Balance of Food

Temptation of the Week: Weekend foods

You've likely heard the drill: eat well during the week and then eat what you want on the weekend. If you really stick to it, this is a rather good method. If you are eating well during the week, chances are you can't do too much damage. And if the incentive of eating that kind of food on the weekend keeps you eating well during the week, great if that works for you.

Weekend food is only one variation of finding the Balance of Food. The New York Times food writer Mark Bittman eats a vegan diet before 6 pm and then anything after that time. Bittman doesn't go off the deep end by any stretch, and he has been doing this method for 6 years.

The concept works as long as you keep to the rhythm. But what happens when the rhythm changes?

Indulging on the weekend can be a great reward after a long, frustrating work week. But sometimes rewards come sooner because you're tired or sad or depressed. Indulging on the weekend loses the point if you are indulging during the week, too.

In fact, the weekend offers up opportunities to do more cooking, whether that be for the weekend or meals during the week. Making a stew or a sauce or chopping up vegetables is a great way to spend some of your weekend. By cooking ahead, you can reduce some of that temptation.

But the weekend is part of why I started this Temptation of the Week feature. The first feature ran May 20, 2011 so we are on the 2-year anniversary. In explaining the segment, I noted that "Many people are eating well during the week, but having a more relaxed approach on the weekend. So we are giving them some creative ideas as a reward for doing well."

Well, the segment has evolved in the last two years. But the idea still remains of getting you to think about temptation, good and bad. The segment runs on a Friday so you have time to contemplate how to use the latest Temptation of the Week.

Temptation of the Week: Poutine soda

Mon dieu. Soda with the taste of poutine.

You probably would believe the number of my friends who have sent me the notice of Jones Soda's newest flavor: poutine. People remember when you publicly admit you like poutine.

So will I be Jones-ing for some poutine soda?

Let's start by noting that Jones poutine soda is only available in Canada. Not everywhere in Canada, the Seattle-based company is aiming its new novelty soda at Quebec (maison du poutine), Ontario, and British Columbia.

But if I were there, or the poutine soda came to where I was, would I try poutine soda?

For the blog, oui. For myself, je ne sais pas.

Poutine is salty x3: French fries, squeaky white Quebec cheese curds, and brown gravy. Soda is sweet, even with Jones use of cane sugar. For some, this is bliss. Combining the two flavors is heaven for some.

As much as we can make things taste like something, what you will likely get in poutine soda is gravy soda since gravy predominates the dish. The idea of getting potatoes and cheese into the taste is likely an after-thought. This isn't really fair because I can't try the product, but this is based on other attempts to make x taste like y.

Bacon-flavored products don't really have bacon flavor, but more like a smoky flavor to make you think you are consuming something bacon-flavored.

Gravy-flavored soda has some appeal. A salty soda is novel, even among Jones' extensive novel soda collection.

But the idea of drinking poutine flavor leaves a bit

On my last trip to Montreal about a year ago, I sampled the poutine at Paul Patates. It's a small diner off the Charlevoix Metro stop. This is a very residential neighborhood; Regular tourists wouldn't be anywhere nearby, unless they were on a hunt for poutine.

The poutine is quite excellent; one of the best plates of poutine I have ever had. But the lure of going off the beaten path is the home-brewed spruce beer. The spruce beer is non-alcoholic, and one of the best soft drinks I have ever had. I described the soft drink as "7UP mixed with trees."

The taste of the spruce beer was refreshing and a nice contrast to the salty taste of a virtually perfect poutine. The two flavors went back and forth as I finished the poutine plate.

photo credit: Jones Soda

Temptation of the Week: Gorgeous, fresh vegetables

Vegetables are a lot more fun to eat when they're fresh. While vegetables don't have to be gorgeous to taste good and be good for you, well, gorgeous usually isn't a negative.

McDonald's tell us in its new ads that inside the Premium McWrap, you will find "gorgeous, fresh vegetables."

A chain fast food restaurant is promising us fresh vegetables and gorgeous vegetables and gorgeous, fresh vegetables inside their wrap.

Fast food restaurants are in the habit of showing us on camera what their food looks like and delivering nothing even close to that mark in the actual food served in these restaurants. So McDonald's is promising that what you'll see on TV will be what you get in person.

When I was watching the Canadian food ads on the NHL Center Ice free preview, one of the fast food sandwiches had a disclaimer that said you weren't guaranteed to get what you saw on TV. That is the great thing about Canadians; even when they trying to trick you, they come out and say that they are tricking you.

McDonald's didn't show us gorgeous, fresh vegetables in its new wrap sandwich. The chain told us you would get gorgeous, fresh vegetables. You would also get juicy, delicious chicken, but that is more subjective.

We have learned through trial and (mostly) error that restaurants won't promise that what you see is what you get. But if they say out loud that you will get something, then we should hold them to that statement.

If you envision suing McDonald's for false advertising, the company will maintain that their vegetables are fresh in that they aren't spoiled. Maybe not as fresh as you want them to be, but "fresh enough." As for gorgeous, well, gorgeous can be somewhat subjective. You might find Anne Hathaway is gorgeous while someone else would reserve that honor for Kate Upton.

If we learned nothing from "Animal House," we discovered that vegetables are sensual and people are sensuous. So the term "gorgeous" may not even apply to vegetables.

Still, McDonald's is taking a risk by verbalizing traits of its food that aren't likely to be true. No one not being paid by McDonald's will walk away thinking they ate gorgeous, fresh vegetables. And they certainly wouldn't have thought so without excess prompting.

Fresh tasty vegetables can make any sandwich taste better. If burger places want to lure us in for fresher fare, they better be able to back up what they say. Because we can find gorgeous, fresh vegetables in real life, and we don't need the golden arches to lead the way.

Temptation of the Week: Vachon 'Twinkies' made with sugar

You might think that not seeing the Jos. Louis snack cakes on my spring food run to Meijer's would leave me very sad. Well, a little sad, but there was enough joy elsewhere to make things right.

Vachon, the company that makes Jos. Louis snack cakes, was not missing from the store shelves. The company had its version of Twinkies, Cup Cakes, and Ding Dongs.

You know what's coming next. Yes, they have sugar, but not high-fructose corn syrup.

They compare favorably to what used to be the Canadian products (no longer available anywhere) and are way better than the Hostess products (currently available in Canada, not the United States).

I hadn't noticed the Vachon Hostess castoffs before in Canada, but may not have paid much attention. So I don't know if the Canadian version has glucose-fructose (high-fructose corn syrup) or sugar. The U.S. version of the Jos. Louis snack cakes had sugar while the Canadian version had glucose-fructose.

As much as I have wrote about the Jos. Louis snack cakes, and they are better than most of what you find on U.S. shelves, I like these snack cakes better.

But like all snack cakes — to be enjoyed in moderation. Truthfully, I froze the Jos. Louis snack cakes from last fall, and they still taste good. They're even better a little cold. Might have to see if the Vachon cakes freeze just as well. After all, I can only eat so much sugar at a time, even if they are sugar and not high-fructose corn syrup. They wil tide me past the temptation to buy the new American Twinkies (unless they change back to sugar) sometime this summer.

If you see the Jos. Louis snack cakes somewhere else in the States, let us know. Same goes for the Vachon "Twinkies," "Cup Cakes," and "Ding Dongs."

Temptation of the Week: Doing KFC Boneless

I had the idea a few years back: KFC's Original Recipe chicken but in a boneless strip. When KFC came out with boneless strips of chicken, the chicken came in extra crispy, or a lesser version of what I remember extra crispy to be when KFC first introduced it.

The crispy boneless chicken was okay, but wasn't identifiable as a KFC product. Honestly, Popeye's spicy version was just as crispy but with more flavor.

So you would think I would be excited that KFC is finally coming out with a boneless Original Recipe version.

Like the Double Down sandwich, I would have been more excited if this came out 5 years ago. Seriously, KFC. You are slower with your innovations than any other fast food chain — even McDonald's is faster.

But unlike the Double Down sandwich, I could see myself ordering this.

The review

For those who remember my Double Down review, I felt like I got an inferior product, even by normal standards. This was the opposite. The counter person apologized more than once because they had to cook it fresh. I reassured him that was fine. (Yes, this was a different store.)

The advertising emphasized the meal, but the in-store advertising pointed out that I could add a boneless Original Recipe piece for $1 with any purchase. I bought a small cole slaw and a boneless Original Recipe piece for less than $3.

I ordered the white meat, but it also comes in dark meat. KFC tells us that the boneless white meat has 200 calories; a dark meat piece has 250 calories.

I actually got two small pieces for that $1. I was ready to take my purchase to the table when another counter person asked me what dipping sauce I wanted with that. In the spirit of Cartman, I went with the gravy.

The chicken was really hot, something that isn't normally true. My intention was to use my hands, but the spork came in very handy.

I enjoyed the taste of the Original Recipe. If you closed your eyes, you would know it wasn't the same feeling as eating a piece of regular chicken. Yes, the new chicken is boneless, but also skinless. You had the taste of the Original Recipe, but it wasn't as good as the skin off a breast or a leg.

The best part was the parts within the piece that didn't have chicken attached to it. This was as close to KFC skin as you can get without the skin itself.

The chicken itself was pretty dry, something true of the boneless, skinless variety. The gravy, still very good, came in handy.

As I was waiting for my chicken, I noticed that KFC has bite-sized Original Recipe chicken. I wondered what the big deal was about the boneless piece if KFC already had a smaller version of the same product. This would be worth another trip, maybe with a side of gravy for dipping.

Modern chicken: no bones, no skin

As much as I like the idea of boneless Original Recipe, I mourn the idea that actually eating chicken pieces is not cool anymore. Meat is attached to bones in animals. People do eat chicken wings, mostly buffalo, with bones, but somehow that is more ironic, not to mention the increase of "boneless wings."

People buy chicken breasts sans bone, even though it's more expensive and not as tasty. Convenience really is more important these days.

KFC says 80% of fried chicken in the United States is served off the bone. Figure that most of the remaining 20% is buffalo wings, and that speaks volumes about how Americans eat their chicken.

What KFC really should sell is Original Recipe skin. Give us a bunch of Original Recipe skin, some grilled chicken on the side, and cole slaw. Cartman's end around of eating just the skin illustrated what a lot of us felt and still feel like when it came to KFC.

"I ate the bones" is the theme of the advertising, since the chicken is boneless. "I ate the skin" also applies because the chicken is skinless. I wouldn't mind eating the skin.

I can't say this would make me go frequently to KFC, but the boneless Original Recipe was pretty good. I didn't have that sluggish feeling I had after the Double Down. I might be better off with the Original Recipe bites. If nothing else, this reminded me of why I liked KFC as a child, the joy of the original 11 herbs and spices in a piece of fried chicken, bones and all.

photo by me

Temptation of the Week: Reading food labels every day

Tying in April 11 (4/11 — 411) to National "Read Your Labels" Day was a cute idea (411 = information), but in reality, every day should be Read Your Labels Day.

Even if you bypass the front labels of the product, as you probably should, the ingredient label is the most important part.

But reading the front label is a good way to see which way the product wants you to go. Sometimes, the information is literal: "no high-fructose corn syrup." Makes me want to pick up a product, even if it does have sugar. But I know before I look at the nutrition label that I don't have to worry about that ingredient.

Juice cocktail would be on the front label if that is the product, but you might gloss over that information. A product that is "sugar-free" looks tempting but often you should judge a product by what it has, not what it doesn't. Fat-free often means more sugar, more than likely to actually be high-fructose corn syrup.

The front of the label speaks to a code. They want you to notice the product, but aren't straightforward about what it has or doesn't have. And this code is everchanging. "Trans fat free" used to be a big deal.

Nutrition information on the back of the label doesn't mean much until you take in the serving size. And in comparing products, such as breakfast cereals, some will say ¾ oz. while others say 1 oz. Everything else being equal required things to be equal at the start.

How often should you read a nutritional label? Sometimes, if the product is susceptible to switching back to high-fructose corn syrup, you should check every time.

Unfortunately, a true "Read Your Labels" Day won't happen as long as the government has a policy where castoreum is masked as "natural flavor" and is never seen on a list of ingredients.

Food labels are a game to food companies, mostly the content in the front but also within the nutritional label. So many sources of sweetness, sugar alcohols, and artificial sweeteners under different names.

The best way to play the game is to be as diligent in scrutinizing the labels and be one step ahead of the food companies. That is a 24/7, 365 day game, because you ultimately decide what you put into your body.

If you really don't want to read labels, buy fruits and vegetables and drink water. No label required on an apple or a stalk of celery.

photo credit: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Temptation of the Week: Sex Cereal

Sex.

We were taught as kids that whatever sugary cereal was on the television that the sugary cereal was part of a balanced breakfast.

As adults, we want more from our cereal.

Sex Cereal was created by a Canadian businessman to help people improve their sexual performance through a specially designed breakfast cereal.

Cereal primarily goes with breakfast, but eating food to improve things in the bedroom is more about after-dinner activities. But you have to start somewhere. Now you know why breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

His Ingredients

Rolled oats, wheat germ, water, chia seeds, black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, blueberries (sweetened with apple juice), cacao nibs, goji berries, bee pollen, maca powder, camu camu, coconut sugar

Her Ingredients

Rolled oats, oat bran, sunflower seeds, water, flax seeds, chia seeds, soy protein, cranberries (sweetened with apple juice), goji berries, cacao nibs, almonds, ginger ground, maca powder, coconut sugar

There are two problems to consider before you jump at the chance to eat Sex Cereal. The cereal is $12/bag and is only available in Canada. First Twinkies, now Sex Cereal. Damn Canadians. :)

And couples can't share a bag, unless they're same gender couples. Of course, gays and lesbians can get married throughout Canada.

Both genders get rolled oats, water, chia seeds, cacao nibs, goji berries, maca powder, and coconut sugar. Men get blueberries while women get cranberries, but both are sweetened with apple juice.

Wheat germ is for men, oat bran for women. Seeds help produce good seeds, as men drift toward black sesame and pumpkin, while women go for sunflower and flax.

Wild cards? Men get bee pollen and camu camu while women get soy protein, almonds, and ginger ground.

Having breakfast does make your day go better. If somehow Sex Cereal gets people "up" to eat breakfasts they otherwise might skip, the cereal will have done its job regardless of any other benefits.

They say "sex sells." If sex can't sell people on the concept of having breakfast, nothing else can.

photo credit: Sex Cereal

Temptation of the Week: Easter candy

When I ate a lot more candy as an adult, and of course, my candy eating throughout my childhood, I could get swayed by Halloween candy. Easter candy offered a lot of items that had no appeal then, and especially now.

Marshmallow Peeps, chocolate rabbits, even the chocolate eggs weren't that relevant. Yes, I did eat a chocolate bunny or two as a child, mostly for the shock value. But I certainly have more fun candy memories than any Easter I remember.

Clearly in the minority on Easter candy since the store shelves have been filled with Easter candy since the last holiday (Valentine's Day).

Previous coverage:

Smart eating tips for Easter and Passover

Easter can be about more than just the candy

With Halloween, you get to forage for candy, hitting the good houses. Even when you got a less-than-ideal treat, you thought of friends with whom you could trade for something better. And with Halloween, you got a nice variety of the current candy scene.

With Easter, you get holiday-geared candy. The candy comes via the Easter Bunny, who always seemed less plausible than Santa Claus. The fake grass in the Easter basket couldn't hold up to even the lamest plastic orange jack o'lantern. Eating a bunny's head — yeah, that's nice — but the fun only last seconds afterward.

But if you are one of the millions who salivate over Easter candy, have fun with your bounty. Be joyful with your joy of candy. If you think you have too much Easter candy, chocolate bunnies freeze well. Marshmallow Peeps may not keep as long as Twinkies, though you should be able to enjoy them throughout all of spring and even part of the summer.

Share some of your Easter candy to someone who doesn't have enough or for those who don't celebrate Easter. But enjoy what you keep. After all, Easter comes once a year.

Temptation of the Week: Yogurt for men

Men are allowed to eat yogurt even if food advertising tells us yogurt is for women. Men are even allowed to eat yogurt in public, and don't have to be gnawing on a medium-rare steak while eating yogurt.

But Powerful Yogurt, a zero-fat Greek yogurt, is aimed and marketed to men as a yogurt for men.

Unlike Dr. Pepper Ten and other "men-only" products, this yogurt doesn't do anything "male." The flavors aren't particularly male: apple cinnamon, banana, blueberry acai, mango, plain, and strawberry. What no chipotle treebark?

Powerful Yogurt's tagline is "find your inner abs" — so maybe this yogurt isn't being aimed at most men. I'm in better shape than most American men, and even I can't find my inner abs, or any other abs.

Besides the alleged abs men will get by eating the yogurt, the packaging is certainly aimed at men with Powerful Yogurt's larger size (8 oz. vs. 6 oz.) and certainly looks less sleek and more masculine with its black and red pattern.

Thanks to Atlantic magazine, we know the company tried to promote its manly yogurt as improving the quality of sperm (think of that next time you are looking at yogurt).

Yogurt is yogurt, regardless of gender. Same goes for Greek yogurt. But if insecure men are avoiding Greek yogurt based on some "girly" stereotypes, here is how you can make your yogurt more "masculine," or gender-neutral at minimum.

Yogurt single-serving containers are small and sleek and are designed with women in mind. If you pour yogurt from a larger container, such as the gender-neutral 32 oz. size, into a container from home, and you eat the yogurt in public, you can serve an 8 oz. size as easily as a 6 oz. size.

Yogurt single-serving containers are also packed with a lot of sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup because women tend to want sweeter things more than men. Even fruit-based yogurts often come with extra sweeteners on top of already sweet fruit. Take that container from home, put in 8 oz. of plain Greek yogurt, put in jalapenos or barbecue sauce or bacon, and you have a truly masculine yogurt.

In no other species do genders subdivide food. Men can eat salads; women can eat steak. And everyone can eat yogurt. You have every right to modify a food to fit your personality or suit gender stereotypes, but you are also allowed to ignore the temptations of basic stereotypes and tempt yourself in a good way to make your food your own. This is the beauty of taking plain yogurt, Greek or regular, and adapting it; you are only limited by your imagination. Though if you go the chipotle treebark route, make sure your teeth are in good shape.

photo credits: Powerful Yogurt and NPR

Temptation of the Week: Aspartame in milk

A number of people posted it on Facebook. A dietitian friend of mine posted a rebuttal, also on Facebook. Two dairy groups wanted to put aspartame in milk and market it to children and parents as milk.

Yes, the groups want to do exactly that. The catch is you can already put aspartame in milk: you just have to label the milk as "artifically sweetened." The groups, International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), have petitioned the FDA to remove that label that might make parents not buy that beverage.

The disgusting part isn't that dairy groups are behind this, though that is pretty disgusting. The aspartame in milk beverage is being marketed as a healthier product to reduce childhood obesity by offering a low-calorie "milk."

Milk sugar and fruit sugar are healthier for our bodies because of how we process those sugars. Even though milk and fruit have sugars, they are good, healthy sugars. Our labeling system doesn't discern between milk and fruit sugars vs. other sugars. A processed container of fruit-based yogurt screams out for a label breaking down the difference.

So these dairy groups, concerned that people aren't drinking enough milk, theoretically due to "too many" calories, don't want to educate the masses about the importance of milk sugars in the growth of children. They would rather sucker convince people to buy low-calorie "milk" as a "healthier" option even in the face of stories about artificial sweeteners as a cause of obesity.

Since the idea is to trick consumers into drinking the alternative milk, then kids consume the extra aspartame. And if they get fat, no one would suspect the "milk."

And these groups are trying to trick the general public. After all, you can put aspartame in milk right now, sadly. The difference is that you need a label recognizing that fact.

Only the ardent dietitians and dairy groups would justify chocolate milk as a healthy snack vs. regular milk: the adage being that drinking the milk is more important even with the added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

This isn't to say chocolate milk is bad: in moderation and with sugar, chocolate milk can be a nice treat. The high-fructose corn syrup version is harder to justify, but the aspartame version would almost have to be R-rated, no one under 17 without parent or guardian.

Buying this aspartame "milk" in the store is bad enough; wait for school districts to being pressured into buying low-calorie "milk" and forcing school kids to get it, despite parental concerns. After all, if the FDA decides this is "milk," then the beverage falls into an acceptable category that could potentially end up in school lunches.

Yes, dairy companies have a right to promote its products. But the dairy people might want to start with the truth. Milk sugars have a healthy part to play in a child's development. Chocolate and strawberry milks are okay as an occasional treat, preferably with sugar and not high-fructose corn syrup. Artificial sweeteners in milk is a dangerous precedent, especially for children. Marketing that as "milk" is the last thing dairy folks need to be doing. Talk about undercutting a good product, as is.