Allura

I've lurked here for years & years, and I truly regret never getting the courage to join any of the in person activities we used to have. But so many of the most memorable threads were ones that Steven started and hosted and I thank him for starting such a lively forum. My heart goes out to his family, especially his son, as it was Steven's love for PJ that I saw most clearly in his posts.

NJ liquor laws limit licenses to 3 stores per grocery chain. The 3 with alcohol in NJ are Westfield, apparently Princeton, and I think Cherry Hill or Florham Park/Morristown. I know the Matawan (? Monmouth County) one does not carry alcohol. Currently eating a lazy lunch of "parmesan pastry puffs" and mac & cheese bites, both from TJs, and both staples for lazy days around here.

How about what country for starters?

Are there any studies saying it's safer to use gloves vs bare hands? I would think people would be more inclined to wash their hands when they can feel that they've touched something. I can't wait to clean my hands after touching raw meat, for instance.

The way to avoid the stirring altogether is to store it (before opening, at least) upside down. The oil attempts to float to the top and basically self-emulsifies.

Is it filmed in Toronto? The US version is filmed in NYC and the majority of chefs are from that area. I wonder if travel costs are paid? If not, that could cause the skewing.

As someone with diabetes, I suggest that a low carb diet is the way to go. It's not a cookbook, but I actually recommend the Insulin Resistance diet. Most doctors will tell you to lose weight but not give you a lot of advice on how, and that is the only one that helped me to lose weight. The general idea is limiting carbs to no more than 30g in a two hour period. You really don't have a lot of things you can't eat if you follow that, you just have to chose your portion size appropriately. Casserole type dishes or pastas don't often work, but anything where you can have the starch component of a meal to the side and measure it out (2/3 C rice, for instance) will work. Sweets are more troubling. I prefer to cut them out and just limit myself to small portions of good quality sweets.

I second Out of Milk, which does indeed let you share across devices. It's very nice that I can add something to the list when it's my husband doing the shopping.

As a followup to the Nestle boycott (thank you for the link on it), here's a more current list of their brands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nestl%C3%A9_brands . The big thing that turned up on that one for me is Tidy Cat litter. I think that there's also a difference between a single statement that you object to vs actions that further a cause for which you disagree. And a difference between personal statements and the use of corporate funds for a cause. I probably will not participate in the Barilla boycott because I don't think there's an equivalent to Barilla Plus pasta on the market today. I'm not happy that i have to make that choice, because I do support gay rights. But I think that the statement made shows the character of the owner, but doesn't do a lot else other than that. Maybe it means I'm hypocritcal, I don't know.

Ok, I'm feeling ignorant here. What did Nestle do?

My mom did everything; I just brought dessert. Sadly, my mother also makes her matzo balls from a mix...I'd call them floaters, though. They're pretty light. For me, the highlight is really the brisket. My mother is an odd cook. She loves cooking shows, she tries things she sees, but she hates measuring, it's an argument every year over whether to use butter (my choice) or margarine (hers) for Christmas cookies, etc. When she does stuff truly from scratch (like the one time a year she makes homemade tomato sauce for Christmas Eve dinner), it's really good, but most of the time she's just fine with shortcuts. I'm not going to change her at this point.

Since it's a Rosh Hashanah thread...no pictures, but we had a belated meal of matzo ball soup followed by brisket, mashed potatoes, broccoli w/ cheese sauce (no Kosher in our house - Dad's the only one who's Jewish), and asparagus. Followed by a 7 layer cake and cupcakes, both purchased at the Italian bakery with kosher certification...I love NJ.

I drank a lot of apple juice as a child. These days it's water with every meal, coffee (reg) with or after breakfast, and coffee (decaf) or milk with dessert. My husband also drinks water with meals, and coffee or tea in the morning and occasionally a hard cider with dinner, or a sprite or some sort of sweet cocktail if we're out at a restaurant. He has no taste. He also grew up overseas (India, Morocco, Panama) and said it was difficult to find pastuerized milk, so he didn't grow up drinking it? We serve our 21-month old water with meals and milk with snacks, because milk is so filling he tends to not eat his meals otherwise. We simply don't buy soda, and I have to remember to buy it when I'm having company. And chocolate milk is a dessert/snack option, as was a shake when I was a kid...unless you were eating at an ice cream parlor, where you could order a shake instead of ice cream after the meal.

I almost always "brown bag," although I use an insulated lunch box with an ice pack. Work fridges are often full or have a lingering smell...I also bring breakfast, too (a frozen breakfast sandwich unless I've made a quiche or something instead). Today's lunch is just salad with 2 hard boiled eggs, and a bag of chips. There's a yogurt in there for later (TJs mango). Oh, and a piece of chocolate cake. Sometimes I go for a salad, usually it's leftovers, though. Occasionally a sandwich. My quirk to a sandwich is I make it on toast, but then I heat it up just a little bit in the microwave. If it's too cold, it's not very enjoyable. There is a cafeteria on site, but it's a few blocks away, and I'd rather go for a walk after I eat instead, especially since it's not very good, and doesn't seem to be particularly subsidized. Somehow, I always eat something that's not so good for me when I go there, like a cheesesteak, so it's better if I just take my own.

Having a child has given me a new perspective on this issue. We pretty much stick to "family friendly" places, bring toys, eat early, etc. He definitely gets screechy if we take too long. But, honestly, I blame the staff sometimes - why are you disappearing when my child is melting down? Help me get a box for the leftovers, get us the check, and get us out of there. If we just arrived, bring some bread, crackers, something right way/ask if you can put the child's food order in first. And thank you for moving the utensil bundle by me instead of leaving the knife in front of the kiddo. I will let my son walk around - in the lobby or some other appropriate area. We went to the local not-a-diner, and they have a big area behind the hostess desk with a waterfall. He was fascinated and had a chance to stretch his legs. I hovered and kept him out of traffic. It's possible. But sometimes we have extended-family stuff to do that involves being there later. If we're with family that wants to linger, DH has been known to take the toddler home earlier. I have to admit, I order the hot dog or the mac & cheese when we're out. I just don't want to spend the money on something unfamiliar until he's at least able to ask for it. This is not the time for him to freak because it tastes different. He can learn about different tastes at home. My big pet peeve is older children playing on tablets/portable games without interacting with the parents - and with the sound up. If I wasn't allowed a book at the table at that age, you can put your game away.

I've gone to a very simple but tasty setup: french press + medium-dark roast coarse ground in a hand grinder. I don't have the counter space for a fancy machine and don't really like espresso anyway. Lately my coffee of choice is TJ's Tarazzo. I used to get Kona but decided it's too sweet and light. Oh, and have to have a bit of milk in there.

For my mom it has to be chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Or lemon meringue pie. For me, my tastes are pretty varied, but I usually like cake for any special occasiona. I'm kinda craving a good coconut cake, actually. Or something with pineapple.

Absolutely get something food-wise in front of them. A lot of people get grumpy when hungry, so that's the easiest way to retain their goodwill. In general, I don't mind a mistake, it's how you handle it that tells me whether you care or not.

Fine, fine, preference was the wrong term. They lose weight when they eat a low fat diet. I lose weight when I eat a low carb diet. I do NOT lose weight when eating a calorie restrictive diet (not unless I also restrict carbs). That's what I'm getting at. Yes, the plural of anecdote is not data. Is the basic biology of fat metabolism proven? Everyone harps on calories in/calories out, but the reporting of studies (no, I don't usually read studies beyond the abstract because it's not something I have suffiecient expertise to understand) don't seem to actually support that. Anyway, we're moving off topic. The point is the original article is putting perhaps not the right kind of blame on the food manufacturers. Yes, they're making crappy food and they're heavily marketing it. Yes, and? It's not their responsibility to do other than make a profit. If they make more profit by selling healthier foods or marketing them in a less aggressive way, that's what they'll do. So as consumers we need to educate each other so that the market for healhy grows. Of course, this leads to marketing like the "cuties" citrus fruits instead...

Oh, absolutely, diabetes and sugar consumption are linked. As far as I can tell, the best thing to do for diabetes (I have type 2) is a low carb diet. Nevermind the ADA's insistence on a low FAT diet... My point is that obesity has multiple causes, some food related, some not. I've dieted and not over the years, but I've ALWAYS been at least fat, if not obese. Even as a kid, at every stage in my life, I've been built the same way, no matter how healthy my behaviors (eating & exercise) have been. So blaming food manufacturers for that doesn't make sense to me. Personally, I would just as soon never see a lunchable on the shelf again. But I think the best way to do that is simply to not buy the product. No market = no sale. They'll change if people change their purchasing. Now, I do think that a company should be held liable if they LIE in their marketing, on the nutrition info, or in their labeling. But I think the more useful direction is to focus on pulling the junk out of schools (including the junk being sold as school lunches in many districts), stop serving junky snacks after every sport practice, every single get together of children no matter the age. I'm utterly dreading when my child gets to that age. As it is, I have to give daycare a hardtime periodically since they like giving out nilla wafers and ritz crackers as part of his snacks. Given that snacks make up a good part of a toddler's diet, this is important to control. I do think there's an addiction side to some foods. I know that for me, if I eat low carb long enough (and I'm talking moderately low carb, not Atkins-level not even fiber rich veggies), the cravings for sugar do go away. But it's ROUGH the first few days when I get back on the bandwagon, and I definitely crave it. I still don't crave lunchables and its ilk, though.

The executives cited in that article did exactly what they are LEGALLY obligated to do: increase profit. The law requires that the executives of a publically traded company (and I believe all of the companies mentioned fall into that category) look out for the shareholder first. If people want companies to stop focusing on profit (although I don't understand why they'd work for one then...), that is what needs to be changed. Companies exist to make money. They don't exist to do nice things for people, although it may make good PR (which makes them more money) when they do so. If they were interested in helping folks, they'd operate as a not-for-profit. It is my job as a parent to decide what my child eats. I took one glance at that label and know I would never purchase it. The sodium content is way too high, and so is the sugar. Besides, coldcuts are cheaper and I can buy better quality and have something on hand any of us in the family would eat (I like a chef's salad for lunch every once in awhile). I dislike the govt telling me what's best for me. Politicians aren't exactly sterling examples, and they usually have a bad case of living in glass houses. I suspect the real answer to the "obesity epidemic" is more complex than just a single nutrient. I personally do better on a low carb diet, for instance, but I know plenty of people that prefer low fat. Perhaps we're not all the same? I actually don't think the premise of the headline of the original article is answered in the body of the piece. They don't really talk about addiction, they just talk about execs being execs. *shrug* Finally, I'm appalled at the undercurrent of attacks in this thread. This is not typical for egullet, and to see it coming from long time members is surprising.

Ok, 5 grams sounds right. I rarely see something that's that high in processed food, though, so I generally just ignore it. It keeps me more honest about my choices.

If you start with the premise that dessert is basically off the table except for berries, very small servings, or things made with artificial sweeteners, it's not actually as hard as it seems at first. The key is not to keep carbs/starch to the side for the rest of the family. Spagehtti squash is a good vehicle for pasta sauce or a dish you might want to put over noodles otherwise. Some programs allow you enough brown rice (2/3 C is often a good amount) that spread out, it's just fine. Add an extra veggie to the meal to replace the one that might normally be starchy. Personally, I find that having an exact amount of carbs per meal really helps. OTOH, the nutritionist I went to (diabetic) basically said that the whole subtracting fiber thing is a gimic. I do feel that the less I eat carbs overall, the easier it is to avoid craving them.

A question for the non-Americans: are restaurant prices higher (accounting for differences in currency) or equivalent to the prices in the US? In other words, does paying a regular increase the actual price of the meal? And does this affect how often people dine in a restaurant?

I would love to eat more vegetarian meals, for financial reasons, and also because I just get tired of meat. That being said, I have to maintain a low to moderate carb diet due to diabetes. So...what are my options orther than eggs and dairy dishes?