Balance of Food

Eating plant-based burgers falls well within the spirit of Lent

Feel certain that my Catholic card lapsed a very long time ago, but the rules were clear: no meat on Fridays during Lent. If you go back even further, Catholics didn't eat meat on any Friday.

The fish fry in Wisconsin, the Filet O'Fish sandwich at McDonald's: designed to serve those who abstain from meat on Fridays, regardless of religion.

"In terms of the meatless, Impossible Whopper, whatever, I mean, you know it’s all imitation stuff, but I don’t think that’s in the same spirit of what fasting or abstaining from meat is all about," Father Tom Hurley, the pastor at Old St. Patrick's Church, said.

The tenets of sacrificing meat, but not fish, goes back to very ancient times. The nuances of defining animals, such as sea turtles, that exist on land and in the sea isn't in the "spirit of what fasting or abstaining from meat."

One Lenten Friday, my mother was fixing spaghetti with Ragu with meat sauce. She realized part way through that we only had the meat sauce. She said, "well, there isn't that much meat in there anyway." My mother also would rationalize stopping at McDonald's on car trips on Fridays during Lent with a "travel exemption." Nobody in my family ever ordered a Filet O'Fish.

Daily Show looks into alternative meats

South Park explores the effects of a processed plant-based diet

Beyond Burger has a lot of ingredients but doesn't qualify as ultra-processed

Changing definition of processed food doesn't change the concern

Review: The Beyond Burger

The idea of the meatless burger is to avoid the eating of animals, whether that is for climate change, animal welfare, religion, or some other reason. There are other standard meatless burgers and hot dogs. The Beyond and Impossible worlds aren't distinctively different. You could eat a portobello mushroom in a hamburger bun.

Which is more of a sacrifice: eating lobster with tons of butter or a Beyond Burger?

Some people might think these newest meatless burgers taste too close to meat to be a sacrifice. Not sure I would agree with that on taste. The whole idea was to find something that tastes close to meat that doesn't involve animals.

What's Tempting: Corned beef on a Friday during Lent

Temptation of the Week: Eating fish and seafood on Fridays during Lent

Temptation of the Week: Eating meat on Fridays in Lent

Catholics can eat eggs, cheese, butter, fish, lobster, and crab on those 6 Fridays in the spring. If that isn't enough of a sacrifice, you can eat rice and beans on Fridays. A lot of Catholics eat rice and beans a lot of days and don't consider that a sacrifice.

BalanceofFood.com religion coverage

When the meat/fish rules were made, going without meat was a huge sacrifice, even with being allowed to eat fish and seafood. In modern times, going without meat for a day is not a big deal.

When St. Patrick's Day, an American holiday more than an holiday in Ireland, falls on a Friday, U.S. bishops consistently allow the eating of corned beef on a Lenten Friday. Not much of a sacrifice there.

photo credit: me

Fat Tuesday and Valentines Day back to back offer new temptations

With Fat Tuesday and Valentines Day running on back-to-back days in 2018, you might be tempted to keep the indulgences going today. If you observe Ash Wednesday, then indulgences on Valentines Day won't happen.

Fat Tuesday in a parallel universe

Ode to the man who brought us a fatter Fat Tuesday

Regardless of religion, Valentines Day is seen as an eating holiday, whether you are in love or waiting for that special someone to come into your life.

Temptation of the Week: Be Good to Yourself

Love shouldn't have to wait for someone. Love can be about yourself. Even some in love might have a more difficult Valentines Day.

Temptation of the Week: Sex Cereal

Then again, if you are truly in love, you can stock up on Sex Cereal. This is a real thing but might exist only in Canada.

What's Tempting: Ugly fruits and vegetables

Valentines Day can be healthy with heart-shaped fruits and vegetable slices

Love for yourself means health. A good heart is aided by fruits and vegetables.

What's Tempting: Home cooking on Valentines Day

Valentines Day reminds us to set high standards in bacon, love, and food

The spirit of Valentines Day is about intimate moments in a special setting. Paying way too much for a likely underwhelming restaurant meal is not the ideal way to celebrate a day of love.

Podcast: dealing with the struggle of 'eating holidays'

Is it better to eat alone to stay fit?

Should Valentines Day be about food?

If none of those earlier stories helps you out of your Valentines Day mood, try one of these stories.

BalanceofFood.com holidays coverage

We have a special category for all our stories with a holidays theme. This includes stories involving Fat Tuesday, too.

photo credit: Sex Cereal

What's Tempting: Corned beef on a Friday during Lent

We've gone 11 years since St. Patrick's Day on March 17 was on a Friday. If you aren't Catholic, specifically Irish Catholic, you might miss the significance of a Friday with St. Patrick's Day.

The Fridays of Lent, including Good Friday, as well as Ash Wednesday, are days where Catholics are supposed to abstain from meat. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional meal on St. Patrick's Day.

The sacrifice of going without meat for 7 days in the springtime is not a terribly significant sacrifice. But if your desire for corned beef and Irish heritage is stronger than your faith, religion, or desire to sacrifice, then you have a dilemma.

Fortunately for North American Catholics, cardinals actually weigh in to allow Catholics to make an exception. Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago is giving general dispensation to Catholics concerning March 17. The cardinal does note that Catholics who eat meat should substitute another form of penance. If a cardinal did not weigh in to help out Irish Catholics, that would be news.

Corned beef a sin?

As a lapsed recovering Catholic who thought the rules were strange at the time, the idea of moving a meat-free day made sense. If there is a situation with a Friday, such as travel or you are in the hospital and they don't tell you beef broth is in the soup, move it to another day. Take 2 days without meat in lieu of 1 day if karma is a concern.

If you still don't trust the divine world of a Catholic cardinal, bothers you to eat corned beef, celebrate St. Patrick's Day well past midnight local time and start the corned beef after the bewitching hour. You celebrate the holiday with corned beef but you actually eat it on a Saturday.

You could have celebrated with corned beef late Thursday night. Have the corned beef in your mouth before midnight or chew it but swallow the meat at 11:59:59.

You could accidentally forget that it was a Friday as you were eating the corned beef, but the idea is that if you know it was wrong in your heart, you aren't supposed to do it.

Temptation of the Week: Eating meat on Fridays in Lent

You can be smart about March Madness, St. Patrick's Day, great food and drink temptations

In case you thought this was only about corned beef and the Irish, come hear the story of caguama.

In Mexican society, caguama, or sea turtle, is a popular dish because the sea turtles are supposedly a tonic and an aphrodisiac. During Lent, Mexicans eat the sea turtle, believing it qualifies as fish when the sea turtle is meat. There was a push in 2002 to get Pope John Paul II to declare that sea turtles were meat instead of fish.

Reptiles fall into the meat category even if they sometimes live in the water.

BalanceofFood.com religion coverage

"Judge not, and you will not be judged." (Luke 6:37).

I'll play it safe and not judge people based on what they want to be with their religious take on food whether that be Yom Kippur, Ramadan, or meat on Lenten Fridays. Just like you need to follow your own Balance of Food, you need to follow your conscience in how that works.

If you are an overall good person, sneaking a little corned beef on a Friday isn't that high of a priority. Decisions from cardinals can help ease the guilt of potential sin. But you have to go by what is in your heart.

After today, you have 6 more years to wonder what to do before March 17, 2023. That should be plenty of time to debate this dilemma once again.

photo credit: VeryCulinary.com

Easter/Passover food preview: Step away from Peeps Milk

You might be tempted to celebrate Easter morning with your favorite sugary cereal with Peeps Milk poured in your bowl.

You are better than this.

We could be too late since Peeps Milk has been around for the Easter season in 3 flavors: Marshmallow Milk, Chocolate Marshmallow Milk, and Easter Egg Nog.

If you celebrate Easter, chances are you will be consuming lots of cheap milk chocolate. The idea of 37 grams of additional sugar (including milk sugars) per serving is more on top of too much.

The idea of lamb and butter shaped like lamb are much nicer Easter traditions. Halloween is about candy, but somehow you end up with better candy on that holiday. Christmas is also about candy and chocolate, but you end up with better sweets along with nuts and fruit.

We will not stop you from eating Easter candy. Just don't wash it down with Peeps milk.

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We did our annual Kosher for Passover soft drinks trip. Unlike last year, no Kosher for Passover 7UP was found. We did old standards such as Pepsi, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, and Coca-Cola.

Pepsi and Canada Dry come in 6-packs; the Coca-Cola is only in 2-liter bottles.

Attention Coca-Cola: you are cutting your sales by not offering 6-packs. 2-liter bottles are great for parties, but as a single consumer, a 2-liter can only go so far.

The reason why corn products (high-fructose corn syrup) is not Kosher for Passover is that corn and other grains are "kitniyot" and are off limits for Ashkenazi Jews. Sugar is definitely Kosher for Passover.

I, along with other Kosher for Passover soft drink enthusiasts, would gladly pay more for 6-packs and would buy more of your product. Don't come back and say sales are down if you won't present your product in the best light possible.

Yes, we can get Mexican Coca-Cola year-round, but Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola has a special taste. We just wish it was more convenient to buy.

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We do realize Passover started last night. Happy Passover to all those who celebrate. Embrace the uniqueness of the food "sacrifices" for the holiday.

A Good Friday to those who celebrate as well as a Happy Easter.

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photo credit: Prairie Farms

What's Tempting: Breastfeeding in church

"If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice. Because they are the most important people here."

Pope Francis I has been delighting people with his unconventional take on being the Earthly leader of the Catholic Church. But what caught our ear at BalanceofFood.com is that women should be encouraged to breastfeed their children in church, even in the Sistine Chapel.

Pope Francis I had recently come out in favor of breastfeeding in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

In a story of a young mother who attended his weekly Papal General Audience, the pope said, "She was shy and didn't want to breastfeed in public, while the Pope was passing. I wish to say the same to humanity: give people something to eat!"

Breastfeeding in public has slowly become an accepted practice, even in the United States. The fear of the female nipple and/or people's discomfort over being in the same space with a breastfeeding mother has made breastfeeding less prevalent in society.

Previous coverage:

NATO notebook: Tying food security to sovereignty

Podcast: Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and the politics of breastfeeding

Breast milk is the ultimate natural food

Women who simply want to help feed their children, and wanting to do so with dignity, now have someone very powerful in their corner.

Yes, we appreciate the irony of the head of the Catholic Church saying this, given how backwards the church is toward women. Yet the Catholic Church is very pro-Mary, who almost certainly breastfed Jesus. That might be an image that some Catholics struggle with, but that reality over 2000 years ago is reflected today in the women sitting in the Sistine Chapel listening to the Pope while feeding their children.

Religions tend to frown on nudity, yet the natural God-given utility of the female breast encourages feeding whenever the child is hungry. Pope Francis I's take doesn't mean breastfeeding falls under papal infallibility, but breastfeeding does have his blessing.

Even with laws that grant women the right to breastfeed in public, nosy, rude people will "ahem" to get you to notice their outrage or come right out and say how they feel. If you are in that position, or you are rising up to defend a mother in that scenario, you can now say, "if it's good enough for the pope, it's good enough for me, too."

If breastfeeding does bother you, no one says you have to look. And if you're listening to the pope in the Sistine Chapel, and you see a woman breastfeeding and you feel uncomfortable, you can always look at the ceiling. Plenty to see up there.

Kosher for Passover soft drinks list now includes 7UP, Canada Dry

Boy were my arms tired.

I expected my annual trek to get Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola to be an easy one. Get two 2-liter bottles with the yellow top, hopefully on sale. See what else is there, pay for it all, and easily leave the store.

After all, every year I have made this journey (well over a decade), my choices among major soft drink manufacturers are Coke and Pepsi. While I have tried and enjoyed a Kosher for Passover Pepsi, I never fell into the Pepsi group even in the good ol' days. When Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola came in 6-packs, I needed strong arms or borrow a car to carry home all I wanted.

This year, the display up front had some new members: 7UP and Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Sure the 7UP retro version came out recently, though changes in the formula stopped any significant reminiscing. And I can't remember ever having a Canada Dry Ginger Ale with sugar.

In the good old days, I would have lost count about how many 6-packs I would have brought home. Even in these times, I struggled to find a good balance between having an occasional fun treat and going overboard.

I settled on three 6-packs for each soft drink, plus the two 2-liter Coca-Cola bottles. I can always share or satisfy others' curiosity.

For new readers who might not know the background of Kosher for Passover soft drinks, corn and corn products are not Kosher for Passover. So in areas where you find a lot of Jewish people (e.g., Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago), you can find Kosher for Passover products, including Coca-Cola.

Yes, you can get Mexican Coca-Cola year-round and in glass bottles. I would offer that Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola has its own unique, distinct, awesome take on the classic soft drink. I have dreamt of Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola in glass bottles many times in years past.

And unlike some reports on Mexican Coca-Cola, we know we're getting the good stuff. The bottles in Chicago come with the seal of the Chicago Rabbinical Council and can be spotted easily with the yellow top.

I did notice "New York" on top of the Kosher for Passover Pepsi cans this year. Maybe the New York batch made its way to Chicago.

Passover 2013 begins at sundown March 25 and runs through sundown April 2. We highly advise that you make your Kosher for Passover trek before Passover starts, though you might still find supplies during the Passover period.

Chick-Fil-A twist proves restaurants need to be about love, not hate

Today is unofficially Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day, though the appreciation has very little to do with fried chicken. Some conservatives, started by former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), wanted to show their support for Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A, and his stance on "traditional marriage."

What seems most puzzling was that while the controversy had been brewing for some time, nothing Cathy said recently was any different than what he has said in the past. The tone and words were a little different, but the message was the same.

Chick-Fil-A supports organizations fighting against gay marriage. Some see a distinction between this and being anti-gay; others don't.

The Muppets reacted as if they did not know what was going on. So did many others. And unlike in previous skirmishes, conservatives such as Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Billy Graham decided to publicly support the restaurant chain.

Previous coverage:

Temptation of the Week: Can Chick-Fil-A co-exist with gay?

Chick-Fil-A or gay: you should choose, but choose wisely

As we noted in earlier coverage, Chick-Fil-A started this discussion after the chain expanded into markets not traditionally a part of the Chick-Fil-A experience. Not to pigeonhole people, but Southerners are more likely to be against gay marriage or at least live in a state where gay marriage laws weren't likely to be passed.

Moving up north and east was going to cause some friction, though the Chick-Fil-A folks seemed ready for that, bending over backwards to point out that the chain served all people and didn't discriminate against those eating in the restaurant.

The interview that provoked the latest battle went against what was the PR approach. And tensions escalated as a result.

Chick-Fil-A also suffered from a PR standpoint with bizarre accusations about kids were being injured by getting their fingers stuck in the Muppets toys. Yes, the implication was that the chain introduced that children were getting injured when they actually weren't. If that charge is true, Chick-Fil-A has a worse PR issue on its hands. A fake Facebook account from "Abby Farle" defended the restaurant chain. The restaurant chain denied any connection. Coincidences happen, but the timing doesn't help the chain.

I thought I was done writing about politics and Chick-Fil-A, figuring those who knew and chose not to go there had their beliefs and those who knew but still wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A would do what they wanted to do.

You don't know how McDonald's or Wendy's or Carl's Jr. feels about abortion or gay marriage or the Keystone XL pipeline. Chances are, you like it that way. But you also know that Chick-Fil-A, right or wrong, thinks it's more important to stand up. After all, the folks at In 'n' Out stand up for what they believe, and liberals like that.

The lone store in Chicago, the lone store in New York City, the potential second store in Chicago, the theoretical store(s) in Boston, and other locations in the upper Midwest and Northeast are very unlikely to be behind the same activities as their corporate headquarters. The same is true of Domino's, even though we knew a significant portion of the profits was going to anti-abortion activities.

Politics and food is more in the food itself than where some of the money goes. Chipotle gets a benefit for the kind of meats it uses and how those animals are raised -- this is where politics and food make more sense. Even then, using animals that are raised well shouldn't be a political issue.

Of the four possible groups, two of them don't really matter to this discussion:
-- Those who love Chick-Fil-A who don't support gay marriage or equal rights.
-- Those who would never eat in a Chick-Fil-A and support gay marriage and equal rights.

The attention has been on those who like Chick-Fil-A but are troubled about where their money goes. They have been paying more attention to this issue since they are more likely to read up on current events. Someone may have joined this group because they just learned about this issue with the recent publicity.

The fourth group is just kicking in: those who didn't care about Chick-Fil-A one way or another but suddenly rush in because they don't support gay marriage or they support conservatives.

Chick-Fil-A's kicked-in stance went from being an issue of religion to a level of discrimination. The PR collapse is remnant of Tom Cruise before the couch jumping versus couch jumping. (Obviously, the sudden death of Chick-Fil-A PR head Don Perry did not help.) Watching the company defend "traditional marriage" and having Jon Stewart read Biblical verses with marriages that no one would consider traditional in 2012 shows that even those who love the Bible don't always know what is contained within.

Dan Cathy went against the PR grain on a conservative talk radio show and discovered that people outside the secluded evangelical circle are paying attention. On Friday, a "kiss-in" protest will show Chick-Fil-A that their stance is all about love.

Chick-Fil-A has the right to believe what it wants to believe. The chain is putting its money in what it believes. People have the right to put their money in what they believe. We'll have to wait and see whether Chick-Fil-A's move will backfire. Pretty safe to say no other fast food chain will test that theory.

Balance of Food on why it's ethical to eat meat

Today being May 1, those who are too cheap or lazy (yours truly included) to subscribe to The New York Times online can use their first free read to see the top 6 results of "why it's ethical to eat meat" essay contest.

As you may have guessed, I entered the contest and, shock, did not place in the top 6. Compared to the winners, my essay wasn't as heartfelt or full of crazy stories. Mine was too practical and realistic, hallmark traits of my work here at BalanceofFood.com. Since this audience will appreciate it more than The New York Times, here is the essay in its entirety. Oh, and feel free to eat some meat, hopefully well-grown, while reading my essay.

Man is not the only animal that eats meat, but it's the only one who gives it any thought. Eat cow and chicken, but not dog and cat. Eat white meat but not dark meat. Eat the lean meat, not the liver. Eat cows but not veal.

When a tiger rips into the flesh of a smaller animal, the tiger never asks, "Was this grass-fed?" The tiger eats the meat, no questions asked.

Man used to justify eating meat out of self-defense. If he didn't kill the saber-tooth tiger, the tiger would eat him.

Man no longer needs to feel threatened by the animals in his world. The cow does not look at us as his dinner. Cows, chickens and pigs are meant to be vegetarians. Buffaloes eat grass.

So now man questions whether we should eat meat.

The Christian imagery in the United States is Adam having the animals at his disposal. Native peoples speak of respect for the animal, using all parts of the animal. The understanding: we have access to the animals in question, but in return, we must respect the animals.

The lack of respect for the animals is a major reason why mankind currently contemplates a world where animals are not eaten, and why many people have recently converted to vegetarianism. "If only we treat the animals better," is a common reason for new vegetarians.

About three generations ago, we had a society where we treated animals better, even as we were eating them. People ate dark meat and livers. We appreciated tougher cuts of meat because meat was expensive. Having meat on your table was a big deal.

The Interstate Highway System and fast food made for a convenient marriage. We decided we needed more meat but certain cuts, and meat had to be cheaper. We started being pickier about what meat we ate. Gone was the flavorful dark meat of the chicken. "Give me some of that white meat with 11 herbs and spices and deep fry it."

Then we decided that cows and chickens weren't fat enough fast enough. So we came up with a system to feed corn to cows. "Who cares if they can't stomach that corn? Feed them antibiotics and hormones to solve the problem."

We take inedible parts of the animal, clean them up with ammonia, and feed it to school children. Our value of the animal has been reduced to "pink slime."

So if we somehow magically go back to a time where we do treat our animals with respect, should we still eat them?

Humans can't eat grass, but cows and buffalo can eat grass. You eat what the animals you eat have eaten. When done properly and ethically, meat supplies mankind with nutrients in a distinctive and flavorful fashion.

In a world where we don't eat meat, we would have fewer cows, pigs, and chickens. Who would take care of those remaining animals? Farmers would be too busy raising vegetarian crops to feed people.

Do we want to shift our land priorities to bury cows and pigs? What about the deer overpopulation?

We would be better off if we ate less meat and more well-raised meat. The world also benefits from having more vegetarians, regardless of reason, and flexitarians, those who occasionally eat meat.

Pulling back to a time where meat was more rare (in temperature and availability) would make us appreciate the gift we have of the animals all around us.

Smart eating tips for Easter and Passover

For the upcoming Easter and Passover celebrations, we have some tips that can guide you well. Some of them are applicable regardless of holiday, and some of them are rather specific. We live in a world with more intermingling, so it's possible you will be at a seder and a Easter table.

-- Peeps are not really food.
-- Butter in the shape of a lamb has as many calories and as much fat as regular butter.
-- If you do eat cheeseburgers, you don't have to bring that up at the table.
-- Try to smile even though it's the 100th time someone has done the Jesus M&Ms joke.
-- Kosher for Passover is not the same as Kosher. When in doubt, ask.
-- Remind yourself that there is wonderful protein inside those colorful casings.
-- There is more to Easter than candy.
-- People do eat lamb outside Easter, even if it's the only time of year you see it.
-- Did we mention that Peeps are not food.

Easter and Passover are about friends, family, food, and sharing. Make them your focus. And if you think you're eating too much, spring holidays encourage more walking than Christmas and Hanukkah.

Editor's Note: This will serve in place of Temptation of the Week this week. Enjoy the holiday.

Temptation of the Week: Eating fish and seafood on Fridays during Lent

One of my favorite Dr. Demento songs is "Wet Dream in the Gulf Stream" — a bunch of fish and seafood puns from Kip Addotta. You groan through the rapid-fire puns, but the other emotion you get at the end of the song is hunger for seafood.

Last week, we profiled the temptation of eating meat on a Friday during Lent. So we thought we should give equal time to the fishy creatures of the sea.

Theologians can recite the tale of why creatures of the sea are OK during Lent but not those who live on land. After all, fish and seafood are alive and can feel pain, especially when a lobster is placed in boiling water.

Vegetarians consider fish and seafood to be "meat" — what comes out of a crab leg looks nothing like a cow steak, but they still come from animals.

Since we get the all-clear, our society associates fish with Fridays, such as fish frys. Or the fact that Filet O'Fish sandwiches get more publicity during Lent. You don't have to be a Catholic during Lent to appreciate a seafood dinner on a Friday.

Growing up, most of the seafood I ate was fish sticks and fried clams at Bill Knapp's. Well, canned tuna was also on the list. I had a deprived childhood, seafood-wise.

Since then, I've learned to love not-fried clams, calamari, mussels, lobster, smoked salmon, crab, fish, scallops, shrimp, prawns, and so much more. Still trapped in the Midwest, the seafood isn't as good as it would be fresh from the ocean. And the vast majority of seafood I've eaten, even as an adult, was cooked by someone else.

Those who grew up in seafood-friendly areas might feel the same way about steak. Even at this point, cooking fish and seafood isn't as instinctual as cooking hamburgers and steak.

Fish and seafood, when properly prepared, provide better nutrition (Omega 3s) than meat and still provides a lot of protein. Like Regis Philbin during his Prince Edward Island seafood adventure, too many Americans love seafood only if it's deep-fried.

If you are one of those people, experiment with seafood. Try a spice-filled recipe. Cajun a fish. Saute some scallops. Find a way to make fish and seafood a true temptation of the week.