YumSugar

Do You Care About Nutrition Information?

partysugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:45:29 -0700

A couple of days ago California passed a law that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition facts. I think this is a great idea, but honestly I rarely check out nutrition information because I avoid processed and fast foods. However, I was wondering about you? How conscious of calories, fat, and sodium are you?

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Do You Read Food Labels?

YumSugar — Wed, 16 May 2007 07:01:18 -0700

The discussion about whether or not soy sauce is actually soy sauce made me wonder about food labels in general and whether or not people actually read them. I'm fortunate enough not to have any major food allergies and have stupidly stopped counting calories years ago, so I rarely look at the actual labels (although I try not to buy too many processed food items, so in theory I wouldn't have that many labels to read). How about you? Do you read food labels?

California Will Require Chains to Post Nutritional Facts

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:15:23 -0700

Will diners consider their health before ordering a super-sized hamburger value meal? California legislators are betting on it: Last night, the state became the first to require restaurant chains to post nutritional information for their menu items.

By 2011, roughly 17,000 chain restaurants will be required to post the fat, calories, salt, and carbohydrate values where customers can readily see them. Alternatively, they can hand out brochures with the information. Said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

When people go to the grocery store now . . . they can already read the labels and make informed decisions about what they eat. But now they will also have that pleasure when they go to the restaurant.

While the bill currently only applies to chains with 20 restaurants or more, it sets a precedent for imposing more health regulations on the restaurant industry, and sets the example for other states to follow suit. Do you predict this measure will change the way America eats? Will customers alter their eating habits because of menu labeling - or will people just eat what they want?

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Must-Read: Williams-Sonoma Soup

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:15:48 -0700

Although I've always been a fan of eating soup year-round, now that the weather has cooled down a bit, soup is a regular part of my meal rotation. That was my logic behind acquiring Williams-Sonoma Soup ($16.95). To see my thoughts on the cookbook, read more.

Pros:

Ingredient measurements include other measuring system equivalents: A recipe calling for dried black beans, specifies that 2 cups equals 14 ounces or 440 grams.
In addition to a full-page picture, each recipe contains an added bonus: a tip with a corresponding picture, pertaining to the recipe.
The back of the book has helpful information like stock recipes, basics of making soup, garnish options, a glossary, and an index.

Cons:

The recipes are written in paragraph form, but could have been written in easier-to-follow steps.
Helpful details such as cooking time or nutritional facts would have made a big difference.

Recipes: Some of the recipes call for gourmet ingredients that one may not typically have on hand, such as kombu seaweed flakes, tawny Port, or Thai red curry paste. I flagged the following recipes to make at home:

Classics - New England Clam Chowder
Simple Soups - Puree of Vegetable Soup, Broccoli-Leek Soup
Dinner Party Soups - Three-Mushroom Soup With Sherry, Mussels Mariniere
Winter Soups - Black Bean Soup With Salsa Crema, Provence-Style Fish Stew
Chicken Soups - Avgolemono, Thai-Style Curried Chicken Soup

Imagery: The images are abundant and appetizing.

Overall Rating: I'm a huge fan of this book, which contains lots of staple soup recipes. If you're already a soup whiz with an expansive recipe collection, this book may not be for you, but if you're on the market for a soup cookbook, this affordable book could just be the one. Have you checked it out yet?

All the News That's Fit to Eat

YumSugar — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:57:14 -0800

A Wednesday food section roundup for March 7, 2007.

Uh oh, has the trans fat ban gone too far? After all, natural trans fat is found in many normal products. Will this change the way we bake? - New York Times - Photographs by Lars Klove for The New York Times. Sources: Department of Agriculture; National Dairy Council; NutritionData.com; Mindy Herman, registered diet
This year's rising star chefs are young (24-28). Is their youth and energy reflected in their dishes? - San Francisco Chronicle
Fact or Fiction? Find out how much you really know with this nutritional quiz. - Chicago Tribune
Cooking for one doesn't have to mean take out and frozen food. - Boston Globe
Talk about timing! This week I declared banana as the Secret Ingredient and now I see I'm not the only going bananas for bananas. - Seattle Times
What did I tell you? Flavored waters are in. - Houston Chronicle
New wine guys are selling us more than wine, now they're selling us a wine lifestyle too.- Los Angeles Times

The Next Food Network Star - 3.4 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:03:18 -0700

Before I start with last night's Next Food Network Star recap, I have a quick question: Would you actually watch a show hosted by any of these folks? None of them seem that likable. I once rooted for Adrien, but he's coming across as blah. Then I rooted for Amy, but she's too snooty/whiny. Paul is unfortunately too wound up for Food TV, Rory seems too much like everyone else on the network, Michael seems robotic and Jag, well Jag is sometimes downright scary. So, which of these contestants deserves the chance to build an empire? I'm not sure, but to find out who's no longer in the running, read more

Last night started off with the contestants headed to Fort Dix to cook for the military. Surprisingly, Giada is once again the guest host & judge, although Paula Deen does make an appearance - causing me to wonder why she wasn't the host/judge. Does Giada pull in higher ratings or is Paula too pricey?

The contestants start things off by taking MREs (Meal Ready to Eat) and re-inventing them into something a little more edible and tasty. They have 20 minutes to make it and 1 minute to present it. Amy says the word gourmet too many times, Adrien has the least flavorful dish and barely "made" anything, Jag had the worst presentation and a spicy stew, Rory made nothing memorable, Michael said MRI instead of MRE and Paul had a pretty nice presentation talking about carbs and nutrition. And although he was talking quite fast (Giada actually cut him off with a curt, "Thanks Paul"), Paul is the winner with best presentation and flavor.

With a win in his back pocket, Paul is now told to divide the group into three teams (he & Jag, Rory & Amy, Michael & Adrien) and to choose which dish each is going to prepare. They have to serve either lasagna, meatloaf or chicken pot pies to 75 military folks and are given 2 hours to prepare and prep and 3 minutes to present.

Here's where things start going crazy. Jag and Paul find out their oven doesn't work, so they deep fry their bacon wrapped meatloafs. Amy discovers there's no brown sugar, so she whines to Paula who says, "It'll be sweet and that's all that matters." Amy & Rory can't get their giant pasta pot to drain. Michael & Adrien forget to thaw their fruit and decide to serve it frozen. Once again, I wonder, "Would I actually watch any of these shows?"

When the food is ready, it's time to present. Jag and Paul are actually a lot of fun on stage - Paul even does several pushups. Michael awkwardly talks about Vietnam and Amy & Rory decide to flirt their way into the audience's heart. Ultimately Jag and Paul are declared victors with their deep-fried meatloaf and funny routine. However once everyone's in front of panel, things get emotional. I know I would probably do the same, but keep it together folks, you're on TV! There's no crying in TV! Oh wait, there is, and last night there was LOTS of it. Jag, Amy and Michael cried and a think Rory shed a little tear too. In fact I'm sort of surprised that the whole gang didn't break down. Come on Adrien and Paul, are you dead inside or what!?

In the end, Michael is sent home and the rest of the folks move on to the next round. Next week's episode looks especially interesting. Alton Brown is the guest host/judge and from the preview things look like they go horribly awry. In fact, Alton is even shown saying, "Send them all home and start over." I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

Oh and if you think you can do better than any of these folks, they're currently looking for season 4 contestants.

Even Better Than The "Real Thing"

YumSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:13:13 -0700

Holy Cannoli Batman! Get us to Costco stat!

Just in time for Cinco De Mayo, cases of authentic Mexican Coca Cola have been spotted at Costco. They're able to sell it since they've conformed to the US and California's regulations, such as labeling the CRV (the recycling deposit) and nutrition facts.

So why is this news? Well it tastes different, it's made from sugar instead of corn syrup, and people even say that the fizz lasts longer due to the glass bottle. The Atlanta based Coca-Cola Co. considers Mexican Coke in America to be a form of "bootlegging."

"We believe that the appeal of Mexican Coke is as much about nostalgia as it is about anything," says Martin. "It's like getting a piece of home in a bottle. You can't deny the fact that it's in a tall glass bottle, something you just can't find in most parts of the United States."

But it's the "same exact product," and Mexican bottlers are buying the ingredients straight from the company, says Martin.

If it's the same product, then tell me why they sell a kosher Coke during Passover that uses sugar, and tastes more like Mexican Coke?

Also, I wonder where the folks at Costco are getting their Mexican Coke from.

"[The non-Coca-Cola distributors are] trespassing on the territory rights of many U.S. bottlers," said Coke spokesman Martin. "Bringing it into the country is not illegal. But what it does do from the Coca-Cola standpoint is it violates contractual rights that we have with our bottlers. And it has potential trademark right infringements as well."

Hrmm... I better get myself to Costco while it's still available!

Source: SFist and Santa Cruz Sentinel
Image Source: slworking2 on Flickr - Thanks for documenting this for us!

Blessed Be Thy Chocolate

YumSugar — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:28:31 -0700

Quick, what comes to mind when you think Easter? I bet some of you said Chocolate Bunnies and some of you probably said Jesus, but did any of you say Chocolate Jesus??

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro has created a confectionary Christ made from more than 200 pounds of chocolate (entitled "My Sweet Lord"). The folks at Esquire have even broken down the nutrition facts for the anatomically correct chocolate Jesus. The sculpture will be revealed to the public on April 1st (which, by the way, made me think it was a joke when I first read it) at the Lab gallery in the Roger Smith Hotel in New York. The creative director of the gallery, Matt Semler, says, "The sign of any great artist is how their work affects the observer."

So how are you affected by it?

Update: Due to the large number of protests, it looks like the Chocolate Jesus won't be shown afterall.

Source: Esquire