Are you vegan and eating like crap? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. A recent piece in the Los Angeles Times titled, “Pantry Raid: Being Vegan Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Being Healthy” (click here), basically argued what we already know — lifestyle labels like “omnivore,” “vegetarian,” and “vegan” are umbrella terms and in no way indicate the healthiness of a person. We all know plenty of omnivores AND vegans who live off processed junk. Two good things I will take from this piece: 1) the reminder to make the time to plan meals in advance and to stock up on healthy staples. If you need a reminder of why to limit your intake of processed foods, even vegans ones, click here (and, speaking of vegan processed foods, chat about the worst-tasting ones here — Looks like Daiya’s got some haters, yo!); and 2) the reminder of how important it is to empower yourself with knowledge and respectfully disagree with “experts,” if need be. If you read the article, you might’ve noticed how the nutritional subject-matter-expert quoted immediately sparked concerns of protein- and calcium-deficiencies. While these are legitimate concerns for the couple in question, I know that, in general, this is the first place many non-vegetarian dietitians go when they meet their dietary counterparts — “*gasp* you NEED milk!” mixed in with twenty consecutive uses of “protein.” Yea…

Another write-up I found interesting was this one titled, “Steak or Veggie Burger: Which is Greener” on the site Mother Jones. Of course, I always enjoy the comments section more than the article itself (people are crazy, if ya know what I mean). The best thing I gleaned from this article — the impetus to reflect on the limits of “green-ness” as a consumer. Because let’s face it, yes, we could argue until the cows come home (or don’t *dun dun dun*) about whether eating processed meat versus eating processed non-meat is more environmentally-friendly, or even possible for sustainability purposes, on a world-wide scale. The fact of the matter is that as long as we’re a big-time for-profit consumerist culture, we’re simply arguing over shades of green; and while those shades matter, to some degree, we’ve got to look at the bigger picture, ya’ll. Consume less, buy less from Big Food Co. (you know that Kellogg owns Kashi, etc. – vegetarian and vegan products don’t necessarily come from mom-and-pop operations). Buying less processed food in general (I’m not saying don’t buy any), and focusing on buying what’s local (in season), is going to make more of an impact than arguing about whether cows fed grass actually fart more than their slop-fed counterparts. That’s my opinion. And it’s also me preaching to myself and wondering how I’m going to fit in my “ooh! look at all the vegan Costco finds” post I had in mind for later next week without being a big hypocrite lol

In fun news, I nearly fainted from nerdom when I saw this trailer spoof for a Fight Club movie set in Austen’s time with her protagonists. If you couldn’t tell by my Jane-Austen-related posts here and here, I, um, love Jane Austen. But don’t let my love for the Regency period overshadow my love for all things Chuck Palahniuk. You’ve got to check this out!

And more fun stuff, check out this online gallery of food-related propaganda posters from WWI and WWII via the Smithsonian Institute here. It’s so interesting to remember how world-wars affected food supply and how food scarcity affected the zeitgeist — certainly not something I can relate to personally.

If you’re looking for something fun to do this Friday (besides seeing Dinner with Schmucks which the boyf and I can’t wait to see!), check out this dessert-centered event in L.A.

$35 bucks and you get to taste-test lots of delicious desserts, wines and cheeses, including vegan desserts from BabyCakes NYC, and more! More info. here.

Anyone care to opine on his/her of processed-food consumption or whether they think there is a definite “more green” line between a beef or veggie burger? Anyone love Austen and Palahniuk, too? Wanna see Dinner with Schmucks?

<3,

The Cranky One

Hey guys!  Happy Sunday! I wanted to point your attention to an article in The New York Times a few days ago called “‘Yes!’ to Pop Tarts! Panel Approves Bake-Sale Rules” (2/25/10) here. The article discusses a decision made by New York’s Panel for Education Policy to ban home-made goods from school bake-sales and yet allow processed foods so long as they meet a list of agreed-upon criteria (generated by the panel). If you haven’t been keeping up on NY schools and their bake sale policies (why am I — grad student on the West Coast — paying attention, you ask? For some of us it’s scantily-clad vampire and werewolf men, for others *cough,* it’s food debates! , then here’s the gist:

• A while ago (and before the article referenced above), most bake-sales used to raise funds for school programs were banned in NY city school. See article here (10/2/09). Reasons cited for this include, “Roughly 40 percent of the city’s elementary and middle school students are overweight or obese, according to the Education Department. The department also found a correlation between student health and performance on standardized tests, according to a survey it released in July.” Read the city’s proposed changes memo here, which includes only using vending machines from those the city has a contract with (hmm sounds fishy, no?) and putting timers on the machines so that its contents are inaccessible during meal times.
• Because the above regulation left school programs, clubs and activities hurting since they had relied on bake-sales to raise funds, the city panel amended the rules this past Wednesday.  “Under the new rules, students may sell fresh fruits and vegetables, or one of 27 specific packaged items that have been approved for sales in city vending machines, between the start of school and 6 p.m. on weekdays. The same goes for parent groups, except for an exception carved out for one no-brownies-barred Parent Teacher Association bake sale during the school day per month.”
• Some of the criteria the packaged foods have to meet include that they are one serving only, under 200 calories, without Splenda, and with less than 35% of the calories coming from sugar or fat, among other restrictions.

I guess I’ll say a couple nice things before I unleash the cranky. It’s great that school officials are talking about and taking seriously the fact that we rely too much on processed junk in our schools — both from the vending machines and served up in the cafeteria. Just the fact that people are noticing how kids are duped by lack of information and by misrepresentations by food companies — serving size tricks, crap foods masquerading as health foods, yadda yadda yadda — is awesome. But is saying no to home-baked foods because “’it’s impossible to know what the content is, or what the portion size is’” and yet allowing certain foods like Doritos and Pop Tarts to pass the check-list appropriate? Maybe “appropriate” isn’ the right word. Is this the smart thing to do? If we’re talking about the impossibility of knowing “content” of food, I hardly think Pop Tarts’s ingredients list would fall into a “knowable” range given you’d need to hand a kid a dictionary and chemical engineer to translate.

(Don’t mind my half-ass art. I couldn’t find a picture that said “LAYS in a state of a nature” so I made my own!)

I can just imagine little Johnny goes home from school to a mom who greets him excitedly with home-made banana bread to which he briskly asserts, “mom, I don’t know what you put in that crap, now hand me my Doritos!”

I think skepticism of packaged food is seriously warranted. But we’re kinda talking out of both sides of our crumb-filled mouths if we then allow specific food companies to monopolize our vending machines and “bake-sales” with their pre-approved packaged garbage. Sure, it’s a great idea to limit the sheer volume of crap being sold to kids on campus. Even better to limit it to items that are one-serving and under 200 calories, versus those king-sized monstrosities I so enjoyed in my youth. But what kind of message our we sending if we’re saying, in one breath, take control of your health! And then in another saying, “and it’s only food companies who can show you the way!” I get it if people worry that PTA moms add too much sugar to their blondies and macaroons and serve up cookies the size of baseball mitts, but is banning home-made goods the smart thing to do? Also, we’re sending the wrong message if kids equate the healthiness of an item with its being under 200 calories. We all know you can eat 200 calories of crap. We also know that calories from processed foods are not accepted and treated the same by our bodies as whole foods are.

Howell Wechsler with the CDC said something that stuck with me: “’Schools are supposed to be a place where we establish a model environment, and the last thing kids need is an extra source of pointless calories.’”

Hmm. Stripping responsibility from kids and families and putting it in the hands of food companies doesn’t seem like a model environment — though I can see how it would certainly be a profitable one for food companies and the politicians lobbying for them. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity for kids and families to discuss how to read food labels, how to decipher what all that ingredient crap is in the foods they buy, how to make healthy home-made treats? (I’m sure parents need to learn this stuff as much as, if not more than, their children do!). Shouldn’t we be empowering people with knowledge? If we didn’t have food companies banking off of misguided consumers and monopolizing our airwaves, t.v.s, and grocery stores it certainly would be easier for families to navigate the basic human necessity to eat. But it ain’t that simple these days, my friends.

What do  you think about policy makers banning home-made goods from schools and yet advocating portion-controlled processed foods? Where do you draw the line between school responsibility and personal responsibility? Who should be teaching our kids about nutrition?

I’d love your thoughts!

<3,

The Cranky One

So, The New York Times featured, yet again, a story on Michael Pollan’s Food Rules. Check it out here – it’s rad as per usual. I’ve written about Pollan, I dunno, like 3 times or more. Let’s face it — I’m in love with this whole literary journalism/literary science writing thing where lit. people get to publish books on science and culture and actually impart change instead of writing about people who do. It’s a very active and fulfilling career, from my standpoint, and after doing some deep thinking about my love for Pollanesque books and my new found love for my ecocriticism class, I’m thinking my senior thesis might be my own Pollan-like manifesto on culture, the environment and our waistlines. All you smarties out there who have book recommendations on American culture, food production, the environment and/or obesity, please recommend in the comments — I’d be so grateful! The thing I enjoyed most from this article were the following “Reasons to Change” — My notes are in bold text:

“Two fundamental facts provide the impetus Americans and other Westerners need to make dietary changes. One, as Mr. Pollan points out, is that populations who rely on the so-called Western diet — lots of processed foods, meat, added fat, sugar and refined grains — ‘invariably suffer from high rates of the so-called Western diseases: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.’ Indeed, 4 of the top 10 killers of Americans are linked to this diet.

As people in Asian and Mediterranean countries have become more Westernized (affluent, citified (citified = more urban/city-like) and exposed to the fast foods exported from the United States), they have become increasingly prone to the same afflictions.

The second fact is that people who consume traditional diets, free of the ersatz (ersatz = artificial and inferior)  foods that line our supermarket shelves, experience these diseases at much lower rates. And those who, for reasons of ill health or dietary philosophy, have abandoned Western eating habits often experience a rapid and significant improvement in their health indicators.

I will add a third reason: our economy cannot afford to continue to patch up the millions of people who each year develop a diet-related ailment, and our planetary resources simply cannot sustain our eating style and continue to support its ever-growing population.” (Check out the book Diet for a Small Planet– it talks about our food choices and the sustainability of our resources). 

Frankly, I’ve still got one foot on the yellow-brick road to good health and the other on the concrete of despair. I still eat a lot of “processed” foods even if they are indeed healthy. For instance, I eat a lot of organic whole-wheat and brown rice, preservative-free tortillas and even though they only contain wholesome ingredients, I think they might still be considered processed. The lines get fuzzy and it’s hard to decipher sometimes when I’m being a food Nazi and when I’m genuinely acting in my best interest. Pollan, help me out! These food definitions can get quite nebulous. p.s. Dear NY Times, stop using fancy words that I have to look up because it really gives a blow to my English-master-student ego. Thanks.

I also have to wonder — do you think we’re demonizing the American diet? Do you think the description of the standard American diet rings true for those in your social circle? Or is the SAD (Standard American Diet) getting unfairly criticized?

How do YOU define “processed” foods?

<3,

The Cranky One

Related Posts

• What You Should Know About Food
• Rules to Eat By & Rules to Live By

A Fruit is Just a Fruit, Right?

Photo from Travelinfoo55 on Flickr here

Battle of the (Wallet) Bulge

How do your grocery stores match up?

I’ve typically bought most of my produce from Costco because I eat so much of it and was under the impression I was getting the best price.  If you see the above chart, my local ethnic grocery store consistently offers substantially lower prices than Costco.  Costco, however, consistently offers lower prices than Albertson’s. For instance, for a bag of carrots, I would save $2.00 a bag if I bought them from my local ethnic grocery store instead of Albertson’s.  Additionally, for gala apples, I would save almost a dollar per pound at my ethnic grocery store in comparison to Albertson’s.

My Money-Saving Tips

• Make a list of your staples (the foods you consistently buy) and a spreadsheet like I did above. Compare prices between at least three grocery stores and even check out your local farmers’ market! I know this is a time commitment, but I think it’s worth it.  Consider calling a friend who shops at a different market than you do and ask him or her to take note of the prices for you.  Be resourceful to save time and money!
• If you buy processed foods, particularly those marketed as health foods that you can only find at health food stores, consider buying them in bulk from amazon.com’s grocery section here, or Healthy Snacks Direct here.
• Don’t knock coupons!  Take one day a week to scour newspapers and the web for good deals and coupons.  Consider splitting the job with a friend, or swapping coupons.  Find coupons for grocery stores here, as well.
• Sign up for e-mail newsletters from your favorite stores (sign up for Whole Foods’ here) and products to stay on top of sales, score coupons and occasionally be let in on a sale before everyone else!

A note about organics:  If buying organic produce is important to you, consider the following “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables that have been found to have the highest levels of pesticide residues.  These are the produce items to consider shelling out extra dough for:

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Source: organic.org

A note about ethnic grocery stores (based on the store I frequent)

• Do not sell organic options
• Do not sell whole-wheat pastas or breads
• Offer lots of cool spices and seasonings you wouldn’t typically find elsewhere
• Offer some cool produce options like chayote and nopales that you wouldn’t typically find elsewhere

A General Note About Grocery Stores

• Watch for expiration dates
• Watch for sketchy items? (I didn’t think I’d have to write the above or this, but my recent price comparison trip allowed me to face the truth that grocery stores in lower income areas tend to be more lax about expiration dates and even selling items clearly marked as “Do Not Sell”

Le sigh. And yes, I brought my camera to the grocery store!

My Final Long-Winded Message?

At the end of the day, it’s not necessarily about what’s better, it’s about what’s better for YOU.  At this point in time, I care most about price.  I have cut a lot of packaged foods, even “healthy” packaged foods, from my diet simply because they are not worth the price to me.  Since I do eat at least one apple a day, I am considering shelling out the extra dough to buy organic and will also make a point to visit my local farmers’ market.  Since foods like kiwis and bananas have a shell or skin that is not consumed, I am not inclined to buy organic at this time.  Consider what’s important to you and consider how much money you could save simply by doing a little research.

In the News

• Calorie Lab‘s, “Taxing Fat People Won’t Be the Solution for Health Care” (8/17/09) here
• Calorie Lab‘s, “Two views of Orthorexia: Problem for Babies and Relationships” (8/1709) here
• Science Daily‘s, “Excessive Exercise Can be Addicting, New Study Finds” (8/18/09) here
• Mail Online‘s, “Devil’s food? The Surprising Health Benefits of the Humble Spud” (8/16/09) here

Give-Away Round Up

• Did you enter my give-away here for some Feed Granola and other loot? ;D
• Win a Lebert Equalizer here
• Win some Full Bites here
• Win some Puffins, Larabars and other loot here
• Win jam in one give-away and a load of loot in another, both here

Do you guys have any money-saving tips you would so kindly share with me?!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

<3, The Cranky One

Lisa offers healthier alternatives to some mainstream fatty foods in her e-newsletter, website, and books.  Her most recent book, a best seller, is called Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories.  I own it and use it for ideas on how to lighten up my fave foods.

She addressed the Washington Post article, published April 24, 2009 and titled, “‘Hungry Girl’ Has Found the Way to a Snacking Nation’s Heart,” in her e-newsletter yesterday.  Does she mind being called “The Queen of Processed Foods”?

Nope.  This is her response:

“…let’s face it: America eats processed food. These foods tempt us all day, every day. It’s unrealistic to think that the average person, who’s faced with fast food and processed food on a regular basis, can flip a switch and start following a completely rigid diet of 100% ‘clean’ foods. It just is. While it may work for some people, it’s not reasonable for the masses. So Hungry Girl provides a happy medium — a bridge between the average junk-food diet and the idealistic way of eating perfectly ‘healthy’ at all times. It’s not about following an all-processed-food diet. It’s a REALISTIC approach to better-for-you eating that people can actually live with and feel good about. Many of the processed foods I write about and use in recipes give people a way to fulfill their cravings for fattening items like fried foods, pizza, sweets, etc., without taking in a crazy amount of calories and fat. In other words, it helps people maintain a healthy weight without feeling deprived. Personally, while I do rely on those foods to tackle serious cravings, I’m actually sort of boring when it comes to my everyday food staples. I definitely don’t eat processed food all the time. I eat a lot of protein — things like turkey, chicken, egg whites, fish (tons of sushi with as little rice as possible), and steak (once in a while). I love to eat salads with low-fat cheeses, a LOT of veggies, and a small amount of fat-free or low-fat dressing (or none at all — I’m not a huge fan of dressing on my salads).”

What do YOU think? 

And Lisa isn’t the only one assuming, and banking on, that American’s love processed foods but want healthier alternatives.  The well-known Best Life program and Eat This, Not That franchise do too.  The Best Life program (known for Bob Green who became well-known through Oprah) puts its emblem on products it deems healthy.  It appears on products ranging from Skinny Cow ice creams to Slim Fast.  The program even boasts that eating foods with their label will “Help You Stay Healthy and Lose Weight.” I am conflicted on the issue of processed foods because I think there’s really a lot going on here.

Processed Foods.  Almost everything we eat is by definition processed some how.  I agree with Hungry Girl that it is unrealistic to tell someone who is trying to live a healthier lifestyle after years of eating 2 Big Macs a day to shop only the perimeter of the grocery store for fruits and veggies.  Give me a break.  Some people grow up only knowing processed foods and to change their lifestyles by 180 degrees in a split-second may work for a day.  Then a fast food billboard will start calling their name and they’ll phone a friend for an emergency McFlurry.  We can’t deny fast food and processed junk is ubiquitous. But…this leads to another issue.  Sure, I think processed foods are okay here and there.  But not all the time.  And really, all processed foods are not created equal and you should be an educated consumer.  At the end of the day, Best Life etc. are money makers.  Skinny Cow products, for instance, are loaded with high fructose corn syrup (but note, if you check my freezer, you will find some of their ice creams in there mmm yummy).  Slim Fast has the Best Life emblem? Yea. Alright. I guess it helps people manage their hunger and helps some lose weight and that alone can drop blood pressure, decrease chances for diabetes, etc., so that makes it “healthy.” But Slim Fast also might teach people to rely on their products instead of learning how to choose their own foods. My point?  Everything is give and take.  Be smart. Read labels. Weigh what’s best for YOU. Personally, I do not eat a lot of processed foods and don’t eat any “fast food.”  But that’s after years of evolving habits that just naturally progressed to where I am now. 

There’s also another part of the processed foods debates that has to do 1. with FDA approvals and the little icky things allowed to be present in our food and 2. the little icky things found in our food disguised by fancy scientific names.  I don’t want to get into it too much because it might gross you out and because, honestly, I don’t know too much about the issue aside from the fact that food processors are given some lenience to things like rodent hairs and insect parts being present in their food.  I have heard the counter argument that these “icky” things are present in “natural” foods as well.  If you know more about this issue, please share.

Some related articles/blog postings you might enjoy: 

• Fit Sugar’s “Are You Label Able?”
• Yum Yucky’s blog entry “Filthy Hidden Secrets of Canned & Frozen Foods”
• Yahoo’s Six Junk Foods Go Good (Guest post by Hungry Girl) – Read the comments. I love seeing people debate these things.
• Men’s Health’s 11 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Wow, all this talk of processed food really makes me think about my newly processed hair (hahah how do you like that segue?):

Is it too early in the morning for a self-indulgent “me shot”?    Have a wonderful day!