Cereal is a staple in the houses of busy families. As a breakfast meal, it's easy, it's convenient, kids love it and it's nutritious. Right?

Recent studies show otherwise -- in fact, in recent tests analyzing the nutritional content of cereal, several major brands were found to be made of between 40% and 50% sugar. Yikes! Eating a bowl of sugar is not exactly a healthy start to the day. Post Golden Crisp and Honey Smacks were ranked the most sugary by weight.

But it's not all bad news. Some cereals did fare well nutritionally -- Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Kix and Quaker oats were each found to be low in sugar and high in fibre.

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Are you a fan of calorie counts on menus? Do you check out the online nutritional info. before heading out to a restaurant so you can make sure you order the healthiest thing on the menu? If you answered yes to either of these, how upset would you be if you found out that the nutritional information listed wasn't true? Let's say, for instance, the dish you ordered was listed to be around 400 calories and you later found out it was 600? You'd be pretty mad, right?

That's just what happened to some people dining at Applebee's, and they're taking their anger all the way to the courtroom. In Kansas City, the restaurant chain, along with Weight Watchers and DineEquity are being sued for providing false information on their 'diet' menu after it was found that some so-called 'healthy' dishes ha twice as much fat and 25% more calories than indicated. You can read more here.

I suspect this won't be the last lawsuit we see of this kind -- what do you think?

(via CalorieLab)

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If you're busy prepping for your upcoming holiday travels, you may want to consider what nutrition experts have to say about eating healthy at airports.

Definitely avoid the fast food spots, they say. And since flying makes you incredibly dehydrated, they recommend picking snacks with high water content -- like apples and pears. Instant soup works too, but only if sodium levels register at 500 milligrams or less.

More tips: During airport layovers, give dairy foods such as yogurt and cheese a try. They contain amino acids which increase blood flow and tryptophan which promotes relaxation and calmness during air travel. Almonds are another wise choice -- just limit your portion to a healthy one-ounce serving.

Low sodium is key for travel. So pass on the potato chips and try something like low-sodium beef jerky. It's low in calories and carbohydrates and has lots of protein. Optimally, though, whole foods top any sort of processed food. The fewer the ingredients, the better.

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Happiness is one of the most sought-after, yet still so elusive things in our modern world. We spend our lives searching for it. We try to buy, try to steal it, promise that we'll have it at last -- if only we could fit into the skinny jeans, afford that fancy house or land that dream job. But maybe we should change the way we think about happiness.

Happiness is a decision, according to this blog post. It's not something that comes to you; it's a choice you make for yourself. That's not to say it comes naturally -- rather, it's a skill you learn, like riding a bike. And it's something you have to work on every day.

What do you think? Is happiness within our reach? Is it something we choose?

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Yeah, I know -- recycling may not appear to be related to the topic of fitness. But in reality, it is! Maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle not only includes the physical being, but the emotional and mental one as well. Doing small parts to help the planet definitely falls into this venue.

Where I live, some of the smaller communities have no curbside recycling. In an age of many adults being overworked and having less time that ever before, trying to mount a recycling project that requires effort by those needing to recycle can fall flat on its face.

Enter a hybrid trash collection/recycling program. Talk to your local wasts disposal authorities and find out if adding a separate recycling program onto trash trucks would make sense. Then, the only effort to get consumers to recycle is to have a bin where plastic, paper and glass products can be collected. Encourage this and get involved with the city council if necessary. One by one and little by little, the difference can be made.

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Who doesn't want to be happy? Of course we all do, but sometimes it's easier said than done. It's easy to get distracted in today's busy world and lose track of the simple things, the basic building blocks that make life enjoyable. Check out these 12 secrets to a happy life and see if you're as happy as you can be. Do you take time every day to tend to your body, mind, and spirit? Are you creating the life that you want? Do you love yourself best and first? These are a few of the tips on the list, plus things like "release what you don't need or it will slow you down" and "believe in good things, have faith!"

A great list of things we should all do more often.

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If you won a huge payout in the lottery (enough to never work again) would you go back to your job or would you never return? For many, there is no question that they would walk right off the job and never return again, but there are also plenty of people who really enjoy their work and find it satisfying. These people might stick around either way. Just who are these lucky workers who are so happy with their careers?

A study done in the UK found that corporate managers and senior officials are the most satisfied with their jobs, as they combine an important combination of good pay, prestige and working with others. While a hefty paycheck and status help, they're not the be-all and end-all when it comes to contentment at work. Creativity and freedom is big as well -- hairdressers and artists are both in the top 10 despite receiving lower wages, and high-paying careers like architecture and law, came in relatively low (28th and 44th respectively).

What about you? What do you like or dislike about your job? And just out of curiosity, if you won the lotto, would you keep working or quit on the spot?

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Enjoying your job is critical to having a happy and low-stress life. Even if you're in the right field and in your dream job you probably still need to 'fine tune' things and make an effort to be happy. And if you're not in your dream job then it becomes so much more important to make that conscious choice. Here's a summary of the 37 tips HR Lowdown gives for finding fulfillment and happiness in your work life.

The first thing you need to do to enjoy your work more is think positively. Focus on the good stuff like making friends to go to lunch with and send funny emails to, and getting assignments you love to do. Even small stuff, like the fact that your desk is in a convenient part of the office or that you have a good schedule, should be appreciated while negative people are to be avoided as much as possible. Being physically active will also help keep your spirits up (as well as your health) so consider joining the company softball team (or whatever kind of team they have), setting up fundraisers like walk-athons, and getting a gym buddy to help keep you on track for a before or after work exercise routine. Make sure you drink plenty of water and get up to stretch and move around regularly, and always make sleep a priority.

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