Tired of nutrition claims on the front of food packages or store shelf signs that are hard to decipher because of non-specific statements or symbols (for instance, indicating the food is “natural”, “low-fat” or “a good source of fiber”) or misleading information (for instance, foods that are labeled “zero trans fat”, but still contain up to .5 grams of trans fat per serving)? The Food and Drug Administration is asking you to help them improve this kind of confusing and deceptive nutrition information by telling them what you’d change or keep about front-of-package and store shelf labels, plus how you notice and use them.

To submit your suggestions: Log onto regulations.gov, click “submit a comment”, enter FDA-2010-N-0210 in the “enter keyword or ID” search box, press “search”, then scroll down and select “submit a comment”. Or mail your comments to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD, 20852. Suggestions must be emailed or postmarked no later than July 28, 2010.

Tip: See what other folks have already suggested! Log onto regulations.gov, enter FDA-2010-N-0210 in the “enter keyword or ID” search box and press “search”.

[photo: colros]

Want to wow family and friends even more with your homemade lemonade, smoothies and milkshakes? Serve these drinks in a glass or mug rather than a plastic or paper cup. Sounds strange, but in a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, participants were convinced that beverages served to them in sturdy cups tasted better than those served in a flimsy cups—even though the beverages were the same. Why the difference? Our perception of how good or bad drinks taste is affected by how sturdy the container is—the firmer it is, the more we like what we’re drinking.

[photo: Bryan Davidson]

Next time you’re shopping for cereal, crackers, cookies and other foods for your child, take a closer look at the nutrition label if the package is adorned with a cartoon character, celebrity or offer of a free toy or other giveaway. In a recent Yale University study, a whopping 82% of foods with promotions like these failed to meet accepted nutrition standards for children by limiting sugar, salt and/or saturated fat.

Tip: Nutrition guidelines to aim for…
* 1 g. or less of saturated fat per serving and not more than 15% of calories.
* 0 g. of trans fat per serving.
* No more than 13 g. of added sugars per serving.
* No more than 200 mg. of sodium per serving.

Ever wonder how your restaurant bill got so high? Or why you planned to order a burger but ended up ordering something completely different? You could have fallen for one of the secret psychological strategies on restaurants menus that steer you toward more profitable items, such as…
* Making prices seem lower with a decoy. Ever wonder why some restaurants offer outrageously expensive dishes—like a $100 Kobe beef burger or $1000 sundae topped with edible gold? Restaurant owners don’t expect customers to actually order them. These high-ticket items simply make the other choices seem like more of a bargain, says restaurant menu engineer Gregg Rapp.
* Eliminating dollar signs so you spend more. A recent study in the International Journal of Hospitality Management reveals that diners shell out about eight percent more when there are no dollar signs on the menu. The reason? Without the reminder that you’re spending actual money, it doesn’t feel so painful to order pricier choices, explains study co-author Sheryl E. Kimes, Ph.D.
* Adding money-spending words. The right menu descriptions can boost sales 27%, according to research by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and author of Mindless Eating. The words with the most power to motivate you to spend? Those that describe flavor, such as “triple-basted”, “satiny cream sauce”, “crackling” and “tangy”; those that remind you of home or family members, such as Tennessee rib sauce or Aunt Sadie’s apple pie; and brand names, such as Jack Daniels chicken or Minute Maid orange juice.
* Steering your eye toward the more profitable items. They’ll be easy to spot—for instance, on the upper right hand side of the menu, in their own box or accompanied by a colorful photograph, says Rapp.

[photo: Steven Snodgrass]

Herbs are easy to grow and make your favorite dishes taste delicious. No wonder herb gardening is one of the most popular warm weather pastimes around. And you can savor your garden’s bounty long into the fall and winter months by drying them, says Amanda Bevill, owner of World Spice Merchants in Seattle, Washington. To do it:
* Harvest herbs at their peak. Pick leaves right before the plant flowers—that’s when they contain the hightest level of compounds that give them their distinctive flavor. Do your harvesting in the morning or evening since the sun’s heat reduces these flavorful compounds. Tip: If you harvest in the morning, make sure there’s no dew on the leaves since this will slow down the drying process.
* Dry herbs slowly. You may be tempted to pop them in the oven to speed up the process, but its high heat bakes away the flavor. Instead, hang spices with stems—such as lavender, oregano and tarragon—in small bunches. And spread out other spices on a screen that allows air to circulate. Put all drying spices in a shady, warm corner of the kitchen away from direct sunlight, which can burn the delicate leaves. Let them sit for about a week. When the leaves crackle between your fingers and fall apart, they’re finished drying.
* Store herbs right away. Put them in airtight jars away from heat and light. You’ll be able to use them for up to 12 months.

[photo: stevendepolo]

According to a recent study in the journal PLoS ONE, we end up throwing away an astonishing 40% of the food from our fridge and cabinets, usually because they expire before we eat them. Luckily, there’s an easy way to make use of all your food before it goes bad: Log onto supercook.com and simply type in the ingredients you have in your kitchen. You’ll be given hundreds of links to easy recipes for soups, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts that use all those items so they don’t go to waste.

[photo: carolyn.will]

Cinnabon is taking the sting out of Tax Day by offering free bite-sized versions of their famous cinnamon bun dessert. To find a Cinnabon near you, log onto cinnabon.findlocation.com. Hours and participation vary by location.

[photo: Andrew Currie]

Screw in a red or blue light bulb! According to a new survey of 500 wine sippers, folks enjoyed a wine’s flavor and thought it tasted more than twice as sweet when there was red or blue lighting in the background than when there was white or green lighting behind them, reports the Journal of Sensory Studies. It may be that pleasant lighting makes us perceive what we’re drinking as pleasant, too, says study author Daniel Oberfeld-Twistel, Ph.D.

[photo: jessicamelling]

Whether they’re riding bikes together, trying on makeup or just talking, a new University at Buffalo study shows that any time spent with pals distracts tweens and teens from eating out of boredom, a chief cause of childhood obesity.

Tip: To help your child make more friends, sign him or her up for after-school programs, free children’s events at your local library or youth groups at your house of worship.

[photo: hecotorir]

According to a study in the journal Molecular Biotechnology, popping at least 10 mg. of lycopene (an antioxidant-rich pigment that gives tomatoes their bright red color) daily shields your skin from the sun’s damaging rays as effectively as a low-level sunblock. And, because it protects you from both UVA and UVB rays, it also lowers your risk of skin cancer. Find lycopene in health food and vitamin stores for about $12 per 60 capsules.

[photo: hermanturnip]