ChooseMyPlate.gov is a great Healthy Eating Resource

There's tons to check out on ChooseMyPlate.gov for healthy eating. Including: download-able info sheets, planning guides, tips to eating healthy on a Budget and more. You should take a minute to check it out.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov

Here's what you'll find...

The 3 P’s - Plan, Purchase, and Prepare Food on a Budget
The reminders help you stay within your food budget.

Smart Shopping for Veggies and Fruits
Get the fruits and vegetables you need without breaking the bank!

Eating Better on a Budget
These 10 tips will help you stretch your food dollars.

Sample 7-Day Menu
This sample weekly menu meets all nutritional needs at a cost below current average food costs

Eating Healthy on a Budget – A Consumer Economics Perspective
Can people eat healthier and spend less money?
Are fruits and vegetables so expensive that people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet?
How can people actually know what foods are healthful choices and that they are likely economical as well?

Read a USDA Economist’s View: Nutrition Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Also check these materials from other agencies:
Eat Right When Money’s Tight
30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch Your Fruit & Vegetable Budget
SNAP-Ed Connection Recipe Finder
Search recipes by various categories – including cost per serving or per recipe.
Iowa State University Extension’s "Spend Smart. Eat Smart."

CNN Reports that the USDA issues new rules for school meals

This is the first time in 15 years that school launches have been overhauled. Recent numbers show that about 17% of children in the United States are obese. The new nutrition standards are largely based on recommendations by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, as part of efforts to curb childhood obesity.

With the help of Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity, school menus will change to reduce sodium, sugar, saturated fats, and trans fats to add fruits veggies and whole grains. Milk will also change from whole to 1% milk. This is due to new government regulations this week.

Under the new rules, school meals will have calorie minimums and maximums per meal based on the child's age. For kindergarteners to fifth-graders, meals must contain 550 to 650 calories, and for 9th- to 12th-graders, meals must have 450 to 600 calories.

Kevin Concannon, the USDA under secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, said he wasn't concerned with the tomato paste controversy at this point. If you're unfamiliar... a controversy erupted in November after Congress decided that two tablespoons of tomato sauce was good enough to categorize a slice of pizza as a vegetable. RIDICULOUS!

Food and beverages sold in vending machines will also have to meet nutritional standards. First lady Michelle Obama and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the standards Wednesday. The USDA offered a weekly sample lunch menu with before and after comparisons as well.

Read More

Household Chemicals Could Possibly Diminish Immunity

The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams reported last night that children's vaccines could be reduced in effectiveness by chemicals (PFC's) in common items in the household. Effects could cause vaccines to be up to 40% Less effective. They are found in containers, non-stick cookware, and beauty solutions. In 2015, the EPA has plans to have PFC's worked out of the system... which is good, but beware until then. See the video of the broadcast Online.

Prescription Drug and Over-the-Counter Drug Voluntary Recall: Possible Drug Mix-up

Companies/Manufacturers:

Novartis
Endo Pharmaceuticals

Problem:

BROKEN PILLS
MISLABELED PILLS
PILLS IN THE WRONG BOTTLE

Summary:

Machinery problems at a drug manufacturing plant prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to warn patients of a possible mix-up affecting various prescription pain medications and over-the-counter drugs.

Affected Items:

The over-the-counter drugs involved in the recall were manufactured at a Lincoln, Nebraska, facility which also produced various prescription pain medicines for Endo Pharmaceuticals, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

These pills include Percocet, Opana and Percodan, if you take medication produced by them... the FDA advises that you visually inspect the pills.

Consumers who have select bottles of Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz and Gas-X, produced by Novartis, are being told to discard or return the products in a voluntary recall that started Sunday.

Specifically: Excedrin and NoDoz products with expiration dates of December 20, 2014, or earlier, as well as Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention products with December 20, 2013, or earlier expiration dates.

For More Information, click Here and Here for an additional article to see CNN Reports.