16 foods with more sugar than a Krispy Kreme donut

Kind of shocking!
This chart shows 16 foods that have more sugar than a Krispy Kreme donut, and for added impact, it shows you how many donuts you would have to eat in order to equal the amount of sugar. 
 
I trust no one will be surprised to learn that a can of Coke and a Frappuccino made it on the list. Then we have the category of "so-called healthy even though I know it really isn't" foods, like frozen yogurt, canned fruit, and blueberry Greek yogurt. Even the Kind bar that clocks in at about 1.25 Krispy Kreme donuts isn't that big a shock.
 
But for me, the biggest surprise (and the saddest) was all the foods that you wouldn't think of as "sweet." For example, a Subway Meatball Marinara sub sandwich, a breakfast sandwich from McDonald's, and a side order of coleslaw all make the list.
 
This is a great example of how companies will put sugar into everything they can - and why we should all be diligent about reading the nutritional information, so that we can be informed consumers!

FDA tells Kind bars to cut the marketing

Too many unsupported claims
The FDA has recently rapped the knuckles of Kind bars (full disclosure: my favorite snack) for their misleading wrapper claims. Apparently according to the government, Kind bars contain too much fat to label themselves "healthy." 
 
"Healthy" is a word with a specific meaning, when it comes to the legality of labeling. For one thing, the food must have 1 gram or less of saturated fat. Unfortunately, it seems that every variety of Kind bars contain up to five grams of saturated fat. Kind bars also use the "plus" to designate bars with added fiber or protein, but the government requires that you have at least 10% more of something before you can use "plus" in the name.

Frozen Food Statistics

Inforgraphic provided by Nestle

Hello!

I saw your site and loved all the food related content! I thought I would
pass along a piece of information that you might find interesting. This
infographic is about how frozen food can be a great way to supplement a
home-cooked meal or benefit a busy family.

http://www.nestleusa.com/Media/press-releases/FrozenFoodHabits.aspx

If this is something that might interest you or your readers, please feel
free to put it up on your site! There is an embed code located below the
image for an easy copy and paste. Please let me know if you have any
questions! Hope you have a great day!

Thank you
Eric

Sriracha Mania comes to Subway

Are you ready for something called "creamy sriracha?"

Could this be the last stop on the Sriracha Train? Surely a trend is dead when it finally arrives at Subway Sandwiches. Subway is now serving something called "creamy sriracha sauce," which takes the Internet's favorite condiment (well… maybe second favorite, behind Nutella) and Americanizes it by making it creamy - and presumably less spicy in the process.

The Internet freakin' loves sriracha, and I have never been entirely sure why. Sure, I love sriracha. I put it on all kinds of stuff. I, like a lot of people, learned about it in the early 2000s as "rooster sauce," a bright red bottle of pain placed on every table at a local teriyaki joint. 
 
But I don't love it enough to get a tattoo made, or sell thousands of posters and bumper stickers. I'm not sure I feel that passionate about any condiment, to tell you the truth, no matter how delicious it is. (And make no mistake, sriracha IS delicious. I'm not disparaging the sauce itself.)
 
Subway is currently testing creamy sriracha in their Santa Ana stores. Oh, how I dislike Subway. Not the sandwiches per se, which seem reasonably competent. Certainly better than the usual fast food fare, with actual vegetables and all. It's nice to be able to pick up a lunch for about five bucks that isn't completely battered and deep fried.
 
The smell of the stores is certainly objectionable, of course. I recently learned that the distinctive Subway smell is partly due to the smell of the proofing dough, apparently. This seems plausible enough, although it has a special chemical tang to the odor which makes me a little bit concerned about what exactly is going into their bread. 
 
No, what I really hate about Subway is that they quiz you on every single ingredient. Any sensible deli will hand you a slip of paper and have you tick the boxes for the things you want on your sandwich. Instead of that endless shuffle sideways down the line as a dissatisfied (and probably stoned) "sandwich artist" quizzes you in an incomprehensible mumble, the words in the specific question worn down to nubs by over-use, like stones worn smooth in a river bed. 
 
"Lettucetomatoespickle."
"Cucumberpeppersonions."
"Mustardmayosaltpepperoilvinegar."
 
It's a special sort of death for anyone with social anxiety. Nothing is worse than having to ask a complete stranger to repeat themselves, and then they just say the same thing exactly the way they just said it, and you still can't understand it. What a terrible experience. JUST GET ORDER PADS, SUBWAY!
 

The three ways to win a potluck

Winning strategies for that most dismal of affairs.

This is potluck season. Whether it's an office potluck, a family potluck, or a social event at your church, hobbyist group, knitting circle, or what have you, potlucks are an event with a surprisingly high emotional overhead. How do you want to win? What strategy should you employ?

Winning Scenario 1: Cheapest
If your goal is to spend as little money as possible for this stupid potluck (hey, you've got gifts to buy and rent to make!) then your first order of business should be to scour your cupboards. What can you put together with the ingredients you already have at hand? 
 
Suggestions: If you have a can of refried beans, you're just a Taco Seasoning packet away from bean dip. (No need to bring the chips - someone else will bring a bag, guaranteed. And even if they don't, who cares? You've done your duty.)
 
Winning Scenario 2: Easiest
You're okay with spending a little money, but you don't want to spend any time or mental effort on this potluck. Your best option is to swing by the store on your way to the potluck and buy a few things that require no more effort than setting them on the card table with everything else. Boom: done.
 
Suggestions: A 2-liter each of Coke, Diet Coke, 7-Up, and diet 7-up. A few bags of chips (at least one bag of tortilla chips to help out the person employing Scenario 1). A box of assorted cookies from the bakery. A tub of pre-made salad from the deli department. 
 
NOTE: Please don't get those cold tortilla wrap pinwheel sandwiches with the turkey and cream cheese. No one likes those. They are an abomination.
 
Winning Scenario 3: Full-On Martha Stewart Double Rainbow
Your eyes are on the prize! You're willing to do whatever it takes to win this potluck. Bonus points for any of the following qualities in your entrée (but only if you tell people about it, obviously): organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, treasured family recipe, locally-sourced ingredients.
 
If you're not a good cook, don't despair! You can still win this category by bringing either a chocolate fountain or a cheese fondue, or both. People go crazy for that stuff.
 
Suggestion: If this is your first time with the recipe, do a trial run at least a week in advance. Make only half as much as you think you will need - always leave them wanting more! Cultivate an air of mystery: when people ask you for the recipe, offer to email it to them, and then never do so.
 

Meatballs: Easy, delicious and versatile

Perfect for holiday potlucks.

Meatballs were something I had always wanted to try making. I assumed they were a difficult, time-consuming chore. I could not have been more wrong! Not only are meatballs easy to make, they also are great in the slow cooker.

Last weekend I made my first trip to Meatball Land, and it turned out great. Meatballs may be the easiest thing you can make with ground beef. Even meatloaf requires a longer cook time and more ingredients, although you don't have to spend as much time shaping it. (Time spent shaping meatballs: about 2 minutes.)
 
There are a lot of different meatball variations, depending on what you want to do with them. I was planning to put my meatballs in a delicious sauce in the slow cooker, for an upcoming office party. Therefore, I chose to make my meatballs bland, because the sauce was going to be the real star.
 
For a basic meatball:
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Mix up about a pound of hamburger with an egg, plus a dash of salt. 
  • Form them into balls about an inch across, somewhere around the size of a golf ball. Small enough that you can eat it in one bite, in other words.
  • Bake the meatballs in a greased 9x13 pan for 20 minutes, until there is no pink in the middle (165 degrees F).
 
That's it!
 
An aside: The best way to do the mixing is by hand. Just set aside your squeamishness and get in there - as with creating hamburger patties, it's really the only way to form them right. Be sure to wash your hands well when you are done, though.
 
If you want a spicy or Italian meatball, just add the spices to the ground beef. Italian meatballs are delicious with spaghetti sauce, of course. A dash of Italian seasonings will really bring out the flavor. Drain the fat from the meatballs, then simmer them in spaghetti sauce for several hours to get the flavor really baked in. 
 
Swedish meatballs just need a cream sauce to become a little taste of Ikea right in your home.  Serve with lingonberry sauce and a flat pack Billy bookcase to complete the experience.
 
Many meatball recipes include bread crumbs to help fill out the form. However, my own test has shown that these are not necessary. If you prefer to go low-carb or gluten free, your meatballs will turn out just fine with egg as a binder.

Slate vs. the grapefruit

Grapefruit is terrible, but I love it anyway.

A recent opinion piece on Slate has stirred up some controversy. Author Katy Waldman chose the inflammatory title "Grapefruit Is Disgusting," and things only go downhill (for grapefruits) from there.

Waldman is right in every factual sense. But wrong overall. And it's difficult to explain why. 
 
In order to assess the grapefruit properly, you have to strip away all the bogus health claims that have been made in its favor over the years. As Waldman points out, just about every other fruit is higher in vitamin C and other antioxidants than the grapefruit.
 
And contrary to whackadoo dietary claims, the grapefruit does not have magical fat burning powers. (However, it is true that you will lose weight on the Grapefruit Diet. You would lose weight on any diet that restricted your intake so severely, regardless of the specific fruit it focused on.)
 
In many ways, the grapefruit can be grouped with the cranberry. Both are brightly colored fruits, and aren't we supposed to eat more of those? Both taste so awful that you think they must be good for you. And yet both are routinely trumped by other, more pleasant fruits in every possible nutritional respect. And yet, we continue to eat them.
 
I am coming at this from the opposite angle as Waldman. I had a life-long horror of grapefruits. I refused them in every form. That is, until earlier this year, when I decided to give them another try. I realized that I was about to turn 40 and I thought that I hated grapefruit, but I could not remember ever having eaten one. That seemed unfair and also strangely midlife-crisis-ish. So I tried one, and it was difficult to eat, but tasty for all that. 
 
From there, I moved on to unsweetened grapefruit juice. The Hard Stuff, in other words. I really dig grapefruit juice, in a sort of masochistic way. Maybe there is something about being old that makes you attracted to grapefruit. All kinds of things happen when you are 40 that seemed unthinkable earlier in your life. People have been known to start flossing regularly, and talk about refinancing their mortgages. It's a crazy time. 
 
Before throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I personally would urge Waldman to try a grapefruit/avocado salad. Open a can of grapefruit, drain the juice, mix with equal parts cut avocado, add salt and pepper. It's a dish that is simple in construction, but something really amazing happens with the flavors. I can't even explain it. You just have to try it, it's truly spectacular!

World's quickest donuts

Make your own donuts with only a handful of ingredients.

I just love Pinterest. I was recently inspired by a tip I saw on Pinterest that showed me how to make donuts at home in only a few minutes. Since then, I've tried this tip and had tremendous success. If you and your family enjoy donuts, but don't want to pay store prices, give this a try.

First, purchase a package of refrigerated biscuits. Separate them on a sheet of wax paper. Now you need to cut a hole in the center. Most people use shot glasses, but since I don't drink I had to get a little more creative. I used my daughter's old pill bottle. Don't worry, I washed it first. Save the holes as they make great donuts as well.

Second, you need to heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan. If you can afford to use coconut oil, use it. Coconut oil is extremely good for you, but I do understand that it is much more expensive.

Third, prepare your topping. There are several options where this is concerned. You can melt some cake icing in the microwave. You can also sift some powdered sugar, or create a cinnamon/sugar mixture to sprinkle over the completed donuts.

Fourth, place the donuts and donut holes in the oil a few at a time. Keep your eye on them. Mine cooked in record time. You'll need to flip them over once the bottoms become golden brown. Set the donuts on a plate that is covered with a paper towel.

Finally, while the donuts and donut holes are still hot, cover them with your toppings. Serve immediately, or store in plastic zipper bags for breakfast the following morning.

Cory Booker's food stamp odyssey

Newark mayor spends a week on a food stamp budget

 

Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is taking a week to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," so to speak. After being inspired by a Twitter spat, Booker decided to spend a week trying to get by on a food budget of $30, which is the average per-person allotment by the SNAP (a.k.a. food stamps) program. 
 
What Booker has found so far is that - surprise, surprise - it is possible to live on $30 a week, but it isn't easy. Booker has already experienced hunger pangs after eating lunch. And one night he had to make the (oh so familiar to many people) choice to either eat the last sweet potato, or go to bed hungry. (He chose to go to bed hungry and save the sweet potato for the next day). 
 
Booker began his week by making a trip to the grocery store. As you can see from the picture he Instagrammed (above), he shopped with the best of intentions, buying a lot of fresh produce as well as canned beans and vegetables, and a bottle of healthy olive oil. 
 
What Booker has since discovered is something that every low-income American already knows: vegetables are great for you, but they are not very filling. His lunch one day was "a can of peas and corn mixed together," which caused him to reflect that he should have spent more of his money on eggs (one of the most affordable sources of protein) and coffee (I guess Booker's office doesn't have a big coffee urn in the break room?).
 
Naturally, Booker's efforts are being Monday-morning quarterbacked all to hell and gone. I have seen a lot of people huffily exclaiming that "Booker is doing it wrong, where's his brown rice?" or "When I was in college I ate like a king on only $5 a week!" I can understand why people take this topic as an opportunity to brag or look smart, but trust me, this is not the time.
 
The point isn't that people CAN live on $30/week. Obviously they can, because millions of Americans are doing it. The point is that it's HARD. And that maybe it shouldn't be. 
 
Booker made some bad shopping decisions, and now he's paying for them. That's not much of a safety net, if you ask me. If someone buys a bag of salad when they should have bought eggs, and later in the week they suffer for this choice, that's a pretty lousy safety net. 

Crock Pot Chicken Stock

It's not just fun to say, it's also delicious - and thrifty!

 

Having gone gluten free this year, one of my new favorite convenience foods is the grocery store rotisserie chicken. You know the kind, they come in a plastic clamshell and sit under heat lamps, usually somewhere near the store entrance (where they entice the unwary). 
 
These rotisserie chickens are fast and easy (and fun to eat Barbarian Style). But they are not a very good value, pound for pound. If you read the label carefully, most of them are small - we're talking a three pound chicken at most. Subtract the weight of the carcass, and there is not a lot of meat on that little thing!
 
One great way to stretch your budget when you buy one of these is to make chicken stock the next day. I find the best strategy is to strip the meat as soon as you get home, when the chicken is still warm. If you pop it in the fridge and wait to do it until later, it's not only more difficult to get the meat off, it is also a much less pleasant task. All that cold congealed chicken goo.
 
The easiest way to make chicken stock is with a slow cooker. But you can make it on the stovetop too, as long as you can simmer it on low and keep checking it to make sure the pot hasn't run dry.
 
The basic ingredients are:
  • One chicken carcass
  • Some water
  • Salt to taste (no more than 1 teaspoon - you can always add more later)
 
How much water? Depends on how much stock you want to make. I would say 4 cups at a minimum. If you make too much, you can always freeze the extra for use later. I typically add 1-2 pints of water (as measured by a mason jar). 
 
If you want your stock to taste better, add any or all of the following:
  • Chopped carrots (about a cup)
  • Chopped celery (about a cup)
  • Chopped onion (about half a cup)
  • 1-2 bay leaves
  • 3-5 whole peppercorns
  • 1-5 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 T tomato paste (this gives it a wonderful rich color without affecting the taste)
 
Toss it all into the water and let it simmer for 6-10 hours on low. When it's done, the easiest way to strain it is to put a colander inside a larger bowl. Pour the whole thing into the colander, then lift the colander out, so that the broth remains inside the larger bowl. Delicious!

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