Everybody's talking about swine flu. Some people are increasingly nervous as the disease spreads. Some people think folks are overreacting. Some people (like me) would like to hide under their bed until the whole thing blows over.

Whatever camp you're in, it never hurts to boost your immune system and pay some attention to your health.

Studies show that diet plays a special role in keeping the immune system strong, so be sure to load up on citrus fruits, garlic and lots of fluids.

And maybe pick up some hand sanitizer while you're at the grocery store. Or at least remember to wash your hands with soap and water, especially before meals.

Eating right and keeping yourself and your environs clean are great habits to get into, whether you have flu on your mind or not.

Post a reply and let us know if you're worried about swine flu or if you couldn't care less. Also — let us know your tips on how to boost your immune system.

With just a week left to go before the launch of Bikini Boot Camp, CanadianLiving.com has just launched an exciting new tool: the Meal Planner.

Finally! An online tool that will help to ensure that my meals are planned for the week so that I don't end up eating popcorn for dinner or chocolate-covered almonds for breakfast (again). You can access the stomach-saving and super-neat-o  Meal Planner through your MyCL account.

Use it to plan your meals, view meals you've planned already, assign cooking duties(!), invite people to join you for a meal, plus many other handy functions to help you get organized and get cooking.

And while you're logged into MyCL, why not add me as a friend? My nickname is Jenny Penny. Oooh! And did you know we're on Twitter now? You can follow us here: http://twitter.com/canadian_living. Not sure about all this Twitter business? Check out Twitter 101 - Your guide to the tweet life.

Okay, back to Bikini Boot Camp. With just one week left before it starts, I'm starting to shake the cobwebs off my dumbbells and slowly get my body re-acclimatized to eating leafy greens. What are you doing to get ready for Bikini Boot Camp?

Even though spring has sprung, I can't seem to get out of my winter rut. The
days are longer and the weather is milder, but most weeknights still find me
on the couch, watching TV with a bowl of popcorn.

I guess I haven't caught spring fever yet. Have you? Are you one of the
chipper, happy, healthy productive folks who are already enjoying puttering
in the garden, taking the dog on extra-long walks and sporting your spring
clothes?

What's your secret? Was there a date, maybe the first day of spring, that
brought on your bout of spring fever? Maybe Easter weekend ushered in spring
for you. Or maybe, like me, you're still in a winter rut and you're counting
on Bikini Boot Camp to pull you out of it.

Post a reply to let us know where you're at — if you're embracing spring,
leave some advice for those of us still stuck in the winter rut!

A big congratulations to Huguette, who is one of the most active members of the Health & Wellness Club (and by "most active", I mean she posts a lot of great replies on the blog. I can't vouch for her workout routine, although I'm confident she's active in that respect as well . . .)

Anyway, Huguette has won our March 27 contest by telling us about a weird food craving she's had.

Hugette says:
"I crave olives, I guess it’s because I am trying to cut down on salty foods and olives are very salty?? Go figure!!!"

Amen to that! I get the olive craving a lot, too. They're a tasty treat, indeed.

Hugette wins a copy of The Skinny on Losing Weight Without Being Hungry: The ultimate guide to weight-loss success, by Louis J. Aronne, M.D.

As I mentioned last week, our  Bikini Boot Camp program will launch May 4.

Bikini Boot Camp is a super-fab, free and fun way to shed the flab and get ready for summer. The six-week program includes daily e-newsletters, expert advice, online fitness videos, daily blog posts, fabulous contests, a Boot Camp menu and more.

Wait — did I mention fabulous contests? Sign up for the Bikini Boot Camp e-newsletter now and you'll be eligible to WIN a summer beauty gift basket from L'Oreal!

You won't believe how much great stuff is packed into this prize basket! It's got: Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer, Sublime Bronze Gradual Self-tanning Lotion, Sublime Glow Face with SPF 15, Advanced Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Day, Advanced Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Night, Advanced Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate, Advanced Revitalift Double Eye Lift, Revitalift Cream Cleanser, Revitalift Wet Cleansing Towelettes, EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System - Moisture Shampoo, EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System - Moisture Conditioner, Voluminous Mascara Carbon Black, Wear Infinité eye shadow quad, Colour Riche Lipcolour, Colour Riche Lipgloss . . . and it's worth a whopping $250!

Sign up for the Bikini Boot Camp e-newsletter now for your chance to WIN!

Congratulations to Susan, who is the winner of our March 20 contest. Susan has won a whole whack of books, including:

1. The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A delicious alternative for lifelong health, by Nancy Harmon Jenkings
2. The Diet Detective’s Count Down: 7500 of your favorite food counts with their exercise equivalents for walking, running, biking, swimming, yoga and dance, by Charles Stuart Platkin
3. Fat Proof Your Family: God’s way to forming healthy habits for life, by J. Ron Eaker, MD
4. Happiness: How to find it and keep it, by Joan Duncan Oliver
5. The Source: Beat fatigue, power up your health and feel 10 years younger, by Woodson Merrell, M.D
6. Jaime Brenkus’ Get Lean in 15 — 15 ways in 15 days to shape up and slim down . . .  fast!
7. The Instinct Diet: Use your five food instincts to lose weight and keep it off, by Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D.

For our March 20 contest, I asked you to share your sports clutz story with us.

Susan told us:
"The idea of taking gym in high school terrified me (and we needed one credit in Phys Ed to graduate). Every year it conflicted with another course and I would put it off until finally, in Grade 12, I had no other choice but to take Phys. Ed. And it was awful! We had to learn “social dance” (which is not great if you are self-conscious, have two left feet and are forced to dance with guys you don’t know!)and aerobics (she forced us to do Susan Powder videos), which also are not a great idea if you aren’t coordinated. My redemption came from my realization that everyone in my class was having a horrible time! After one session of aerobics (during which I fell over), I started talking about how much I hated the class…and found out that EVERYONE hated it as much as me! After that, with a shared comradery, the class actually became fun! I still have a Far Side “Aerobics in Hell” card one of the girls gave me! The experience made me realize that I would never be a Solid Gold dancer but that sharing common experiences with people can help you form real bonds (even if it is in Gym class)!"

Congratulations, Susan!

Wow. Either you guys really like contests, or you really hate colds. Either way, we had an absolutely outstanding response to our March 13 contest.

Here are our four winners. Each will win a Cold Survival Kit sponsored by the new zinc-based cold remedy, ZICAM. Each kit includes a hot water bottle with cover and blanket, a mug, green tea, chicken noodle soup, essential oils and a holder, bathtub salts, a $25 Chapters gift certificate and a selection of crossword and sudoku puzzles.

We asked you to tell us how you nurse yourself back to health when you’re under the weather.

Nikki says:
"Rest & warmth work for me! I love my heated blanket, honey lemon tea and the couch with Ellen & Oprah for some company!! Though if I am feeling really bad, I combine all of this with a phone call to mom so she can come over and make her famous chicken soup (I still need to get that recipe!) and take care of me. I admit, I am 30 and still need my mom when I am feeling terrible, she always makes me feel better, so I would have definitely have to share this awesome prize with her:)"

korona23 says:
"The first thing I try to do is call in sick! There’s nothing worse than spreading your germs around and having people hate you! It’s really important to contain your virus and that means staying home and washing your hands frequently so as not to get your family sick as much as possible.

Your body is telling you it needs to rest. So rest! It’s very hard to do in this incredibly punishing work-world and fast-paced home life, but the best thing you can do is just chill out, drink lots of fluids, sleep as much as you can and think positive thoughts. It’s not much more complicated than that!"

Margaret Snyder says:
"When I am feeling the cold coming on, I drink plenty of fluids, get plenty of rest, make and eat soups, apply mentholated rub to my chest and nose and I chat with my mum because even though I am a nurse, I still need her to tell me what to do when I am sick. Motherly comfort, to me, is still one of the best remedies to make me feel better."

SusanT says:
"I very rarely get a cold as I believe working in the school system has given me a stronger immune system - but for the rest of my family…home made chicken soup is great, and a humidifier at night in the room is also helpful."

And we also have a grand prize winner who has won a Honeywell ‘Quiet Care’ humidifier and a light therapy lamp, courtesy of the new zinc-based cold remedy, ZICAM.

Eva Mc says:
"I had the worst cold ever this past month and I basically collapsed on the couch and waited until it ended. My fantastic husband took very good care of me and I’d love to win so that I could use it to take care of him the next time he falls ill."

Congratulations to all our winners! And don't forget to enter our Sports Clutz contest, which runs until Monday, April 6.