Lighter Super Bowl Snacking that Doesn't Fumble on Taste

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Deep-fried chicken wings, potato skins, chips and dip, and pizza dripping with cheese and pepperoni – a glance at the average Super Bowl Sunday party menu may leave you thinking the event should actually be called "Cholesterol-Bowl."

The extra calories consumed by the average American on the nation’s number one sports holiday probably won't send you into cardiac arrest. But it still makes sense to think about lightening the cholesterol load on Super Bowl Sunday.

While you may consider substituting baked chips for trans fat-filled fried ones, sensible sports snacking doesn’t necessarily mean replacing wings with celery sticks. You can fry foods with less cholesterol and no trans fats, plus add a punch of nutrition, by finding alternatives to vegetable oil. Palm oil is an alternative that is gaining popularity in America for its relative health benefits and flavor-enhancing qualities.

Restaurants across the country are turning to healthier trans-fat free alternatives such as palm oil as more local governments mandate the elimination of trans fats from their menus. Chances are you’ve already dined in one that uses trans-fat free alternatives such as palm oil. In fact, outside the United States, palm oil is the most widely used cooking oil.

"You can substitute trans-fat free palm oil for any other type of oil or shortening in your favorite Super Bowl Sunday recipes," says Salleh Kassim of the American Palm Oil Council. "Simply use a one-to-one ratio. If your recipe calls for you to fry in a cup of vegetable oil, just substitute a cup of palm oil."


Unlike other alternative oils such as olive, palm oil has no flavor of its own and preserves the flavor of whatever you’re cooking. And since palm oil has a high quantity of antioxidants, it is very stable when heated, and is actually better for frying than oils like soy or canola, which smoke at high heat.

Finally, using palm oil to cook your chicken wings or other favorite Super Bowl snack will at least boost the amount of good (HDL) cholesterol in your recipe. "Increased HDL is linked to decreased risk of heart disease, and it cancels out the increased risk associated with elevated bad (LDL) cholesterol," Kassim says.

You’ll also get an added nutritional punch; palm oil contains powerful antioxidants like tocotrienols, beta-carotene and vitamins A and E. Antioxidants are known to combat free radicals – the biological waste product that speeds the aging process. So by using palm oil in your Super Bowl party prep, you may actually find yourself feeling younger on post-Super Bowl Monday!

Courtesy of ARA content
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.

Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.

The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.

Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is  appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.

Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.

Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.

Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.

The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.

The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.

Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.

Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years. 

He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.

Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.

Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve  a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.

Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.

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