Recently I've been hearing from some friends that while they want to eat better and more healthfully, they just can't seem to afford to make it a reality. I don't believe that healthy eating needs to be particularly expensive (okay, it might be a little bit pricier, but it doesn't have to break your budget). Our friend, the Urban Vegan, has compiled a list of 25 money saving tips for eating a better diet. These tips are geared for frugal vegans, but many of her recommendations can extend out to a variety of eating patterns and choices.

She reminds us that some kitchen appliances will eventually pay for themselves (her ice cream maker has been pulling its own weight for some time), that baking your own bread will save you money (try the No-Knead recipe if you are challenged by yeast) and that the goal should be (classic New England wisdom) to "Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without."

I don't eat as healthy as I should (the entire bag of Dove milk chocolate I ate last night is proof of that), but I'm always looking at ways to make my diet a lot better.

Cooking Light has picked five healthy food trends that you might want to follow. I've heard of most of them, though Flexitarianism is a new term to me, even though I would say many American's follow this without even know it. It's when a person eats a diet that's mostly grains, vegetables, and fruit, with a little meat, fish, poultry, and dairy mixed in too. Functional Foods are foods that are enriched with more nutrients, such as orange juice with calcium. We know what Organic Food, Locally Grown Foods, and Vegetarianism represent, but are you familiar with Slow Food? I first heard this term a few years ago (and there have been books written about it and it's a growing movement). It's choosing locally grown food, cooking it in traditional ways and then eating it with family, something that a lot of families don't do nowadays. Whenever I hear the term I think "food that's not cooked in a microwave," though I doubt that's the real definition.

Every single month of the year has a "National _______ Month" designation. Heck, I think every day has celebrates something. June has a few celebrations, and National Fruit and Vegetable Month is one of them.

Of course, you should eat a lot of fruit and vegetables all year round, but if one month can get you going, then it's a good thing. June is usually the month when I start to eat more salads and apples and oranges anyway, as I'm sure it is with a lot of people, so it's good timing.

Here's more info and tips about the month, along with links to other sites about healthy eating. And if you insist on eating a whole pizza tonight, at least put some mushrooms and onions on it.

I've done an extensive survey of all of the information about weight loss that you can find on the shelves of Border's and Barnes & Noble, and here are the results.

It seems as if the best way to lose weight and get in shape is a combo of the following: eating a lot of carbs, eating a lot of fat, cutting carbs out completely, drinking a lot of water, not eating any "white" foods at night like bread, rice, and pasta, eating just grapefruit, eating your meals in a mixed-up fashion (lunch for dinner, breakfast for lunch, etc), not eating after 8pm, eating a lot of soups, cutting out all candy, cakes, and processed foods, avoiding diet drinks, eating a Subway sub a couple of times a week, eating foods according to your blood type, eating foods according to color, eating a lot of fiber, training your brain to think like a thin person, eating like they do in France, eating like they do in China, not counting calories, making sure you count calories, taking vitamins and supplements, become a vegan, eating more meat, eat a lot of apples, eating only raw foods, and joining one of the weight loss organizations such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.

If you follow the above rules, you should get in shape very quickly. You're welcome.

A study that was done by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) last week said that people who ate the healthiest foods were the most likely to eat at home. The study found that 71% of shoppers "believe the food they eat at home is healthier than meals consumed out" but it also found that 68% prepared dinner from scratch on a daily basis, showing a bias in their sample for people who already prefer to eat and cook at home.

This doesn't mean that eating at home is necessarily any healthier than eating out. As with all things food-related, this issue boils down to choices and in the case of eating out vs. eating in, the two biggest ones are what we eat and how we prepare it. The people in the survey are probably correct in thinking that the food that they prepared at home is healthier. They have complete control over what goes into each of the dishes they serve and what the portion sizes are. Many people will choose healthier preparations at home, using nonstick cookware and not keeping a squeeze bottle full of oil next to the stove (a pro-kitchen item that caused problems on a calorie-sensitive Top Chef episode), reaching for it more often than salt or pepper.

So is eating at home better for your health? Not necessarily, but it can be healthier than many restaurant or prepackaged alternatives, especially if your definition of "home cooking" isn't the same, on a daily basis, as Paula Deen's.

Are you looking for a good resource on diets and dieting information? Diet Television, which is a website, unlike the name suggests, launched this week and it offers "unbiased opinions from experts and from people just like you" on more than 47 different diets. Best of all, the site is completely free.

It was founded by some of the executives from the online shopping site Bluefly who wanted to build a community where people could support each other and get access to nutritionists, fitness experts, technology gurus and human behavioral specialists. Perhaps most importantly, the creators of the site admit that with all the diet-knowledge that they themselves have accumulated, they don't have a favorite diet, so the user-oriented site has no agenda besides helping you get healthy, lose those holiday pounds, or just answer any random questions you might have about a given diet or food. To start out, try the diet finder to identify your best match based on your likes, dislikes and goals.

The site is only in the first phase of its launch right now and there is more to come starting in 2007, so take a look at what they have to offer, but don't forget to try it again for a send helping in a couple of months.

[Thanks, Elise!]

Can you really have a diet that is too healthy? Yes, there is a point at which the desire to eat healthy turns into a disorder called orthorexia. It has been characterized as a "fixation on righteous eating" and usually develops when people are concerned over quality to the exclusion of all else, possibly to the detriment of their own health. According to California doctor Steven Bratman, many are raw foodists, vegans, fruitarians or have habits so unusual, they is not yet an official name, as in one case Bratman came across where the patient was "committed to eating only yellow foods." Some people may only eat skinless chicken and other completely plain foods, for example, but basically it is manifested as trying to eliminate anything that could be considered "toxic" and people with the problem constantly revise and restrict their diets. It seems to be social wellbeing that suffers the most, as Bratman reported that many orthorexics rarely get out and spend their time being consumed by thoughts of what their next meal will be, sometimes refusing to spend time with others and avoiding restaurants.

In 2004, the University of Rome conducted a study that indicated as many as 6% of people could have the condition in some form, but it is not yet accepted as a disorder in its own right, largely because the milder forms are socially acceptable. But the diet can overlap with anorexia in its more severe forms, where all food is eventually classified as "toxic" by the afflicted patient, so doctors and who are studying it are working to get it recognized so that treatments can be developed to prevent the progression of the disorder.

There are lists of good foods. There are list of bad foods. Some of the foods show up in both places. It's hard to keep track of what we should be eating when health and nutrition "news" comes at us from every direction, but nutrition professor and writer Chris Rosenbloom has culled that information, translated it, categorized it, and created a list of 50 ways to help us eat healthier. None of his tips are earth-shattering, but it's nice to have them all in one place. For the details, see his list, but here are the major categories of types of things to do with a few examples of his tips:

• Reduce risk of disease, e.g. olive oil, yogurt, and nuts
  
• Increase fiber, e.g. eat fruit instead of drinking its juice
  
• Manage weight, e.g. monitor liquid calories
  
• Snacking smart, e.g. microwave popcorn with no butter
  
• Eating out, e.g. choose fish to be grilled or blackened instead of fried
  
• Sneaking in more produce, e.g. add dried fruit to breakfast cereal and top chicken breasts with salsa
  
• Finding resources, e.g. www.mypyramid.gov and www.eatright.org

Taking school lunch reform what might be a bit too far, preschool teachers in New South Wales, Australia have begun to implement lunchbox inspections. The teachers have banned foods including chocolates, candies, cakes and fruit rollups, taking them away from the children and sending the items home uneaten if they are found. The ban on foods deemed to be unhealthy extends to birthday cakes as well, where a plain, homemade vanilla cupcake - no icing or ice cream - is the most appropriate treat.

One teacher said "It is just as much about educating parents as it is the children." Even though the teachers say that this is a good way to encourage healthy eating habits, it is sending a message to the parents to prepare the lunches, not the children who receive them.

It is noted by some experts that the teachers are not following an official direction to inspect lunches, but that they have taken it upon themselves. How long it will continue before parents protest - or conform - remains to be seen.

The first thing that you notice about this book is its very colorful cover, which is fitting because sushi is, by and large, beautiful and colorful food. Sushi does not always involve raw fish, though that is often what the name evokes to many diners, and Vegetarian Sushi illustrates this fact very well. The book starts with an introduction to sushi ingredients and techniques, then continues on into the recipes. There are plenty of rolls and even a pair of recipes that use brown rice, for those who are looking for alternatives to white. Large glossy photographs are sure to tempt the palate and also give you something to aim for as you improve your technique. For die-hard carnivores, there is nothing that says you cannot pair any of these options with nigiri, and certainly some of the techniques can also be used to prepare sushi with fish.

It should be noted that this book uses eggs, fish-based stocks and other animal-based ingredients, such as bonito flakes, in many of the recipes. You can substitute according to your own dietary restrictions, but it might not be the most appropriate for strict vegan.

At Blogging Baby, a blogger admitted to bribing her kids with food on occasion, to ensure good behavior. Many commenters supported this decision and said that they do the same thing. Most were rewarding their small children with something equally small, like a single M&M or a Pez, and a few used foods like french fries and ice cream. But a toddler can be more easily satisfied with a single small candy than a four or seven year old, so at some point, the system either must stop or escalate.

One commenter said that she relied on healthier treats, like pretzels and fruit, for her kids but giving kids healthy foods did not seem to be the most popular choice.

Is this reliance on treats, especially candies, hurting kids when it comes to developing healthy eating habits later in life? Isn't it establishing food as a reward, a system that has led to the often-cited "obesity epidemic" in kids? It is true that the 4.5 calories in one M&M won't make a huge difference over time, but if that turns into a pack a day habit at some point, it certainly could have an impact on the child's health and the way they perceive food in general.

Summer is the season of fruit, since it seems that more things are in season than at any other time of year. Not only is fruit good for you in terms of nutritional value, but fruits can even help you lose weight. The easiest way to incorporate fruits into your diet is to cut up a large bowl of them and keep them in the fridge. A fruit salad will last longer than fruits stored at room temperature and, because they are already cut up, they are available for snacks and other meals.

There is no recipe for fruit salad, so you can include any kind of fruit you like. Melons and stone fruits, such as peaches and nectarines, are good choices and berries, grapes and pineapple work well, too. For breakfast, serve the fruit salad with yogurt and honey, adding a topping of nuts or granola for some crunch. This combination works well for a light lunch, too. Fruit salad can't really be the focus of dinner, but it can still be served as a side and provides a particularly nice contrast to smoky, tangy barbecue.

And for dessert? Berries and sweetened whipped cream still counts as a fruit salad, right?

In a study published by the American Dietetic Association, parents are the biggest factor in what kids eat and in the food choices that they ultimately make. For young children, this doesn't come as a surprise because they have few opportunities to eat food not provided by their parents, but what makes the study noteworthy is that it applies to teens and concludes that having "healthy household eating rules" is the biggest factor in influencing a child's diet.

When parents emphasized getting a certain amount of fat (i.e. always served lean ground beef instead of regular) or made the number of servings of fruits and veggies important, the kids were more likely to make the same choices when eating without their parents.

What are good "healthy household eating rules" to have? The researchers who performed the study suggested having only healthy/healthier snacks at home, always having a vegetable with dinner and a fruit with breakfast, and setting limits on sweets and sodas. Kids might not strictly follow the "rules" when they're not at home, but their long-term choices will be shaped by them.

It's not easy to remember to get our how-many-are-we-supposed-eat-now servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day.

Though the post over at the Cancer Blog is aimed specifically at a cancer prevention audience, the quick tips that Dalene lists for easily adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to our diets applies to everyone. Sure some of it is basic knowledge and common sense, but it's always nice to have a reminder.

For instance, instead of bread for your sandwich, use a cabbage leaf to make a "wrap." One that i particularly liked was the tip for thickening soups and stews. Use a mixture of cooked, pureed cauliflower and white beans instead of cream or milk! Take a peek for more ideas.

Strange but true! I was on a health kick around that time, and I vigorously avoided all meat. And over the years, I just haven't eaten any steak. It's not a concious health decision on my part, really. I just stopped eating steak, and in the past 14 years my meals have been dominated by chicken and turkey (and pizza). I've had cheeseburgers once in a great while, and I sometimes get pepperoni on my pizza, and I certainly can't get by the winter without having several bowls of mouth-watering chili. But your typical steak? I haven't had one in so long.

But I have a feeling that this day here at Slashfood is going to change all that ...