. Garnish with shredded parmesan and serve immediately. You’ll be amazed how tasty this unlikely combination of barilla coupons, fruit and pesto comes together to create a delicious summer dish. 

The Yummiest Pasta You've Never Heard Of

            If you’re tired of using your pasta coupons to make the same old spaghetti and meatballs, take a gander at these international pasta delights. Lo mein and lasagna get all the love in most American kitchens, but according to a recent survey by humanitarian organization Oxfam, pasta is the most popular food in the world – so clearly, there are a lot of exotic options you’re probably overlooking.

            Koshary. This favorite Egyptian street food is a hodgepodge dish that is quick and cheap to make. It is composed of lentils, chickpeas, and pasta with a topping of garlic and, vinegar, and spicy tomato sauce. The dish is finished off with a sprinkling of fried onions for a bit of crunch.

            Kugel. This traditional Jewish dish originated in Eastern Europe and Germany. This sweet noodle pudding/casserole is similar to a bread pudding, but it’s not made with bread – it’s made with egg noodles. The dish can also be made with potatoes and served as a side.

            Pastitso. This is the Greek lasagna, but it’s only like a lasagna in that it’s a layered pasta dish. It starts with a layer of tube-shaped pasta, topped with ground beef, cinnamon, and spiced tomato sauce, then topped with a thick creamy béchamel sauce and baked.

            Spaetzle. You might consider using pasta coupons to make this dumpling-like dish, which is made from irregularly shaped noodles. It is most often served as a side to accompany meaty dishes that are served with gravy. 

The Weird & Wonderful World of Tampon Art

         Tampon coupons come in handy during that time of the month, but they’re also pretty useful for art projects – if you’ve got the right eye.       

 Consider Walter Raes, who has an entertaining Web site full of fashions fashioned from unlikely materials. He’s made a clubbing top out of keypads, a dress out of cassette tapes, and a cola-can wedding dress. His newest invention is the “Charles Period Top” made from tampons (a clever twist on the “period piece” to be sure). Wouldn’t want to get caught in the rain wearing that one, but it is pretty astonishing.

         If that’s not enough to convince you that tampon coupons are good for a lot more than their intended purpose, consider “A Novia” the 5-meter high tampon chandelier made by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. “A Novia” means “The Bride” and this work of art is as stunning as it is inventive. Vasconcelos has done some other incredible things – like this  stainless pot shoes installation – but this chandelier has to be one of her most jaw-dropping accomplishments. It consists of more than 14,000 tampons, wire, and cotton thread. It actually looks like any other chandelier until you get up close – and that’s when it becomes apparent how incredible this thing is. Make you wonder what potential is hiding in other everyday objects I overlook, doesn’t it? 

How Income Divides Soda Drinkers

Did you know that how much money you make could predict what kind of soda coupons you’re most likely to use? It sounds pretty crazy, but according to new research by the New York City Health Department, income divides soda drinkers.

            The Health Department collected date on soda consumption habits in the different neighborhoods of the city and found that residents of Chelsea and Greenwich Village – two trendy, fashion-conscious neighborhoods –are the least likely to sip on sugary soft drinks. Only 11.2 percent of people in those areas reported drinking at least one soda a day, while the Upper East Side and Upper West Side were a distant second with 18.4 percent of people consume at least one soda a day.

            The really shocking finding is that the poorest districts of the city were the areas where soda consumption was highest. In the Flatbush and East Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn, 45.7 percent of adults reported that they consumed a soft drink daily. The South Bronx wasn’t far behind with 45.5 percent.

            "That number is shockingly high to me -- it's disturbing," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams said of the Brooklyn neighborhoods he represents. NYC has famously pushed to reduce soda consumption with aggressive advertising campaigns and an attempted ban on the use of food stamps to buy sugary drinks.

             "If you overlay a map of sugary-drink consumption and obesity, they coincide an awful lot," said  NYC City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, who was disappointed that the no-food-stamps-for-soda initiative failed. Farley believes that, if the city’s 1.7 million food stamp residents could no longer use soda coupons, stores would shift their stock to accommodate consumers and the whole city would benefit from healthier options.

Always Hungry? 4 Simple Ways To Outsmart Your Stomach

                 

 The wealth of scientific knowledge and practical wisdom which is supposed to help us live healthier, longer lives can actually cause a lot of confusion. Which cereal coupons will provide the most fiber and nutrients? Which kinds of cardio exercise are best for the body? How important is resistance training? But you don’t need an advanced degree in exercise physiology or to be a certified nutritionist to help cut calories and drop weight – you just need a few easy tricks, says Dr Brian Wansink. Dr. Wansink is an expert on eating behaviors, and he says that “our homes are full of hidden eating traps” and that we face problems because our lives are too chaotic to pay attention to all of our nutritional choices.

“The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you. These simple strategies are far more likely to succeed than willpower alone. It's easier to change your environment than to change your mind.” Here are four tricks to help fool your stomach and keep you slim:

HIDE YOUR SNACKS – Wasnick says people are likely to eat what they see, so changing the foods that are in your line of sight can be a good way to change your eating habits. Hide cookies and chips and you’ll be less likely to nibble on them throughout the day.

USE A SMALL PLATE – Celebs have been dong it for years, but Dr. Wansink says it really works. One research study found that kids who were given a giant bowl of cereal were more likely to reach for seconds than were those who received a smaller bowl to begin with.

SERVE SMALLER PORTIONS – Wansik’s research supports conventional wisdom that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. He has found that people who are served heaping portions will continue eating until they’ve cleaned their plates, even if they are no longer hungry.

EAT AT THE TABLE – If we eat in front of the television or at our desks, we aren’t focused on the food we’re eating, and we’re more likely to overeat. Enjoy the breakfast you bought with cereal coupons at the table instead of in your car and you’ll not only enjoy your morning meal more, you’ll eat less. 

Hang with friends. Floss every day. Stay healthy with these easy tricks!

          

            I’m kind of a health and beauty junkie. I’m always collecting deodorant coupons and taking multivitamins and looking for the newest research on health-related topics – below are a few of my favorite tips.

            Knowing yourself and your body composition for optimal health. A study from the Industrial Journal of Obesity found that even women who have normal BMIs tend to carry too much body fat, which can put them at risk for a variety of health conditions. You can find out your body composition using  bioelectric impedance analysis, which can be done at many gyms and doctor’s offices.

            Hang out with your friends more! In studies linking social ties to overall health, scientists at Ohio State found that those who self-identified as lonely had higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that increases the risk of heart disease. Having a strong social network, on the other hand, protects heart health and wards off depression and anxiety.

            Watch a funny movie or tv show. The number of endorphins (mood-stabilizing chemicals) released in a minute of laughing are equal to those released after ten minutes of strenuous rowing, so laughter really is the best medicine!

            Floss up! Mere brushing can miss up to 30 percent of the surface area of your pearly whites, especially the space between your teeth where cavities are most likely to form.  Gingivitis is a risk factor for countless other diseases, so be sure to keep your teeth sparkling white.

            For more handy health tips and some great deodorant coupons, check out this page. 

Keep It Classy, Gents

            Guys, there are some rules you shouldn’t break. Brushing your teeth every day and using Old Spice coupons for deodorant are non-negotiable (and every girl I know will back me up on that). Here are a few more style faux pas to avoid if you don’t want to run your chances of impressing a girl before you’ve even opened your mouth.

            Don’t wear shorts with a sportcoat or bucks. You can actually wear a sportcoat AND bucks AND shorts, so long as the shorts and coat are beautifully tailored. But if you do just the bucks or just the coat, you’ll look like an overgrown schoolboy. And skip the socks.

            Keep your belt and shoes from clashing. The two don’t have to match exactly, but they need to compliment one another. Red shoes do not necessitate a red belt – a neutral one will work better.

That said, there are other rules that you can (and should) break – you just need to know how.

            Conventional wisdom says that you can’t pair black and brown or navy. Conventional wisdom is wrong. To pull it off, try coordinating with different fabrics and textures. Black leather gloves look great with a brown wool coat, for example.

            You can layer denim without looking like you’re rocking a Canadian tuxedo, but be careful – sink tonalities.

            Ladies say no white after labor day, but there’s no reason to retire your white attire. Bright whites are fine as long as its warm outside, and when the weather turns cool you can opt for warmer winter whites like ivory. Just be sure to use your old spice coupons for an aluminum-free deodorant when wearing white – products with deodorant interact with chemicals in sweat and cause yellowish stains on white clothes.