The answer is yes. In a bold new move, Whole Foods is offering a discount to employees (and maybe soon to customers?) based on BMI. Basically, the lower your BMI (body mass index) the better the discount.

The government has been trying to slim us down for years now. They’ve implemented taxes, such as the “junk food tax” in New Jersey and New York has banned trans fats in order to slim down our nation. I know these things are all for my own good, but how does this new discount measure up?

Is it a good idea to help those who are already skinny to stay skinny? Is it a better idea to help the overweight population slim down? Is it fair to discriminate based on weight at all?

There are some major benefits for the company itself to offer discounts to its already slim population of employees: healthier employees, fewer sick days, lower health insurance premiums, a better image for the company. But is rewarding good health just a politically correct way of trying to get their workforce skinny and keep their image in check? Do they think that having (and keeping) skinny employees will inspire their consumers to emulate their fit lifestyle… by doing all their shopping at Whole Foods?

On the other hand, doesn’t it make sense to offer the discount to their heavier employees? Wouldn’t this help them to lead a healthier lifestyle, and in that way become more aligned with the idealized “Whole Foods” way of living? Should there even be an issue to discuss at all? Should BMI ever come into the question when it comes to any form of discrimination (whether its denial of entry to a club or a simple discount)?

I applaud Whole Foods’ initiative to encourage healthy living among their employees, but I can’t help but wonder if this skinny discount is truly promoting good health or discriminating against the overweight.

What do you think?

College can be the greatest place on earth… that is, until the cash starts running low. And since right after you read this you are going to head to Urban Outfitters “just to look around”, and you are bound to find that rug/lamp/’80s drinking game/hip wall art, and you just “absolutely have to have them all because they are all so cute and will go perfect in your room,” you might not be the most frugal shopper on campus.

College can become a pretty expensive place for a lot of different reasons. Now, we know you aren’t paying for drinks at the bar (ahhh… to be a girl in college…) but next week is your BFF’s b-day and then your MFF’s HY b-day (most favorite friend’s half year birthday) and you are way past making them a friendship collage. Also I’m pretty sure season two of Gossip Girl comes out on DVD soon so there are some big purchases in the near future you cannot avoid.

With all these costs racking up, the 300 person line to that cheap franchised burrito place isn’t looking too long anymore (even though you know it only tastes good after 7 Slippery Nipples) and the Golden Arches seem like the right option to squeeze every penny. But we are here to convince you of another option. It’s called cooking. For yourself. With real ingredients.

Wait… wait. C’mon, at least let me explain before you go check Perez and go watch The Bachelor choose the skanky girl with the tongue ring.

My brother Max and I are professional chefs who wrote a cookbook that’s just for you. It’s a step by step guide starting with incredibly simple recipes that you don’t even need an oven or microwave for and then gets progressively more challenging with each chapter. By the end of our book you will be whipping up three-course meals for your BFFs, MFFs, BFs, GFs, RAs, TAs, roomies, your big sis, and maybe even the ‘rents. You’ll be like Monica from Friends, but without having to deal with Ross’s constant bitching about his lady troubles.

We want to help get it in your mind that cooking isn’t really all that difficult, time consuming, or expensive. In the cookbook we have tips on how to set up your kitchen, how to grocery shop, and even how to boil water and cook perfect pasta. So any possible cooking question you could have, we answer it. And if you come up with something we don’t answer in our cookbook, email and ask us and we’ll get back to you the same day. Technology is really an amazing thing.

Here’s a great healthy recipe below that isn’t too heavy so you can eat it before you go out. It will be so much more delicious that any fast food dinner option, too. We suggest having a few girlfriends pitch in so the overall cost is REALLY cheap. Grab a bottle of wine, crank up the Gaga and get cooking. We know you’ll feel a real sense of accomplishment once you finish making this. And hey, isn’t feeling a sense of accomplishment what college is all about?

[Freshman in the Kitchen, published by Huron River Press available now. For more information and to order visit www.freshmaninthekitchen.com.]