The chopper that I posted in my earlier post (I included it here, too) is the one I use and it is fantastic. I've chopped onions, peppers (cut into 8ths so the pieces are more uniform), cukes, summer squash...basically most veggies. It made the process of prepping salsa 10 times faster. I enjoy the process of using my knives. However sometimes it's just more convenient to use the chopper, especially when I need lots of small, uniform pieces. The caveat I have with it is that sometimes you need to use force to get it to chop through, especially if you're chopping a half of an onion. I've had to use both hands and put my full weight on the top to get it to go through. I got it at my local hardware store. It is the "Progressive International" brand. Jill Here is a link that might be useful: Onion Chopper

For instant gratification, you can't beat homemade salad dressings. It will probably take you longer to get the ingredients out on the counter than to actually make a dressing, and it will improve the taste of the salad as much as using a garden-fresh tomato instead of a hydroponic one! Since they're quick, inexpensive and usually keep a long time, it's definitely practical to have several on hand if everybody in your family prefers a different 'flavor'. If you have kids who won't touch a salad, try making ranch with a little less milk or buttermilk than called for so it's thicker. Tell them it's a dip, and even picky eaters can usually be coaxed into trying it with something that's raw and good for them. And I can almost guarantee that the next time you have company for dinner, somebody will say, "Ooh, your dressing is so much better than mine! What brand do you buy?" It's priceless to see the looks on their faces when you say, "Well, actually..." lol Of course, salad dressing is a small item in the grand scheme of things, even though making it should give you a lot of positive reinforcement. Ruthanna made such a good point about identifying the "big offenders" so you won't just be spittin' in the wind in your efforts to eat healthier meals. If you're a working mom juggling an insane schedule, chances are that casseroles are a mainstay, so one of the huge culprits is soup. (Cream of ______, anybody?) Learn to make a white sauce instead, seasoning it with various herbs and spices and adding different cheeses for infinite variety and insanely improved taste! It's easy as can be, I promise. Also, as so many others have said, make your own broth. There are some superb tutorials, with lots of pix, on recipezaar for chicken, vegetable and shrimp stock. (I apologize again for not figuring out links here. Just click on "Communities" at the top of the recipezaar home page, then scroll down to the French Forum.) There was an amazing post here the other day about beef broth. You have to babysit a little since it must simmer for several hours, but the 'hands on' time is minimal, and it's so simple to assemble that a 3rd grader could do it. (Well, maybe a 6th grader, since a knife is involved...) So don't be intimidated when you think "homemade broth"! It's as simple and straightforward as boiling eggs. If you never bought a can of Campbell's again, it would reduce the offending stuff in your diet to an astounding degree. Then there are all those little foil packets. Fajitas, tacos, spaghetti sauce, chili, Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix... Lots of dishes are so simple if you just sprinkle in the stuff in the little foil packet. Not great, but edible. I'm thinking the junk in those little foil packets probably is about the unhealthiest stuff you buy. If you use them often, your salt intake is off the charts. The internet is such a wonderful source for recipes for stuff like Creole/Cajun seasonings so you can reduce or eliminate the salt. Here's a recipe I found for a substitute for dry onion soup mix. Haven't tried it yet, but I plan to soon. Lipton Onion Soup Mix Sub 4 t. beef bouillon granules 8 t. dried onion flakes 1 t. onion powder 1/4 t. celery salt Mix well to blend. Can be stored for up to 6 months. Equivalent of 1 envelope dry onion soup mix. With pre-teen or teenaged children, snacks may be the single biggest problem you need to address. There is nothing in the frozen food section you can't do better and cheaper at home, using far less sodium and preservatives. But there's a big trade-off of taste vs. time. Maybe you could organize a OAMC group of moms, preparing dozens of after-school snacks to be frozen? Or just call your sister and demand that she come over to help? :) The main thing, I think, is to keep a sense of balance. Healthy is wonderful, but all of us must have our "Cheetos" in one form or another. If your family hates one of the substitutes you come up with, give it up. There are other ways to introduce healthy foods that they will enjoy. If your kids are miserable without their Oreos, preach moderation instead of denial.

Lynxe, this is getting really redundant. It's not a question of whether one can compensate for the deficiency. I suppose if one wanted to, they could live on nothing but supplements. Those on that very low calorie diet trying to hyper extend longevity essentially do that. But that is not to say it's optimal for good health or sustainable by the vast majority of people. As I said before, the issue is that the strict vegan diet, by itself is not complete. Meaning that it is not fundamentally consistent with the full nutritional requirements of the human body as it has evolved over the past tens of thousands of years. This, on its face says that it is not optimum. Further, as I said before, we know about the need for B-12, and the challenges of adequate protein, iron, zinc, iodine, DHA, calcium in following that diet. But it's what we don't know that's missing in that diet that could be harmful. We went for decades lauding a low to no fat diet and it wasn't until they looked deeper into the kinds of fats and the metabolism of those fats and things like essential fatty acids that they realized the low/no fat diet was not optimum. Not only for the required fats, but also for the sustainability of the diet as fats help keep one from feeling hungry. Further the replacement of fats with sugars, as many food cos. did to try to keep their food palatable, was very damaging to the waistline and blood sugar levels. Moreover, on a personal level, I never went vegetarian but approached that and found myself not doing well as I wasn't getting adequate protein (suffered hair loss and weak nails) and I was getting excess carbs which showed up as belly fat and cellulite. When I went back to eating a more balanced diet, all of that improved as well as my muscle tone and energy levels. I know quite a few other people who tried vegetarianism and went back. I know others who have tried veganism and went back to vegetarianism because they felt better and were doing better. You can argue that it was because they weren't doing it right, but the reality is, given how much time and effort they were willing to put into it, including some animal products in their diet was more effective and sustainable for them. If veganism works well for you, then that's wonderful. If you're willing to invest the time and effort to get sufficient variety/supplementation to keep your diet complete, that's great. I'm happy with whatever works for anyone that keeps them healthier. But given that only 2% of Americans are even self-described as vegan (and we don't know how many of those are long-term vs. dabblers) and given the nutritional risks/effort required to maintain health on that restrictive a diet, as well as the anecdotal experience of those who have tried it especially for the long term, I believe it is not the best diet for the vast majority of people. -------------------- This video discusses multigenerational veganism, or the lack thereof. The link below is a blog post by a doctor on her actual experience with patients who pursue veganism (vs. the theoretical) and how rare it is to find someone who will maintain the diligence required for long term health with veganism. If you do a search on "long-term veganism" you'll find lots more. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Clouthier on Veganism

Lyban, I'm not a nutritionist and don't play one on TV ;-) But moderation like Chispa noted would apply here for me, too. If I ate the Ryvita for lunch along with processed lunch meat, chips or pasta salad, a muffin for dessert, then that's just too much processed food overall. However, if I topped it with sliced vegetables, hard-boiled egg or avocado, etc., then sides of fruit, a quinoa salad with homemade dressing, or other non-processed foods, then I would be OK with eating it. Also the serving size is 3 slices... it would be easy to cut it back to 2. If you want to try intermittent fasting, I recommend first cutting back on processed foods and improving your regular diet overall. Some people use intermittent fasting as an excuse to binge eat junky food when they're allowed to eat. I don't see the point in that. It's important to me that when I do eat, that I'm eating good, real, healthy food--for 90% of the time... I still enjoy indulgences once in a while. Then, when you want to explore intermittent fasting, do some research. There are a million resources now about IF, and it's good to compare notes, talk with your doctor, etc. The main methods I've tried are: 5:2 IF - I first read about this several years ago when a study came out about effective weight loss in the UK. It was based on something like this approach. I found this approach do-able when I have 2 days a week when I'm super-busy and can keep myself occupied and away from food. 500 calories seems like nothing, but it's a good way to introduce your body to IF. Timed eating: This involves taking in all of your daily calories in a restricted timeframe, like from 10 am to 6 pm, or from noon-4, etc. This link has more information and guidance. It also has a video by Dr. Jason Fung, who's well-known in IF circles. Start slowly and give your body time to adjust. Research tips and strategies (the link above has good ones). Yes, you can exercise on an empty stomach (I do all the time). No, I have not lost muscle mass. No, I am not hungry all the time. Yes, I take a break during special occasions, holidays, vacations, etc. Once my body adjusted, IF became very natural and felt good. I do a combination of the 5:2 and timed eating, just depending upon my schedule. And I'm not a stickler or obsessive over it... it's just how I eat. The most important thing, however, is paying attention to my body. Good luck, and I hope it works for you.