by Kelly Senyei, Epicurious

Do you rely on the calorie count of foods to plan your daily caloric intake? If so, you may want to think twice before you take a bite into what you thought was a 250-calorie muffin. A recent video by the New York Times reveals that many packaged foods and restaurant dishes' calorie counts are more erroneous than accurate.

If the mere appearance of the caloric penalty of a dish on a restaurant menu hasn't been enough to sway your order, perhaps now the lingering doubt over the accuracy of those numbers may be the final blow to direct you to healthier alternatives. The Times tested the calorie count validity of five packaged and restaurant foods, and despite the small sample size, the results prove that the number of calories listed isn't always the number of calories you're consuming.

See more: How to Shop for a Better Breakfast at the Grocery Store

After hours of tests and research, food scientists at St. Luke's Hospital Obesity Research Center in New

Thanks to the cold weather, takeout's becoming an increasingly frequent part of our lives, but that doesn't have to sabotage your healthy diet. Robyn Youkilis, national consultant for health for seamless.com, shares the nutritious picks that should be on your plate, from the local deli to your favorite Italian joint. By Ava Feuer, REDBOOK.

Thai
Pad Thai is a universal favorite, but it's also incredibly oily and eggy. If you love the stuff, ask for an appetizer portion, or try pad si-ew instead, a great dish into which to add a protein and extra vegetables. Chicken in a peanut sauce calling your name? Use Youkilis' sneaky trick, and order the sauce on the side along with an extra lime. Then, squeeze lime juice into the sauce, which will double its volume without adding any extra calories.

Deli
"In a deli, I tend to employ my good-better-best theory," says Youkilis. "You may not end up with the best option there, but you can end up with a good one." A whole chicken breast

Keep your home germ-free with these tips for cleaning your home1. Underside of Rugs
To remove dust and dirt that's gone deep down into the rug, simply flip it over and vacuum the underside.

2. Blinds
The material they're made of - metal, wood, or fabric - determines how you dust them. For metal blinds, wipe with a sock lightly dampened with water or multi-purpose cleaner. For wood blinds follow the same procedure using only a little tap water. Do not overwet the wood and be sure to buff dry right away. For fabric blinds, go over the blinds with a dry microfiber cloth.

3. Credit Cards
These everyday essentials get handled by lots of people, and germs can lurk in the crevices around the numbers. Give debit and credit cards a quick cleaning with an alcohol wipe and let them air dry before placing them back in your wallet.

Related: How To Speed Clean Your Bathroom In Just Minutes

4. Kitchen Trash Can
Clean your can or the plastic liner in your utility room sink, the shower, or outside. (Be sure to

Having stylish, functional furniture may be more important in the living room than it is in any home space! That's because we spend oodles of time here! It's where we watch TV, where we meet with friends and family when they head over for holidays or a routine weekend get-together. Thus, I've rounded up some of the trendiest and sturdiest of one living room staple: the coffee table! Of course, this piece of furniture is indispensable. It's where we prop up our feet after a long day at work, and where our guests set their drinks while engaging in casual conversation. If you nail nothing else when it comes to home furniture, nab an in-style, good-quality coffee table!

Here are 6 trendy coffee tables for your living room:

1.) Normann Copenhagen Tablo Table
Simple White Table









I love this coffee table by Normann Copenhagen. Its simple design allows for you to be creative in other areas of your home decor -- and it would fit in any living space!
Get it at Normann Copenhagen, $550.00

2.) Hay Tray Table

This tray would easily double as a modern and sleek coffee table!














The

Read food labels and avoid unhealthy ingredientsWhen we go grocery shopping, most of us think we're making healthy choices. But are we really? Joining Away We Grow host Diane Mizota is supermarket guru Phil Lempert, who will help to decode labels and reveal the top ingredients to avoid.

Related: Not so fast! Three tips for reading food labels

We all probably know that we should avoid salt, sugar, and fat. But Lempert notes that these three ingredients may have different names on a label. "So when you look at a label, you really have to be more detective-oriented to know what that sugar really is, what that sodium really is," he says.

Related: 8 alarmingly unhealthy snacks for kids

The key to decoding labels is to read the ingredients and then look at the nutritional facts panel. "In the case of sodium, just remember that baking soda or baking powder or anything that has the word sodium in it, that's salt," says Lempert. He adds, "Sugars can be high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, honey, dextrose, all these things."

If you

Mom can help with brushing teeth.

"Brush your teeth. Brush your hair. We only have 20 minutes to get out of here. Did you remember to go potty? Go potty! We've got to go in 15 minutes. Please, hurry up! You have to brush the back of your hair, too. Hurry up! We have to leave the house in 10 minutes! Five minutes! HURRY!"

I can't even begin to count the number of times I have called out that exact set of instructions in an ever more frantic voice as I tried to get my three kids all dressed, brushed and out the door on time. My friends tease me when I am late, which is too often. But I've been getting better, and today my family was 10 minutes early for our homeschool group activity. My friends were impressed. Here are some tips to help you get your kids in and out of the bathroom in 15 minutes or less so you can be on time, too.

Wake up early

A sleepy kid is a slow kid. Mine have actually fallen asleep on the toilet while I was trying to prod them along. If you have someplace to be, get your kids up at least

Courtesy of Thayer Allison GowdySarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF

Ordering in for dinner tonight? You might want to pick up the phone to place your order before you click "Place Order" on that website. A recent study conducted by Ryan McDevitt, a professor from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, found that customers who ordered pizzas on the internet made much more calorie laden choices--sometimes quadrupling their bacon and piling on toppings sky-high--compared to those that ordered on the phone or in person.

But ordering online doesn't have to send your healthy diet out to cyberspace never to be seen again. In fact, according to the folks at GrubHub.com, a nationwide online ordering platform, this may be the year of healthier takeout. Their research found that what are considered to be "healthy orders" have spiked nationwide by approximately 10 percent in the first three weeks of 2013, with no current signs of a downturn.

See more: The Flat-Abs-Fast Secret

Perhaps this is because

Sarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF magazine

Loaded with heart-healthy fats, vitamins and fiber, avocados are quite the tasty way to dish up your daily dose of superfoods. We know they're great on their own--say, served straight up with a dash of sea salt and a spoon--but when you feel like mixing it up, try these creative ways to enjoy avocados. Seriously #NomNom.

Grill it. I mean, look at that picture--how delicious does that look? To make, simply peel, core, add a splash of olive oil and lemon juice, and grill on medium heat for three minute on each side. How easy was that?

Make pesto. Replacing the traditional oil and nuts with avocado adds a unique nutritional burst of flavor in this unique pesto recipe that's chock-full of fresh basil, a bit of parmesan and garlic. Enjoy it over pasta, on whole-grain crackers or drizzled over shrimp.

See more: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

Add to your smoothie. Your smoothie is about to get a serious texture boost without an epic amount of extra