For some dieters, convenience means not having to plan, and so delivered meals or easy-to-shop-for menus are helpful in sticking to a weight loss plan.

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Even on Burns Night, getting Americans to eat the most Scottish of meals is no easy task, explains Paisley-born Jim Short, 76, who attends a Burns Supper in LaGrange, Georgia, organised by The Order of the Tartan, a local Scottish heritage society.

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Currently we help youths every Friday in a food backpack program and families every month in a large food distribution and quarterly cooking demonstration to teach families how to cook easy and healthy meals.

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As for home-cooked meals, while it is easy to measure the amount of salt called for in a recipe, it gets more complicated if the dish calls for soy sauce, or some other ingredient which contains salt.

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"That would have been too easy, with three meals a day, TV and X-Box, " she said.

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Startups like Grubwithus and Spoondate make it easy to meet new people over affordable restaurant meals.

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