City-Data.com

Hi All,

Do you need information about a particular city?  Do you need demographic information or house price in a particular location?

Check out City-Data.com for information like this and much more information.  The site has city information for all 50 states.  It has school and neighborhood information as well as assessment and restaurant information for all the cities it covers.  That's a lot of cities.

For example, the site has school information for elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, private schools and more.

One of the more interesting parts of the site is the section on restaurants. Users can find restaurant inspection findings and violations of your favorite eating establishment.

City-Data.com has "restaurant inspection findings from several states around the country. Records include dates and scores of inspections, as well as the types of violations noted (where available). Recently, we have added restaurant reviews as well. Users are able to score restaurants based on food, service, price, ambiance and cleanliness, and can add text and photos to their review.

Click on this link for restaurants in various parts of New York State.

Also, click on this link for City-Data.com forums.  FYI, some of the discussions can be way off base from the original topic...but it might be worth looking into. 

Enjoy the site.

Regards,
Stu

Food Safety News

Hi All,


Food safety is a topic that should be on everybody's mind.  Its important since well, we all eat food.  Food Safety News (FSN hereafter) was founded in 2009 to provide timely reporting on food safety issues.. Simple - and very, very useful. Click here to learn a bit more about FSN. 

The site has information on Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, Food Recalls, Food Politics, Food Safety Events and more.  In addition, users can subscribe to the site and search the site for illnesses, outbreaks, recalls and more.  There is an RSS feed on the site that can be subscribed to as well.

Articles are detailed and include the manufacturer or seller of the product in question.  Articles are dated and included a word cloud of similar/related topics so users can delve more deeply into the topic in question. Users have the option of commenting on articles, sharing articles or recommending them...  Articles can be sorted as well by 'Best article', 'Newest article'  or 'Oldest article'. 

Users can click on other options on the site.  For example there are links to consumer education, food safety leaders, lawsuits/litigation, science/research, local food, sustainability, food recalls, for foodies, victim stories, nutrition and public health, foodborne illness outbreaks and more.  Click each link above for the particular topic of interest. 

Enjoy the site and the various links - they are really quite interesting.

Regards,
Stu

Body Mass Index Calculation

Hi All,

The Body Mass Index is a great way to figure out where you fall on the weight spectrum.  Basically the Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of body fast based on height and weight. It applies to adult men and women - not children!

Click on this link and you'll go to a site from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website.  You'll be able to enter your weight and height using standard or metric measures.  Click on 'compute BMI' and your BMI will appear below.

On the right side of the page you'll see BMI categories:
Underweight = <18 .5="" p="">Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25.0-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30.0 or greater

Users can also download the BMI calculator app on the site.

Click on these links for information on the limitations of the BMI, assessing your risk, controlling your weight and recipes to help you control your weight.

Hope the information helps and I hope the holidays don't torpedo your weight and health goals.

Regards,
Stu

Food Safety News

Hi All, 


I just came across a site called Food Safety News.  Link can be found by going here. 

And what exactly is Food Safety News? It is a daily news source for information about food recalls, food-borne illness outbreaks, food science, technology, food policy and more. Readers can use Food Safety News to be in the know about food safety.

There are links for Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, Food Recalls, For Foodies, Food Politics and a Directory (which lists businesses whose products and services contribute to the food supply safety net).  There is also a search box at the top right side of the homepage.  

Enjoy the site and the links - hopefully you won't need to use them!

Regards, 
Stu

Cooking Light.com

Hi All,

We all do it.  We do it three times a day that is - at least. Some more, some less.  What am I talking about you ask?  Eating of course!  And healthy eating is a great start to living a healthy, happy, active life.  Which is why I want to introduce an interesting, entertaining and healthy website: CookingLight.com.

When you click on the link above you go to the site  - which has plenty of information on Food, Nutrition, Healthy Living, Let's Cook, Diet, Meal Planner, the Cooking Light Blog, Videos and the Cooking Light Community (where you can visit like minded people and talk about food). 

CookingLight.com has a LOT to offer folks who use the site!  One section that I wanted to highlight and discuss from the site is the Let's Cook section.  This section has links to Recipes, Links to Recipes in Spanish and a whole bunch of food related videos.

Finally, the site has a link to ChooseMyPlate.gov - a USDA website that serves as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices...

Enjoy the links and recipes and the sensible cooking advice!

Regards,
Stu

What To Eat When You are in a Fast Food Restaurant

Hi All,

The summer might be over, but that doesn't mean we all should eat poorly. Health eating is a lifetime habit - sheesh, I sound like an advertisement. So it goes...at least this will be a healthy blog entry.

And while this is true - healthy eating should be a lifetime habit - it can be very, very hard to do when faced with the likes of McDonald's, Wendy's KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King and other fast-food restaurants.

So what is a hungry fellow or gal to do when he/she is in a fast food restaurant?

Click on this link and you'll get an article from Men's Health entitled 14 Best Fast Food Meals Under 500 Calories

This second link comes from Health.com and is a long article. Essentially the authors surveyed the nations 100 largest fast-food chains...for the results, click on this link.

Click on this link from WebMD to find the best bets from favorite food chains. The article is called, 'Fast Food That Won't Supersize You'.

Click on this link for the various menu options at many large fast food chains to see the number of calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, carbs and sodium content of the various items. Hamburgers, french fries, chicken, and more.

Finally, click on this link from a site called HelpGuide.org (A Trusted Non-Profit Resource - or so the website proclaims...) for an article entitled 'Healthy Fast Food - Tips For Making Healthier Fast Food Choices'. At the end of the article is a nicely organized list of ways that consumers can make healthier choices at fast food restaurants...good stuff.

And now you can make better decisions and eat healthier.

Enjoy the meals!
Stu

What to Look For When Joining a Gym...

Hi All,


So the holidays are here and the parties are around the corner. First the holiday party for work, the festivities and Grandma's. Don't forget the New Years' Eve party, your significant other's work party and the Christmas Day feast....is it just me or are my pants starting to feel a bit snug?


Yes folks, we have all just entered the holiday zone. The place where belts are suddenly tight, trousers don't fit and well, generally your once comfortable daily clothing is not so comfortable anymore...what can be done to combat these events?


Well, welcome to the blog entry where we can help you find a good gym to join so you can feel better about yourself while at the same time you can lose some of the weight you (me, we, all of us, etc) put on during this festive holiday season.


So you want (or need to join a gym)? Click here to find out which few key questions to ask before actually signing on the dotted line and dropping a few hundred dollars. The link is from an old standby - About.com and is titled, 'Gym Joining a Gym - What You Need to Know Before Joining a Gym'. You can also click here to see an article from Wikihow on whether or not you should join a gym - and what you should think about before actually joining the gym.


Click here for a link from Buzzle entitled 'To Join or Not to Join: Are Gym Memberships Really Worth It'? Why is this interesting? Because if all you need to do is break a bit of a sweat and do some walking, then quite possibly a gym membership is not for you...besides, you might be able to buy weights and conduct your workout from home. Just a thought. But here is a link to a set of weights that can be purchased for your home use.


This link is from Wal-Mart. Please note that I am not giving Wal-Mart the 'Farmingdale Public Library' seal of approval. I just used the link to indicate that weights are available to consumers. Note that you can probably buy weight sets at Target, K-Mart, Dick's Sporting Goods or other stores.


Don't forget to use Froogle.com to see which site has the lowest price on the weight set that you are interested in...



Finally, you can click on this entry from Ezine Articles entitled, '10 Reasons To Join a Gym'.


So, now that you have all these resources...get to work and decide whether or not a gym is right for you.


FYI, I might do a follow up entry to this blog entry; the subject of which would be how to get the most from your gym workouts and whether or not a Personal Trainer is right for you.


Good luck exercising and finding the right gym!


Stu



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