Balance of Food

What's Tempting: 6 French fries

6 French fries. There was a lot of screaming on the Internet over 6 French fries. But they were really screaming the fries that weren’t there.

If a person ate 102 French fries in a setting, that person probably could have quit at 78 French fries. The person who stopped at 78 French fries could have walked away at 56 French fries.

56 French fries seems like a lot to the person who ate 42 French fries and didn’t go on. The person who ate 42 French fries might have been happier with 24 French fries.

The person who stopped at 24 French fries felt unsatisfied but would have been overwhelmed at 78 French fries or, dare we say, 102 French fries.

If you know how many French fries you ate in your last sitting, you are a scientist in this study or a liar. Nobody counts French fries, which is a good thing and part of the problem.

There is no more small size fries at McDonald’s: you can get medium, large, or Super Size. The measurement is based on how many fries you can cram into a fries box. You might know calories in a serving but you would have to ask how many ounces you are being served.

Being served French fries in a pub or restaurant may depend on how many fries you can gather on the rest of the plate, likely next to a burger, or possibly in a basket or bowl.

Preserving the integrity of Belgian frites

Happy Meal gets happier with smaller French fries bags and more apples

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

Professor Eric Rimm of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University mentioned in The New York Times article that eating 6 French fries was the healthiest way to eat them.

Getting caught up in the idea of 6 French fries misses the point. Eat fewer French fries. You don’t have to eat all the fries on the plate just because they are there. Offer some to your friends. Get more friends to come out with you to eat those French fries.

If those solutions don’t sound fun and you want all the French fries you can have in a single sitting, have French fries less often. If you gorge on French fries once a week, cut back to 2x/month.

“If you take a potato, remove its skin (where at least some nutrients are found), cut it, deep fry the pieces in oil and top it all off with salt, cheese, chili or gravy, that starch bomb can be turned into a weapon of dietary destruction.”

The New York Times article paints a portrait of the destruction of potatoes into French fries. You can make them healthier.

• If you buy frozen French fries, cook them in the oven or broiler as opposed to deep frying them.
• Fries are tempting with “salt, cheese, chili or gravy” but you could spray them with malt vinegar to add flavor.

If you are starting from scratch:

• Keep the skins on.
• Soak the potatoes to reduce the starch.
• Fry them in a way where the least amount of oil is absorbed.
• Buy a really expensive air fryer to avoid or significantly reduce the oil involved.

Even if French fries are not your kryptonite, use the philosophy whether your weakness is spaghetti, chocolate, pork rinds, or cheesecake. Eat less. Use better ingredients. Savor every bite. Minimize toppings or dips to truly appreciate the dish.

photo credit: me

Romaine lettuce can't be a liability in the food supply

The commercial would start out with a black-and-white version of the above photo with an announcer asking us, "Tired of throwing away romaine lettuce over possible e-coli."

Then the commercial would be in color with the solution to help you rid you of e-coli to protect your romaine lettuce.

There is no such product that can help with this sadly off-and-on food safety issue.

While the latest outbreak hit Canada in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, that lettuce and the lettuce in the United States came from the United States. We're #1??

We can't blame Yuma, AZ in the latest outbreak. We have a vague direction of the Central Coastal growing regions of northern and central California. You can track a purchase from Amazon but not the origin of your lettuce.

There is actual talk of labels with a harvest location by region for romaine lettuce products. Even then, the labels won't prevent the e-coli madness but can lead to fewer romaine lettuce heads being thrown out.

If you really are tired of throwing out perfectly good romaine lettuce, here are options for you.

• Stop buying bagged salad. Just stop. Mechanically chopped lettuce is becoming a problem for the potential spread of bad diseases. Tearing apart leaves of romaine lettuce can be done even if you are tired. You will be using fresher lettuce that tastes better.
• Look into hydroponic or greenhouse-grown romaine lettuce. Neither of these were linked to any outbreak. The lettuce will be local and available year-round. Or buy from a trusted local farmer. The lettuce may be more expensive but you'll know where it comes from and has no chance of e-coli runoff from factory farms.
• Don't replace romaine lettuce with iceberg lettuce in those moments. Unless you are eating a wedge salad ironically, you have no need for iceberg lettuce. Discover some really great lettuces. Turns out green leaf is the best friend to any sandwich.
• Badger your Congressperson and senator. Tell them you want to invest in food safety in the United States. Maybe your Congressperson will be someone new in January. Make sure you get that name correct.

"Ill people in this outbreak were infected with E. coli bacteria with the same DNA fingerprint as the E. coli strain isolated from ill people in a 2017 outbreak linked to leafy greens in the United States and to romaine lettuce in Canada. The current outbreak is not related to a spring 2018 multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to romaine lettuce."

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

This CDC directive refers to multiple recent outbreaks involving lettuce. Lettuce is supposed to be a safe vegetable as a welcome base to salads everywhere. We need to work harder to return to a world where lettuce is safe once again.

Editor's note: This was one of 2 heads of romaine lettuce that I threw away. Food waste is bad but not as bad as getting e.coli.

photo credit: me