OlympiCakes!I'm not going to lie, a part of me always thought I might make it to the Olympics some day. At first my event of choice was track and field, then springboard diving, and later it was softball. Heck, I would've been happy to be the U.S. representative for curling (which I might still do) or even badminton (who knew this was an Olympic event!?)

The very thing that draws me to the Olympics again and again is the spirit of the individuals who compete. If you can look past the politics, endorsements, blown-up media stories, scandals, and bomb threats, you can look into the eyes of normal people doing extraordinary things. It's simply inspiring. (So inspiring that I stayed up late last night baking OlympiCakes to take to work today for my birthday.) What have you been inspired to do?

I'm Stuffed Too!This post is all about things in my apartment that are stuffed.  

#1 Thing That is Stuffed: Dinner. Last night's dinner of Stuffed Eggplant & Tomatoes provided a fun and tasty way to eat our veggies! Hollowing out produce and filling it with other things is nothing new, but it always makes for a pleasing presentation. For health reasons, just be careful about what the stuffing contains. A popular summertime dish is made by stuffing large tomatoes and bell peppers with chicken, tuna, or pasta salad. While this may seem like a safe menu choice, it can be made much healthier by cutting the amount of mayonnaise or creamy salad dressing in half. Try stirring some celery into that tuna salad, adding some chopped broccoli to that pasta salad, or throwing some chopped onions and peppers in with that chicken salad before stuffing those veggies. That will help "bulk out" the salad while making it a healthier stuffing overall.

#2 Thing That is Stuffed: My Butter Dish. My head is stuffed with all kinds of buttery knowledge. I've always been baffled by the amount of choices I have in the butter aisle. I finally sorted my way through those choices and have come up with some solutions and posted about it in Side by Side. My head is also stuffed with lots of other comparisons to fill my regretfully-neglected Side by Side department. Look for those soon! If you have a Side by Side you would love to see, please email me about it.

#3 Thing That is Stuffed: My Suitcase! Tonight Chris and I begin our week-long Vacation o' Fun! We've been looking forward to this for a long time and I'm so excited it's finally here. We are beginning our trip with a stop in Santa Rosa, California for a wedding. Cindy, my college teammate and roommate, has planned the most romantic setting for her nuptials. After the wedding, we'll spend a few days in San Francisco before flying down to Puerto Vallarta where we'll meet up with my sister and bro-in-law at the all-inclusive Royal Decameron. That "all-inclusive" part is sure going to test my LittleCalorie will, but I've packed my running shoes to help avoid that stuffed feeling.

I have a co-worker who always scoffs at my diligent calorie counting. He grew up on a farm where the thought of sitting idle was absurd and the mention of counting calories was absent. People just ate when they could, he tells me, and they never really worried or cared much about their weight, nor did they have to. It has made me think a lot about how eating has changed over time.

I want to share a recent study published by the USDA that highlights the change in American consumption of different kinds of foods from 1970 to present. The study was recapped in a great visual article in the New York Times this week.

Here are some interesting changes that have taken place:

• In 1970, the average American consumed about 16.4 pounds of food per week. By 2006, that increased by 1.8 pounds per week on average.
• Our daily calories consumed from "added fats" has increased from 411 in 1970 to 638 in 2006. Our intake of daily calories from "flour and cereal products" grew from 432 in 1970 to 613 in 2006. In addition, our daily calories from "added sugars" has increased by 66 over this time.
• Overall, our average daily intake of calories has increased from 2,160 in 1970 to 2,679 in 2006. That's an increase of more than 500 calories each day!
• The percentage of change in consumption of these foods has dramatically increased since 1970: fresh spinach +550%, corn sweeteners +373%, cream cheese +350%, apple juice +322%, fresh garlic +543%, sour cream +275%, rice +170%, cooking oils +190%, cheese +180%, fresh grapes +161%, chicken +124%.
• The percentage of change in consumption of these foods has dramatically decreased since 1970: veal -83%, lamb -82%, plain whole milk -74%, lard -64%, margarine -58%, canned fruit -40%, unflavored milk -35%.

The study is full of all kinds of other interesting information. You can sift your way through it here.

Kudos to you for mastering the tricky lingo madness of cool-means-hot, hot-means-cool, up-means-down, down-means-up, wicked-means-sweet, sweet-means-nice, and on and on...  I think I'm finally up on it, er, down with it? But one thing I always seem to have trouble understanding is when bad means good. Perhaps that's why I have struggled to remember which fats are bad (as in not as bad) and which fats are bad (as in really bad). With food labels bearing terms such as mono, poly, trans, saturated, and unsaturated, it can sometimes be hard to trim my way through all that fat.

While I've been pretty adamant about calories being my go-to number on the Nutrition Facts label, I also like to peek quickly at the number marking calories from fat. And sometimes I'll go even further to check a breakdown of the various types of fat in a certain food. But none of that made any sense until I could wrap my head around those fatty terms. Here's a quick guide, in case you're confused as well:

Calories from fat: the calories in a certain food are the sum of four things: fat, alcohol, protein, and carbohydrates. The calories that come from fat and alcohol are more easily converted into fat on your body than the calories that come from protein or carbohydrates. While a medium, 7" banana and a 1-ounce slice of cheese contain about the same number of calories (about 110 cals for each), the banana gets only 3% of its calories from fat (most come from carbs), while the cheese gets 74% of its calories from fat.

Unsaturated: these are the fats that are not so bad; the fats that your body needs for vitamins, healthy skin and hair, and to keep your organs protected and insulated. At room temperature, these fats are in liquid form (think oils). To break down this group even further, there are monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Mono- and polyunsaturated fats are the healthiest types of fat because the body breaks them down easier than saturated fats, and they may help lower cholesterol in the blood. Examples of foods high in monounsaturated fat are olive oils, peanut oils, canola oils, and avocados. Foods high in polyunsaturated fat include corn oils, fish oils, flaxseed oil, and mayonnaise. The famous omega-3 fatty acids that you've probably heard about are a type of polyunsaturated fat found mostly in seafood. But remember: even these "good" fats are still fat, so it is best to incorporate them without going overboard.

Saturated: these are the bad fats (as in really bad). At room temperature, these fats are in solid form (think cheeses and fats from meat and eggs). These fats are hardest for your body to break down, and can increase your risk of heart disease. When possible, it is highly recommended to reduce the amount of saturated fats in your diet by replacing it with unsaturated fats. Some simple swaps could be eating more salmon and less beef, or more olive oil and less butter.

Trans: (or trans fatty acids) these are commonly thought of as some of the very worst fats. They are fats created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. This gives the fats a higher melting point, thus extending their shelf-life and making them better for baking (think Crisco and some margarines). This type of fat is considered even worse than saturated fat because it not only increases your risk of raised LDL "bad" cholesterol, but reduces the levels of HDL "good" cholesterol. Many food companies and restaurants have made a valiant effort to reduce the use of trans fats in their foods, and they will sure let you know about it on the packaging. However, a food can contain up to 0.5 gram of trans fats and still be labeled as "0 trans fats". On your food labels, trans fat may also be listed as "partially hydrogenated oils". Just this week California became the first state to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants.

This salsa was made for eating, and that's just what we did!

My sister and I went to the best salsa-making class last night at the New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City. It's a good thing I don't live close to that place because I would be broke! I just can't get enough of the amazing produce, gourmet cheeses, bulk spices, to-die-for meat and deli counter, and fun craft brew selection!

Tim Palmer, our instructor and father of NINE kids, taught us how to make a flavorful pico de gallo and an amazing tri-melon & jalapeno fruit salsa (pictured). We also got to dig into a great baked guacamole recipe (um, yeah, dangerous!), some delicious salsa & polenta cakes, and homemade baked tortilla chips. Tim even served up Corona, blue margaritas, and Pinot Grigio (to complement the polenta) for added excitement during his presentation. The class was so educational and entertaining - definitely worth the drive.

I plan to mix up my own salsa pretty soon and I'll definitely post the recipe (because salsa is, after all, basically a bunch of Super Foods all mixed up, and it's deliciously low-cal). However, I can't do that until next week. Chris and I are off again to pound the pavement, but with our bikes this time.