A trip to your local grocery store is bound to bring you the necessary items you need for cooking your meals.
A recent trip to the local Safeway found me stratching my head in disbelief. In the dairy section, there was this:
Cheese cut into pieces. The first thing I thought was: WTF…cheese? Who’s the dumb f^(% who thought this up. Can’t someone cut a block of cheese and sprinkle the pieces on salad? This is so low-class.
Then it dawned upon me as I looked down the same section. There were many, many, many products designed to save people’s time in cooking and preparing meals. In other words, America has gone lazy.
Gone are the days where people get strips of bacon from the butcher. This is already cooked.
What happened to family breakfasts where the parents sit with the children at the breakfast table, eating a bowl of cereal. Here’s cereal bars with artifical milk. Well, that’s so nutritious! Not!
Need to do the great American tradition of barbecuing? Go and get some charcoal! Wait? Pressed of time? Just light the bag (yes, the charcoal bag) and your biscuits will be gray and hot in 10 minutes!
In a hurry to prepare a chicken dinner? Just grab a bag of these cooked chicken pieces. They’re even seasoned and marinated!
A tradition in the ’80s and ’90s and apparently still today, cheese on crackers. Easy. Now, what’s wrong with putting slices of cheese on the crackers. Why spray disgusting processed cheese on crackers?
Now, a new favorite. Just pop the bag of uncooked noodles into a bowl of water into a microwave, when done, add cheese mix. Viola!
Now, what’s up with this?
No time to cook your own fajitas with peppers, tortilla wraps, sour cream, tomatoes? Just get the “No-Fuss Fajita” kit! That makes us all lazy!
And, add the ground beef, already cooked! There, you have your completed meal in less than 5 minutes!
Don’t have time to dip your tortilla chips into guacamole? Just pick up the chip already smothered in guacamole. Heart attack, anyone?
Imagine this: You’re behind in getting the financial report to your boss and it’s 1:40pm. Hungry as hell, you decide to pop one of these in the microwave. Hunger gone, report completed on time. 7 grams of fat, but definitely not homemade.
A kid’s favorite, but loaded with sodium. Have you seen the nutrition label on one of these? I refuse to let my daughter eat these! Clever advertising, though. Not sure if you can see it, but there’s Superman Returns on the top left box.
Gone are the days of hours spent in the kitchen, watching mom knead flour, salt, water, eggs into dough and adding baking poweder, and chocolate chips. All you gotta do is take the cookies out of the package and dump them on the cookie sheet. 7 minutes later, warm, chewy cookies.
My family has our MFTs (mandatory family time) on Sunday mornings. We have homemade pancakes with the secret Kaftan recipe of different connotations mixed into the pancake mix. With this, all you gotta do is dunk a mini pancake into a syrup package and you got a treat!
Now, this I like — eventhough it takes away the elbow grease — it’s a Mr. Clean Magic Reach, which will scrub countertops, bathtubs, and even toilets. Saves time, but reduces the need for elbow grease.
My wife will kill me. She loves pink milk. I’ve never seen a pink cow. A chocolate cow, yes, but not a pink. What’s wrong with getting the milk and pouring in strawberry syrup or chocolate syrup in it and stir? With less wrist and arm action and just a few shakes, you got the same thing.
The common meal fare for the typical college freshman: Ramen noodles. Cheap (less than .99 cents) and easy to make but not very nutritious.
Since the advent of Swiffer products, homes have been somewhat cleaner (unless you have a maid who cleans your home), thanks to the line of Swiffer brands. Here, you see one of the new products: Carpet Flick. This cleans up the carpets manually, with some kind of friction suction that picks up stuff. I know it won’t pick up cat hair, though.
And here’s the duster version. Need to reach 10 feet above you on top of your entertainment center? No problem.
Now, this product saves me the agony of having to get toilet water on my arms. Just scrub the toilet bowl with this product and you have clean toilets.
In a hurry to eat lunch or a snack? Just grab this tuna salad!
In the fresh produce section, I saw this: already cut broccoli and baby carrots. What’s wrong with cutting the broccoli ourselves?
Sadly…this is what America has become. Lazy, fat, and just eager to find quick ways to cut corners…
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I’m proud to say that I never buy junk food or these sort of packaged foods. My main rule when grocery shopping is always vegetables, rice, pasta, and protein. No additional groceries to that and it keeps my grocery bill to $60 bucks.
Umm. I’m guilty of buying some of the products pictured in Chris’s rant. Saves us some time, yes, yet time more well-spent with our kids. :-P That includes watching them eat one of those french toast sticks or a pre-cut chunk of cheese. Yum. (But yes, these really do add to the cost of a trip to the grocery store.)
The other day a friend showed me “Ice Rocks” Yes you can buy your ice already made instead of the old fashion ice trays. It made me laugh so hard and indeed Lazy Americans!
http://www.icerocks.com/index.html
No, like my New-Delhi born husband says, “most Americans are GULLIBLE, they are quite willing to part their money so they can show off how much money they spent.” He exclaimed, “can’t they see they help the corporations get filthy rich by throwing away their money?”
This slays me. It’s true. The only thing that I do actually use— err (sadly I just bought the cheese crumbles only because I didn’t want to go to the deli & wait in line for a particular cheese, and that had the cheese I wanted for a pasta salad I was going to make). And I honestly do love the marinated meats, those are good!!!! it saves time, but other than that, i’m like noelle, I stick to the outer aisles at the grocery store most of the time. Processed foods aren’t always teh best even though they may save time. perhaps people ought to watch more Rachel Ray, her recipes really do take 30 minutes or less, even if you’re unfamiliar with the recipe.
Rachel Ray has 50 chefs in the backroom. I doubt the real thing takes 30 minutes to make on her show.
It’s for real Rachel Ray cooked her meal in 30 minutes on TV. I tried her recipes and I finished everything within 30 minutes too.
Yep, it’s true. However, if you really watch her, notice how FAST Rachael moves. I wonder how many times she rehearses her show before it airs? Patricia, you must be pretty quick in the kitchen too.
Curious Eyes,
I’m not the only one here who is also quick in the Kitchen. Erin just above our posts mentioned that she also could complete Rachel Ray’s meal within 30 minutes.
Right you are, Patricia, and apology to Erin for not including her. BTW, I’m envious that you have an Asian Indian hubby. I adore Indian food. I hope he cooks for you!
if you’re accustomed to cooking, it can be done quickly.. I noticed that if I haven’t cooked a complicated meal in couple weeks I get a bit slow following the recipe
Hi Curious Eyes,
Ah, my husband cooks fairly. Since I love to cook, I learned to cook Punjabi style, and even his mother was amazed to realize that I cooked the meal, she thought I ordered them from a catering service. My husband assured his mom repeatedly that it was me who cooked the whole Punjabi style meal all by myself. I must admit that cooking a full Punjabi style meal on the average takes all day! Lots, lots, and lots of fresh food to prepare and spices, et cetera! Over the years, I’ve been collecting the recipes from in-laws.
in canada they make a punjabi style pizza with hot spices added to the pizza. my favorite is the vegetarian made punjabi style. do they make this in the usa? rick in edmonton, alberta , cnada.
Yeah, we’re guilty with some of the products you mentioned above.
Cheese Crumbles - nah. Ready Bacon - nah, prefer to cook turkey bacon my own way. Easy Cheese - only with Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, which is rare. Those chicken dinners - nah, I like the way I cook the chicken.
Patricia was right on the money when she mentioned corporations. Corporations have found been able to tailor our needs by providing “time-saving” products, even if they aren’t nutritious or healthy. As a result, we’re getting fatter.
I believe our redundant complaint is that we don’t have time. We’re now 2+ income households, working more than the standard 8 hour workdays. We get home around 6 or 7pm, probably in a pissy mood because of traffic jams or the stupid Metro. We barely get in 10 seconds to ourselves before your spouse/partner/boy- girlfriend wants your attention. Then your kids want attention. Then, your pets want attention. You’re not surprised when they say, “I’m hungry! What are you gonna make?”
You didn’t even get a chance to change clothes. You’re probably not in the mood to cook but then it is your turn to cook. Dagnabit! You forgot to take something out to thaw, during the day. You go to the pantry and you spot a box that can produce a 3 course meal within 5 minutes in the microwave. You make the meal extra special by topping it with cheese crumbles. You’ve saved the day! You gobble up your meal within 15 minutes, if you even last that long. You sit on the couch, trying to watch tv to wind down from the day, despite people and animals wanting your attention. 2 hours later, you’re in bed because you gotta get up in the morning before the rooster does.
Ok, that’s just a scenario but my point is that corporations do recognize our desire for less time in the kitchen and more time to ourselves. As a result, we’ve lost our appreciation for cooking as well as choosing the right food. Corporations are getting fatter in their pockets. We’re getting fatter in our bodies.
We gotta step back and make appropriate changes in our dietary and cooking habits. My partner and I have made changes. We’re not perfect but we’re conscious of what we make and eat.
For me, I just miss those good ol’ homecooked meals my mom used to make. Of course, nobody makes it as good as our mothers do. So, this challenges me to cook and strife for the near perfection like the way my mom did. Plus, I love recipes. Thanks to my subscription to Southern Living, I’m collecting more recipes. However, there are some stuff in the recipes that I never heard nor seen before. So, my local Safeway becomes a site of a scavenger hunt game.
As for cutting corners, I believe that’s ok to do so occasionally. Once in a while, I’ll make homemade pizza. I don’t have time to make pizza crust from scratch. I’m gonna buy one of those pizza crust from Pillsbury. That’s ok, right?
If you can, prepare meals yourself, and try to make your own marinate using spices and simple liquids (vinegar, olive oil, etc…). A lot of food made by corporate America have so many chemicals that shouldn’t be in our bodies. Did you know that heart disease was practically unheard of before the days of processed food? Make a habit of reading the ingredients, and avoid anything that has the words, “Partially Hydrogenated …”. This form of fat will stay in your arteries for a very long time, if not infinitely. Fat from pure butter is actually better because your body can process it, and burn it up. This is why Whole Foods do not stock anything made with partially hydrogenated oils.
Visit or e-mail the folks at Livingfoodfarm.com to hear their story about partially hydrogenated oils, and mass produced foods. This wonderful farm is run by a deaf family.
OK, I’m guilty for a few: Buying the pre-cooked bacon and the cheese crumbles. But there’s a reason for the pre cooked bacon– I don’t really like bacon all that much, but my husband loves it and CANT COOK. AT ALL. Plus, if he asks me to cook regular bacon for him, I get sick from the smell. I don’t know why the smell of cooking bacon makes me ill, but it does. The pre-cooked stuff doesn’t bother me, and it’s a snap to use if I’m in a bacon-liking mood and want a BLT.
Cheese Crumbles… simply because yes, they are easy. I even buy shredded cheese, because I hate chopping and shredding cheese. Hard on my hands, and I did use chop and shred all the time until I realized you could buy it pre-done. Yay. I tried being less lazy once and bought block cheese, then chop or shred it in my food processor. But honestly, it gets so gummed up in the mechanics that it’s actually more pain in the butt than otherwise.
Pink milk, my husband loves the stuff. But I agree with Chris, if there aren’t any rainbow-hued cows out there to match, I won’t drink it. Yuck.
Larry, I do the same with the Pillsbury pizza crusts. I also use those Pillsbury Crescent rolls to make quick home-made chicken pot pies (using real chicken and vegetables, not processed of course). Yum!
Larry, yes, it’s definitely better to purchase simple food that has only less than two or three readable ingredients on the label.
Shaz, I’m not criticizing you or anything, just want to let you know the reason for your cheese to gum up in your food processor was the machine getting too warm. You need to pause every so often to prevent the machine from getting heated up. Another trick I have up my sleeve is to put a block of cheese in the freezer for a short time, while I set up a food processor on the counter, take a bowl and spatula, and then cheese out of the freezer. It shreds nicely.
By the way, an 8-ounce-block of cheese that I shred myself yields about three standard bags of purchased sheddred cheese. It sure saves money and more money in the bank. (smiles)
I enjoy watching the Food Network on TV and really love Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meal, from the time of preparation to completion. Amazing and healthy. Try the Quick & Easy Recipes at the Food Network, most recipes are healthy-oriented. If you like Rachel Ray, her recipes are at the food network too. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_quick_easy
Besides, I lost a lot of weight by staying away from processed foods and quick meals, and hitting the farmer’s market on the weekends to pick up fresh vegetables for the week. After the farmer’s market, I usually go to Whole Foods to pick up organic meat and snacks such as dried cranberries and pecans in lieu of the usual potato chips. It’s a lot healthier than potato chips, that’s for sure. However, I still can’t seem to break my habit of Diet Coke and raw chocolate chip cookie dough. *big sigh*
Trader Joe’s is similiar to Whole Foods but their prices are cheaper! I lost some weight real quick after I switched to natural foods from processed foods. Also, it’s fun to go Trader Joe’s every weekend and get free samples of coffee and food!
yeah, but the closest Trader Joe’s to me is inaccessible by Metro, so short of moving to the nearest Trader Joe’s, I’m stuck with Whole Foods.
There’s one opening up in Dupont’s West End soon, if not already.
WHAT?!?!?!?!?! I am so there when it opens!!!!!!!
I just checked. That rumor’s more than two years old.
Oops. Must’ve fallen for it myself. Nevertheless, I’m a Peapod man!
Patricia, thanks for the cheese tip! The part about putting it in the freezer for a while is brilliant. Don’t know why I never thought of that. Smile. I do agree that shredding/chopping block cheese yields more than the pre-packaged stuff. I’m gonna do the best I can to change my ways. I love Rachel Ray’s show too, and especially love Everyday Italian (Giada DeLaurentiis)– I bought the Everyday Italian cookbook, and although some of the recipes look complicated, they are so easy. I also got the idea to grow my own kitchen herbs from that show. Now I have two beautiful basil and thyme plants that are almost ready to start being used in cooking.
I try to stay away from a lot of processed foods, due to a chronic illness that I have which is similar to Celiac disease and Chrohn’s. I always feel way better when I eat more natural stuff anyway. Now just wish I can get my husband to do the same!
:)
lazy? or overworked and pressed for time?
Last night I had cooked salmon with a bit of basil sauce and lemon, fresh green beans, and wild rice.
Why wasn’t I invited?
I made chipotle chicken fajitas with grilled vegetables and salsa verde rice. Then I had a Nutella crepe with raspberries for dessert. Bow down before me, I demand you ;-)
Be warned that you can turn healthy foods into artery clogging pieces of death if you prepare or cook them with malign oils.
Time, and time again, Olive oil has been proven (the ancients have used it), and it is one of the healthiest oils you can use. Canola oil is pretty good too, and it is more forgiving than Olive oil because it doesn’t scorch as easily when cooking with high heat.
Sunflower oil is the best of all, even better than olive oil, did you know? It contains more of that good stuff that an oil is supposed to have, like Omega-6 or whatever it is. Sunflower oil has a neutral taste so is better for baking and frying. Olive oil forever for salads — love that fruity taste.
Really? I’ll check it up. But this I know, make sure its the high-oleic version (sunflower or safflower). Avoid the regular versions.
Actually, the high-oleic kind of sunflower oil is what has more of the good stuff than olive oil. Thanks for clarifying. But the other kinds of sunflower oil are OK to eat too. Here’s more info from the National Sunflower Board comparing all the different oils: http://www.sunflowernsa.com/oi.....entID=145.
Various cooking oils are exactly the same as different kinds of wine …
Go to this link for information on various cooking oils …
http://www.harvestcoop.com/pag.....eroil.html
I’d like to add that I read that it is best to buy cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils, rather than chemically derived or heat-derived oils. Cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils are healthier because no chemical process or heat process (which can turn them into the “partially hydrogenated” trans-fat poison)was used to produce them. Check the label on the bottles of oils you buy… most cold-pressed or expeller pressed oils can be found in the organic section of your grocery, or in whole foods type grocery stores.
Chris,
“A recent trip to the local Safeway found me stratching my head in disbelief…”
Are you saying you haven’t shopped in a long while? Did you hunt game to feed your family before? Food of this kind has existed for a while.
yes, most of these products are disgustingly overprocessed and overpackaged… and do allow for (expensive) laziness among otherwise able-bodied people.
but such products also make life more accessible for people with disablities…
imagine if you don’t have good control of your arms/hands (e.g., from CP, paralysis, MS, arthritis, etc.)… or if you have trouble carrying out sequences of tasks (e.g., from brain injury or some types of dyslexia, etc.). the list goes on. one in five americans has a disability and something like “cheese crumbles” may just allow some of us to prepare our dinner independently.
just something to think about. it’s not always about laziness or affluenza… these products may have originally been developed to prey on our culture’s willingness to pay extra for someone else to do the work for us (and/or to pay extra for shiny re-packaging of the stuff we already buy). but the end result has some positive benefits for many consumers with disabilites.
This trend towards instant or convenience foods saddens me. I grew up with a generation that experienced home-cooked foods made from scratch. I make all my meals from scratch. Just don’t like that chemical taste in my mouth that prepared foods have, ya know? Plus, cooking food by hand is so relaxing and therapeutic, a nice change of pace from my desk job. It’s a total sensual experience of taste, smell, feel, and look. I subscribe to Light & Tasty magazine and recommend it for those of us who are watching our weights. It has something for everyone, nutrition advice, tips for lightening your favorite recipes, and the recipes are delicious and easy to make.
Sigh — did you just insult your own country?
He insulted people within the country and, of course, corporations, which have nothing to do with our country and would try very hard to convince you they don’t so as to avoid paying taxes until Bush makes it law that none of them have to.
Best to buy organic foods. They may be more expensive but worth every cent. They are a lot more fulfilling. You would get full easily. With processed food, you would only crave more & more! Can’t trust these packaged foods….most likely, they are laced with many unknown chemicals that aren’t mentioned on labels! After sticking to organic foods for a long while, processed foods & fast food meals would feel like poison in my body, believe it or not!
If more Americans switch to organic food, the cost of organic food will not be as expensive as it is now. They do our body very good.
Only time will tell when the day comes to have affordable organic food for the sake of animals, environment and health :)
if the government subsidized organics at the same rate they subsidized regular food - and instituted taxes on people who used pesticides for the amount of time the land will be unusable after those pesticides were used - we would all be better off.
Still couldn’t de-poison the land though. *sigh* But they do make those tomatoes come up a treat. Nothing’s simple.
Chris, you don’t hafta show us your grocery bill, picture by picture. We already know just from looking at you that you’re a fat disgusting blob of flabby flesh.
Nice. Very mature of you to leave a comment that has nothing to do with this blog and everything to do with your own low self-esteem.
Lazy? Or just times changing? I think it’s pretty common nowadays to buy a box of pasta, a can of tuna, a loaf of bread, a carton of eggs, or a stick of butter, all bought at our local supermarket. It wasn’t long ago that people rolled their own pasta, churned their own butter, baked their own bread, then walked out back to grab some eggs from the chicken coop. Any food purchases required separate trips to different specialty stores. Why did it all change? I’m sure time and convenience played a role then, as they do now.
Organic foods in America are not always reliable due to lack of official standards by our federal agencies from the FDA to the Department of Argiculture.
Official approvals of organic foods are more strigent and reliable in Europe.
Corporations, especially big U.S. agribusiness , prey and exploit our own guillibilty and naieve. Please be more careful when shopping organic foods including so-called cruelty -free products. Think of the “corporatism”!!!
Just do some research on the companies doing business with organic foods and crulety-free products. You have to remmy that stores including the Whole Foods really do not police or screen out companies engaging in dishonest practices to deceive customers altogether. Get your food money worthwhile spending! Use our customer spending power to demonstrate the natural eating habits without being ladden with artifical flavors and unnecessary chemicals.
Have you, all notice how inflationary for our fresh fruits and vegetables lately? $5.99 to $7.99 per pound for grapes??? JC! The days of grapefruits (4 for $1) are over!
Why grapefruits get real expensive? Our own government’s agriicultural policies fail misearably Not many growers want to get involved with grapefruit crops due to many hassles and limited markets. Believe it or not! Very few grapefruit culitivators are in the market because of our government’s argicultural policies!
Our nowaday society seems price-conscious with the unhealthy addedum of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to almost every processed products. Ugh! Ever companies put the HFCS in the middle of interidgents. Very profitable for companies using HFCS in food products because customers are not very willing to spend extra.
Our government ought to ban the HFCS in all food products which European countries doing that! See that our society are ladded with obese people ever our youngsters!!!
The federal government and food industry refuse to make the connections between the alarming rate of obesity and HFCS. Our government ever not try to maximize our healthy eating habits like making fresh fruits and vegetables more priced-reeasonable and available. Yes, I am much a believer in quasi-captialism.
Or the government and corporations and medical industry are in the bed to keep people from getting real healthy. Or they would be out of business! You might be interested in checking out the new documentary film- “What Happened to the Electric Car?” This film raised many unanswered questions about what happened to electric cars in California.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLM,
You should read this excellent book named “Natural Cures” written by Kevin Trudeau. What he said in the book, makes much sense although he would repeat & repeat many things. But it is in his own words since large publishing houses would refuse to touch him as they are in bed with drug companies! Make you wonder why there is not a separate Food Administration & Drug Administration. FDA is in for money by ensuring people would get sick from processed foods so they would have to buy drugs to get better. Now we would see a lot of ads about heartburn. Seems that heartburn is now a common word. It was seldom heard in the old days. I am sure that food processing companies would ensure their products would cause heartburn so consumers would have resorted to buying medicine. That way, drug companies can rake in more money by misleading people!
Many thanks, Organic Food e-user -
Kevin Trudeau’s “Natural Cures” book is kinda a scam because it include existing articles and researchs from the past 30 years. Nothing new info from this book.
I haven’t read “Natural Cures” book yet. It clearly show the patterns of American corporatism and government policies reflecting the corporate interests, instead of promoting the programs for enchancing our well-beings and health.
The recent studies repeatedly show that the majority of Americans are physically and mentally unhealthy as compared to Brits and Canadians.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
Organic Foods: Kevin Trudeau is a quack! Check out the facts at http://www.quackwatch.com.
I love to cook, the result that my son never really experienced any instant food ( I still call them instant food = my verison - anything comes in box or pre-packaged food). My friends complained that our family eat so late in evening, it is just because we prefer homecooked meals so it mean it takes time when we arrive home after five or six pm , then I cook everything from stratch to create a meal.
Yesterday, for first time I saw tv show called Sandra Lee, I could not believe how much stuff that is prepackaged or precooked. I still refuse to touch those or buy them.
Hmmm.. I hope my son will follow my footstep of making everything from stratch instead of buying those stuff in CK’s blog but unfortunately.. My son loves strawberry quik either in bottle or home mix with powder strawberry quik and milk.
I had a convo w my husband the other day about organic food - when I was in college I ate everything imaginable such as fried mozzarella sticks, cheese steaks, etc when I was studying or partying. After moving to Colorado, I started seeing how healthy people appeared out here compared with Rochester, NY. Over the last 6 years of living in Colorado (and living with my husband), I’ve evolved from a velveeta loving mac n cheese eater to an Amy’s Organic Soy Mac n Cheese eating woman. The thought of even touching Velveeta makes me gag. I have friends who are 100% vegan; some who follow raw food diets religiously; some semi - vegetarians. We do not follow any one trend but use our judgement.
I read labels when I go food shopping; I make my own pasta (so easy - whip up an egg, add a drop of olive oil and some water, then slowly integrate sifted organic flour then roll/cut into desired thickness) to reduce the waste and to avoid all the preservatives you get with most store bought pasta. My favorite peanut butter used to be crunchy Skippy - now I get the organic store brand - it’s only the peanuts and the nuts. Yes, it takes longer to mix the pb to get the nuts and the oil to combine again (the horror! having to stir your peanut butter!) but you feel so much healthier after eating the organic stuff. Granted it’s not as sweet but it’s the REAL thing. I finally found an organic ketchup made by Albertson’s that doesn’t make me pay through my nose - there’s no high fructose corn syrup in it!!
Even though it may take a little more time and effort, you CAN eat healthy in today’s fast paced life… I’m soon finishing my MBA degree, working full time (yes I work from home, but I don’t finish my work until after my husband comes home from work) and am pregnant with my first child (I have less energy now but am feeling great due to eating the right foods and getting out to exercise daily) but there are ways to live healthier without having to depend on all the processed food. Also - I make sure I get time to WORK OUT in my routine no matter what - it’ll make a world of a difference. (am surprised no one’s mentioned anything about the vital importance of getting your heart rate up once in a while?!)
Katie, Can I have the recipe for homemade pasta, please?? I have 2 sons (6 yrs old and 21 months old) myself. I regretted not working out daily while I was pregnant with Seth… I’m having a hard time losing weight right now…so don’t stop excerising but please be careful.
Tracy -
Break an egg into a medium/large bowl and whisk it up. Add about 1/4 cup of water and half a teaspoon of olive oil (I use EVOO). Stir everything up and add a bit of your favorite spice (I’ve used a bit of cayenne pepper.. other times I’ve used onion powder). once the liquid ingredients are all mixed with the spice (optional), start adding sifted flour and mix until the dough becomes touchable. If it is too sticky, it will stick to EVERYTHING so make sure it’s not too sticky or too dry (or it’ll be too hard to work with). If it’s too sticky, continue adding flour; if it’s too dry, add a LITTLE water and work it through the dough. Using waxed paper, grab a handful of the dough and roll it out to the desired thickness. Cut and put on the side. Boil water - the pasta only needs to boil for about 60 seconds to 3 minutes at most (depending on the thickness of the pasta). Serve immediately or throw some sauce/pesto into it to keep it from clumping up.
Katie, THANK YOU!!! it sounds simple & easy to make it!?! will try it this weekend! :)
~ TM
I don’t mean to go a little off the topic, but I attended a terrific seminar at GWU last year discussing about the disproportional locations of grocery stores that carry organic products in the metro D.C. area. It explained that there are too many fast food and convenience stores and too few grocery stores in poor neighborhoods across the Anacostia River and not surprisingly, the grocery stores don’t even carry organic products. On the opposite, there are several grocery stores that do carry organic products that are located in affluent neighborhoods such as Dupont & Logan Circles, Chevy Chase and Capitol Hill.
So I have a question here - can residents in poor neighborhoods afford organic products since they are more expensive? With the lack of grocery stores that carry organic products, are they provided a fair opportunity for the residents to pursue a healthy lifestyle?
Cloak and Dagger,
How sad for our country, especially the ignorant federal, state and local government policies on foods and people’s health!
Our supermarkets and food producers are simply following $$$. I always notice the difference of store products from the very same supermarket stores in DC neighorhood areas.
For example, I could not get the bulk of fresh spinach at the Giant’s O Street NW for many years. I always find fresh spinach bulk at the Giant store on Wisconsin Avenue til last two years ago. More stores rather sell the packaged bag of fresh vegetables and fruits than bulk ones.
I reside alone. I could not eat the packaged bag of fresh spinach in a week or it will be rot before I have any chance of eating all of them.
Many readily-packaged products are designed for busy families, not singles. I have to make food proporation for my own cooking from overeating anything.
You would be really surprised that the handful of organic fresh products to be inexpensive.
We have to learn what fruit and vegetables we ought to buy as organic. Other conventional fruits and vegetables would be acceptable. I will post the list of fruits and vegetables what we ought to buy for organic tmw.
Onions do not have to be organic since they do not have any chemical residue or chemical use.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
Did you know that Americans are some of the unhealthiest people in the world?? Even though we are living in a country with great economic power and technological advancement, we are also living in a country with the smallest fund of practical nutritional knowledge. We are living in a land plagued with obesity. America is home to the best obese people in in the world. So the question is, why the American people? What do we do that is so different than the rest of the world? There is no mystery behind this epidemic- we simply need to examine the American diet and lifestyle. Living a life on the go, eating fast-food and microwave dinners, the health of the American people has been sacrificed. Instead of eating a diet of pure, wholesome foods coming directly from the land, Americans eat a diet of packaged, processed, and refined foods. According to CDC, obesity in adults has increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children has tripled in the past thirty years. That’s really sad!! Considering my age, I am thin because I don’t buy those packaged, processed and refined foods. I much prefer organic and fresh foods from Whole Foods or Mom or any healthy food stores to any frozen or fresh produces at big names such as Safeway, Giant, etc. They do carry some organic foods, tho. Anyway, do you know what/who really hurts us the most? The answer is capitalism!! There are many bribes to FDA by those big names or powerful people! There is a long story to tell you but you will be shocked by the fact how the system works! BAD BAD!!! I will follow up on that later.
I repeatedly say that is our national, state and local government screw up the majority of Americans with the food policy.
Same thing happened with the current Gally adminstraton, especially Provost JK. The parents repeatedly told the adminstration to remove the colas and candy vending machine from MSSD and KDES for years.
What our dietary habits and consumption is to do with the government policy? Our national, state and local government have a lot to do with our everday food consumption from the fundings of school lunch to the regulation of our food products and argicultural protection. Our government subsidize the sugar industry and make it cheaper for food producers to make our foods sweeter.
The EEC ban the high frutcose corn syprup (HFCS), but more Europeans begin to get fatter due to the human evolution in name of progress and food surplus.
RLM
Whoever is the author of this page has way too much time on his or her hands. Maybe you should utilize your free time and possibly create some home cooked dishes, rather than spending said time to show America how lazy and misguided we have become by purchasing time saving products. I stumbled across this page and began to read it with a hope that it may have contained a shred of clever word-play or a dash of humor. Instead I found myself with that little tear that creeps into your eye when you are so embarrassed for someone that you know nothing of what to do. Cheers.
Why grapefruits get real expensive? Our own government’s agriicultural policies fail misearably Not many growers want to get involved with grapefruit crops due to many hassles and limited markets. Believe it or not! Very few grapefruit culitivators are in the market because of our government’s argicultural policies!
Make you wonder why there is not a separate Food Administration & Drug Administration. FDA is in for money by ensuring people would get sick from processed foods so they would have to buy drugs to get better. Now we would see a lot of ads about heartburn. Seems that heartburn is now a common word. It was seldom heard in the old days.