Comments of the Week

Hey everybody! It's another special Saturday post full of spot-on comments from the past couple of days. I’m thinking I might make this a regular feature, a la one of my favorite blogs, The Comics Curmudgeon, so keep ‘em coming!

On Recession-Proofing Your Diet

Jen@bigbinder: Here is my plan: I am working my way up the food pyramid. My logic is that if this is the bulk of what we should be eating the bottom) best to start there and make a big impact. It might not be the most expensive proportionally but I like visual aids and this is a good one. For example, I am learning how to make my own bread (the kind that we will actually eat) and anything in that lowest category of the pyramid. … Once I get that category nice and cheap, I'll move onto the most frugal but still healthy way to buy and consume veggies, etc.

Julia: Re: the cookbooks, I found a fantastic Cooking Light cookbook called "Superfast Suppers" at a thrift shop. If you love cookbooks, like me, that's a good place to shop for them.

Sheila: I heard it like this: don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. In other words, none of those lunchables. No cheesies. No fruit roll-ups. Just real food. It's cheaper and healthier.

Dan: I had a suggestion that involves Applying the 80/20 Rule. It's more conceptual than specific, but hopefully it helps your readers. Around 80% or so of your recipes will be made from some 20% of the ingredients that you normally stock in your pantry and fridge. Meaning most of the food you eat will heavily rely on a fairly small number of ingredients. If you can carefully manage the cost of those heavily-used ingredients, you should be able to slash your food bill materially.


On Pork Loin with Roasted Red Pepper Relish

Sally Parrott Ashbrook: I made a pork roast last night, using local, pastured heirloom pork and an apple sauce. The roast had beautiful marbling, and even though I overcooked it … it was way, way tastier than the overcooked grocery store pork I grew up eating. The extra fat in the heirloom pork made all the difference, I think. And honestly, I'd rather have a less frequent, really tasty piece of pork than a factory-farmed, so-so one.

Sarah: I regularly do pork loin in the crockpot and find it works well (stays moist and yummy).

Maggie: I love pork in the crockpot with green chilis and a few chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. It tastes best made ahead and stored covered in the liquid.I really like crockpot pulled pork also.


On Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

Julia: Have you tried adding basil to that? I saw it on a cooking show and it sparked my curiosity. Also, I've heard strawberries dipped in freshly ground black pepper is amazing. Is summer here yet?

Ginnyberry: I absolutely love strawberries with balsamic vinegar! I don't use any sugar at all when I prepare mine.

Thanks everybody! (It's Kris again.) Can't wait to see what you have to say next.

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

Reactions on trying All Recipes’ Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar for the first time:

Bite 1: (*chews slowly, thoughtfully*) Uh huh. Uh huh. (*swallows*) Hm. Nothing … nothing … what’s going on here? All the reviews said this would be an insane new … YEOW! THERE it is. What kind of bizarro Twilight Zone tang IS that? My tongue! What’s happening to my TONGUE?

Bite 4: Okay, the crazypants epiglottal sensation has died down a bit, but I still can’t place this flavor. It’s sweet? It’s savory? I guess? Can I get some help here?

Bite 7: All right, all right. I’m getting this. Balsamic vinegar and strawberries … they’re Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. One’s a sassy, be-afro’ed New Yorker and the other’s a tragically handsome Midwesterner. You’re not really sure they’ll work together at first, but they do, and it’s a beautiful thing. Then she sings and they break up, and you cry a little, but it’s all good in the end, because she’s found herself and everybody’s okay.

(That metaphor went off the rails somewhere.)

Bite 10: Wow. This is really luscious. I think this might replace strawberries and chocolate as my new favorite strawberry-related pairing. Who thought this up? Was it a chef? Some nice lady in Utah? Maybe it was accidental, like the dude who lucked on to vulcanized rubber? Whatever. I need to write a thank you note.

Bite 13: Holy moly. That was delicious. (*glances around nervously to see if anyone’s watching*) Hey roommates! Are you home? Anyone? Okay. (*raises bowl to mouth, furiously licks it clean*) Ahhh … yeah, that did it. I’ll be sleeping soundly, dreaming of various fruit/vinegar pairings if anyone needs me.

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar
6 servings if used as topping
4 servings if standing as dessert alone
Adapted from All Recipes.

16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and large berries cut in half
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1) In a small bowl, gently combine strawberries, vinegar, and sugar. Cover. Do not put in fridge. Instead, "let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour but not more than 4 hours." Sprinkle pepper over berries and serve immediately. Vanilla ice cream, angel food cake, or pound cake make good partners.

Approximate Calories, Price, and Fat Per Serving
6 servings (as topping): 55 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.29
4 servings (as dessert): 83 calories, 0.3 g fat, $0.43

Calculations
16 ounces fresh strawberries: 145 calories, 1.4. g fat, $1.50
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar: 20 calories, 0 g fat, $0.15
1/4 cup white sugar: 186 calories, 0 g fat, $0.08
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 331 calories, 1.4 g fat, $1.74
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 55 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.29
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 83 calories, 0.3 g fat, $0.4

CHG Favorites of the Week

Blog of the Week
The Culinary Review
If you can get beyond the clutter, there's an abundance of valuable food information here, from pricing breakdowns to chopping techniques to a thesis on Glogg. A good basic resource when you just need to know something, fast.

Comedy of the Week
“Food Court Musical” by Improv Everywhere
Charlie Todd and Co. strike again! This time, it’s a full-on musical number in the middle of a crowded shopping mall. I’m so happy these guys exist, and am doubly happy they keep doing things related to food. Thanks to Serious Eats for the link.

Magazine of the Week
Cook’s Country
At first, one may believe a Cook’s Country referral is merely part of my never-ending quest to kiss up to Cook’s Illustrated (it’s parent publication) as much as possible. (One may be right.) HOWEVER, completely independent of CI, Cook’s Country is a great magazine on its own. The design rawks, and the dishes are a nice combination of the down-home and the upscale. And while it’s not exactly nutritionally-minded, there are usually enough healthy recipes to justify a gander/purchase. Check it out next time you pass through at Barnes & Noble. You’ll be impressed.

Organization of the Week
Share Our Strength’s Great American Bakesale
You may have seen Duff the Ace of Cakes dude promote this on a few Food Network PSAs. In GAB’s own words, it’s “a national campaign that mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities.” So, not only do you get to help your poverty-stricken countrymen, but you get bake in the process. Sweet. It seems like a really good opportunity to get kids involved with volunteering, too.

Quote of the Week
"I wake up every morning in a bed that’s too small, drive my daughter to a school that’s too expensive, and then I go to work to a job for which I get paid too little, but on Pretzel Day? Well, I like Pretzel Day." – Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), The Office

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Broccoli Drizzled with Indian-Spiced Yogurt by Jamie Oliver at The Star
You know what’s really cool about this recipe? I have all the ingredients on hand, and have had them in various dishes dozens of times. But put together, I have no idea – none – what they’ll taste like. It’s like a rock supergroup, but made of broccoli. Exciting!

Tip of the Week
This week’s tip comes from Consumerist commenter Canadian Imposter, and it’s been slightly altered for clarity: “A lot of people use a neat trick to make sure they're not getting ripped off in a restaurant. Tip so that the number of cents in the post-tip total is equal to the number of dollars in the pre-tip total. For instance, if you had a $123 bill, you would tip X dollars and 6 cents, because 1+2+3=6. Then you can just do a quick check on all of your restaurant transactions when your credit card statement arrives. And if something doesn't add up you can look in to it.”

Video of the Week
“Crumbs From Your Table” by U2
U2 questions that may never be answered:
1) How does Larry Mullen Jr. still look 26?
2) Do you think his kids call him “The Edge” instead of “Dad”?
3) Will there ever be anything sexier than this?
Special bonus: Postcards from the Edge, my favorite McSweeney’s piece of all time.

(Photos courtesy of Flickr member ObakeTenshi and Yahoo TV.)

Recession-Proofing Your Diet: Food Strategies for a New Economy

If you’ve been to the supermarket in the last few months, the rising cost of food isn’t exactly an Elliot Spitzer-level surprise. Grain prices are up, dairy products have become a luxury, and meat … well, cheap beef is rarer than a J.D. Salinger sighting these days. CNN, MSNBC, and the newspapers are finally picking up on it, too, with more stories about global grocery shortages and ludicrous shipping expenses. It appears we’re headed for a recession, and it may not get better anytime soon.

Never fear, though – it’s the interweb to the rescue. Lots of wonderfully informed bloggers have been totally on the ball, including Cathy at Chief Family Officer and Blogher’s Alanna Kellogg. They’ve written stellar pieces on combating food inflation, replete with shopping strategies, cooking ideas, and inventive ideas for stretching a budget.

There’s not much more to say after those posts, but I figured I’d jump on the Food/Recession bandwagon anyway. (It’s a nice bandwagon – sage green with mammoth cupholders.) Hopefully, the following suggestions will build on what Cathy and Alanna have to say, and offer a few new strategies along with it.

Don’t panic. It’s not the end of the world. Grocery prices will rise and certain items may become nigh-unattainable, but you will still be able to eat. So will your family. And with a little planning, you might not notice much of a difference.

Stay informed. Information is power. I don’t know who said that (Sophocles? Joan Didion? Cher?), but he/she was right on. As dire as the news may seem sometimes, keeping abreast of the fiscal situation is vital to preparing for sudden changes. So gird your loins and peruse the news, scan some blogs, and watch the occasional Brian Williams broadcast. Be on special lookout for food stories. You’ll be smarter for it.

Take baby steps. Revamping your diet and budget the same day won’t work, and might put you off both forever. Lasting change comes through small actions executed consistently. so take it easy. Start small, with a few simple practices, and work your way up from there.

Set aside one hour per week to plan. During this hour, you can devise a weekly menu, find circular deals online, clip coupons, and map out your shopping trips, all of which could save hundreds of dollars a month. If you were paid $100 for 60 minutes of work, wouldn’t you do it? Would you think twice? (Lawyers and doctors, don’t answer that.) What’s more, it’s much easier to stay on a healthy track when you have a concrete shopping and meal plans. It keeps you from scrounging for last-minute eats.

Write stuff down. Keeping a budget, planning that menu, and creating a grocery list are three time-tested, mother-approved money-saving maneuvers. The last two strategies usually help with weight maintenance, as well. Turns out, there is no greater splurging/gorging deterrent than knowing exactly what you’re splurging/gorging on.

Sign up for savings and preferred customer cards. If you haven’t already done this, stop reading and run to your grocer. See, just about every major supermarket has a club program that offers special discounts to regular shoppers. You give them your name and e-mail address in exchange for a dinky little keychain doohickey that magically saves 10%, 20%, or 40% per purchase. As far as I know, there are no reported downsides, except for a very heavy keychain.

Start a price book post haste. Get Rich Slowly has the end-all-be-all post on these, but there’s more at Frugal Upstate, as well as a downloadable template at No Credit Needed. (Incidentally, if you’re in the New York City area and shop at Associated or Key Food, shoot me an e-mail. I keep somewhat anarchic pricebooks for these two stores, and can forward them to you.)

Go to Money Saving Mom immediately. I can’t possibly cover this topic any better than Crystal does on a daily basis. (Brown nosing? Yes. And how!) Essentially, she and a roving gang of coupon-clippin’ ladybloggers have figured out how to score deeply discounted personal effects and non-perishable food from CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and more. We’re talking $133 worth of shampoo, diapers, and toothpaste for $9. And if that’s not enough, there are shopping strategies GALORE, from post to shining post.

When it comes to cookbooks and kitchen equipment, buy only what you absolutely need. If cooking is a hobby, it’s distressingly easy to blow a wad on adorable egg holders. Or a fourth Barefoot Contessa volume. Or a hard-anodized 10-piece pot set, because some dude on QVC said you SIMPLY MUST HAVE a sauté pan in every size. Truth is, there are precious few items anyone needs to make a decent meal, and most recipes can be found online nowadays. This Mark Bittman article has more, and these two CHG posts can help you find inexpensive equipment and cookbooks.

Clip coupons and bulk shop, but do it wisely. While both of these tactics might take big bucks off bills, they can also lull folks into buying stuff they don’t need. If you’re going to use coupons, make sure it’s for something you would purchase anyway. And if you’re loading that 128-oz. jar of capers into your elephant-sized CostCo cart, double check to see if it’s really cheaper per unit than a 4-oz. bottle. (While you’re at it, double check to see who on Earth needs eight pounds of capers.)

Cut back on booze, meat, and processed foods. “But Kris,” you might say,“they are the stuff OF LIFE.” And you’d totally be correct. Watching a ballgame without a dirty water dog and bucket-sized Bud Light … it’s unfathomable for some. (Note: me.) However, there’s something to be said for moderation. Eliminating these things from your diet entirely may be a pipe dream (or pipe nightmare), but reducing your consumption will save mad cash AND improve your health. To fill that hole in your stomach …

Eat real food. Pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, and fries might be convenient, but produce, dairy, meat, legumes, and grain will help you live longer. AND, chosen carefully, they’ll cost less in the long run. Always remember to shop in season, from the circular, and around the perimeter of the supermarket, where they keep the whole foods.

Stock up. When frequently-used staple items like flour, beans, and canned tomatoes go on mega-sale, snatch up as much as you possibly can (provided there’s sufficient storage). Not only will they come in handy down the line, but pantry meals can be healthy, filling, and surprisingly delicious. For more information, Motherload’s Amy Clark has an ongoing series on stockpiling.

Go generic. Don't be scared. It's often just as good as the brand name.

D.I.Y. Cook more at home. Cook in bulk. Freeze things. Try gardening. Make your own mixes, dressings, sauces, and marinades. (They taste better, take zero culinary skill, and cost a fraction of the store-bought brands.) With a little time and effort, anything you see in the supermarket or at a restaurant can be accomplished in your own kitchen.

Drink water, but not the bottled kind. No one’s begrudging the occasional Dr. Pepper, but tap water is the superior choice for two reasons: it’s a billion times healthier and 100%, totally, absolutely free-er than free. Bottled water, while not a terrible choice, is a legendary rip-off, like bad chicken or accidentally downloading a Beatles cover band on iTunes.

Brown bag it. Any and every personal finance blog worth its salt has written about this subject 600 times (uh … except this one.), and for good reason. Not only does brown-bagging save me about $1300 per year, but it makes it much, MUCH (much) easier to monitor what I eat. Whether you’re into bento boxes or PB&J, it’s a sure-fire recession beater.

Think out of the box. No, DESTROY the box. Stupid box. There’s no faster way to bore yourself into a coma than gnawing on the same ol’ lettuce wrap week after week. To save money and keep from dying of ennui, leave your comfort zone as often as possible. Try new foods. Experiment with coupons. Cook differently. Host a potluck. Visit your ethnic market. Stepping outside the norm can inspire AND help you stick to the plan.

Don’t panic. Had to be said again.

If you're interested in reading further, these are solid sources:

• Drastic Budgeting in the Kitchen at The Common Room
• 50 Ways to Save Money on Your Grocery Bill at Thrifty Mommy
• Supermarket Strategies at Real Simple
• Debt Diet for Your Wallet and Your Waistline at Debt Hater
• Hillbilly Housewife

How about y’all out there? How are you preparing for a potential economic downturn? Comments are open!

(Photos courtesy of jupiter images, Watt & Sons Supermarket, and Flickr member Ranjit.)

Tuesday Megalinks

Chief Family Officer: Review – Skinny Songs
A CD full of songs specifically written to help you lose weight? I’m torn on this, because a good mix will undoubtedly motivate, but a bad one would kill all propensity to work out again, ever. While we’re on the subject, my favorite exercise albums:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
Pixies – Surfer Rosa
The Killers – Hot Fuss
The Replacements – Tim
Foo Fighters – There is Nothing Left to Lose

Consumerist: Get Out Your $#%@# Checkbook! Here Comes "Food Inflation"
Yarg. Is the recession official yet? Because this would seem to go under the “Yes” list. As the great Mrs. D once said, “Crappé.”

The Culinary Review: 10 Meals for Under $1 per Serving
THAT’S what I’m talking about. AND in a stunning twist, I think Paula Deen's Butternut Squash Soup might be healthier than Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese. The apocalypse must be nigh.

Festival of Frugality #116: Green Panda Treehouse

GPT does up this week's FoF with an architecture theme, and CHG's Food, Finance, and Personal Responsibility post is among the entries.

Frugal Dad: How to Build a Square Foot Garden
Man, this seems like a great idea for folks with limited yard space and/or a high concentration of Styrofoam in their soil (*cough*). Lynnae over at Being Frugal is trying it out, too. Stay tuned.

Healthbolt: What Happens to Your Body if You Drink a Coke Right Now?
AUGH! At 60 minutes: “You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.” Thanks to Slashfood for the link.

The Kitchn: The Best (and Worst) Foods to Eat While Reading
I’m gonna have to disagree with soup as a good reading food, since the potential for page spillage is high, but this is pretty astute (and handy!) otherwise.

Lifehacker: Your Best Money-Saving Kitchen Tips?
Inspired by 25 Money-Saving Kitchen Tips over at Frugal Vegan, Lifehacker denizens come up with their own extensive list of cash conservation tricks. Is there anything Lifehacker can’t do? (Call me! *wink*)

Make it from Scratch Festival #55: Pajama Mommy

Ooo - check out the Mile High Chai recipe at The Cole Mine. It looks delicious and it's fun to say. Gonna have to try that one out.

Monsters and Critics: A Chat with Bravo’s ‘Top Chef’ Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio
Exhaustive interview with the top dogs of Top Chef, wherein we learn the following: Padma loves eating, Colicchio loves Fresh Direct, and the show is really, really hard.

New York Times: A Global Need for Grain That Farms Can’t Fill

More evidence of a recession: “Everywhere, the cost of food is rising sharply. Whether the world is in for a long period of continued increases has become one of the most urgent issues in economics. Many factors are contributing to the rise, but the biggest is runaway demand. In recent years, the world’s developing countries have been growing about 7 percent a year, an unusually rapid rate by historical standards.”

Wise Bread: 21 Great Uses for Beer
Beersicles, anyone?

(Photos courtesy of perrific.com, Flickr member alvy, and film.com.)

Pork Loin with Warm Roasted Red Pepper Relish: Beyond Chicken

When it comes to cheap, healthy meat, there’s no easier fallback than good ol’ chicken breast. It’s tasty, accessible, and universally beloved - the U2 of the culinary world. Alas, while I dig the chix, I also have a great tendency to rely on it too much. There are weeks where chicken appears on our menu so often, I wonder if it’s following me around and sneaking into our fridge, like a poultry private eye on some kind of bizarre suicide mission.

Two weeks ago, in an effort to free ourselves (a.k.a. The Boyfriend and I) from the oppressive shackles of constant breast-based dinners, I bought four pounds of $1.99/lb center cut pork loin and chopped it into four 1-lb mini-roasts. “What the heck,” I figured, “This can’t be TOO hard.”

ENNNNNNNHH. Wrong.

Pork, it turns out, is incredibly easy to drain of any and all moisture. In fact, the FDA asks us to cook the meat to a bacteria-slaying internal temperature of 160°F, which has the unfortunate side effect of mummification. At that point, you may as well snack on a sock, since it’s just as flavorful.

Happily, after a little research and a few trial-and-error sessions in the kitchen, I think I hit on a formula that nearly ensures a moist roast. (P.S. Try saying “moist roast” ten times fast. It’s hard.) Instead of roasting the meat longer at 325°F or 350°F, you brown it on a stovetop first, then shove it in a 450°F oven briefly, until its inner temperature hits 145°F-150°F. Then, you let it sit on an aluminum foil-tented pan for 15 minutes. During this time, the pork's temperature should rise 10 degrees and the juices get a chance to redistribute. The whole shebang locks in the moisture, gives the meat a nice color, and comes in handy when there’s no time to brine.

I used this method last night, and paired it with a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Warm Roasted Red Pepper Relish. Which? Yum. It’s a little pricier than most CHG dishes, but it’s a tad classier, too. Like Katharine Hepburn, but edible.

Ooo - but, before we get to the dish, a quick reiteration/warning about pork's internal temperature: opinion varies widely on the boundaries of a safe one. I've read that 145°F - 150°F is acceptable, since the roast's temperature will rise as it sits, but I CAN NOT guarantee this. If you're unsure or concerned about Trichinella, please cook the pork longer. Food-borne diseases are bad.

Pork Loin with Warm Roasted Red Pepper Relish
Serves 2
Adapted from and Cook's Illustrated Best 30-Minute Recipes.

1 1-lb pork loin center, trimmed of all visible fat and patted dry
½ Tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper

½ shallot, minced
salt and pepper
½ garlic clove, minced
6-oz (1/2 jar) roasted red peppers, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped fine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into 2 pieces and chilled
½ tablespoon freshly minced basil

1) Preheat oven to 450°F.

2) In a medium pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork generously with salt and pepper. Place pork in pan and brown on every side. (This should take about 6 minutes or so.) When finished, transfer pork to a roasting pan and roast about 20 minutes, or until pork temperature is between 145°F and 150°F. When finished, remove from oven, tent pork with aluminum foil and let sit for 10-15 minutes.

3) While pork is in oven, add shallot and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the oil left in pan. Cook over medium-high heat until shallot is soft, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring a few times.

4) Add peppers and vinegar to pan and cook until warm, about 2 minutes, scraping up browned bits as you go along.

5) Drop heat to low. Stir in butter chunks one at a time. Remove from heat. Add basil and any pork juices. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over sliced pork.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
330 calories, 17.2 g fat, $1.81
(Note: I think my fat calc is a bit high here, since a lot of the fat is trimmed.)

Calculations
1 1-lb pork loin center (about 10-12 oz after trim): 440 calories, 16.5 g fat, $1.99
½ Tablespoon vegetable oil: 66 calories, 7.5 g fat, $0.03
salt and pepper: negligible fat and calories, $0.05
½ shallot, minced: 14 calories, 0 g fat, $0.26
½ garlic clove, minced: 2 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
6-oz (1/2 jar) roasted red peppers: 36 calories, 0 g fat, $0.99
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar: negligible calories and fat, $0.08
1 tablespoon butter: 102 calories, 11.5 g fat, $0.10
½ tablespoon freshly minced basil: negligible fat and calories, $0.11
TOTAL: 660 calories, 35.5 g fat, $3.63
PER SERVING (TOTAL/2): 330 calories, 17.2 g fat, $1.81

Weight, Money, and Personal Responsibility: Reader Thoughts

Special Saturday post! There have been some fantastic responses to Wednesday’s article about personal responsibility, weight and finance - really insightful stuff that deserves a spot beyond the comments page. The conversation’s still going (so chime in!), but I wanted to highlight a few good reader points in the meantime:

Michelle: If you take personal responsibility for your situation, and direct your time and effort toward loosing weight or learning to manage your finances, you'll be much more successful that if you spent that time and effort complaining about predatory lending or the advertising of unhealthy foods.

Jessica: For every problem, issue, over-indulgence, etc, there is a very personal cause. It is difficult to make generalizations or assumptions about what motivates and drives people, particularly with such personal issues, such as weight and debt. That being said, many people find themselves with debt they can't afford, not because of over-spending, but because of unfair practices by lending companies… I am not a "victim" - I am someone who does not appreciate my government allowing banks to lie, cheat and steal.

Hops: My opinion, though largely unformed and malleable, is that family is the greatest influence on spending/eating. It's inevitable that we absorb our parents' habits.

Ameliat: Personal responsibility is the only piece of the equation I can control. Yes, there is a whole marketing industry out there with the express goal of trying to get me to part with my cash and eat their processed food products. But it’s up to me to educate myself and do something about it, at least for myself. Maybe further down the line I’ll become more political and want to fight to “change things” out there in the world but for right now, I must limit my scope to what I can reasonably control – my own behavior and choices. …

Scott: In both cases, most people want a quick fix and fail to appreciate the incremental nature of debt and weight. One latte isn't going to kill you, but 2 a day five days a week will account for about a pound a week and about $800 in a year.

Jaime: One thing that interests me … is the pleasure from the illicit indulgence - the binge, the splurge, the "Oh, I shouldn't, but it feels so good." Whether it's a piece of chocolate cake or a pair of earrings (or *buying* a piece of chocolate cake, for, like, $4), breaking perceived rules feels like this self-empowering rebellion. Indulgence. "I deserve it." And in both cases it hurts more than it helps. It can just be hard to remember that in the moment.

Julia: I'm a huge fan of rewarding myself for goals met, and that's my indulgence. But it comes with two rules--1. That I wait until the goal is met and 2. That I wait at least a week or two after first seeing my "want" to make sure I still want it. That's how I combat impulse buying...and it works.

Allison Cabral: I work with clients every day in helping them overcome weight issues and 100% of the time I have found a DIRECT correlation between their debt and weight!! As a life coach, I recommend they cut the excess out everywhere in their life. They also have clutter and stuff issues. Once they clear up the core issues in their life, the weight drops off! It is about small baby steps and a vision of what you want, not focusing on what you don't want.

And finally, congratulations to readers carol m and beanalby. Carol recently signed up for Financial Peace University, and beanalby and his wife have lost a combined 90 pounds. 90 pounds! My mind is boggled. Nice work!