"healthy food" news and stories

Heeding First Lady Michelle Obama's call to improve our country's access to better food and reduce childhood obesity, Wal-Mart today announced a five-year plan to reduce the price of fresh produce sold in its stores and to lower the salt, fat and sugar content in its Great Value house-brand food products, reports the New York Times.

Wal-Mart will also be urging its highest-selling suppliers, like Kraft, to follow suit. Similar initiatives have been made by the city of New York and major food corporation ConAgra, which set a goal to "reduce sodium content in its foods by 20 percent by 2015," notes the Times.

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.

When you want chocolate in the morning, once you're over the age of 10 or so, you're probably going to opt for hot chocolate, a mocha or maybe even a small piece of your favorite candy bar long before you reach for a box of chocolate cereal. But cereal makers are counting on the fact that their newest products will change that.

At the beginning of next year, Quaker Oats will launch Life Chocolate Oat Crunch and Kellogg will release Special K Chocolatey Delight. Both cereals are low in fat and are targeted towards nutrition-minded consumers who want to have their chocolate and eat it too. Quaker will be promoting the fact that their cereal is high fiber and full of whole grains, while Kellogg will be sponsoring a two-week weight loss challenge centered around the cereal, just as they offer with regular Special K. Reps from Kellogg have also noted that the cereal is not necessarily going to be promoted as just a breakfast item and that it is designed to appeal to those who like to snack on cereal as well.

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If you're like me, you could stand to lose a few pounds. Maybe you're overweight or out of shape, or maybe you're blood pressure and cholesterol is higher than you (and your doctor) would like. So you resolve to really get in shape. To start exercising every single day and eating better. You sit down and make a list of the foods you won't eat anymore, and maybe you even buy a book that will tell you what to eat and what not to eat. I've done this several times.

But I was thinking: yeah, I'll get in shape and eat better, but there are just some foods that I just don't want to give up, no matter what. Sure, maybe I'll cut down on them drastically, or save them for those special "cheat days," but I can't give them up completely. Here are my 8:

1. Pizza. Probably my favorite food. A perfect food, really, and I don't see how I could give it up. Tomatoes and veggies are good for you, though I too often find myself eating an entire pizza instead of just a couple of slices.