Meals in a pinch: Choices that certainly are better than a bacon cheeseburger and fries

Finding decent food is often a problem while traveling. We all know how pathetic the choices can be in some airports. In terminals like Minneapolis where you do have good options, time between flights can be your enemy. Plus, not everyone can or wants to spend $15 or $20 for a decent airport meal.

I found myself with a similar problem at a hotel recently. I hit the gym before a meeting and then jumped onto email figuring there would be time to grab a plate of food from the typical pre-meeting Continental breakfast. Budget cutbacks quickly set me straight. No food. My option was coffee or tea. It's at such times that nutrition bars can really save your bacon, so to speak.

The selection shown here range in calories form 170 to 240 with anywhere between 8 and 13 grams of protein. The vitamin complement was pretty good on every one of them. The list of ingredients was a little longer and more complex than one might like. Regardless, I've done worse in a pitch when it comes to a meal. I'll bet you have, too.

I picked up all of these at a Hy-Vee pharmacy near the Des Moines airport for a little over $6. (Yes, it was a heck of a sale.) I usually keep a couple bars in my briefcase when heading out on a trip. Not only are they better than nothing. They're better than so many other things one might eat.

Baby how you have changed

It really wasn't so long ago that Americans just assumed kids should eat baby food from the grocery store. The commercial below is from 1960s and is pretty much standard fare for that era.




My how times have changed. A Google search for "baby food" yields some 77,800,000 results. All the major manufacturers are represented, of course. A quick look at sites from stalwarts like Gerber and Beech-Nut yields a lot of nutrition information. Technology and changing mindsets have also brought interesting alternatives into the fray such as wholesomebabyfood.com and organic option Earth's Best.

While only you can decide what's best for your baby when it's time to go beyond mom, it's great to see so many great choices. After all, there is no doubt that the best way to get kids to eat well is to start them doing that from the very beginning.

Nutrition circa 1954: Strong boy eats meat; pretty girl eats vegetables. Video flashback.

Young Ralph has more fun and gets more pep by learning to eat the right foods. Check out this flash back video. A little fact. A little myth. Fun to see the American approach to healthy eating from 56 years ago.

Cookie recipe with a healthy twist

Nuts? Nutrition aplenty but which one is better?

Healthy Eating Tip: Sweet Potatoes