That's Fit

If you are over the age of 50, you need to consume 120% of the Daily Value (DV) for calcium. Not 100%. This is because you are advised to get 1,200 mg daily while adults ages 19 to 49 need only 1,000. Next time you read a food label, keep in mind that it's written for the 19 to 49-year-old age group.

An easy way to figure your calcium intake, says Publix Greenwise magazine, is to simply add a zero to the % DV. If a serving has 25% of the DV, then it contains 250 mg of calcium.

Think stretching helps prevent soreness after exercise? Not so, says a recent review of 10 stretching-related studies.

Stretching, either before or after exercise, seems to have little or no effect on muscle soreness, say the results of this review that are really pretty convincing -- for healthy, young adults, anyway. Further studies on other groups are necessary.

Stretching is still good -- it improves flexibility, helps prevent injuries, enhances sports performance, and promotes a sense of relaxation and well-being. Preventing post-workout soreness just isn't one of its benefits.

Today, I made the change. I said "no, thanks" to my grocery store bagger when he offered me paper or plastic and instead allowed my new green totes to shimmy up to my cashier where she promptly handed them over to Mr. Bagger -- who then shared with me a few facts about my eco-bags.

Bagger Boy told me the tote trend makes life a bit hard for baggers because they hold so much darn food. Typically, like foods are stashed together and with plastic, this works well. The bags are small and it's not a big deal to use a pretty good stack of them if necessary (well, it is a big deal, environmentally speaking). But the roomier alternatives often lead to food cramming. Un-like foods sometimes end up together -- think bread with eggs with cereal boxes -- and this is well, problematic, said the guy strategically placing my kids' popsicles with my few crates of strawberries.

Bagger Boy also told me these planet-safe bags aren't doing customers any favors. With the high cost of everything nowadays, people like to believe they're getting a lot for their money. You get a lot with plastic. Not so much with totes -- I have six, for example, and will rarely use that many -- so buyers feel they're getting less for more.

Most alcohol gets burned off during the cooking process. But if you have some recipes that require a cooking wine or liqueur and don't want to risk it on children or less-than-healthy guests, give these simple substitutions a try.

Replace one tablespoon of bourbon or sherry with:

• one tablespoon of apple or orange juice

Replace one tablespoon of coffee liqueur or chocolate liqueur with:

• 1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract or
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee in 2.5 teaspoons of water

You've hear it before: Eat smaller portions. Use smaller plates. A little friendly reminder never hurt, though, and to drive these points home, consider this: A muffin once weighed 1.5 ounces and housed about 210 calories. Today's muffin is not so dainty with its hefty four ounces and 500 calories. I know. I know. I ate a pumpkin muffin recently and was appalled at what actually went into my body.

The point here, according to the Publix Greenwise magazine is that everything, from bagels to burgers, is ballooning in size. So are our waistlines. It's more important than ever then to watch ourselves. Watching how we distribute the food on our plates is a good starting point. So start with a nine-inch plate and proceed as follows.

Divide your plate into quarters. In three of your quarters, pile on the whole grains, the veggies, the fruit. Fill the remaining quarter with lean meat, fish, or poultry. That's it. The smaller plate, dominated by plant-based foods, is key for keeping calories in check. Simple stuff, right?

I never quite know how to boil the perfect egg. I've collected recommendations, consulted the Internet, and experimented on my own. Still, I've yet to craft the perfect hard-boiled egg, and I typically end up fighting to peel the shell without claiming clumps of egg along with it.

Publix.com offers this take on perfecting the boiled egg. I think I'll give it a try.

• Inspect eggs carefully. Don't use any with cracks.
• Place eggs in a single layer saucepan.
• Fill with cold water and cover by at least one inch.
  
• Cover pan.
• Quickly bring to rapid boil.
• Remove from heat.
• Let eggs stand in hot water, covered -- 15 minutes for large eggs; 18 minutes for extra-large eggs.
  
• Drain.
• Run cold water over eggs or place in an ice-water bath until cool.
  
  

OK, I'm giving this a try. I'll let you know how it goes.

Want the food you put in your body to really matter? Then try these healthy combinations, compliments of Publix.

To yield more phytonutrients: Add a little olive oil to a salad of baby spinach, shredded carrots, and red onion. Or mix avocado, tomato salsa, and lime juice for a tangy guacamole.

To score more iron: Serve black beans with salsa and a sliced orange, drop some cut strawberries into a bowl of whole grain cereal, or stir up some brown rice, tofu, and red and green bell peppers.

For stronger bones: Create a quiche with broccoli, eggs, and low-fat milk or how about the leafy vegetable chard and garlic in olive oil, topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese?

Portions are important when it comes to matters of health and weight management. But it's hard to control our portions when measuring cups, spoons, and scales aren't readily available. Since guesswork can sometimes be dangerous, we need some sort of guide when estimating our serving sizes.

Try this on for size -- Well & Fit magazine, published by the Publix grocery chain, offers these tips for estimating serving sizes at a glance.

1 cup = a small fist
1 ounce of cheese = an index finger
1/2 cup of rice or oatmeal = a light bulb
3-ounce serving of fish or meat = a deck of cards
1 serving of fruit = a tennis ball

OK, now I've got a few visuals. How about you?

Now that I've sworn off sweet treats for all of time, my mouth waters at the simplest healthy indulgence. Like this one -- the Any-Time-Of-Day Parfait. I stumbled upon this recipe while flipping through the pages of a Publix well & fit magazine, and I can't wait to build this layered number for myself. Check this out, give it a try, and let us know what you think.

The Stuff

3 kiwi fruit, peeled
1 six-ounce carton plain low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup bite-size shredded wheat biscuits, coarsely broken
1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted dash ground cinnamon

The How-To

Coarsely chop kiwi. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, honey, and vanilla. Then layer cereal, fruit, and yogurt mixture into two 8 to 10-ounce parfait glasses. Sprinkle with almonds and cinnamon.

Some pretty significant retail news has been dropped in the last few weeks, as Wal-Mart -- the world's biggest retailer -- said that it would lower generic prescription drug prices on 300 or more of the most widely-prescribed drugs by up to 40% starting, well, last week.

Initially, Wal-Mart was going to launch this ambitious new program at the start of 2007 and only in the Tampa, Florida market, but has since revised its strategy to include the entire state of Florida and an immediate launch as of last Friday -- a week ago today.

Soon after Wal-Mart announced this new price program, fellow retailer Target announced it would be doing the same thing, and then yesterday grocery chain Publix said that it too would follow suit and lower generic prescription drug prices by almost the same amount. It remains to be seen if specialty drug and supplement retailers like CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid will follow suit. If they don't Wal-Mart may be biting into their business.