That's Fit

Bringing your lunch to work, school or wherever you spend your days is a healthier alternative to noshing at fast food joints and restaurants. But if knowing this is not incentive enough, consider this: Packing your own lunch can save you up to $2,000 a year. That's enough for a couple pairs of Manolos, a relaxing trip somewhere warm or a reliable older car.

Think about it: A sandwich, side salad and diet pop at a café or restaurant will probably total around $10-$12 (maybe more, depending on where you live). The cost to make that sandwich and side salad and buy the soda in bulk? This is just a rough guesstimate, but I'd say around $3.

The easiest way to make sure you have something nutritious and delicious in your lunch box the next day is by cooking a bit extra when you make dinner. Got other yummy lunch ideas? Please share.

Gallery: Healthy brown bag lunch ideas

Not keen on the brown bag? Try packing a lunch in something like this Lunch & Go Lunchbox.

Gallery: Lunch & Go Pieces and Parts

• Freeze it. Hesitant to put that yummy-looking recipe for six to use? Go for it -- and freeze the extras for future easy meals.
  
• Buy some small appliances. A small George Forman grill is a staple in my kitchen. Other ones that will come in handy? A small food processor, blender or toaster oven.
  
• Limit snack foods. After a long day at the office, it might seem like a good idea to have 25 crackers for dinner instead of a nutritious meal. Toss your favourite snack foods from the cupboards -- it'll force you to put together something that resembles a meal.
  
• Be realistic. Are you really going to eat four red bell peppers this week? Probably not. Limit how much fresh produce you buy to reduce waste and cost -- you can always pick more up if need be. But make sure to buy some produce -- you won't eat it if it's not in your kitchen.
  
  

• I'll fill Joey's belly with a healthy meal before he even heads out the door in his pirate costume. This way, he'll be less inclined to eat candy on the trick-or-treat trail.
• I'll allow Joey to have a small number of treats when he returns home from the festivities.
• I'll have Joey rummage through his loot, separating his favorites from his non-favorites -- these go to the trash.
• I'll keep the candy in a safe place, up high and out of reach, and I'll be the gatekeeper for all future consumption.
• I'll limit consumption after the big night -- maybe one piece in his school lunch and one after dinner.
  
• I'll make sure Joey eats healthy most of the time and I'll keep him active too. Hopefully one day, he'll realize these two life approaches -- and not a diet full of sugar -- are what will help him survive.
  

• If you're at an Asian restaurant ... order a shrimp stir-fry
• If you're at an Indian restaurant ... order Chicken Tikka
• If you're at a Seafood restaurant ... order grilled fish with lemon
• If you're at an Italian restaurant ... order pasta alla marinara

According to General Mills, sales are up significantly on some popular brands, including baking goods, yogurt, soups, cereal and snack products. Some experts think this is a strong indicator that people are eating out less and opting to enjoy their meals at home instead.

Why do you think this is? If you ask me, there are a couple of factors at play:

• A drop in the economy coupled with rising fuel costs leaves less money in the bank for luxuries like eating out, OR
  
• Perhaps people are wising up and realizing that picking up their meals from a fast food restaurant is doing them no favours health-wise.

I have nothing against the occasional meal out with family or friends, but let's be honest -- cooking your meals at home is the only way to ensure that you're getting the healthiest, most nutritious meals possible. Your thoughts?

(via Diet Blog)

Need inspiration to get those feet moving? Don't feel bad -- we've all been there. Whether we're suffering from a severe lack of energy, a lull in our motivation or we're just turned off by the crappy weather, walking sometimes takes the back burner to more important activities, like, say, relaxing.

So for those of you who need a reason to get moving, here are 30 reasons to walk--one for each day in September--courtesy of MBT Shoes. Here's a small sample of the reasons:

• It's free
• It's good for you
• You get much-needed fresh air
• It's good for the environment
• More here.

What are your reasons for walking?

Spend too many late nights watching CSI and Law & Order? If you're overweight, these shows might be to blame. Over at Fitsugar, they're talking about new research that shows an interesting connection between your TV habits and your eating and spending habits.

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that consumers who had recently been reminded of their own mortality by seeing death on TV spent more money on groceries -- and ate more of those groceries as well. These findings were true of a number of food items, including snack foods like chips and soda, as well as non-snacky groceries like frozen foods, meats and vegetables. For more information on the findings, click here.

Apple or candy bar -- which one would you choose to snack on? I'm guessing most will choose the apple. If, however, I had both snacks on hand, which would you choose?