Lean Cuisine is a very popular supermarket prepackaged meal, so it’s a good idea for everyone to be aware of this: There has been a recall of 879,565 pounds of frozen Lean Cuisine chicken meals that may contain small pieces of hard plastic, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The following Lean Cuisine products are subject to recall:
9.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken With Bow Tie Pasta.” Printed on each side of each package is a production code of “8280595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best Before May 2010.”
10.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8231595912″ or “8241595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2010″; a production code of “8263595912,” “8269595911,” or “8274595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2010″; or a production code of “8291595912″ or “8301595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2010.”
12.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Tuscan” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8234595911″ and a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2009″; a production code of “8253595911″ or “8269595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2009″; or a production code of “8292595911″ or “8296595911″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2009.”
Each package also bears the USDA mark of inspection as well as the establishment number “EST P-9018.” The frozen chicken meals were produced on Aug. 18, Aug. 21, Aug. 28, Sept. 9, Sept. 19, Sept. 25, Sept. 30, Oct. 6, Oct. 17-18, Oct. 22, and Oct. 27, 2008, and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.
The country is getting fatter, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is naming names. Well, not individual names, but towns. Burlington, Vermont was named the healthiest city in the U.S. The unhealthiest was Huntington, West Virginia.
There are a few similarities between the two. They’re both college towns of about 50,000 people; the populations are mostly white and of English, Irish and German decent; the names sound slightly alike… but that’s where the similarities end.
In fact, the differences may be a microcosm of what the demographics look like when comparing obese and fit groups.
Obesity rates for children are out of control. About a third of American children are overweight and one-fifth are obese.
I think most people are aware of this news, since it’s been reported for quite some time. But if you need even more convincing of the gravity of the situation, check this out: doctors are finding that obese children (as young as 10) have the arteries of 45-year-olds! There have also been other heart abnormalities found that greatly raise their risk of heart disease.
Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, of Children’s Hospital in Kansas City, and her colleagues used painless ultrasound tests to measure the thickness of the wall of a major neck artery in 70 children, ages 10 to 16. Almost all had abnormal cholesterol and many were obese.
The kids’ “vascular age” was about 30 years older than their actual age, Raghuveer said.
So, next time you see a young kid who is “chubby,” don’t just think it’s baby fat. Some will turn out OK (actor Jerry O’Connell, above, is one famous example), but as this study shows, they could be compromising their future health.
America is the land of ingenuity. You are free to invent anything you like, and if enough people are as intrigued by the idea as you, you can be an overnight success. For every inventor of the “Electric Knife,” or “Sliced Bread,” there is this: The Traveling Treadmill. Well, that’s not the official name. It is, in essence, what the creators of SpeedFit have wrought.
Are family meals making a comeback? I know in my household we are trying to make an effort to eat most meals at the kitchen table instead of haphazardly around the family room. I’ve found that my two-year-old daughter will eat much better that way than just hanging out on the couch and eating in front of the tube.
I would have thought that most households eat meals informally. Everything is so fast paced and short attention spanned, people just eat when they get around to it. But, according to a 2007 Columbia University survey of more than 1,500 teens and parents, 59 percent of teens eat dinner with their families at least five times a week, an increase of 12 percent over the last decade.
Now that victory has come and gone for President-elect Barack Obama, it’s time for him to start looking ahead and contemplating heavy decisions that are facing our nation’s new leader.
There’s the economy, two wars, precarious relations with Iran and Pakistan. And there’s this: who is going to be cooking the meals in the White House next year?
I know, it’s a pressing issue that will be a defining moment in Obama’s first term. So, who is in the running?
The New York Daily News reported last weekend that there are three chefs under consideration for the Obamas’ White House chef. They are former Oprah chef Art Smith, authentic Mexican chef Rick Bayless (not sure who has the corner on inauthentic chef), and NBA star Carmelo Anthony’s personal chef, Daniel Young.
There’s a new health food company on the block. [Me] & goji may have a peculiar name, but the thought behind it is very sane (and inventive). They are a bit like Kashi, in that they take healthy, sometimes exotic ingredients, and come up with tasty cereals that are great for starting your busy day.
The difference with [me] & goji is that they offer a customizable buffet of ingredients for their customers. The company collects healthy foods from around the world, and then they leave it to you to fuse them in combinations that satisfy your tastes and nutritional needs. Then they deliver your custom concoction to your doorstep.
I can’t believe it, but 2008 is nearly over. Sure, we still have two months, but it’s not too soon to consider the top 20 fitness trends for 2009!
An online survey was conducted by 1,540 professionals certified by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Here are my top five picks from the 20 trends. You can see the rest of the results, reported by exercise science expert Walter Thompson, PhD, FACSM, FAACVPR, Regent’s Professor at Georgia State University, at WebMD:
1. Childhood Obesity. Fitness programs will address childhood obesity. Let’s hope it exceeds all expectations - childhood obesity has all kinds of implications, including adult issues down the road.
2. Core Training. This workout trend is a bit underrated. Strengthening muscles in your abs and back stabilize your spine and makes the rest of your workout even more effective.
Smart for Life Weight Management Centers is closing shop, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Boca Raton, Florida-based company was entangled in a dispute with Miami-based SM Licensing Corp. and Dr. Sanford Siegal over using the term “cookie diet” for its weight loss program.
Smart for Life started as a licensed franchise of Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet, but lost the right to use the terminology in its advertising and web address last year.
A half million people have turned to Dr. Seigal’s Cookie Diet over the span of three decades. There are several nutritious cookies to choose from, in tasty flavors such as chocolate, oatmeal raisin, coconut, banana, and blueberry. You can learn more about Dr. Siegal’s program in our review of the Cookie Diet right here.
Most of us, at least those enthralled by our civic duty and the future of our country, are busy with voting and watching history unfold tonight. But if you happen to be in our little corner of the World Wide Web, I have a nifty little tidbit for you, one actually related to politics- a chart of the height and weight of every president in the history of the U.S.
Maybe it’s just for political wonks, but I thought it was interesting. It compares the two major candidates in each election, and taller men (and heavier) usually come out of it as the winner. We’ll see if that plays out tonight. Click on the image for a larger view:
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