Saturday, October 30, 2010

"Le Salon du chocolat, édition 2010" - Journal des Femmes Cuisiner

"Olive oil may protect against liver damage: Study"

"A Vittel, Nestlé met du vert dans l'or bleu" - LeMonde.fr

Le Bisphénol A peut traverser la peau - SANTE - France 3 Sud - France 3

This includes receipts at checkout!

Chocolate

I have noticed two things here in France related to chcolate. One is that there is a lot of it, more than I ever recall. And second is that it is getting darker and darker.

When I went to Carrefour and a separate Carrefour Market to buy "bran flakes", I found none of them. Perhaps they were just out of stock, but what it looked like was that more chocolate-coated somethings had replaced the simple bran flakes. It is not just coating. I saw several that wrapped some sort of grain around a big hunk of chocolate as if to hide the chocolate! When I looked at the very-small-print calorie count, it looked at about the same elevation as one of those double-frappa-whatevers at Starbucks.

The second is all the packaging that screams out "dark" in some way. Much of it carries percentages, too. We never see this with other foods, do we? And none of it seems to promote any health benefits of dark chocolate, but goes right to the jugular, as with a Lindt print ad that says "discover the intense pleasure of a great dark chocolate".

Monday, October 4, 2010

"Extreme Baby Carrots: An Experiment In Marketing" - NPR

"Fortunes Turn for Monsanto After Problems With Seeds" - NYTimes.com

"A Sustainable-Food Employment Agency" - NYTimes.com

"Really? - Should You Clean Produce With Soap and Water?" - NYTimes.com

Pretty interesting, valuable and highly practical.

The Times ought to be organizing the distribution of this story on cards in supermarkets all over the US with a discussion on the back of the card about all of the ways that the Times can help a reader/customer deal with food more successfully, no?

"Vegetable Consumption Lags, Despite Benefits" - NYTimes.com

Where is the campaign to eat vegetables grown in the soil of NC?

"Going to the Bar, Pistol in Pocket, Is Legal in 4 States" - NYTimes.com

It is great to see NC running in the opposite direction from both Virginia and Tennessee on this issue. According to the map accompanying the article, NC is one of those that "prohibit loaded guns in establishments that serve alcohol".

What could possibly make more sense than to have such a law?

"Cooking With The Grand Dame Of Mexican Cuisine" - NPR

"Cooking With The Grand Dame Of Mexican Cuisine" - NPR

"Doug Wilder ABC: Former Governor Doug Wilder Backs ABC Sale Plan" - wtvr

And for NC?

"Welcome to Saffron Indian Cuisine"

Note links to different restaurants in Winston Salem and Chapel Hill (Mint).

"Broccoli Panzanella With Walnut Sauce and Basil" - NYTimes.com

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Like the library

It occurred to me today that we sure get a chance to do a lot of reading when we go shopping these days. Some do more than others.

What I mean is all of the product information that fills labels, promotions, and related places in supermarkets and other food stores. If we really want to know as much as we can in that spot about what it is that we might buy, we need to treat each aisle of every store as we would the aisle of a library or a bookstore. Each product offers us the same opportunity to read at least a dust jacket's worth about what it is we might take home to put in our stomachs, and we owe it to ourselves to be very good readers.

Whether it is buying the book, borrowing it from a library or picking up dinner, we'll make the very best decisions if we spend a little time reading as many words as we can to help us decide.

"Recipes, Cooking Tips, Food Advice and Menus" - KitchenDaily

"Reading the Labels on Food Before Eating It" - NYTimes.com

"Court takes two cases over foreign products" - Wisconsin Law Journal

Note that the second case involves NC plaintiffs in a case arising from the death of two young people in a bus crash in France.

Friday, October 1, 2010

"Amante Pizza"

I found a promotion today on our front door knob.

In looking at their website, I find nothing about nutrition information. That should not happen in Chapel Hill, but people who don't care what they eat must find it ok.

"Hardee’s Menu"

The Daily Tar Heel at UNC yesterday had a pre-printed flyer inside for Hardees. No mention on the flyer of any nutrition information or how to find it.

Here is the link on the Hardees.com website. I note one item with 1,320 calories! Students should note that, too, and even more important, Hardees should set an example by including this information in the advertising of any specific item. Add fat too - total fat for this hamburger is nearly 100 grams!

This does not comsume a lot of space with the right column headings printed one time......

2/3 lb. Monster Thickburger®, 386 1320 860 95 36 210 3020 46 2 6 70

"Open Eye Cafe owner to judge barista competition in Dubai" - Daily Tar Heel

"Greater decency for dining halls" - Daily Tar Heel