Sounds fair to me

Since car insurance premiums are determined by how safe of a driver you are, shouldn't health insurance premiums be determined by how healthy a person you are?

If looking good and feeling good is not enough of a motivator to get you to take care of yourself, perhaps hefty insurance premiums would do it? It sounds fair to me that people who smoke cigarettes, eat and drink to excess, and otherwise exhibit unhealthy behaviors on a consistent basis ought to bear the burden of medical costs that will inevitably result from the lifestyle.

Plenty of car insurance companies have "Safe Driver" discounts -- how about "Healthy Living" discounts? Think about it -- this is probably even more fair that what the car insurance companies have going. It's not your fault if somebody plows through an intersection and T-bones your car. But nobody is going to run a red light and shove a T-bone steak down your throat.

It places the responsibility exactly where it ought to be: squarely on you.

**********

It's Memorial Day weekend, and for our family that means the first pool party of the year over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Now, I highly doubt that I'll make an appearance in the pool this weekend because the pool has about 13 degrees to go before it reaches its "Susan-approved" 93-degree temperature. That won't stop me from enjoying a nice time next to the pool, though.

It's been requested that I make my (and by "my", I mean my brother's) potato salad recipe. It's a good old version chalk full of potatoes, eggs, pickles, and ONE CUP OF MAYONNAISE. One Cup. Did you know that there are 10 grams of fat in one tablespoon of mayonnaise? And did you also know that there are 16 tablespoons in one cup? I'm not good at math, so let me get my calculator out, just to be sure. Because surely that doesn't mean that there are 160 grams of fat in one bowl of potato salad. Yup, that's 160 grams of fat.

Yikes.

Here's what I'm going to do instead.

Red Potato Salad With Dill and Mustard Dressing

6 red potatoes

1 TB Dijon mustard

1 1/2 TB chopped fresh dill

2 tsp. brown sugar

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

Cut potatoes into 1 1/4-inch chunks. Steam or boil the potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and cool. 

For the dill and mustard dressing, mix the mustard, dill, brown sugar, and vinegar together in a cup. Whisk the oil with a fork until combined. Toss through the warm potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

There. A bunch of calories saved, and you still get a delicious potato salad. In all honesty, the calories I saved will probably be spent on homemade ice cream, but that's neither here nor there. Have a great weekend, everybody!

***********

Workout of the Day

Rev Abs: Fat Burning Abs