It's been eons since I chomped into a fried Spam sandwich. Spam is something I delete, not eat. But my brothers used to fry up Spam slices and layer them between bread with ketchup during our hormonal teenage years. Easy Spam was a good fit for two guys who also deemed a hot dog cooked after waving it under hot tap water for 10 seconds. Maybe it's the recession or the months of outrageous gas prices, but it appears a whole lot of Americans are eating Spam these days.

According to an article in the NYT, union workers report 12-oz glistening rectangles of ham and pork Spam are flying out of Hormel Food Corporation's Minnesota plant at a furious clip. Make that 149,950 cans of day-shift Spam to be precise. Interestingly, October data reveal pancake mixes, instant potatoes, vitamins, fruit/vegetable preservatives and beer are also selling like crazy. Rice and beans, too. My post-Depression grandmother regarded every can of food in her pantry 'money in the bank' -- cans of Spam would have qualified.

At 16 grams of fat per two ounce Spam Classic serving, pancakes, vitamins and rice and beans would be a better call. To be fair, there is a Spam Lite with half the fat. But affordable lean proteins are available, such as canned tuna, skim milk and eggs. I frequently find 93 or 99 percent fat-free ground turkey for sale at $3.99/lb, while a 12 ounce can of fattier Spam costs around $2.40. What about you? Do share your cheap, lean protein suggestions, so we can all emerge from this recession a bit healthier.

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Picked up your peanut butter jar lately? Chances are it has a big indent on the bottom -- all part of the shrinking food packaging strategy manufacturers have been using to keep prices steady.

Could the Recession Diet deliver a 32" waist? Last week I asked That's Fit readers "Will shrinking food packaging shrink your waist?" Here's the lowdown on responses:

• Interestingly 33.3 percent (19 votes) said Yes, I can't afford to buy more. This surprised me. Are people really eating less?
• 28 percent (16 votes) said, No, I'll just buy more.
  
• Nearly 32 percent (18 votes) said, No, I won't buy more, but I'll reach for calories elsewhere. I incorrectly hypothesized this answer would garner the greatest response.
  
• 7 percent voted Other. Wonder what they're thinking?

During the height of the gas crunch, I carefully combined errands, stayed away from longer trips (when possible) and definitely drove less overall. Whether it's shrinking food packages or higher food costs, maybe there really is a reduced-calorie element to this recession.

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Rising food prices deplete our budgets and put our waistlines at risk. Nutrition experts say the lean economy can mean a fatty diet. Are the numbing jolts of grocery store sticker shock changing the kinds of food we place in our carts?

Price changes don't just affect how much food people buy, it can markedly change what they buy. Cheaper foods tend to have more calories -- calorie-dense foods like cookies are more affordable than oranges. Just yesterday I picked up a bag of oranges, saw the $5.49 price tag, freaked out and put it back. As I walked away, this battle waged in my head, "How could you not buy oranges, even at that price, when we're faced with post-Halloween candy fallout at home?" Our fridge is now full of oranges.

Also, research has clearly found foods full of fat, sugar and starch are cheaper than those packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Even worse, skyrocketing food prices haven't impacted foods equally. Between 2004-2006, the cost of calorie-dense foods in one study dropped slightly, while the lowest-calorie foods (e.g., oranges) shot up by nearly 20 percent.

Interestingly, another study found thinner moms bought fewer high-calorie foods when prices went up, and sometimes even reached for foods lower in calories whose prices had not increased. Obese moms did not stop buying the cookies and did not start buying low-calorie foods. Glad I bought those oranges, recession or not. Here are ten quick tips for nutritious shopping during a recession. I'm already following all the tips, except for number five (use coupons). How about you?

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Stinging prices at the gas pump and grocery store are prompting many Americans to go on a recession diet. Makes me wonder if this evolving diet will lead to a bigger or smaller pinch of fat on our waistlines.

Middle- and working-class consumers are significantly changing their consumer behaviors. Starbucks is expecting a drop in sales. Domino's Pizza, Ruby Tuesdays and higher-end steakhouses such as Ruth's Chris and Morton's are seating fewer patrons. One restaurant survey revealed the number of people ordering an alcoholic drink dropped from 42 percent last summer to 31 percent last month. Some report cutting out red meat and reaching for turkey instead. Yet the pendulum swings in a less nutritionally-healthy direction, too. Wal-Mart Stores reports higher sales of peanut butter and spaghetti.

Eating more home-cooked meals and purchasing cheaper, leaner cuts of meat could conceivably prove slimming. But I've read plenty of articles and studies citing a tight budget is a significant barrier to eating enough healthy fruits and veggies. So in an attempt to fill the gas tank, will people slap together pb&j sandwiches and twirl mounds of spaghetti or reach for the healthier rice and beans and home-cooked chicken noodle soup instead? Recession diet or not, the foods we put in our own tank ultimately impact our weight and our health.

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