[1] Use a wrap sandwich as an opportunity to eat more veggies. And don’t forget a whole wheat wrap (photo courtesy Online Vegetarian Deli.

Most people who consume a conventional American diet need to eat more veggies.

A painless way to do this is to switch your sandwich to a wrap, and fill that wrap with raw or grilled vegetables.

Why a wrap?

For people who resist eating vegetables, it’s too easy to the pick vegetables from a conventional sandwich, thwarting the goal. Wraps are eaten “as is.”

The USDA reports that the white potato is America’s most widely eaten vegetable, followed by iceberg lettuce. Neither is a nutritional powerhouse.

The deeply colored (green, orange, red and yellow), nutrient-rich vegetables, including dark leafy greens, make up only 0.2 servings of the 3.3 servings of vegetables Americans consume daily.

Thus, we have some suggestions for what to wrap.

But instead of hiding in cookie fortunes, your thoughts can be immortalized on tea bag tags.

Good Earth Tea’s tea tags have long featured inspirational quotes. The company has just launched the “TAG, YOU’RE IT!” Tea Tag Contest to allow tea drinkers the chance to share their own words of wisdom.

From now through February 21st, you can submit an original quote (60 characters or less). Twenty-five winners will see their quotes—along with their name, blog or Twitter handle—printed on Good Earth Tea Tags later this year. (Someone tell Nancy Reagan to submit her comment, “A woman is like a tea bag. You can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”)

Your own words of wisdom on Good Earth’s
tea bag tags could inspire others.
Photo courtesy GoodEarth.com.

For more information and complete rules, visit GoodEarthTeas.com. You can also request a $1.00 coupon.

• Find more tea inspiration in our Gourmet Tea section.
• Brush up on your tea terminology in our Tea Glossary.

Bison burgers are low in fat (just leave off
the Gorgonzola). Photo courtesy
WisDairy.com.

But a beefburger is filled with saturated fat—none more so than the “select” grade of beef used for many low- to moderately-priced burgers (plus chopped supermarket beef).

What’s a health-loving, burger-loving person to do?

Go for bison burgers. Here’s why:

Comparison Per 100g (3.5-Ounce) Serving

• Fat: Bison/2.42; Beef (Choice)/18.54; Beef (Select)/8.09
• Calories: Bison/143; Beef (Choice)/283; Beef (Select)/201

See the comparison chart, which compares bison, beef, chicken, pork and sockeye salmon.

The proof is in the tasting, but one thing to clarify up-front is that (a) quality bison is not in any way gamy, but more tender/less fibrous and “sweeter” than beef; and (b) just like beef, there’s top grade and average quality.

• Check out our favorite, Blackwing Bison. It’s the best quality we’ve had. Treat yourself to some burgers.
• If you purchase bison at your local market and don’t love it, try another brand.

One more thing: Because bison is so lean, it needs to be eaten on the rare side. For all of you well-done types: try it, you’ll like it.

America has been convinced that it needs superpremium ice cream: higher milkfat (butterfat) and lower overrun (less air).

That’s the equivalent of saying that we need heavy cream in our coffee, when most of us do quite well with fat-free, lowfat or whole milk.

If you only eat ice cream occasionally, this shouldn’t be an issue. But if you eat it weekly (count us in for several times weekly), head to your grocer’s ice cream case and study the nutrition labels on different brands of ice cream. The differences in calories and fat can be shockers—a difference of twice the amount of calories and fat.

So consider this:

The choice is yours, which brings us to our video of the week, How To Choose Healthier Ice Cream. Take a look:

If you’re trying to cut back on sugar, switching jam and preserves is one place to start.

The producers of the Fiordifrutta (“flower of the fruit”) line of no-sugar-added jams (actually fruit spreads*), imported from Italy, say that they “work with nature” to produce their products.

*Per U.S. Food & Drug Administration definitions, a jam or preserve sweetened with something other than sugar is called a fruit spread.

The taste is right from nature. It’s as if you picked and cooked the fruit in your own kitchen, modestly sweetened with apple juice.

The only ingredients in the jar are organic fruit, organic apple juice and apple pectin, resulting in about 30% fewer calories than conventional products.

The 100% organic line works with nature in a second way: Organic agriculture is sustainable agriculture. By choosing an organic product, you help maintain the environment for your family and for future generations.

Spread more for less: There are less sugar
and fewer calories in this line of apple-
sweetened organic fruit spreads. Photo
courtesy Fiordifrutta.

Spread away: on bread, with cheese, as a dessert or pancake topping, in sauces, in smoothies, in plain yogurt.

The suggested retail price is $5.99 per 9.52-ounce jar. All of the flavors are available online at SelinaNaturally.com. Or, phone the importer at 1.305.470.7583 for a retailer near you.

One note: Since the fruit spreads are organic and made without sugar, there is no preservative—natural or otherwise. Thus, the shelf life is shorter than other jams in the fridge. Enjoy your Fiordifrutta within 6 to 8 weeks of opening. Most people won’t have to worry about this: The jar will be empty within a week or two.

Organic Hazelnut Spread

Apart from the fruit spreads, Nocciolata chocolate and hazelnut spread, an elegant version of Nutella, is a must-try. According to the company, Nocciolata contains 15% more hazelnuts than Nutella.

Learn more at FiordifruttaUSA.com.

• See more of our favorite jams, jellies and preserves in our Gourmet Jam Section.
• What’s the difference between jam, preserves, marmalade and the rest? Check it out.