Healthful Bites

Since Good for you news has been bumped from the rotation the last few weeks due to my schedule, I decided to make this weekend’s post a mash-up of eats and news. Ready for a few bites of edible intelligence? Away we go!

Ray vs. O’Neal

In a match-up of two juggernauts from their respective fields, Rachel Ray and Shaquille O’Neal faced off this week on the show “Shaq vs.” to see who could make the most crowd-pleasing burger. Besides being overly excited about strolling past the grocery store the pair meet at often on my walk to the subway, I enjoyed watching Shaq’s difficulty identifying fruits and vegetables when the two competitors were shopping for ingredients. Exhibit number one:

• Shaq: “What’s this, a pineapple?”
• Rachel: “No, that’s an artichoke.”

Classic!

If you’d like to see who took the cake (or the patty), you can watch the whole episode here or find a video rundown of just the Ray vs. O’Neal action here. 

 (Image: Yahoo! TV)

Eat, Pray, Love, Watch?

Elsewhere in the entertainment and sustenance world, the film “Eat, Pray, Love” is saturating screens and bringing in cash across the country. I caught the flick today, and have to say that I quite enjoyed it! (If I was a movie critic assigning a star rating a la People, I’d give Eat a solid 3/4 stars.) 

One part in particular struck me: Elizabeth (Julia Roberts) was in Naples, Italy with a pal to try some pizza, which originated in the region. The friend is barely picking at her meal and says that she is feeling self-conscious about the muffin top she feels she has added to her physique. Elizabeth proceeds to explain that way too many days of her life involved tracking every morsel she ate, every calorie devoured, and she is sick of it. Instead of consuming precious time with vigilant waist watching, Elizabeth plans to eat what she truly wants and simply buy a pair of larger jeans. She’s not planning to gain dozens of pounds, but decides to love herself now, just as she is, since no one else really notices nearly as much as she does when a couple pounds come on. Amen girl!

For some fascinating insights about the movie from registered dietitians, check out this blog from Bonnie Taub-Dix on USA Today’s site.

Have your seen “Eat, Pray, Love” or read the book? What are your thoughts about it?

 (Image: Yoga Dork)

Subsidizing the Right Stuff

Finally, back in the real world, some exciting happenings are going on in the food stamp (now known as SNAP) world. A pilot program is launching that will encourage a select group of those who participate in SNAP to purchase more fruits and vegetables with financial subsidies.

For years, health advocates have debated with low-income individuals who argue about how hard it is to buy a bag of apples when a bag of French fries is cheaper and more heavily marketed. Now, the USDA is testing out a new program to shift the balance so that produce will be more affordable (30 cents for every dollar of produce purchased is returned to the user’s food payment card). A consulting company will track how the diets of participants are affected during the trial period. I only hope that the select few in the trial take advantage of this excellent offer!

 (Image: The Daily Green)

On a related note, here’s an editorial from yesterday’s The New York Times called “Fixing a World That Fosters Fat.” If you, in fact, agree with the author that our environment promotes obesity, what do you think should be the first step(s) to change this?