Obama has completed his cabinet choices and Tom Vilsack was named Secretary of Agriculture. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times thinks that the incoming Obama administration needs a Secretary of Food rather than a Secretary of Agriculture. With less than two percent of all Americans engaged in agriculture, and last I checked, 100 percent still needing to eat, maybe there’s some merit to this thought.
Kristof argues that the Department of Agriculture focuses on representing the farm lobby instead of people’s nutritional health needs.
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.
Post-workout snacks are very important due to the fact that your body uses muscle glycogen stores to energize your workout. Replenishing these stores is vital for muscle recovery, muscle growth and repair. If your workouts last for a longer bout of time than normal, you need to replenish throughout the workout. For example, I just ran a marathon and I replenished my body every three or four miles to keep from depleting the energy stores.
Depleted energy stores can cause cramping, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, or early fatigue. By hydrating and refueling your body throughout your workout, you will be able to exercise longer, harder, and more efficiently. I suggest a pre- and post-workout snack every day you workout, and for workouts lasting longer than a hour or so you should replenish during as well. I recommend a low-fat, high-protein snack after your workout.
Eating before exercising has been shown to improve performance and is a great way to improve endurance and stamina. The goal to snacking before a workout is to keep it simple. Don’t eat a huge meal that leaves you feeling bloated. The purpose of a pre-workout snack is to help prevent low blood sugar, increase muscle and liver carbohydrate stores, and prevent hunger throughout the duration of your workout. Preventing low blood sugar is important because you can become lightheaded, dizzy, and lose concentration if not properly maintained. Keeping the muscle and liver carbohydrate stores full is important because this helps provide you with long lasting energy to fight through your workout.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran may be at an all-time high, but maybe we have more in common than we think. Say, for instance, the love of large sandwiches. In the case of the Iranians, they are attempting to set a world record.
Reportedly, organizers in Iran wanted to promote the country’s fledgling ostrich farming business. About 1,500 cooks used 2,200 pounds of ostrich meat to make a 4,920-foot-long sandwich. It took two days to make the monster sandwich, and a huge measuring tape that ran the length of the table on which it was sitting.
The organizers hope that their efforts will be rewarded with a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest ostrich sandwich ever. (UPDATE: Guinness denied the award.)
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