Food & Cooking

[whm1974]

16 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Ive tried them without sauce and they are not bad. But you can tell its not chicken. Put a little sauce and you would never know the difference. 

I might use a dab of brown or gray pompon mustard on it but that is it.

[whm1974]

I just checked to if Walmart listed Tempeh online and they do and they have send to me from the Store itself. I did look when I was there Monday and couldn't find any. I was thinking it would be in the frozen foods section

 

Where else could it be?

[tikker]

8 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

1. First off, lettuce actually does have nutrients.

Never said it didn't.

8 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

So yeah I consider lettuce nutritionally and ecologically superior than a steak. It provides nutrients and isn't overly dense in calories. Second off, lets not pretend that lettuce is the only salad material and salad is the only type of veggie. Spinach is far superior to lettuce and there are lots of other examples of better veggies than iceberg lettuce. 

2. If you define it as the most purple one, neither lettuce nor steak wins, but why would you define it by that?

Yeah spinach is great. I underestimated the fraction of the daily recommended amount of vit A and K in lettuce. I'm not claiming meat is the one and only. Plants can provide a lot of nutrients, meat is great at delivering energy and proteins. Again why a balanced diet is much more important than meat (which just to be sure, I do agree with can be reduced) bad, plant good. I'd wager we could see a substantial improvement already if we can convince people to get 50-70% of their nutrients from plants and top up the calories with a nice piece of meat.

9 hours ago, whm1974 said:

Yawn: What We as a Species will ended up doing is wiping ourselves out by destroying the Ecosystem We depend on. Other Species such as Bacteria, Insects, Microbes, and Plants are very likely to survive.

Perhaps, but that's of no use to us now is it. "Planet" is just a simple way to refer to "the entire ecosystem of all current living organisms on the planet we call Earth". No we won't split this rock in half, but the majority of the planet will likely go belly up. The only plants that will survive are ones that do well in arid climates, and how much vegetation do you really see in a desert?

7 hours ago, whm1974 said:

I just checked to if Walmart listed Tempeh online and they do and they have send to me from the Store itself. I did look when I was there Monday and couldn't find any. I was thinking it would be in the frozen foods section

 

Where else could it be?

Probably in the vegan/vegetarian isle if that exists. I have never seen frozen tempeh here. It's in a cooled section of produce though, along with tofu and other plant-based alternatives.

[whm1974]

2 hours ago, tikker said:

Perhaps, but that's of no use to us now is it. "Planet" is just a simple way to refer to "the entire ecosystem of all current living organisms on the planet we call Earth". No we won't split this rock in half, but the majority of the planet will likely go belly up. The only plants that will survive are ones that do well in arid climates, and how much vegetation do you really see in a desert?

 

Probably in the vegan/vegetarian isle if that exists. I have never seen frozen tempeh here. It's in a cooled section of produce though, along with tofu and other plant-based alternatives.

Which desert? Some have more then others and not all of them have sand you know.

 

Thanks. I'm might go to Walmart today and look. I ate the block of Tofu.

 

[tikker]

13 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Which desert? Some have more then others and not all of them have sand you know.

 

None of them are teeming with life either. Farms in desert environments are limited to stuff that thrives in arid conditions or require substantial irrigation, which is water intensive. We will lose a lot of species that have adapted to the temperatures and conditions their ecosystem has had for a long time to this sudden increase in temperature and drought.

[whm1974]

21 minutes ago, tikker said:

None of them are teeming with life either. Farms in desert environments are limited to stuff that thrives in arid conditions or require substantial irrigation, which is water intensive. We will lose a lot of species that have adapted to the temperatures and conditions their ecosystem has had for a long time to this sudden increase in temperature and drought.

Not all Arid and Semi-Arid Locations are Hot. Quite a few are a bit cold. Like Mongolia.

[12345678]

ok all cool, but I haven't seen anything in the market

 

but maybe it could also be a dumb regulation thing, sometimes they do destroy business even before they are born

[tikker]

6 hours ago, whm1974 said:

Not all Arid and Semi-Arid Locations are Hot. Quite a few are a bit cold. Like Mongolia.

Well imagine what happens to a cold-adapted ecosystem that heats up too much: it collapses just as much.

44 minutes ago, 12345678 said:

ok all cool, but I haven't seen anything in the market

 

but maybe it could also be a dumb regulation thing, sometimes they do destroy business even before they are born

Kinda makes sense when it comes to food. Better that it's delayed or slowly hits the markets than sending it out and shortly after having to recall it, basically ruining your future chances.

[12345678]

6 minutes ago, tikker said:

Well imagine what happens to a cold-adapted ecosystem that heats up too much: it collapses just as much.

Kinda makes sense when it comes to food. Better that it's delayed or slowly hits the markets than sending it out and shortly after having to recall it, basically ruining your future chances.

I do see regulations as a good thing as a start, but then they do start to be a cancerous business, preventing new possible competitors into getting into the market, unless they don't have ton of moneys (or people) to make things change for them; and the food market is no exception

 

like gmo banned in europe for a lack of data but not in the us; us eggs banned in eu and viceversa; miracle fruit banned in both us and eu, thanks to shitty corporation;

 

then often even the basics food regulation/safety standards are not even enforced

[tikker]

43 minutes ago, 12345678 said:

us eggs banned in eu and viceversa

This actually has a reason. It's because the US washes all (most of?) their eggs, which removes the protective outer membrane, making it more susceptible to pathogens and requires them to be stored in the fridge. Here in the EU they aren't washed and can thus be stored safely on the shelf at room temp. Shipping times aside, it would be dangerous to provide US eggs here, as we (unknowingly) assume they aren't washed. Vice versa EU eggs would just be washed, so it's pointless to import them.

[whm1974]

41 minutes ago, tikker said:

This actually has a reason. It's because the US washes all (most of?) their eggs, which removes the protective outer membrane, making it more susceptible to pathogens and requires them to be stored in the fridge. Here in the EU they aren't washed and can thus be stored safely on the shelf at room temp. Shipping times aside, it would be dangerous to provide US eggs here, as we (unknowingly) assume they aren't washed. Vice versa EU eggs would just be washed, so it's pointless to import them.

Wouldn't be outright silly to import Eggs in the US to begin with? For one they are fragile and leak everywhere. They also way too cheap in the US to bother with importing in the first place.

[whm1974]

I was at Walmart again since I needed a USB-C cable. Look again for Tempeh and they could be out of stock.

 

Online then? I don't go to Walmart often.

[12345678]

1 hour ago, tikker said:

This actually has a reason. It's because the US washes all (most of?) their eggs, which removes the protective outer membrane, making it more susceptible to pathogens and requires them to be stored in the fridge. Here in the EU they aren't washed and can thus be stored safely on the shelf at room temp. Shipping times aside, it would be dangerous to provide US eggs here, as we (unknowingly) assume they aren't washed. Vice versa EU eggs would just be washed, so it's pointless to import them.

but both methods are equally valid, so it looks more like a trade restriction

 

even if in the end, almost nobody is enforcing such laws (talking about eu, us idk, but I don't think that's so different) from small home formers to big industries, but it looks like big industries do bail out regulators whenever they do see something that might damage them;

they usually don't bother to persecute home farmers when selling their unregulated eggs for 1€ each to few customers, but whenever they do see something that could damage them they are quick to act, by either doing some campaigns to disregard small farmers, or destroying them legally

 

 

[whm1974]

So I made some Fried green tomatoes and Hush Puppies. Those tomatoes came out great, but the puppies would be more enjoyable deep fried. Didn't tasted the same.

[whm1974]

Some I had some left over Cornmeal and Self-Rising white flour, and used  some Whole Wheat to make this. Added some Extra Virgin Sesame Oil to the flour. Then an egg and used water for the dough. Then Spray coconut oil on the skillet and my right hand. 

 

This is came out. Next time I'll add some more lite brown sugar, ginger, and nutmeg.

 

I have some of dough left. Real chewy however.

[whm1974]

While I get that The Standard American Diet is rather well, sad and needs major improvement to become Healthier. I keep hearing/reading the words, "Real Food", but what exactly is considered to be Real Food to begin with? Well I consider Whole Grain Flours and Breads to be such. Meaningless Marketing?

 

Now I'm not going to be going out of my way and I'm on Disability. So no Organic, GMO Free, or anything to cause unneeded costs for me. I tend to think of these as more silly marketing anyway.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

[mahyar]

I'm not familiar with american diet can you explain it a bit?

everything that can be eaten with little immediate side effect is considered real food imo

1 hour ago, whm1974 said:

Whole Grain Flours and Breads to be such. Meaningless Marketing?

not quite 

whole grain stuff is better than bleached stuff but if don't eat a lot, it doesn't matter that much

1 hour ago, whm1974 said:

Now I'm not going to be going out of my way and I'm on Disability

generally what i suggest to people when it comes to dieting is to reduce or even cut off usage of "junk food" stuff like:

soda,chips,cakes and things of this sort 

imo if you do that and still are not happy then i do something i call "scaling" 

when scaling you want to have as little carbohydrate as you can and add veggies and protein and if you feel hungry during the day go for apples as a snack

[LAwLz]

3 hours ago, whm1974 said:

I keep hearing/reading the words, "Real Food", but what exactly is considered to be Real Food to begin with?

I've never heard of "real food" before but a quick Google search indicates that it's basically just saying "base your diet on things that aren't heavily processed. What constitutes "processed food" can vary depending on who you talk to, but in general it seems like good advice. 

Spoiler

This chart I agree with. It's just pure and simple good advice. Eat healthy things, avoid unhealthy things.

 

But then I see charts like this one and seems way less based on science and more "hippie"-ish.

Spoiler

For example, "food in its most natural state" is a completely and utterly meaningless term. Not only is "most natural state" a useless term because it doesn't mean anything (why is whole grain more "natural" than just the kernel?), but it might also not be true from a nutritional standpoint. Some food are better when "processed" or whatever you want to call it.

 

Local and/or organic is recommended for no reason. A lot of it is just pure marketing bullshit to make people feel good. Organic food products are often worse for the environment, contains no additional nutrition, and is way more expensive. Eating organic food is not only worse for the environment than eating conventical food products, it is also worse for you because it is more expensive and thus you might eat less fruits and vegetables.

 

The rest of the list is mostly just more hippie stuff that has no relation to eating healthy. It seems like "real food" is a mix of general good advice (eat more vegetables and less French fries) but also a big dose of "animals are our friends and we need to support local farmers", which I would classify as political agendas or non-political ideologies and beliefs. 

 

 

3 hours ago, whm1974 said:

Well I consider Whole Grain Flours and Breads to be such. Meaningless Marketing?

Whole grain flour and bread is not meaningless marketing.

Whole grain means the entire seed is used. Regular white flour is made only from the kernel of the seed.

Here is a good video that shows you the difference with a microscope. You only need to watch the first 1 minute and 20 seconds.

 

But basically:

White flour = Only the starch (basically sugar) from the plant.

Whole grain flour = The entire seed, which means it contains other things as well, not just the starch.

 

 

 

White flour contains more carbs (generally bad since we eat too much) and less things we actually need, like fiber, protein, potassium and vitamins, compared to whole grain.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, whm1974 said:

Now I'm not going to be going out of my way and I'm on Disability. So no Organic, GMO Free, or anything to cause unneeded costs for me. I tend to think of these as more silly marketing anyway.

I do too.

Most of the "organic, GMO-free" movement is pushed by people with no scientific background that have the idea that "natural = good" without any logic or reason behind it. 

I think most of it can be summarized as "I don't understand it so therefore it's bad".

[whm1974]

6 hours ago, LAwLz said:

I've never heard of "real food" before but a quick Google search indicates that it's basically just saying "base your diet on things that aren't heavily processed. What constitutes "processed food" can vary depending on who you talk to, but in general it seems like good advice. 

  Hide contents

This chart I agree with. It's just pure and simple good advice. Eat healthy things, avoid unhealthy things.

 

But then I see charts like this one and seems way less based on science and more "hippie"-ish.

  Hide contents

For example, "food in its most natural state" is a completely and utterly meaningless term. Not only is "most natural state" a useless term because it doesn't mean anything (why is whole grain more "natural" than just the kernel?), but it might also not be true from a nutritional standpoint. Some food are better when "processed" or whatever you want to call it.

 

Local and/or organic is recommended for no reason. A lot of it is just pure marketing bullshit to make people feel good. Organic food products are often worse for the environment, contains no additional nutrition, and is way more expensive. Eating organic food is not only worse for the environment than eating conventical food products, it is also worse for you because it is more expensive and thus you might eat less fruits and vegetables.

 

The rest of the list is mostly just more hippie stuff that has no relation to eating healthy. It seems like "real food" is a mix of general good advice (eat more vegetables and less French fries) but also a big dose of "animals are our friends and we need to support local farmers", which I would classify as political agendas or non-political ideologies and beliefs. 

 

 

Whole grain flour and bread is not meaningless marketing.

Whole grain means the entire seed is used. Regular white flour is made only from the kernel of the seed.

Here is a good video that shows you the difference with a microscope. You only need to watch the first 1 minute and 20 seconds.

 

But basically:

White flour = Only the starch (basically sugar) from the plant.

Whole grain flour = The entire seed, which means it contains other things as well, not just the starch.

 

 

 

White flour contains more carbs (generally bad since we eat too much) and less things we actually need, like fiber, protein, potassium and vitamins, compared to whole grain.

 

 

 

I do too.

Most of the "organic, GMO-free" movement is pushed by people with no scientific background that have the idea that "natural = good" without any logic or reason behind it. 

I think most of it can be summarized as "I don't understand it so therefore it's bad".

I have to use Diet Sweeteners due to Type II Diabetes. I avoid White Breads anyway. I take effort to reduce the amount of Diet Soda I'm consuming. Less then a 2L Bottle daily. Also eat red Potatoes with the skins on.

 

The reason I using Meaningless Marketing is due to "Organic" ending up being an excuse to charge more for food items. Now I do perfer Red Potatoes over the Standard Brown ones, so I that is what buy since they taste better.

 

Heirloom Crops and Breeds? If I was able to have a garden and some hens. Those wouild be the one I'll have.

[Rauten]

7 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Less then a 2L Bottle daily.

o_o

That seems excessive. VERY excessive. Maybe I'm wrong, though; this makes me think that you easily drink 1L of soda a day. Which is, from my point of view at least, horrendous.

You should curb that fast, specially if you have diabetes (yes, it's diet, it's still bad).

 

If you have weight control issues, I'd say be wary of any carbohydrates. Potatoes of any kind in moderation, and not all days. Pasta only occasionally.

 

If you want an alternative to potatoes as the "meat", the brunt of your dishes, you can try chickpeas, lentils and beans. They are very extensively used in Spanish cooking and, while the most "classical" recipes here aren't too healthy either, you can instead combine them with vegetables, mushrooms and chicken/turkey/rabbit meat (for lentils) or hake/cod/atlantic pomfret (for chickpeas).

[whm1974]

30 minutes ago, Rauten said:

o_o

That seems excessive. VERY excessive. Maybe I'm wrong, though; this makes me think that you easily drink 1L of soda a day. Which is, from my point of view at least, horrendous.

You should curb that fast, specially if you have diabetes (yes, it's diet, it's still bad).

 

If you have weight control issues, I'd say be wary of any carbohydrates. Potatoes of any kind in moderation, and not all days. Pasta only occasionally.

 

If you want an alternative to potatoes as the "meat", the brunt of your dishes, you can try chickpeas, lentils and beans. They are very extensively used in Spanish cooking and, while the most "classical" recipes here aren't too healthy either, you can instead combine them with vegetables, mushrooms and chicken/turkey/rabbit meat (for lentils) or hake/cod/atlantic pomfret (for chickpeas).

The amount varies. Last night and the day before I only drink half. Some day I don't consume any. Meantime there is Coffee, Peach Tea Mix, and Mint Tea I brew.

[whm1974]

3 minutes ago, IAmNotASmartMan said:

Genetically modified foods are a whole different rabbit hole, our selective breeding of plants and animals have been artificially genetically modifying organisms for thousands of years. Modern techniques let us force these changes faster. Each modification would need to be judged on its own merits and often involves a moral aspect for some people, as you've alluded to, sometimes companies will use these concerns to market higher priced items.

Whole grain foods do have advantages mainly for 2 reasons, the parts that aren't removed have useful nutrients (which you may or not need based on your current diet, better to analyze your current diet using something like MyFitnessPal.) The husks contain fibre, which helps slow down the bodies uptake of sugars, something that is of extra benefit to people who struggle to regulate their own blood sugar levels, like diabetics. So a topic worthy of your research, "Glycemic Index" would be a good search term to use whilst researching this, I suspect you'll already know it as a diabetic.

I tried to explain to Folks both online and Real Life, that GMO Free is almost meaningless. Growing higher Yields on less Land, with lower Inputs? Why would anyone be against that?

 

I insist on buying whole grain breads long before I became Diabetic. Many Folks are not aware of this, but a lot of brands of white bread put in extra Sugar.

[whm1974]

20 minutes ago, IAmNotASmartMan said:

You can't presume that people's objection to GMO's is centred around yields, I've never heard that as someone's objection. Whilst it's a great topic for debate, I'm not sure it's really fitting for a tech forum, even their off topic section.

Gardening Tech? I only point out the above to Folks who are Anti-GMO. Of the same People will now accuse me of Scientism or Worshiping Scientists...

[airborne spoon]

basically "real food" is something that hasn't been processed. like fresh fruits and veggies, steak, whole chickens, exc

 

Also fun fact for anyone: if you're trying to get pregnant avoid organic foods. they can cause miscarriage's as well as just make it difficult to conceive. I work in the food service industry for 20 years and am an instructor for ServSafe and other food safety courses.

The reasoning is still not 100% as to why, but the general consensus is because organic foods use unregulated pesticides, some of which are harmful. But since there is no regulation to what can be used to grow organic there is only a list of what cant (which are the FDA approved pesticides that other farmers use) its the wild west of pesticides for organics.

[BuckGup]

2 minutes ago, airborne spoon said:

basically "real food" is something that hasn't been processed. like fresh fruits and veggies, steak, whole chickens, exc

 

Also fun fact for anyone: if you're trying to get pregnant avoid organic foods. they can cause miscarriage's as well as just make it difficult to conceive. I work in the food service industry for 20 years and am an instructor for ServSafe and other food safety courses.

The reasoning is still not 100% as to why, but the general consensus is because organic foods use unregulated pesticides, some of which are harmful. But since there is no regulation to what can be used to grow organic there is only a list of what cant (which are the FDA approved pesticides that other farmers use) its the wild west of pesticides for organics.

I'd also like to add organic is sorta meaningless. Take an organic free range chicken egg. Free range means the chicken isn't sitting inside a box it's whole life but instead is free to move around in a field and eat what it wants. Well no one is following each chicken around inspecting everything it eats so it could be snacking on uranium for all anyone knows. But I would still take it any day over lot raised white eggs