This is a good follow up to the previously mentioned 200-calorie gallery, which put into perspective a 200-calorie portion of healthy foods versus less healthy fare. This gallery actually displays several healthy 300- 400-calorie meals, most of which look delicious. These are the kind of well put-together meals that make dieting seem not so bad, helping you realize that a chicken and rice dish looks a lot more appealing than that unsexy stack of rice cakes.

+ What Do 300 Calorie Meals Look Like? [diet blog] via LifeHacker

Well, thankfully, one company has ticked all the ethical boxes and made sure their new lollies taste of something. Bensons, a small family run business based in the English countryside, has produced an ice-pop that contains nothing but fruit. Chilly Billy consists of no added sugars, waters, preservatives, or artificial colours – just pure English pressed apples and a handful of raspberries. In fact, eating two counts as one of your five portions of fruit and veg a day.

Jeremy Benson, managing director of Bensons said, “We really felt there was a gap in the market where ice-pops are concerned.”  Taking a look in the freezers at a local supermarket, you can see why. So far they have only produced the Apple and Raspberry flavored pop, but if their current range of fruit juices are anything to go by, expect rhubarb, elderflower and cinnamon flavors making their way into iced-format.

 Terror fashion” is about to invade cities. The new French brand Anticon is launching a new concept of hooded sweatshirts. Graffiti artists, people with acne, snowboarders or simply superheroes would certainly be into them. To order your sweatshirt, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks but we wanted you to be first in the know. Definitely an eye-catching fashion statement!

If you don’t suffer from back pain, there’s a good chance that someone in your family or your workplace does. In fact, back pain is one of the most common work-related injuries; it is the second leading cause of missed workdays after the common cold. But people with physically demanding jobs that require heavy lifting aren’t the only ones at risk; working in front of a computer in the same position all day is also a major risk factor for developing back problems.

There are many ways to prevent non-accidental back injuries, such as making sure your workstation is user-friendly, taking breaks to stretch or walk around, and lifting weights to strengthen your back muscles.

However, if you are part of the 70% of Americans who suffer from some form of back pain at one point in their lives, there are exercises you can do to relieve the aching.

Keep in mind that the back is a very sensitive area and that performing inadequate exercises could have serious consequences. If you are experiencing more than mild to moderate pain or are unsure about any of these exercises, consult a doctor for advice.

The following exercises, which mostly concentrate on the lower back since this is the most common site of pain, should be performed every day or at least every second day. Choose five or six exercises to do per session and rotate through the 10 on subsequent days. They should be done on a firm but soft surface, such as a carpet or a yoga mattress. And remember: If an exercise hurts, stop immediately.

+ Read more (via AskMen.com)

Gmail users will love this T-bird build, which makes setting up a Gmail POP account a one-step affair. My initial tests, searching over an archive of thousands of messages, show that T-bird 2′s search-as-you-type is quite snappier than past versions; and while I’m not yet used to the tagging interface, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. One thing I’d love to see in the future is support for already-assigned tags on downloaded Gmail messages. (They call me a dreamer.) See what Rick had to say about T-bird 2.0′s RC1. Thunderbird 2 is a free download for Mac, Windows and Linux.

+ Thunderbird [Mozilla]

While organic and gourmet baby food aren’t new, they’ve mostly been limited to jarred varieties. Start-ups in two categories are widening the options for parents who want to feed their infants something fresh, but don’t have the time or talent to prepare their own gourmet purées. They also provide inspiring examples for entrepreneurs interested in catering to this niche.

Fresh

First, there’s the refrigerated, prepared foods section. Following the lead of fresh convenience foods for adults, companies like Swedish Gapa are focused on creating fresh, healthy and tasty foods for tiny people. Gapa, which is Swedish for open your mouth, is conservative-free and sold in cheerful containers in Sweden’s second largest supermarket, as well as in four trendy restaurants, a smart move for reaching parents who enjoy taking their babies out for dinner.

In the United States, several entrepreneurs have developed similar concepts. Californian Homemade Baby’s certified organic and kosher food for infants and toddlers is freshly made each day. Stressing an important selling point of gourmet baby foods, Homemade Baby claims that “when babies learn what real food tastes like and how good it makes their little tummies feel, they are on their way to making good food choices for life.”

Californian tots can also dine on fresh organic baby foods from Bohemian Baby, available for those aged 6–15 months. Bohemian Baby offers home delivery within LA. A USD 45 start kit contains a special cooler and four jars of food. On the East Coast, Evie’s Organic Edibles delivers freshly made foods within Manhattan. Parents can select dishes from menus that vary weekly and are designed to help stimulate developing taste buds.

+  www.gapa.se – www.homemadebaby.com – www.bohemian-baby.com – www.eviesorganicedibles.com

Frozen

Gourmet, ready-made baby food also extends to the frozen food aisle, where inspiration can be found from Mom Made, Plum Organics, Happy Baby and NummyNums, all offering food that’s organic and flash-frozen, locking in flavour and nutrients.

Most of these brands are relatively small and regional start-ups, founded by parents who couldn’t find foods they wanted to feed their babies and toddlers. We haven’t spotted any of the major manufacturers venturing into fresh or frozen baby food, so now’s the time to start your own line of delectable and healthy dinners for wee ones. As Happy Baby puts it, “think outside the jar.” How to make your brand stand out? Beautiful and informative packaging will obviously help win shelf space at upmarket supermarkets, and Gapa’s idea of selling to restaurants is clever. As are Happy Baby’s combined packs, containing two flavours each, and all of the convenient frozen portion concepts that can go straight from freezer to microwave. Last but not least, home delivery is a good way to get this type of business up and running. So get cooking!

+ www.mommadefoods.com – www.plumorganics.com – www.happybabyfood.com – www.nummynums.com

The guide covers a massive range of subjects, everything from updating Ubuntu to mounting Windows partitions to working with various kinds of hardware. I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly novice-friendly reference, as it assumes some basic Linux know-how on your part (like performing command-line operations). But it certainly is comprehensive, so if you’ve just taken the Feisty Fawn plunge, you’ll definitely want to bookmark this guide.

+ Unofficial Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) Starter Guide

Gloucester Road Tube station has been graced with the imaginative and beautiful work of artist Chiho Aoshima , who’s digital prints on vinyl cover all 17 arches of the underground station. City Glow, Mountain Whisper , is on display until the end of the month and is Aoshima’s first solo exhibition. The inspiring landscape she has created runs along all 17 archways which sees the scene graduate from day to night and from urban to rural. With such a rich visual focal point to enjoy whilst traveling, one can almost enjoy the daily commute.

Cool Hunter believe they have one of the most influential subscriber lists around. Over the past 18 months, their subscribers have come from all over the globe, with hot tips, suggestions and ideas for the site as well as an insight into their own creative lives. Through your help they have brought you the world’s best, be it hotels, fashion, art and technology, together they have roamed the globe so that you’re in the know.

Here’s a preview of a couple.

Dieting is usually viewed as a temporary process that one endures in order to shed a few pounds before the summer, shape up for a big event or lose a beer belly that may have sprung up after an indulgent vacation.

Unfortunately, the majority of Americans today are constantly battling with food and searching for the next best thing in the world of weight loss.

If you walk into a shopping center, watch television, read the newspaper or even listen to the radio, it is impossible to avoid seeing advertisements for a new diet plan, pill, book, DVD or health club.

The U.S. is packed with fitness and health clubs and our grocery stores are filled with more low-fat, low-carb, sugar-free, and salt-free products than any other country in the world.

So why are the majority of Americans overweight and unhealthy while the rest of the world is not?

Consisting largely of soda, candy, fried food, and meat, the American diet ranks low in nutrients and high in fat and processed ingredients. Processed foods contain higher levels of saturated fat, sugar and salt than unprocessed foods, and have been directly linked to increasing obesity rates. Additionally, Americans eat larger portions and exercise less than any other country in the world.

Needless to say, America could stand a diet and lifestyle lesson from several other countries and regions that live healthier, fitter lives without trying half as hard.

+ Read on (via AskMen.com)