The guide provides menu suggestions

from more than 50 fast food and sit-down restaurant chains including McDonalds,

Wendy's, Olive Garden and Taco Bell.

Keep raisins in your diet

According to a study being

promoted by the California Raisin Marketing Board and released by Gene

Spiller of the Sphera Foundation in Los Altos, Calif., raisins' dietary

fiber and tartaric acid content help colons function better and might

help prevent colon cancer.

Spiller's study, titled

"Effect of Sun-Dried Raisins on Bile Acid Excretion, Intestinal Transit

Time and Fecal Weight: A Dose-Response Study," was published by the

Journal of Medicinal Food (Vol. 6, No. 2). Reprints may be ordered by

writing Spiller at Sphera Foundation, P.O. Box 338, Los Altos, CA 94023

or by writing [email protected].

Syrups with something extra

Moosewood Hollow syrups infuse

maple syrup with creative ingredients for a trio of unusual and delectable

flavors. Sweet Ginger (maple syrup infused with ginger), Sweet Savory

(rosemary, thyme and lemon) and Sweet Autumn (cinnamon and vanilla) will

add panache to pancakes, poundcakes and desserts. Each 7-ounce bottle

costs $12.50 online at www.moosewoodhollow.com.

Quaker Oatmeal touting healthy

eating

Quaker Oatmeal is among the

many food manufacturers promoting healthy eating habits as the nation

struggles to manage its weight problem.

Quaker's interactive tips

are specifically geared toward parents and can be found at www.quakeroatmeal.com.

Among the suggestions: Be a

good nutrition role model, eat well yourself; encourage eating a healthy

breakfast; and be sure to introduce whole grains into your family's

diet. The site includes a calendar to follow as you try to improve your

family's eating habits.

Bubbly 'apearitif'

R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling

Organic Pear Juice delivers a fruity, not-too-sweet take on non-alcoholic

bubbly. We think it makes a fun mixer for cocktails and punches. A 25.4-ounce

bottle costs $2-$3.50.

Playing with your food

Just how smart are you when

it comes to food? FoodSmarts will help answer the question; the box of

100 flash cards in four categories - ingredients, cuisines, lingo

and wild card (history and trivia) - will test your culinary knowledge.

The game includes score sheets, but players establish their own rules

to winning. The questions are tough, but the answers are educational,

so there's a payoff for winners and losers alike. FoodSmarts is $23-$25

at specialty stores and online at wishingfish.com.

- Wire Services

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