If there's one takeaway I got from watching the Biggest Loser finale last night, it's that being the right weight makes you better looking.

Note that I wrote being the right weight. Not being thin per se.

One thing that happens sometimes on the Biggest Loser is that contestants go way overboard sometimes in an effort to win the big prize. Contestants may dehydrate or starve themselves to the point of looking emaciated, not healthy. We saw a little bit of this last year when Helen won, looking more scarecrow-like than healthy.

This latest season fortunately did not reward someone who looked skeletal - Danny, the winner, looked like the right weight for his height. And he looked fabulous! His face had changed so much he said people didn't recognize him. He looked 10-20 years younger.

by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Authors of Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World

What stops you from sleeping through the night? Is it when things are not going your way or they look topsy-turvy and you just want to scream; when your life appears chaotic and you are not sure if you are coming or going; or when it feels like everything is piled on your shoulders?

Life should be an exciting and outrageous adventure. Isn't it a wonder how a spider weaves a web or a bee makes a hive? Did you ever notice the small, everyday miracles, like the fact that you can breathe in and out? But how many of us get to experience this miracle? Sometimes life just feels too awful. We want to feel good, we want to be happy, in fact happiness is our birthright. But so often there are just too many difficulties to deal with. And although we may know that meditation chills us out, if we are feeling stressed or irritable then it just doesn't seem so appealing.

by Ed and Deb Shapiro
Authors of Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World

Meditation is now the IN thing. Cross-legged yogis and Buddhist monks can be seen in advertisements for everything from computers and credit cards to herbal teas, major newspapers and magazines carry stories on the benefits of meditation with tips from famous film stars, and no self-respecting bookshop is without a how-to-meditate section.

It is only in the last few decades that the general population has begun to realize how valuable the practice of meditation really is, regardless of spiritual or religious interests. Yet meditation has been the main focus of spiritual practice for thousands of years. You do not have to be a hippie or on a spiritual quest to meditate: we have taught everyone from housewives to athletes and musicians, and therapists to CEOs, in town halls, high school gymnasiums, corporate boardrooms, and on our own TV series in London.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in kind comments about my website. I am looking to upgrade and enhance it - more content, more news, more holistic resources, more frequent updates. Perhaps not quite as overflowing with content as, say, NaturalNews.com...but covering a lot of alternative health issues and adding more spirit to the mix.

Embarking on such a project takes either time or money. Or time that can be spent making more money. Both of which I am in somewhat short supply of. Therefore, if you have enjoyed my site in some small way, and would like to ease my burden just a tad, a small donation would be greatly appreciated. $5-10 would be great, but even $1 would do:

http://feelgoodgirl.com/donate

However, I would not turn down the help of a magic donor who gives me a lot more. :-)

This economy is kind of sucking for a lot of us, so your generosity is appreciated. If money you do not have, then send good wishes.

Thanks and namaste,
Stephanie

by Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.
Author of Eat Your Way to Happiness

1. Wrap It: Fill a Mission Life Balance flour tortilla with 2 ounces of turkey breast meat, 1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce, 2 tablespoons grated carrot and 1 tablespoon low-fat Caesar salad dressing. Serve with a glass of 1% milk and a piece of fruit.

2. Salad Fixings: Top 3 cups of baby spinach and/or romaine lettuce with 1/2 cup berries, 1 tablespoon pecans, 1/2 cup broccoli florets, 1/3 cup kidney or black beans and 2 tablespoons low-fat dressing. Serve with 100% whole-grain bread and a slice of low-fat cheese.

3. Pocket It: Fill a 100% whole-wheat pita with 1/2 cup black beans, 1/4 cup grated carrot, 1/4 cup chopped cucumber, 1/4 cup diced red peppers and 2 tablespoons light Italian salad dressing. Serve with Rachel’s yogurt and a glass of 100% juice.

I rarely buy ice cream, but I do buy pie on occasion, and when Albertson's offered me a free box of Breyer's ice cream with a purchase of a pie, I could not refuse.

So I bought Breyer's vanilla ice cream - you know, the one with the vanilla beans. Only, when I opened up the ice cream, the beans seemed a lot smaller than I remembered them. I did a quick Google search and it turns out there's more than just smaller vanilla beans (or bean flecks) - Breyer's "all natural" ice cream also has an ingredient that it did not have before: tara gum.

Tara gum is apparently some sort of stabilizer that is made by grinding the endosperm (?) of tara tree seeds. It was added to Breyer's ice cream to make the product more consistent despite the temperature differentials that happen during transport. (Apparently, some customers were complaining of ice in their ice cream!)