Image: Courtesy of LG Electronics

When we first heard of the "diet-friendly fridge" that LG unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, we imagined an appliance that would scold us (or lock us out completely) whenever we tried to sneak a late-night snack. But this refrigerator is much more helpful than that. It allows you to program heath profiles of everyone in your house into an internal computer, and then recommends meal plans based on who needs to lower their sodium intake, who's counting calories, and who's watching their cholesterol. It also informs you when the milk is about to expire, recommends nutritious last-minute dishes you can make using ingredients you have on hand, and helps you keep track of what low-cal items are running low so you can either buy them online (using the LCD panel on the door) or send a grocery list to your phone.

LG says the fridge will be available in the US this summer for a suggested retail price of $3,299. This is at the high end (refrigerators range anywhere from $350 for a junior stacked fridge to over $4,000 for gourmet or custom models), and there's no guarantee that the suggested recipes are lip-smackingly delicious. But the thing we appreciate about this fridge is that when you think about it, most futuristic appliances are of the don't-lift-a-finger model (e.g., the industrious, overly helpful robots in WALL-E that turned humans into lazy, squishy blobs). We applaud the idea of a kitchen appliance that can potentially help make our lives not just easier, but less squishy-blob-ish.

Photo: Gregor Halenda

Quiet, tidy, easy to use, and able to separate pulp from juice, this sleek juicer uses patented low-speed technology to extract maximum nutrients, vitamins, enzymes, and taste from fruits and vegetables. Best of all, it comes recommended by Dr. Oz!

(Hurom Slow Juicer, $360; williams-sonoma.com)

Photo: Gregor Halenda

Combat hot flashes with these clever pearl necklaces, which contain nontoxic gel that gets cold in the freezer. Who said menopause isn't pretty?

(Pearls, originally $55, now $47, and insulated travel purse, originally $10 now $8.50 with code OPRAH; hotgirlspearls.com)

Keep Reading: 10 more healthy items we love

Photo: Thinkstock

"If you are sad, if you are in pain, you need to stop worrying about the future and fix the present."..."Don't give up...Don't forget the story."..."You better not suck in the future!"

What would you tell your future self, if you could deliver her a letter? What do you want to remember, to hold onto, to figure out, to forget? Would it be anything like the above examples?

You could invent time travel and fly through dimensions to deliver the message, or you could just visit FutureMe.org, where people can write emails to their future selves and program when they are delivered. The instant I heard about this site I knew what I would write to my future self: People are always telling you to enjoy every minute of this time when your kids are small, and you do enjoy a great deal of it, but a lot of it is hard work. Whatever you do, don't turn into one of those old ladies who says "Enjoy every minute!" to frazzled, exhausted parents.

One of the best things about this site is that although they keep your information private, many of the letters appear (anonymously) online. It's fascinating (and, watch out, addictive) to read through these emails: Some people write themselves notes of encouragement, reminders to follow their dreams, reminders of what those dreams are. A few are frustrated rants about a bad situation; some are hilarious, like one man's writing to provide proof of a bet he and a friend have made about the longevity of Peyton Manning.

Clever, no? And so much easier than time travel.

Read More:
A Letter to Your Teenaged Self
What 5 Powerful Women Wished They Knew Then

Photo: Courtesy of DuWop

On a cold and gloomy January day, summer seems like a distant memory. But if you keep this gold-flecked, shell-shaped compact close at hand you'll feel one step closer to warm, parka-free afternoons. Tucked inside you'll find a creamy blush (to blend onto the apples of your cheeks) and highlighter (to dot along the tops of cheekbones) for a fresh-off-the-beach glow. The only thing missing: the sound of crashing waves.

$29, DuWop.com (Also available for eyes and lips)

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Photo: Hostess

Hostess--the company behind Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and other nostalgic goodies--may have filed for bankruptcy last week, throwing Twinkie lovers into a panic, but our love abides. Here's why:

1. Homemade, from-scratch versions can be really, really good. In a taste test at the site Instructables (a spin-off of the MIT Media Lab), an organic, vegan Twinkie cake with gluten-free filling beat a traditional one that was made with cake mix and vegetable shortening.

2. They're the last-minute dessert your guests will love. You can adorn Twinkies with melted caramel, whipped cream, sprinkles, colorful frosting, peanuts or nearly anything else you might put on a banana split.

3. Pumpkin Twinkie Bread Pudding. And other inventive (and, yes, bizarre) ways to doctor up the humble cake.

4. They actually don't keep indefinitely. At the end of "food clone" master and former Oprah Winfrey Show guest Todd Wilbur's excellent video on making your own Twinkies (and even fashioning your own Twinkie tin foil pans), he opens up a 13-year-old box of the treats. Watch the clip to find out what Wilbur does with them.

Every Monday, we're rounding up the things, small and big, that make us stop and think. Today, we're inspired by..."I haven't seen myself naked in the mirror for probably a decade. I'm very prudish."
-Actress Casey Mulligan, on playing an exhibitionist in the new film Shame.

"There are many of you out there—and I was one of them—but it doesn't have to define you."
-The new Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler, on being the child of an incarcerated adult.

"I consider myself a mother first, and an actress second. The person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl whose bravery and exuberance is the example that I take with me in my work and in my life."
-Michelle Williams, accepting her Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?' — Martin Luther King, Jr.