When I look at the lunch menu for my son's school, I feel safe in assuming that any kid who brings a lunch from home is getting better nutrition. After all, it's not hard to beat chicken nuggets and greasy pizza. But home-packed lunches aren't always the better deal.

Due to rising food costs, regulations for Texas day-care centers recently changed and now allow the centers to require parents to send meals and snacks for the children. A subsequent (albeit small) study found that 71 percent of the home-packed meals didn't have enough fruits or vegetables and the number of milk servings was also low.

When you're busy getting the kids ready for school and trying to get ready for work, sometimes convenience takes priority when packing your kids lunches. But nutrition can be convenient, too. You can't get much easier than a ready-to-eat piece of fruit. And you can pre-cut carrots, celery, cucumbers and other veggies at the beginning or the week so they're ready and waiting. Check out the gallery for other quick, easy and healthful foods for your child's lunch bag.

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Two Lubbock, Texas business owners are being charged with fraud after selling memberships to a non-existent gym.

Shon and Desiree Perez sold more than 800 pre-paid memberships to the gym -- to the tune of more than $40,000. Members were told that the gym equipment was supposed to arrive on March 1st. When it didn't, the owners stated the shipment was delayed and it would arrive by April 1st. Court documents now show that the Perezes had never ordered any gym equipment at all. Due to nonpayment of rent the landlord for the gym's property changed the locks on April 11th.

Let's take this as a lesson learned. There are many things you should look for when picking a gym. But first and foremost... make sure the gym actually exists.

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A friend of my mom's has been sick for weeks, with a case of possible salmonella poisoning. The culprit, she thinks, are the peppers she put on her build-your-own salad at a local restaurant. I'm not sure what kinds of peppers are to blame for her illness but I do know this: government inspectors have just issued a strong warning to consumers not to eat jalapenos, or fresh salsa made from them.

The warning comes as a result of one single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper found in Texas. This discovery, say officials, is the equivalent of a fingerprint. Still, it's cause for worry.

Perhaps the tainted pepper came straight from a farm, a plant, a packing house. It's all pretty unclear. But those involved realize the need to iron out the details of this scare soon, as parts of the country are entering prime hot pepper season.

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Ever wonder what exactly the most fit and trim folks put in their bodies for nutrition -- folks like, say, Lance Armstrong? I mean, what powers that guy on the bike and in all those marathons? Well, Texas guacamole, for one.

Check out this Armstrong family recipe -- Armstrong tells Good Housekeeping magazine it belongs to his mom -- and give it a try when you're in the mood for something hearty and healthy.

Texas Guacamole

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados
1 T. grated white onion
1.5 T. picante sauce
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Pinch of garlic salt

Preparation

Peel avocados and remove seeds. Scoop avocados into large bowl and coarsely mash with fork. Stir in remaining ingredients until blended. Makes two cups.

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The editors at Texas Monthly magazine wanted to know what Texas dining will look like in the next few years, so they asked the leading chefs, restaurateurs, and cookbook authors in the state. Here's a little about what they learned, which you might take the liberty of applying to your own state.

• Are carbs coming back? 89% say they are; 11 % say they are not.

• Is beef on the wane? 9% say it is; 91 % say it is not.

• By 2010, will every dish in the majority of restaurants contain at least one genetically modified ingredient? 57% say they already do; 43% say "no" because people are becoming increasingly aware of what's in their food.

• True of False: By 2015, 90% of our meals will be eaten in chain restaurants. 24% say true; 76% say false.

For more on what these trendy food folks have to say about the state of dining, here's the article.

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Austin, Texas has it's own fit magazine -- called Austin Fit. I picked up a copy this weekend right off the sidewalk of Guadalupe, a store and restaurant-lined street that runs through the University of Texas campus. It was free. Quite a deal for those, like me, who pick up this publication. It's full of great stuff -- health, fitness, diet, sport, style, and life sections cover the pages -- and one of the first articles I stumbled upon, 6 Rules for Recovery, is just one of many that taught me how to do better at life, this one in particular by doing less. Check out these tips:

Create a need for recovery: Following each hard workout you take on, take a recovery day to fully reap the benefits of your strenuous training.

Rest before; recover after: Make sure your body is rested before vigorously challenging your body. Make sure you recover after the challenge.

Take it easy: Light, easy workouts are important. They don't tax your body like their tougher counterparts, and they don't require a major recovery period.

Train hard when it's time: Train hard because your body is ready, not because your schedule says it's time. If something doesn't feel right, bail on the workout and do something light.

Monitor your recovery status: Listen to your body. If you feel tired, your body is telling you it hasn't had enough downtime. If a tired pattern persists, rework your training schedule by adding more recovery or lighter workouts.

Take a week: Work recovery weeks into your training: After training for three of four weeks, plan for a week of light training for full recovery. This will help prevent an accumulation of fatigue, and it will allow you to train even harder on your heavier weeks.

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In my area of the country, pecan season is well under way. There is no better activity on an October afternoon than to find a few pecans trees and pick your own pecans.

They're delicious, great for you and can be used in a wide variety of recipes. With that said, recent figures peg Texas as the state with the largest amount of pecan production, even before past leaders New Mexico and Georgia.

A late-year surge in pecan production this year gave Texas the top spot, with 47 million pounds of pecan production thus far. Ever eaten raw, non-processed pecans? They are the best and retain all of nature's nutrients -- just make sure you have a few nutcrackers handy!

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In Texas, stateside physical fitness for those attending public schools looks to become a higher priority than it already is, as a new "test" unveiled this week by the Texas Education Agency aims to get schoolers more active.

The "Fitnessgram" test will allow PE teachers to measure the fitness levels of individual students in terms of test, which allows physical education teachers to record and compare fitness aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility.

The good news is that the test will mandate 30 minutes of daily "moderate to vigorous" physical activity for children up to fifth grade. For students in sixth through eighth grades, 30 minutes a day. Now, that is impressive any way you slice it.

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Gotta love top 10 lists, right? Even if they're on gross topics, like which American city could fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with sweat in less than three hours? Well here's a list that couldn't be more appropriate for the height of summer: the top 10 sweatiest cities in America (and yes, #1 can fill the pool -- yuck!).

1) Phoenix, AZ
2) Las Vegas, NV
3) Tucson, AZ
4) Dallas, TX
5) Corpus Christi, TX
6) San Antonio, TX
7) Austin, TX
8) Shreveport, LA
9) Houston, TX
10) Waco, TX

An Arizona city may have the #1 spot, but looking at this list Texas is the sweatiest state by far!



Via Gadling

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Unfortunately, sometimes it takes the death of someone significant to spur action. Such is the case in Texas, with the passing away of former Governor Ann Richards prompting the state to formulate a plan to fund cancer research in a big way.

Texas is already home to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, among many other groups such as colleges and private companies. But this new project, in which the state of Texas promises to contribute 3 billion dollars (yes, that's a B...) to the cause, will hopefully help speed up some discoveries in the way of detection, prevention, and less toxic treatments.

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I was scared when I moved to Texas. I'm from Ohio, and Northerners -- at least all the Northerners I know -- think of the Lonestar state as a place filled with gun totin', horse ridin', split slingin' cowboys with half a mind to shoot Yankees on sight. But, much to my surprise, Texas is way better than Ohio -- not least of all because on a good day it'll hit 80 degrees in January (plus, it's not actually filled with cowboys after all).

Today, however, is not a good day. As a matter of fact, with the wind chill factored in, it was 22 degrees when I left the house to go running. And yes, I know, it gets colder up North -- I remember days in Cleveland when my spit froze upon contact with the sidewalk -- but these are different times. My blood has thinned. I am typing this post with numb hands.

Oddly enough, and complaining aside, I think the arctic chill actually improved my jogging. No lies. It's like the frigid air switched on some long-dormant survival instinct deep within the most forgotten recesses of my nervous system -- a fight or flight reaction to the disgustingly low temperatures that said: "body, get thy ass in gear or you'll be up the creek without an icepick."

So I did. I got my ass in gear. I ran further, faster and longer through this freezing January morning than I've ever run before. I pushed, I got tired, and then -- as if touched by the hand of some magical respiratory god -- my breath came back mid-stride, allowing me to grin my way into another mile.

Pigs can fly. It's a cold day in Texas. Huzzah.

My hands, however, still hurt, and none of this triumphant self-congratulation can change the fact that it's colder than a witch's naughty bits outside. So next time, I'll be prepared. Check out this post for great tips on how to stay warm, and, if nothing else, remember the following: 1) dress in layers, 2) always wear hat and gloves, 3) make your inner layer a garment that will wick away perspiration, and 4) watch out for ice.

It may be a cold, but we can do it. Winter cannot defeat the jogger!

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