FitSugar

IMPORTANT: Pet Food Recall

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 07:30:00 PDT

I am sick and tired of dealing with recalls, after the Oscar Mayer Chicken and the contact lens solution. Now 90 brands of pet food are being tied to kidney failure in cats and dogs. I believe in creating a fit family and that includes the pets!!!

On Saturday, Menu Foods, a Canada-based company recalled 50 brands of dog food and 40 brands of cat food. This includes pet food made by Iams, Nutro, and Eukanuba.

An unknown number of cats and dogs have suffered kidney failure, and already 10 have died after eating the affected food. As a precaution, Nestle Purina PetCare Company and Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. voluntarily recalled some of their pet food that was made by Menu Foods.

The pet foods that were recalled were made with wheat gluten that had been purchased from a new supplier. There is suspicion that this could be the cause, but nothing has been determined yet.

The "cuts and gravy" style products sold in cans and pouches are among some of the affected products. Consumers are being advised to stop using these and the others on the list.

Want to know which pet foods are on the list? Then

Menu Foods makes 17 of the 20 top pet foods in the North American pet foods. If you're concerned about which products have been recalled, you can check out the Menu Foods website for a complete list.

Fit's Tips: If you have been feeding your pet any of the foods on the list, and they seem to have a loss of appetite, are vomiting, or just not acting like himself or herself, take them to the vet immediately to get checked out.

Meet This Year's James Beard Award Winners

Susannah Chen — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:36:10 PDT

The time has finally arrived: the James Beard Awards, or the Oscars of the food world, have just been announced. After months of suspense following the announcement of this year's semifinalists and subsequent finalists, the results were announced at a star-studded gala in New York's Lincoln Center, where a smattering of top talent from Grant Achatz to Top Chef winner Paul Qui walked home with medals.

For the first time ever, there was an Outstanding Bar Program award, and it went to Jim Meehan, owner and bar manager at PDT in New York City. Other highlights? Eleven Madison Park's Daniel Humm nabbed top prize for Outstanding Chef; Wolfgang Puck spoke at length as he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar fame took home title of Rising Star Chef; the pastry wunderkind declared that if she could cook anything for James Beard, it would be turkey pot pie. Read ahead to see the full list of 2012 James Beard Award winners.

Jennifer Aniston Sells Her NYC Apartment

Allie Merriam — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:43:09 PDT

Jennifer Aniston sells her NYC apartment - People
The best part of Channing Tatum is that he's always Channing - Lainey Gossip
Demi Lovato hits the beach in her bikini - HuffPost Entertainment
Darren Criss shows his musical side - TooFab
Goldie Hawn says Kate and Matt Bellamy will wed when they're ready - Us Weekly
Meet Gisele's model niece - The Daily Beast
The next director for Hunger Games sequel sorted out - Hollywood Reporter
Was the NJ governor sleeping at a Bruce Springsteen concert? - BuzzFeed
Kanye's not happy with reports of his romance with Kim - YourTango
The Lucky One isn't a critical favorite - Rotten Tomatoes
Things reportedly heat up between Charlize and Alexander Skarsgard - Wonderwall
Simon Cowell embarrassed by personal details in a new biography - Lifeline Live
Jimmy Kimmel is a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt's work - Zap2It
Is there friction in the Biel family with Justin Timberlake? - Celebitchy

How to Find Affordable, No-Fee Apartments on Craigslist

Business Insider — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:15:00 PDT

Searching for a home? Here are some great tactics for apartment hunting on Craigslist from Business Insider.

Believe it or not, I've found all of my apartments on Craigslist.

And I've never paid a broker's fee once.

I've always resented the notion of a one-month (or more) broker's fee, since in my experience, the real estate brokers showing my apartment were just making appointments.

RELATED: Tips For Cheap Feng Shui

I was the one telling them about the closest grocery store, amenities in the building, and all the quirks of the apartment.

There are apartments on the site if you know how to wade through the crap. It just takes research, common sense, and knowing exactly what you want.

Here's what I've done to find fee-free apartments on Craigslist in Hoboken, NJ; Jersey City, NJ; the Upper West Side, NYC, and the Upper East Side, NYC:

Research, research, research! Figure out which area or areas you want to live in and really explore them. Take trips to the neighborhood during the day and at night. Assess which section is the expensive part of town, where the main street is, where the closest transportation is, and where the residential section is. Talk to people who live there as well as people who don't. Get as much information as possible from as many different people as possible.

Don't trust the pictures. Are all the shots narrow? Does the apartment look like it has many hallways but no rooms? It's probably a shoe box. Lots of pictures of the outside or only one room means that the broker/owner doesn't want you to see what's inside. Request more pictures before you take the time to see the apartment.

Read on for more.

Lauren Conrad Signs Her Novel and Shares Her Surprise at Topless Cover

Lauren Turner — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:31:49 PDT

Lauren Conrad traveled to Ridgewood, NJ, to promote her new novel The Fame Game yesterday. She wore a printed Heartloom maxi dress for the appearance, which was just her latest in a busy week of press. Lauren kicked things off on Monday with a stop by The Wendy Williams Show and followed that up at a book signing in NYC Tuesday. Lauren chatted about her latest piece of work, and also shared her surprise at seeing herself topless on Glamour. LC said , "I blushed when I saw it. I was like, 'That is a lot of me!' I didn't know that was going to be the cover. But that's how it works with magazines - if you take a photo, there's always that chance. But, no, I did not expect that to be the cover."

Did You Have a Surprise Birth?

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:11:14 PST

Ready or not, here he comes! Regardless of whether or not you had a written plan for your lil one's birth, when baby's ready to come, there's little mom can do to stop him!

Such was the case for Rabita Sarkar of Harrison, NJ, who thought she was feeling false labor pains and decided to use them as an opportunity to do a trial run to test her route to the hospital. Soon after boarding the PATH commuter train into New York City, the contractions turned real and within minutes, the expectant mama gave birth to a son - while sitting on the train! She said:

He decided to come and that was it. Nothing could stop him. Nothing could keep him inside for longer. I don’t think anybody could actually dream of such a delivery.

We've heard of plenty of women who didn't know they were pregnant until they were in labor, and I've even had a friend who gave birth in her car outside of the hospital entrance, but were you so surprised by your labor that you gave birth in a strange place? If so, tell us!

Source: Flickr User Remy Sharp

Jessica Alba Does Some Holiday Shopping During a 24-Hour Trip to the Big Apple

Katie Henry — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:21:11 PST

Jessica Alba, and best friend Kelly Sawyer, stopped by NYC's Kirna Zabete boutique yesterday for some light holiday shopping. Inside the store Jessica tried on a pair of boots and browsed through the jewelry case. Jessica and Kelly arrived in the Big Apple on Tuesday prior to her participation in yesterday's Charity Day held in Jersey City, NJ. She answered telephones at ICAP's North American headquarters to raise donations for an organization near and dear to her, Baby2Baby. It's Jessica's second event for the children's charity in less than a month after she joined Jennifer Hudson at Rodeo Drive's Swarovski Elements lighting ceremony in late November. Following their philanthropic duties the gals headed back to Manhattan where Kelly and Jessica grabbed a quick dinner at SoHo's Cafe Habana before catching a returning flight to LA.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z Divide and Conquer in NYC

Lindsay Miller — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:41:05 PST

Jay-Z hopped into a waiting car in Tribeca yesterday while Beyoncé Knowles stepped out separately in a sparkly scarf for a business meeting. Beyoncé has been keeping up her work obligations during her pregnancy, and while she was happy to share her baby news with the world at the VMAs in August, the pair have kept mum on the sex of the child. However, B's good friend and former Destiny's Child groupmate Kelly Rowland said that Beyoncé is having a girl during a recent interview! Jay-Z and B have been staying put in NYC for the most part as they prep for their February due date, but Jay-Z will be hitting the road soon with Kanye West as the pair tour in support of their album Watch the Throne. Jay-Z and Kanye performed together in New Jersey on Sunday, at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and will take their show to Florida next week. Kanye reportedly surprised employees at the Big Apple's Mercer Hotel before Sunday's concert, sending a party bus to pick them up and transport them to the NJ show, giving them complimentary tickets, and personally greeting them when they arrived!

Anne, Christian, and Tom Spend Their Days on The Dark Knight Rises

Lindsay Miller — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:56:20 PST

Anne Hathaway bundled up in a parka on Friday as she made her way to The Dark Knight Rises set in Newark, NJ. Yesterday, Christian Bale and Tom Hardy were spotted filming together a short distance away in NYC. The guys both relaxed in casual clothes between takes, but were in full costume as they shot a scene together, with Tom sporting some scary headgear as the villain Bane. The next installment in the Batman franchise has been filming on both coasts, and the cast and crew spent much of September shooting in LA, where the ambitious production frequently shut down much of downtown. During her stay in the City of Angels, Anne took time to honor one of her male costars, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as he picked up the Best Actor honor at the Hollywood Film Awards for his portrayal of a 20-something cancer patient in 50/50.

Gwyneth Paltrow Takes the Stage During the Glee Tour!

Allie Merriam — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:43:00 PDT

Gwyneth Paltrow was back in Holly Holliday mode last night to take the stage with the Glee cast members in East Rutherford, NJ! The actress, who was in NYC earlier this week for the Bent on Learning benefit, looked right at home in her costume and she sang and danced with the kids to Cee Lo Green's "Forget You." The song was apparently being recorded for the Glee Live! 3D! tour movie coming out in August - check out Gwyneth's latest performance!