I may be dating myself here, but I remember when my parents bought their first microwave and my mother would warn me not to stand in front of it. Safety fears were just one of the rumors that swirled around about microwaves. It was also thought that food cooked in a microwave lost some of its nutrients. But those myths have long been debunked, right?

CafeMom has a post regarding Dr. Don Colbert's latest book "Eat This and Live!" In his book, Colbert suggests cooking frozen meals in the oven to retain nutrients and reduce the risk of cancer. Interesting. Especially considering plenty of studies have shown that food cooked in a microwave is not only safe, but nutrients remain relatively intact.

Do you have any lingering fears or concerns about your microwave?

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On a chilly winter day, hot soup often hits the spot. My problem with soup is that it rarely fills me up. Mind you, I'm a little lady and I still don't find a bowl of soup satisfying. I can't imagine how hungry a big guy would be without adding a large sandwich on the side.

I have a solution, though! For a long time, I've been adding other ingredients like cooked vegetables to canned soups to keep the calories low, the meals hot and my tummy full. It's really easy and quick and actually allows soup to become a meal in itself.

I've added my Easy to Make - Soup Dinner recipe to the online recipe book at Fitzness.com on page 32. I hope you'll give it a try!

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Do you happen to have any Lean Cuisine meals in your freezer? If so, you better take stock of what you have -- nearly 900,000 pounds of Lean Cuisine frozen chicken meals are being recalled.

Nestlé Prepared Foods Company in Springville, Utah issued the recall after receiving customer complaints regarding bits of hard, blue plastic in certain meals. So far, one injury has been reported. The products being recalled include:

• Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken with Bow-Tie Pasta.
• Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean.
• Lean Cuisine Chicken Tuscan.

Only certain production codes of these meals are being recalled. If you have questions, you can contact Nestlé Consumer Services Center at (800) 227-6188.

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Though meals made from scratch are always better, sometimes the convenience of frozen meals is too difficult to pass up. And the pictures on the boxes of those frozen meals usually look quite tempting, don't they? The reality is often quite different, though. The portions are small and you can be left feeling hungry -- all that extra sodium and preservatives don't feel worth it when it's not even satisfying. But, with a few added ingredients, you can make those frozen meals more nutritious, tasty, and filling.

Women's Health shares lots of easy ideas -- such as adding basil, garlic, asparagus, or tomato to a Healthy Choice Chicken Alfredo dinner. Check out their other ideas as well. Then, the next time you're resorting to a heat-and-eat meal, look around your pantry or fridge and see what fresh and nutritious ingredients you can add.

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I try to avoid prepackaged foods, but I have to admit to buying Hot Pockets from time to time. My son absolutely loves them and when we're rushing out the door to head to his soccer practice, it's undeniably convenient to throw one of those in the microwave. But it always gives me a bit of mommy-guilt. Like most pre-packaged foods, they usually come with more sodium than you'd like or contain some unpronounceable ingredients. Nothing pre-packaged compares to homemade.

This article tells you how to make your own "haute" pockets. The crust is a simple recipe -- but I would recommend substituting at least half of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour. Fill the prepared crust with any mixture you like. The article has filling ideas you can try, but your options are limitless.

I'm planning on trying them out this weekend. I think it will be a fun project for my son and I to do together -- and it will result in a variety of quick and healthy meals waiting in our freezer for whenever we're on the go.

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I rarely buy frozen chicken, but it wasn't too long ago that my son and I enjoyed Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. It's a favorite of mine that I usually reserve for a treat at a restaurant. It looks like my son and I were a little lucky, though. As of now, 32 people in 12 states have contracted salmonella from frozen chicken dinners.

The frozen foods in question were breaded or pre-browned chicken breasts that needed to be cooked in the oven. Those who got ill neglected to follow the instructions and heated the food in the microwave. If the chicken is fully cooked before freezing, the microwave more than likely won't do the job.

When dealing with frozen foods, be sure to prepare the meal according to directions. And be sure that any meats -- frozen or fresh -- are cooked thoroughly.

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Coming from an Italian family (on my mother's side), there are certain foods that I simply cannot get enough of. Unfortunately, in some cases I have to pass on many of them; pasta dishes, especially those doused in creamy Alfredo sauce, are sadly limited, for example. However, the familiar aroma of a garlic-filled kitchen is something I can thankfully still enjoy, as a diet rich in this "stinking rose" (a nod to those of you in San Francisco) comes with numerous health benefits.

In particular, garlic contains high amounts of the proven cancer-fighting compound allyl sulphur. However, a recent study from Penn State University revealed that heating garlic for as little as one minute in a microwave deactivates the enzyme and blocks its disease prevention properties.

The good news is that if you crush or chop garlic and allow it to stand for about ten minutes before cooking, it gives the allyl sulphur time to stabilize and will not interfere with the herb's anti-cancer effects.

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One way to cut down on the stress in your life: Stop worrying so much. Easier said than done, right? Some things we simply must worry about -- the safety of our kids in this scary world, for example. But here are nine things we can strike from our worry lists, starting today.

Toilets
Yes, it's possible to contract an infection from potty seats -- see this previous post -- but it's not as likely as you might think. In fact, as long as you wash your hands after a trip to the bathroom, you'll likely never get one. You see, bacteria can't pass through intact skin so in order to catch something, you'd have to not wash your hands and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. As for STDs -- they are acquired only by having sex.

Doorknobs
Wash your hands in public restrooms, open doors with your elbows or use a paper towel to turn the knob and you'll fare just fine in the germ department.

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I realize you're probably not dying to perch yourself at your microwave and stare aimlessly through the glass while your food cooks. But if you find yourself waiting on that popcorn to pop and you happen to watch the bag as it inflates, rest assured: You will do no harm.

Microwave ovens have been engineered not to leak anything dangerous, says Lou Bloomfleld, Ph.D., professor of physics at the University of Virginia, and author of How Everything Works.

This physics expert says the only way micro-waves can reach you is if there is serious damage to the unit or the door is open while you cook -- which is impossible really, thanks to designers who know this would be a risky oven feature. Keep in mind too that microwaves emit thermal radiation which is quite painful. If your microwave was spitting rays at you, you'd know it.

If you're not so sure about the effectiveness of your nuker, take it to a repair shop and have it screened for leakage with an FDA-certified meter.

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I've never entirely trusted the microwave. For example? I won't stand near it while it's running -- something I heard years ago about radiation and microwaves really stuck in my head. And if I have a choice between using it and conventional oven, I usually choose the latter. But apparently, my hesitation towards the microwave has been unfounded. Studies show that using the microwave is one of the best ways to cook your veggies because it's the least destructive to the nutrients.

This news makes it even easier to enjoy your veggies. But make sure to not use too much water because some vitamins can seep out into it. 1-2 tablespoons is fine, and you don't need to use water when cooking raw veggies.

Ok, I guess I was wrong about the microwave. But I still like steaming my veggies -- what about you?

(Via Fitsugar)

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I hear it from my kids all the time: "I'm telling!" And now I'm here to tell on one of your maybe favorite treats: Buttery microwave popcorn. I'm sorry to be the one to do it but I must inform you of a potentially harmful chemical found in the artificial butter. It's called Diacetyl.

When tested on rats, Diacetyl -- also used in other snack foods, cheese, and bakery products to enhance aroma and taste -- caused significant damage in airway passages. When officials at Orville Redenbacher were asked about Diacetyl, they reported that the issue centers around workplace exposure, not consumer consumption. They were confident their processes were safe. But one employee in one plant was awarded $20 million for injuries caused by the chemical.

It seems popcorn workers can develop what's called "popcorn workers lung." And while government agencies claim microwave popcorn poses no risk to humans, the FDA has yet to conduct a study on the issue that may be remedied by proper plant ventilation.

If this topic causes you any concern, try opening your bags of popcorn under a vent to release fumes. Or go the old fashioned route and cook your corn over the stove and then add butter. Or forgo the butter altogether. It'll save on chemicals -- and calories too.

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Some claim that using microwaves is unhealthy, that these cooking contraptions are capable of killing the nutrients in our food and reversing the benefits of beverages like tea. This doctor -- the well-known Dr. Katz -- says microwaving may actually be the least damaging to nutrients. Microwaves ovens are not unhealthy, he says. They are, in fact, a very nutritious way to cook.

Microwaves allow for quick cooking and in most cases, the less time a food is exposed to heat, the higher its nutrient levels. As for tea, all you're doing is heating the water and adding the tea bag later. There's just no way nutrient levels can be adversely affected in this case.

The only argument Dr. Katz can identify against microwave cooking is this: It can leave food a bit dry or perhaps with a different taste. But it won't leave your diet any less nutritious.

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Without getting all Freakonomics on you, I still feel strongly that statistics are sometimes a great way to make sense of this oft-confusing world of ours. Then again, as I've suggested in the past, statistics can also lead you wildly astray, making just about anything seem plausible. Nonetheless, I feel that a simple statistical analysis of microwave usage and weight gain will reveal a very interesting correlation, if not actual causality.

A day late and a dollar short as always, it seems that my theory on this relationship has already been made. Researchers from the University College London found that the obesity epidemic began at the same time that the microwave started to become a standard fixture in the American household (around the early 1980s). Being able to nuke your food made it far more convenient and required less preparation time, thereby also making it easier for us to eat until our bellies were more than content. No longer was it necessary to stand over a stove for twenty minutes to make a meal, as the microwave made it possible to create the same meal in about two minutes.

Convenience is the American ideal (hence why we're willing to pay $1.50 for a single-serving bottle of soda instead of $0.99 for a 2-liter bottle, which rids us of the incredibly arduous task of pouring into cups). It's the goal of every new product; to be easier to use and more effective than the last one. With regard to the microwave, however, it stands to reason that convenience has lead to reliance and abundance, which in turn has resulted in marked, collective weight gain.

If you like tangible steps for cutting the fat in your life, this post is for you. It's loaded with nuggets of information on the nutritional hazards we face every day. Take note, take action, and you'll be on your way to more healthful living.

• One study found that women ate 25 percent less candy when it was tucked away in a drawer than when it was on their desks. Experts say you should store candy in opaque containers or on an out-of-the-way shelf. I say don't store candy at all -- that way, you won't be able to grab it. If you truly need a bite of the sweet stuff, buy a single serving.
  
  

• Another study found that people eat 22 percent more in the same amount of time when food is served in larger packages. So avoid those bulk containers and you're likely to not overdo it.
  
  

• Microwaving might make you hungrier than actual cooking. Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, found that smelling food during cooking can make you more satisfied and can lead you to eat less once your meal hits the table. If you're still not up for cooking, pop that microwave dinner in the oven to cook.
  
  

• Like those trendy, bigger utensils now on the market? You might want to forgo fashion for function because the bigger the silverware, the more we eat. "People who eat with smaller spoons tend to feel more satisfied after one serving than those who use bigger silverware," says Illinois food researcher James Painter, Ph.D.
  
  

• There's more to the placement of grocery store food items than you might think. Companies pay for prime real estate in supermarkets, and the products right in front of your face tend to be the high-profit, cheaper-to-produce stuff like sugary cereals and processed carbohydrates. Next time you're wandering the aisles, look up -- the healthiest foods are usually stocked on the top shelves.
  
  

• Don't look at the center shelves on your next grocery adventure. Center aisles are home to processed snacks and sweets. Stick with the outer walls of the store, where the most nutritious fruits, veggies, dairy, and meats live.

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Have you ever heard that microwaving foods destroys many of the nutrients present in them? Now, I'm not talking about processed, packaged foods, but natural items like veggies and fruits. Is it safe to cook them with microwave radiation. Raw is always best, but often it's not practical.

Many commercial fruits and vegetables are already subject to irradiation anyway (to prevent bacterial infection and other nastiness), but in the process nutrients are destroyed. This, however, is not the same as microwaving, where foods absorb energy and heats itself up as a result.

Although I would never microwave certain product like plastic or PVC containers, microwaving many foods in glass or ceramic makes sense. Just make sure you follow directions if what you cook are pre-packaged meals. When it says "let sit for 2 minutes, then remove," the directions mean just that.

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