This issue is a body and brain stretcher. It gives you a chance to compare a top-notch health and fitness program worked out by the government with programs worked out by the private sector. Who comes out ahead? You do.

----Table of Contents----

1. Danger! Angry Dog
2. Armchair Gardening
3. Growing Plants from Seed
4. Teddies for Tragedies
5. Eating Addictions Anonymous
6. Save Money with These Freebies
7. Free Personalized Calendars
8. Nutrition Made Fun for Kids
9. Health Through Tax Dollars
10. Health Not Through Tax Dollars
11. Losing Weight While Eating Until You're Full
12. Recipe: Baby's Low-Fat Brownies (Dense and Fudgy)

1. DANGER! ANGRY DOG

     What's going on in the mind of your dog -- or, more important, in the mind of that strange dog you've just encountered? Interpret a dog's body language, facial expressions, and vocalizations. Click on

http://www.pawsacrossamerica.com/interpret.html

     This is the season to sit snug in your warm living room on a snowy day planning beautiful flower and vegetable gardens. The Internet has a wealth of information to help you.

     Find forums in GARDENWEB, where you can interact with other gardeners in U.S., Australia, Canada, UK, France, Italy, or Sweden. Examples of subjects: herbalism, vegetables, wildflowers, roses, begonias, balcony gardening, bonsai.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

     In GARDENCOM'S amazing list of gardening catalogs, subjects include butterfly gardens, dahlias, ferns, garden furniture, clubs and shows, heirloom plants, mushrooms, ponds. And much more -- a stunning variety!

http://www.gardencom.com/index.html

     Oddly enough, my two favorite flower and vegetable seed catalogs are not in Gardencom's list. I have used both catalogs for many years.

     I think PARK SEED is the best of the American flower and vegetable seed catalogs. If you'd like to grow a wider range of flowers than your local nurseries, do try this catalog. Years ago I invested in the special seed containers, soil, and grow light Park sells and got back my investment many times over, plus much pleasure in seeing my plant babies grow. In its centerfold, Park has a chart that tells you how to grow these seedlings -- important, as some need light to germinate and some need dark; some need warmth and some need cold.

http://www.parkseed.com/

     Go to THOMPSON & MORGAN's seed catalog for hundreds of varieties of flower and vegetable seeds. Thompson & Morgan is a UK firm that issues a U.S. catalog. You pay more for fewer seeds than with Park, but they offer hundreds more varieties. You'll have plants your neighbors haven't even THOUGHT of! I use the germination instructions from Park to start T&M's seeds, as T&M assumes you have the expertise of a British gardener.

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/?RA=kew

     And now for some tips on GROWING PLANTS FROM SEED:

http://gardening.about.com/od/seedstarting/

     "When tragedy strikes somewhere in the world, the first members of society to suffer are the children," says the Teddies for Tragedies organization. "Doctors who treat children in the third world found that these teddies were sometimes as important to healing as the medicines, and of course each child gets to keep the teddy, so a continual supply is needed."

     If you can sew and knit, YOU can make these super-cuddly teddy bears for children in tragic circumstances. This Canadian organization has volunteers from the U.S., Australia, and Europe. For a pattern to make the bears, come to this site:

www.teddiesfortragedies.org

     This is not a joke. It's a 12-step program for some people who weigh too much, some who weigh too little, and even for some who weigh the right amount. Eating Addictions Anonymous is NOT for everyone with a weight problem. It's here to help people whose attitude toward food has become warped. They describe themselves as "a fellowship of people recovering from all aspects of eating addiction and body obsession. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop abusing food and our bodies. We believe that our disease manifests itself in a variety of ways including: bingeing, purging, grazing, starving, obsession with: our bodies, weight, diet, muscular definition, etc. In our experience what, how, how much or how little you eat is irrelevant to the disease progression. What is important is that we have a warped relationship to food, and to our bodies."

     If you feel you fit into one or more of these categories, you'll find these helpful people at

http://www.eatingaddictionsanonymous.org/

     Here's where you can print out coupons on your printer and take them to your local stores. Amazing selection -- choose from automotive, babies and kids, clothing, groceries, pets, and and and . . . Click on "Register" at the top, and, once registered, go to the section that interests you and print out your coupons.

http://www102.coolsavings.com/scripts/Welcome.aspx?SessionID=1848457076&&RefURL=

     This site lets you print out weekly, monthly and yearly calendars for free. They say, "With just a few clicks you will be able to personalize these calendars by adding an image and any text you'd like. Just select the calendar type and choose from our collection of preselected images and inspirational quotes, click the button, and your printable 2006 calendar is ready to be printed out!"

http://www.eprintable.com/

     "My Pyramid Blastoff" is a computer game from the My Pyramid site for kids age 6-11. They call it "an interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rocket with food and physical activity. 'Fuel' tanks for each food group help students keep track of how their choices fit into MyPyramid."

http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html

http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/kids_game.html

     Here's your chance to do a public sector vs. private sector analysis. First, the two food and exercise PYRAMID SITES the USDA came out with last April. They were so popular that many people couldn't get ON them! (The pyramid tracker is interactive, and you do have to "get on" it.) I suspect it was equally busy the first week in January, but by now the excitement has died down.

     It's best to start with My Pyramid first, then move to Tracker. It all takes time, but it's time spent on your health, which is time well spent.

     But, before you get deeply into this, do take a look at the next two approaches to eating.

www.mypyramid.gov

www.mypyramidtracker.gov

     And now, from the private sector, comes NUTRIDIARY. It's "a free online food and exercise diary" you may like better than Pyramid Tracker. It's for people serious about healthy eating: they'll give you a recommended calorie level, you can log in body measurements, and, in addition to meal records, you can log water consumption, fruits and vegetables, percent body fat and physical activity.

http://nutridiary.com

     And here's a site with a different approach: controlling weight by eating nutritious foods you like UNTIL YOU'RE FULL! It's called NUTRITION DATA.com, and, believe it or not, it's got a firm scientific basis and is NOT a fad diet. In fact, it requires you to scientifically analyze your diet, using their helps, and figure out for yourself how to control your weight while eating nutritious foods you like until you're full. Find it at

http://nutritiondata.com/

     In the column headed "Nutrition Topics," scroll down to "The Fullness Factor." WHOO-EE! For those of us without iron-clad discipline, which is pretty much all of us, feeling full is a big factor in weight loss. They say, "The Fullness Factor can be used in conjunction with nearly any type of diet or approved food list. By simply selecting foods with higher Fullness Factors, you'll improve your chances of consuming fewer calories, while simultaneously minimizing your hunger.

     "For a diet that uses the Fullness Factor as its central concept, see our own Better Choices Diet and our special page on Dieting and Weight Loss."

     I checked into the BETTER CHOICES DIET. Which is, oddly enough, free. They should charge a couple hundred dollars and have people with fists full of money beating down their doors. It's not a simple approach, but it is nutritionally and psychologically sound. When I worked in the Public Health Nutrition Department at UC Berkeley, they emphasized that foods shouldn't be divided into "good" and "bad" categories. People may lose weight on a diet like that, but they won't keep it off, because we all like too many "bad" foods. Instead you start with the foods a person likes and build on the healthy choices. Which is what this diet does. It's not a simple procedure, though. You don't eliminate carbs or eat only cabbage soup. You have to make a record of what you eat, then analyze it for nutrition and fullness.

     They say, "replacing the five chocolate chip cookies that you want to eat with a spinach salad would improve your diet, but could leave you craving chocolate chip cookies. A more productive choice might be to eat the spinach salad plus just one of those cookies. If the bulk of your meal is comprised of foods that fill you up, you're likely to consume fewer calories overall."

     Sounds good to me. What do you think?

http://nutritiondata.com/better-choices-diet.html

     The Fabulous Foods website had what I considered the best low-fat brownie recipe. Cheri is the person who runs the site. If you want to explore it further, find it at

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/index.html

     Note from Cheri: I call this recipe, "Baby's" brownies, not because young kids will love it, which they will, but because the recipe uses a jar of baby food (prunes to be specific) to replace a large amount of the fat usually found in brownies.

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
4 oz. jar of baby food prunes
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Makes 12 brownies

     Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

     Melt chocolate over a double boiler, stirring occasionally, just until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and set aside. Combine flour, salt and walnuts to blend.

     Beat together baby food, egg whites, sugar and vanilla. Mix in melted chocolate. Blend in flour mixutre until just combined, spread batter in the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool on rack before serving.

© Copyright 2005 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.

     Tour the Sites newsletter comes out on the first and fifteenth of each month, and we'll NEVER give or sell your e-mail address to anyone else. Plus, these breathtaking "tours of the sites" are absolutely free!

     So add your name to our Tour the Sites mailing list at the bottom of this page, and let's dig up more exciting treasures!

     Janette Blackwell