Balance of Food

Temptation of the Week: Canadian fat cakes

I've never had a fat cake, Canadian or American. And yet I want one.

The only problem is that fat cakes aren't real.

I'm not in the ideal demo for "iCarly,' but was glad to stumble on the episode where most of the cast tours a plant where Canadian fat cakes are made. Sam (left), one of the lead characters, is obsessed with fat cakes. She has heard that fat cakes in Canada taste better because they are made with "cane fat" while American Fat Cakes are made with "corn fat."

The catch for Sam is that you aren't allowed to bring in Canadian Fat Cakes into the United States. Sam tries to bring them back across the border strapped to her person under a long coat. Unfortunately for Sam, she gets caught smuggling them back.

(Amusingly, this episode originally aired just after Michelle Obama was in an episode of iCarly. From good health to fat cakes, a true Balance of Food.)

You certainly can bring back processed baked goods from Canada into the United States. Long-time readers know of my adventures with Canadian Twinkies. And before glucose-fructose (HFCS) came to Canada, I brought back Canadian versions of soft drinks.

As it turns out, Fat Cakes have been a floating theme through the show. According to this wikia, they are "made with marshmallow and have pink coconut shavings on top and a chocolate cake in the middle with cream filling."

Sounds like more of a take on Sno Balls. They don't sound like much of a temptation, though Jennette McCurdy, the actress who plays Sam, convinces you that they are worth risking the wrath of customs. If Canadian Twinkies were illegal in the United States, I'd be tempted to smuggle them into the States.

We often are tempted by what we can't have, whether that is a certain fast food restaurant or regional favorite. When we travel somewhere, we want to retain that experience long after our trip is over.

I have "smuggled" garlic back from San Francisco on the plane, but within your own country, you can bring such things back without any customs trouble.

When you travel outside the country, you are subject to restrictions on what you can "smuggle" back into your home country. Plants and meat bring up red flags, as tempting as that ham from Spain can be.

If you aren't sure, check with the laws in the country where you live, since that is where you'll be returning. If what you want to bring back fits within those confines, travel and enjoy your food experience, wherever that takes you.

For the Canadian take, check out this story from our sister blog, CanadianCrossing.com.

photo credit: iCarly

Wendy's trying to make poutine Canada's national dish

Couldn't help but pass on the word in our unofficial poutine coverage that Wendy's is launching a petition — a "Poutition" — to make poutine Canada's national dish.

Wendy's is using this as an excuse to launch poutine on its menu in Canada. For all the poutine I have eaten, none of them has come from a major fast food chain. The better question for the American audience is whether Wendy's or McDonald's or Burger King would ever bring this across the border.

Canada is a rather large country and poutine is mostly a Quebec thing.

Then again, what is the United States' national dish? Mac & cheese? Hot dogs? High-fructose corn syrup?

The idea of one national dish seems unfair to the rest. If nothing else, we should vote on the national dish … for both countries.

For the whole take, check out this story from out sister blog, CanadianCrossing.com.

photo credit: Wendy's

Temptation of the Week: Ranch dressing instead of ketchup

Even if you don't like to eat in bars, you have to love the box of condiments you often see in bars. Ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce dominate those boxes. Hidden Valley wants you to add another bottle to the box: ranch dressing.

The company has come out with what it says is pourable ranch dressing with the idea that you would dip your French fries, onion rings, and mozzarella sticks in ranch dressing.

Ranch dressing went from obscurity to dominance in the salad dressing field. Way too often in my life, I have been at a restaurant where I could get ranch but not blue cheese dressing.

Full disclosure: I hate ranch dressing. I find it extremely boring. I like buttermilk. Okay, I love buttermilk. Too often, buttermilk ranch dressing has very little buttermilk. I like buttermilk dressing with a lot of buttermilk. But that isn't ranch dressing.

My favorite Buffalo wings place in the whole world only serves ranch dressing. I end up getting the wings to go or sneaking in blue cheese dressing.

So the idea of adding more ranch dressing to restaurant tables is depressing enough. But as sales and preferences go, I'm in the minority.

My ideal condiments box would be ketchup (without high-fructose corn syrup), mustard (yellow and brown), malt vinegar, Miracle Whip (until Kraft brought back the high-fructose corn syrup version), and hot sauce (red and green).

The two things Americans love are dips and things to dip. Condiments are supposed to enhance the flavor, what you see often in Canada and England where vinegars are lightly sprinkled on fries. A fresh aioli could be served but isn't likely to be sitting out in a condiments box. Unfortunately, you often see patrons drown their food in their condiment of choice.

The condiment manufacturers, like most food manufacturers, want you to use as much of their product as possible and then buy more. That is their desire. Your desire should be to enhance the flavor of whatever you are eating, but still be able to tell the difference between what you are eating and the condiment in question.

photo by me

'Colbert Report' pokes at Prozac in poultry

Usually, the fun of "Thought for Food" on the "Colbert Report" is that most of the crazy food happenings can be avoided by making easy choices. We've known about bugs in a Starbucks drink for some time, and we've tweeted the joys of Pizza Hut's hot dog stuffed pizza (though sadly only in the UK).

Prozac in our poultry? That's depressing, and not the kind of depressing that can be cured with Prozac. Colbert also reported on caffeine, banned antibiotics and arsenic.

This is a new low for what we apparently can't know what is in our food.

Colbert had a little bit of fun with the chicken and drugs theme with Xanax nuggets, blazin' buffalo Benadryl dipped into Hidden Valley Robitussin, Lipitor frittata, and KFCialis.

For the Starbucks story, Colbert's suggestions of spraying your food with bug spray doesn't seem far off, given the spraying of crops by factory farms. Amazing how a hot dog trapped inside a pizza crust and dangerous drugs in our poultry makes drinking bugs really not that bad.

If/when Pizza Hut brings the hot dog inside the pizza craze to the States, we know we can avoid it. But in eating chicken wings at a bar, we shouldn't get a drug such as Prozac unless we want it and with a prescription.

Temptation of the Week: eating insects

We are drawn to eating food based on color, and so in a lot of processed foods, we get to eat dyes to satisfy our visual nature. In a bag of Wheat Thins Veggie Toasted Chips, you can consume 4 dyes: Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 6, and Yellow 5.

The chips also have dehydrated vegetables, which you would think would be a good source of color. We are told, after all, to eat color through vegetables. But in chips that contain sugar, malt syrup, high-fructose corn syrup AND MSG, at least the dyes are the last ingredient listed.

Still, the idea of eating something horrible to satisfy a visual makes you want to eat your food with your eyes closed.

Starbucks customers found out recently they were eating something horrible to satisfy a visual: insects are used to achieve the red color in a Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino.

Eating insects, even dipped in chocolate, won't appeal to many, other than your Anthony Bourdain types or adolescent boys on a dare. Somehow, crushed up insects might be more plausible, but if you're a vegetarian, you would prefer that nothing die for your overpriced coffee drinks.

Grist weighs in with a very good point: eating insects is still better than consuming coal tar or petroleum. Jess Zimmerman notes that the alternative to cochineal (bugs) is Red 40 (coal tar/petroleum).

Where did we hear about Red 40? That's right: the Wheat Thins chips.

Put me down for those insects. Mmmmmm. Protein.

The other issue is why a drink that contains strawberries wouldn't provide enough red for you to love its color. After all, strawberries and milk in a blender will turn pink.

The strawberries come from strawberry puree concentrate. The white grape juice concentrate dominates the sauce, so perhaps the sauce doesn't have enough strawberries, or red ones at least.

If you see the ingredients on the sauce (see link above) and you know that cochineal extract means dried female cochineal insects, then you are aware. If you mindlessly order the drink, you would have no idea whether the red color came from strawberries, petroleum, or crushed dead insects.

Plant-based foods can supply needed color in foods so companies don't have to resort to insects or petroleum, but those probably cost more.

The insects are natural, even more natural than good ol' castoreum (beaver anal gland). The idea of drinking petroleum is gross, especially if it's only to get a product that should be red, more red.

You might upset people if you hold up a line in Starbucks asking them if their drinks have dead insects or petroleum, but you do have a right to know what is in your food and drink. Then you can decide is eating insects is right for you.

Jayma Mays proclaims love for poutine on 'Live with Kelly' in Canada

"I am in love with poutine" -- Jayma Mays

When Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa were in Prince Edward Island in 2010, they raved about the fresh seafood, potatoes, and Cows ice cream (extra butterfat). But they never mentioned poutine.

And even though Ripa is in Banff, Alberta, Canada this week, the last thing you would have expected from a non-Canadian guest was proclaimed love for poutine.

But there was Jayma Mays, star of "Glee," extolling the virtues of the Canadian delicacy. "It's heaven in a bowl," she exclaimed.

Ripa started out the transition by noting that her producer said Mays had fallen in love with Canadian French fries.

Shortly after Mays shared her love for poutine, someone brought out a large bowl of poutine. Ripa, co-host Chris Harrison, and Mays ate from a large bowl of poutine.

"That is incredible," Ripa said after she tried it.

We have written quite a bit about poutine. If you eat well most of the time, you can indulge in such treats if that is how you want to spent your "food currency." Mays is a tiny young woman, so you can imagine that while she loves poutine, she doesn't have it all the time. And she is in great shape.

Yes, celebrities can spend more time getting in shape than the average person. But Mays shows you that it can be done.

Ironically, Ripa and Harrison didn't discuss poutine with Caroline Rhea, a guest later in yesterday's episode. Rhea is from Montréal, home of poutine.

Now, the two main Regis Philbin co-hosts have tried poutine on television. Kathie Lee Gifford had lobster poutine in Montréal on the "Today" show in 2011.

I recently tried the house poutine as a poutine shop in Chicago, devoted mostly to poutine. The poutine was rather good, but way too costly at $10. Poutine is a food for the masses, not for those who pay $10 for a snack. The poutine with fois gras was less than that at Au Pied de Cochon in Montréal when I had it there in 2009.

Poutine is making its way slowly into the United States, and Jayma Mays love for poutine will help speed up the process.

CanadianCrossing.com is carrying summaries all this week of the episodes of Live with Kelly in Banff.

photo credit: WABC-TV/New York

'Pink slime' conversions prove that food quality battle is all about PR

 

Jamie Oliver has to be a little pissed off these days, and rightly so.

Oliver demonstrated how pink slime is produced, and did all of this on U.S. broadcast television … in April 2011.

Okay, so most Americans weren't paying attention. And Oliver wasn't even the first person who has brought this up. Oliver, though, is famous and showed us on TV, where we get most of our news.

In the premiere episode of Season 2, Oliver demonstrated the process in Jamie's Kitchen, washing machine and all. My take at the time?

"The bits and trimmings of the inedible meat, then separated in a washing machine, and mixed with water and ammonia — boy that was hard to watch, even if you are an omnivore."

Jamie's words got lost due to poor ratings, a key reason for the gap between the first two episodes and the rest of the show. By the time the momentum kicked in for the series during Friday airings in June, Oliver's pink slime demonstration was lost in the shuffle.

The recent push of events that has had so many companies run screaming away from "pink slime" demonstrates why getting better food quality has to be an ongoing battle.

Previous coverage: USDA needs better reasons to avoid telling us that we're eating pink slime

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" took on the topic last week, coming late to the party. But as often happens, Stewart put what we were eating in perspective, and why we'll eat whatever is in front of us.

"McDonald's walked away from it? McDonald's doesn't think it's an appropriate thing to eat? These are the people that molded a pork disk into a rib-shaped sandwich that contains no ribs. But this stuff, pink slime, that's too fake for McDonald's."

Ask any of the school systems, chain restaurants, and grocery stores whether they thought pink slime was a big deal, they know the key issue is public relations. Companies ran away from high-fructose corn syrup not because of the nuances of sweeteners, but as a way to stand out in the marketplace and pressure from the public.

The beef industry isn't thrilled with this change of events, because it was winning the Orwellian war. Calling ammonia-treated bits and trimmings of inedible meat "lean, finely textured beef" instead of "pink slime" — PR genius, unless you have to eat it.

Iowa State Sen. Brad Zaun (R) tried to get the PR advantage in writing a letter to the editor in the Des Moines Register. However, Zaun was unscrupulous in disparaging BalanceofFood.com friend Michelle Simon. You be the judge.

Simon: "So let’s hope this week’s groundswell of interest in pink slime inspires Americans to demand labeling, buy organic, or stop eating ground beef all together."

Zaun: "So let’s hope this week’s groundswell of interest in pink slime inspires Americans to … stop eating ground beef all together."

Simon's point is that consumers should know what they're eating. Zaun's point was to be deceptive to try and discredit legitimate concern over what we're eating.

Despite what we think sometimes, the Daily Show is about comedy first. So in search of a punchline, Stewart admitted what we all fear. If it's in front of us, we will eat it.

"Pink slime. Face it. It's probably no worse than the shit you already eat."

Let's hope from now on, we'll be eating less pink slime and less of the other … er, well, crap.

Spring brings wellness lectures; tips in case you need a refresher

Today is the first day of spring, the hopeful season when we all think that we can lose that weight and eat better. Well, we're seeing larger companies get more involved in helping their employees, even if it is for selfish reasons (energy, reduced absenteeism, etc.).

So my day job held a week of wellness lectures to help reinvigorate their employees. And if your day job doesn't do something like this, or if you don't have a day or night job, here are some of their tips.

One of the lectures was run by a chiropractor who talked about health and stress. He noted that stress is essential for you to live, but too much wasn't healthy either. As he noted that, I jotted down "salt" since we are told we need salt or we will die, but too much is unhealthy. Most Americans get too much salt and stress.

Instinctively, we turn to snacks when we are stressed. Of course, if they contain salt, they are also filled with irony.

The chiropractor suggests not eating when you're stressed out, not eating after 7 pm, and snacking on nuts and seeds for Omega 3s, which can help with stress.

He listed three stress hormones, including cortisol that raises blood sugar, a careful consideration for those that have to worry about that.

If giving into stress involves not-so-great eating options (donuts?), well this can make a stressful situation worse.

The chiropractor suggests breathing, 10-minute walks (a 2-hour benefit), laughing, and the rule of 90 (keeping back and knees at 90°.

The other lecture I attended was from a dietitian on staying healthy when eating out. Her examples stemmed mostly from places such as Chili's and Applebee's, traditionally some of the worst chain restaurants for adding hidden calories. Seems like the best advice is to avoid those places entirely. Though, one tip you should take with you if you end up there. Some of the appetizers have more calories than entrees at regular restaurants. She described the Bacon Ranch Quesadilla as having 1,620 calories. That's not good … in some many ways.

She approached everything in terms of fat and calories, since a gram of fat has 9 calories vs. a gram of protein or carbohydrate, which has 4 calories. You need good fats, but to be fair, you have to try hard to find good fats, especially in chain restaurants.

While she noted that you should ask for adjustments when ordering, if you have to change more than 3 elements within an item, order something else.

Her best advice might have been the simplest: if you are eating a lot of salt, drink a lot of water. And don't weigh yourself right away after such a meal. Water retention can add up, especially in women.

Some steps were obvious: cut back or cut out cheese, mayonnaise, special sauces. Grilled and broiled is better than fried. Eat a salad or soup to cut down on hunger. Avoid the bread basket. Plan ahead online for nutritional information.

The dietitian offered up one atypical point. She noted that without cheese or mayo, a small hamburger isn't a bad choice. I confess I wanted more tips such as these. Foods can't be divided into great or horrible. Sometimes you have to make an okay choice instead of a great choice. You just don't want to make a really bad choice.

The tips weren't radically off the charts; most of them were rather basic (have to consider who the audience is). They have to assume their audience doesn't know much. And even if you think you do know them, sometimes hearing them at just the right moment is exactly what you need.

Iowa ag-gag law puts corporate protection over free speech and food safety

Openness and transparency is good enough for our government, but in some circles, not for our food.

"In a post 9/11 world, transparency is important for farmers and consumers alike. Responsible farmers take good care of their land and livestock and want to employ honest, hardworking people that have the welfare of their livestock as their top priority." said Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President and livestock farmer Craig Hill in a statement.

Iowa’s House File 589 doesn't really address those issues. The bill is designed to make it more difficult to know what is going on in factory farms. As for those consumers, it's a lack of transparency.

Iowa isn't the only state where factory farms are fighting back against those who want to know more about how our food is grown. Seven states — Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York and Utah — have plans in the works for similar legislation.

So what does Iowa’s House File 589 do?

Agricultural production facility fraud. 1. A person is guilty of agricultural production facility fraud if the person willfully does any of the following: a. Obtains access to an agricultural production facility by false pretenses. b. Makes a false statement or representation as part of an application or agreement to be employed at an agricultural production facility, if the person knows the statement to be false, and makes the statement with an intent to commit an act not authorized by the owner of the agricultural production facility, knowing that the act is not authorized.

So if you legitimately work in an agricultural production facility, and you are concerned about the practices where you work, if you take action, your employer will go after you for fraud that doesn't have to be true to be scary. Because somehow if you are concerned about the animals around you, this will be assumed from the start that you came into your job with the intent of disrupting the company.

One element that you got from watching "Fresh" was the number of chicken coop owners who felt like they couldn't appear on camera. So much is hidden from the process, from how the animals are treated to how the animals are processed.

Hill's statement reflects on "honest, hardworking people that have the welfare of their livestock as their top priority." That is what those who have been fighting for transparency want from the food system. If what Hill is saying is true, we don't need this legislation. Then again, they may disagree on the definitions of "honest" and "hardworking" and "welfare of their livestock as their top priority."

Temptation of the Week: 'Fruit and dairy' at McDonald's

Fruit and dairy. The last two words you would associate with McDonald's.

Yet, fruit and dairy are the stars of the new McDonald's ad campaign (which kicks off today), along with Ferris and his pet goat. The pet goat eats everything in sight, so Ferris tries to teach the goat to eat a balanced diet. The picture of a balanced diet is a basket with a fried chicken leg, bread, apple, and carrots alongside a bottle of milk. The rest of the way, it's all about the fruit and dairy.

McDonald's has made strides, such as they are, in tweaking the Happy Meals. This ad should have been discarded like the garbage that the goat eats.

The goat represents the way we eat, pushing things into our mouth at random with no forethought. Then the goat gets help from Ferris = eat a balanced diet. But of course, this isn't what the goat eats. In fact, we don't see the goat eating any food. We see the goat drinking cow's milk (don't think too hard about that one). In the McDonald's, we see Ferris has chicken nuggets, French fries, apples, and milk, but we never see him eat. Ferris grabs the apple slice but we don't see him eating food.

The goat is now big and strong, so he thinks, because he has had fruit and dairy. We don't see the goat eating the fruit, though he and Ferris would do better with a less-sugared fruit, like just about any other fruit in existence. Apples are very high in natural sugar.

If you are going to McDonald's for fruit and dairy, you can buy a gallon of milk for about twice the cost of a half-pint at McDonald's (there are 16 half-pints in a gallon). And you can get apples and other assorted fruit, probably better tasting fruit, at a farmers market or a grocery store.

The three foods best associated with McDonald's are hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks. As someone who grew up in a long ago time, we had the Hamburglar, the small French fry packet with legs, and Grimace's obsession with milkshakes. These merry band of food tie-ins were led by a clown aimed at children.

We were filled with emotional tie-ins to the fast food but we weren't filled with irony. We knew that hamburgers and fries weren't everyday food. If you have a treat every day, it's no longer a treat.

Watching McDonald's push fruit and dairy is like watching Alicia Silverstone do a commercial for a steakhouse; it's unnatural. McDonald's manages to push this without a human eating any food and the only drink comes from a goat; it's not like Alicia is going to put the steak in her mouth.

If McDonald's thinks it is important to be smarter in marketing to children, show a child, a live child, eating an apple slice and drinking some milk. See the child also eat a French fry and a small bite from a hamburger and chicken nugget. Have the announcer point out that it takes all kinds of food to give a young child energy to deal with the day. The child won't just live on fruit and dairy, but also recognize that constant fast food won't cut it either. Then, if nothing else, the commercial will be honest. And that would be a refreshing change in marketing fast food to kids.