Will It Float?

Years ago when I had TV, David Letterman was one of my guilty pleasures. Dave had a spot now and then called "Will it Float?" Anyone remember that? They would speculate whether or not an item (cheese log, glass brick, a box of taffy) would float and then 4 beautiful women would drop the item of the night into a clear swimming-pool-type tank to prove or disprove Dave's prediction. Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra even had a catchy little tune they played for the event.

Even though it was very silly, I've remembered it for at least 5 years now. (That's about how long it's been since I've had TV) Things that are simple and kind of silly stick with us, right? Well, here's a simple tip to help you decide what to eat this week, or even beyond.

Are you ready? (No, it's not "Will it Float?")

Ask yourself "Will it Grow?" or "Did it Grow?" when you're trying to decide what to buy or what to eat. For instance, a potato chip will not, and did not grow. However, a potato will grow and in fact did grow in the ground! A Hershey Bar did not and will not grow. However, raw cacao nibs did grow on a tree.

You can use this for animal as well as plant foods. An egg grew but a frozen breakfast burrito did not. A chicken grew, but a chicken nugget? Nowhere to be found in the natural world!

And those "whole grain" cereals? No Cheerio was ever harvested. Just sayin'...

This is a pretty silly game, but since I came up with it I've actually had fun using it as a filter for what I eat. It's very effective if you're trying to shed some unwanted pounds, but it also works for just keeping yourself on track with healthful eating.

Everyone has their own foods that they simply aren't going to be giving up. However, if you need a little game to play as you're wandering the grocery store aisles and wondering what to put in your cart, maybe you can ask yourself if the questionable item grew somewhere.

This can even be helpful if you shop at natural food stores. There are plenty of items that you can weed out at the best of food stores and you will probably save a few bucks as well!

One more silly game: If you are really bored some night and are having junk food cravings, look up "David Letterman, Will it Float?" on YouTube and laugh a little instead of heading for the refrigerator!

Many Healthful Returns, Kay. Providing useful nutrition tips, reviews and writings online.