I'm re-reading the Shopaholic series. I love them. I love Sophie Kinsella's books. (I tried one of her real books - Madeline Wickham and it was boring.) I own them all - All the Shopaholic books, Can You Keep A Secret, Remember Me?, The Undomestic Goddess, and Twenties Girl. (That's the latest and it was in paperback at Kroger, *grab*)
Anyway, in the first book, Rebecca tries to cut back and save money by making curry at home instead of just ordering "takeaway" (I love how unapologetic the books are in their British-ness!) and it's a disaster.
And it got me thinking about a post at FWD from a while ago - The New York Times Tells You How To Eat, which details how the organic food movement is steeped in privilege - you need the money and you need the time. And the energy. Or the ability to stand and cook without the pain making you shaky and forgetful (did I start boiling that water?).
It got me thinking about a recent commercial for Red Baron frozen pizza and "pan pasta" which shows a bunch of pizza delivery people eating at someone's home, saying "Your mom makes the best pan pasta!" implying that it's better than theirs. The mom has her back to them, holding the Red Baron box.
You know why I order pizza? Because I don't want to cook. (Though I loved nuking these pizzas - forget the brand - and just picking away with my fingers, not even making slices.)
And it also made me think - frozen food? Shouldn't she buy the ingredients and make it herself, if she really cares about these people? I mean, who knows what evil chemicals are in Red Baron frozen pizza and "pan pasta"?!
The initial outlay for pizza ingredients will cost more or about the same as a ready made one, but they never factor in the time when it comes to "oh, just make it yourself so you don't get those nasty chemicals in your body!" My time is worth something. The only time mentioned is the time in the oven. I'm sure some cookbooks do mention the full prep time... but if it's too long, is it even worth it? Time is a form of expense as well.
Racialicious has a new post up about "sustainable food" and how it is seeped in more than just able-bodied and ... um.. time? privilege.
Sustainable Food and Privilege: Why is Green Always White (and Male and Upper-Class)
We'd all like to eat the "healthiest" "best" food, but you know what, it's not practical for most Americans. It's not practical for me and my family at all - the cost alone keeps us out of that club. Not to mention, I'm in pain. A lot. So maybe I could fiddle around and make something - but making food should be fun! - but I shouldn't be required to.
And I do worry about the environment, but I have to take my medication, I have to be alive. (Or I won't get to see Kites this weekend! Hrithik on the big screen! BYODB - Drool Bucket.)
So I take pride in what I do - putting a plastic bottle or paper in the recycling bin on campus. Or eating fruit. I refuse to feel guilty for what I could have done, I only focus on what I can do. I know, I'm supposed to be a tree-hugger, but I'm allergic to them and one of our trees has termites so I'll just gaze fondly at the trees right now.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
"Long meals make (for) short lives."
I'm not sure on the exact wording, but I know it included "long meals" and "short lives". I don't remember if it was "Long meals make short lives" or "Long meals make for short lives."
Both on google turn up cookbooks and stuff on hair.
No picture. Hmm, I could take my laptop and lift the offending napkin holder up to its computer, but the place where I saw it is closed today and they may have removed it.
Basically, they used to insert ads for stuff on campus, especially food, on the sides of a the napkin holders. But now it's all "healthy" BS - stop eating you fattie, get healthy.
The quote is attributed to nobody but "a proverb." No sources!
Anyways, even if I could find said "proverb," I'd still be mad at the fat-shaming and food policing.
But what gets me - and makes me write a blog post about it - is that it makes no damn sense at all, outside of guilting fat students, thin ones, "average ones", and makes us really think about our food.
I like food because it tastes good and fills me up, and sometimes when I eat within 30 minutes of a pain pill, it helps the medication work better. The food also keeps me alive, as it does for everyone. Certain foods don't, depending on allergies or whatever, but we need food for living. Even zombies eat!
Anyway, here are the problems with the "proverb" -
No country or time given, so I assume it was a diet guru who said it.
When proverbs were written or said, most people did not have access to excess food. It's only recently in human history that all classes can eat to gluttony. (While the relatively rich people of the world starve themselves.) And it's not even true across the world, or the country, or my state, my county, my city - I'm sorry, people have "food insecurity."
And mealtimes have long been considered important for socialization - and not just with the nuclear family. It's a way to schmooze, get free food (as a guest), get to know people, make business/political connections (even back in Roman/Greek times). Mealtimes are important.
"Long" meals are important as well. When my family (after the divorce, when he was still there it was compulsory. If he showed up, we'd all scramble to make it look like we never left the table.) eats at the table, be it at home or at a restaurant, we take longer than when mom makes a pot of delicious mac and cheese and we come and go as we please. We talk about things. That is considered a good thing, especially as your children get older. It's a way to connect and be a family. Of course, it's not the only way, but it's a good routine way, and I think calling it bad is just wrong. And then there's dinner with friends or extended family, the plates are empty, but who cares, we're busy yakking.
Another thing that makes a meal "long" is taking your time, which is often encouraged for a number of reasons, but I'm sure it's been encouraged as a way to lose weight, because everything you do either makes you gain weight and become a bad person or makes you lose weight and become a good one.
The so-called proverb makes no damn sense if you think about it, which I believe we're supposed to do. FAIL
ETA - do check out The Fat Nutritionist website.
ETA2 - I saw it again, and I was totally wrong. "To lengthen your life, shorten your meals." Google turned up nothing, with "to lengthen your life" - except 7 foods to lengthen your life.
ETA3 - looking it up with the quotation marks turned it up, but no source besides "proverb." The first result - not linking to such a hate-filled site, is called
"Weight loss with your food addiction" And it's under "diet" quotes and proverbs, but no damn source, country, or time.
So I was wrong about the quote, they did find it somewhere, but the analysis still stands. It's bullshit.
Both on google turn up cookbooks and stuff on hair.
No picture. Hmm, I could take my laptop and lift the offending napkin holder up to its computer, but the place where I saw it is closed today and they may have removed it.
Basically, they used to insert ads for stuff on campus, especially food, on the sides of a the napkin holders. But now it's all "healthy" BS - stop eating you fattie, get healthy.
The quote is attributed to nobody but "a proverb." No sources!
Anyways, even if I could find said "proverb," I'd still be mad at the fat-shaming and food policing.
But what gets me - and makes me write a blog post about it - is that it makes no damn sense at all, outside of guilting fat students, thin ones, "average ones", and makes us really think about our food.
I like food because it tastes good and fills me up, and sometimes when I eat within 30 minutes of a pain pill, it helps the medication work better. The food also keeps me alive, as it does for everyone. Certain foods don't, depending on allergies or whatever, but we need food for living. Even zombies eat!
Anyway, here are the problems with the "proverb" -
No country or time given, so I assume it was a diet guru who said it.
When proverbs were written or said, most people did not have access to excess food. It's only recently in human history that all classes can eat to gluttony. (While the relatively rich people of the world starve themselves.) And it's not even true across the world, or the country, or my state, my county, my city - I'm sorry, people have "food insecurity."
And mealtimes have long been considered important for socialization - and not just with the nuclear family. It's a way to schmooze, get free food (as a guest), get to know people, make business/political connections (even back in Roman/Greek times). Mealtimes are important.
"Long" meals are important as well. When my family (after the divorce, when he was still there it was compulsory. If he showed up, we'd all scramble to make it look like we never left the table.) eats at the table, be it at home or at a restaurant, we take longer than when mom makes a pot of delicious mac and cheese and we come and go as we please. We talk about things. That is considered a good thing, especially as your children get older. It's a way to connect and be a family. Of course, it's not the only way, but it's a good routine way, and I think calling it bad is just wrong. And then there's dinner with friends or extended family, the plates are empty, but who cares, we're busy yakking.
Another thing that makes a meal "long" is taking your time, which is often encouraged for a number of reasons, but I'm sure it's been encouraged as a way to lose weight, because everything you do either makes you gain weight and become a bad person or makes you lose weight and become a good one.
The so-called proverb makes no damn sense if you think about it, which I believe we're supposed to do. FAIL
ETA - do check out The Fat Nutritionist website.
ETA2 - I saw it again, and I was totally wrong. "To lengthen your life, shorten your meals." Google turned up nothing, with "to lengthen your life" - except 7 foods to lengthen your life.
ETA3 - looking it up with the quotation marks turned it up, but no source besides "proverb." The first result - not linking to such a hate-filled site, is called
"Weight loss with your food addiction" And it's under "diet" quotes and proverbs, but no damn source, country, or time.
So I was wrong about the quote, they did find it somewhere, but the analysis still stands. It's bullshit.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream Ice Cream
It's great!
It was expensive, but not as much as I thought. Ben and Jerry's is a big brand name, I thought it would be 5 bucks, and it was "only" $2.94 a pint.
More than store brand, but I had to get it.
It's great. Vanilla, caramel, and fudge-covered bits of waffle. They have the consistency of a waffle cone. It's new and interesting.
The caramel mixed into the ice cream is better than caramel sauce put on vanilla. Not too much caramel.
I'm not too big a fan of chocolate in ice cream beyond the chips in chocolate chip cookie dough at Baskin Robbins.
But this isn't too much, the waffles taste great.
And the vanilla is... vanilla. A good, neutral base for the caramel and fudged waffled bits.
I'm not Catholic but I did give something up for Lent - religion.
Stephen gave up sweets. I had mint chocolate chip ice cream yesterday (store brand) because ice cream is cold and I believe that mint flavors are even colder. And it worked. (Hot flashes are a sweaty pain.)
Great ice cream, even though I had to spend more than 30 minutes in wal-mart to get it. (Save-A-Lot doesn't carry Ben and Jerry's! Who knew?)
Much better than Willie Nelson's flavor, because I don't like peaches, so I don't have to try it. My gut says the truthiness about his ice cream is: it's not as good as Stephen's.
No Report until Monday night. How will I survive?
My April 2007 Mad came today, I'll review it after I finish it.
It was expensive, but not as much as I thought. Ben and Jerry's is a big brand name, I thought it would be 5 bucks, and it was "only" $2.94 a pint.
More than store brand, but I had to get it.
It's great. Vanilla, caramel, and fudge-covered bits of waffle. They have the consistency of a waffle cone. It's new and interesting.
The caramel mixed into the ice cream is better than caramel sauce put on vanilla. Not too much caramel.
I'm not too big a fan of chocolate in ice cream beyond the chips in chocolate chip cookie dough at Baskin Robbins.
But this isn't too much, the waffles taste great.
And the vanilla is... vanilla. A good, neutral base for the caramel and fudged waffled bits.
I'm not Catholic but I did give something up for Lent - religion.
Stephen gave up sweets. I had mint chocolate chip ice cream yesterday (store brand) because ice cream is cold and I believe that mint flavors are even colder. And it worked. (Hot flashes are a sweaty pain.)
Great ice cream, even though I had to spend more than 30 minutes in wal-mart to get it. (Save-A-Lot doesn't carry Ben and Jerry's! Who knew?)
Much better than Willie Nelson's flavor, because I don't like peaches, so I don't have to try it. My gut says the truthiness about his ice cream is: it's not as good as Stephen's.
No Report until Monday night. How will I survive?
My April 2007 Mad came today, I'll review it after I finish it.
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