Headlines

Tastes like chicken!  Thats' what I thought while reading an article in the local paper about whether, in the future, insects would be our primary protein source.  I'm pretty sure I won't have to be eating bugs and grubs but I would if I had no choice.  I just don't see the need to eat them now.  Of course, they would have to be fried.  I couldn't eat a big grub right out of the ground while it's squirming.  Eeekk!

When it comes to keeping people tied to the old ball and chain, marketers and snack companies are at it again.  This time Snackwell brands is trying to reintroduce their product due to lagging sales.  They've rolled out a new marketing campaign for targeting dieting women.  The hook is pre-portion packs so you won't over indulge.  I was never much of of a cookie and snacks kind of girl but I know that opening more than one package would not hold me back from a craving.  But it's not something I worry about now.  Paleo has taken care of any snacking and over eating issues that I once had.  It's sort of miraculous in that regard but I'm not the only one that has experienced this.  I've read other Paleo bloggers report the same thing.  So, these poor ladies will think they can solve their snacking problem with these little cookie packs when really they just need to go Paleo. (Click here for the article.)

Today's Headlines

Here's what happening in your world.

First a little diddy about Lucy's diet.  A team of archaeologists have uncovered some evidence that suggests that A. afarensis, of which Lucy belongs, may have been butchering animals.  (Here's the link to the BBC story.)  Of course with all big discoveries that challenge the standard notions comes controversy (read about that here).  I like archaeology and anthropology so I think these stories are interesting.  Make sure you check out the link posted on my resources page that details the hominid timeline.  Even if you aren't so sure about the whole evolution part, just take a look at when H. sapiens shows up and then look at how long it was before early farming hits the timeline.

The second headline today is about a vegetarian publication using photos of meat dishes to advertise their recipes.  Apparently they had airbrushed the pictures to make them look vegetarian or vegan.  I found the following excerpt especially entertaining.

Angry at being taken in by the images, one reader commented on the magazine’s Web site how awful it felt “to have craved any of the foods featured here, because now I feel I was craving animals.”

Another excerpt was dead on...I confess this is what I was thinking.

Other commenters criticized the editors as contributing to public perceptions of vegan food as bland and unappealing. “Any omnivore who catches wind of this will be left with the impression that vegan food must turn out so unappetizing that even the leading vegan magazine will not show legitimate photos of it,” a commenter said.

Until next time...you stay classy, San Diego.

In the News

While browsing the headlines I found the the headline pasted below and just had to click on it.  As a former fast food junkie I sometimes think about that food but not because I crave it.  I think about how much of it I used to eat.  It's embarrassing to admit just how much fast food I ate.  I ate it often and I ate huge quantities when I went.  It's no wonder I was a mess. 

"Wendy's Natural Cut Fries: Better Tasting, Yes. Natural, No"

Wendy's introduced the "natural cut fries" shortly after I had started Paleo and during a conversation amongst coworkers about the fries, I remember thinking I'll never know what those taste like.  In the past I would have hit the drive thru at the first opportunity I had in order to do my own taste test.  Today I'm content not know what they taste like.


There was a rather interesting paragraph in the article that I think sums up the state of nutrition in this county.

To make food cheap they eliminate quality.  In order for it to look good they add chemicals to offset the effects of shelf life.  And to think, I put all of that in my body.  Yuck! 

That, says CMO Ken Calwell, would be too difficult given fast food customers' demands for items that are cheap and can be hoisted through a car window.  People are saying they want high integrity ingredients, things their grandmother would have used, that don't look like they came out of a chemistry lab," Calwell explained in an interview with BNET. "But they're also saying I've got a family to feed and can only afford to spend about $4 on my lunch, and I've only got about a minute or two to eat it."

The link is below is to the article in case you want to read it.  It's short and won't take much time and they even tell what they spray on the fries to keep them looking good and what they dump in the oil  so it's able to withstand repeated fryings.  You may not want another fry after this.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112557/wendys-natural-cut-fries-bnet

Extra, Extra!!!



Today while perusing my news pages I came across a headline stating that the Chicago school district was going to ban homemade lunches at their schools.  Here's the link.  I remember school lunches from when I was a kid and they weren't to bad.  However, I recently saw a listing of the school lunches offered in the city I live in and they were atrocious.  It was hamburgers, pizza, chicken nuggets, tater tots and french fries.  This was all during the same week.  Since I have an awful memory I don't want to say that we never got this kind of stuff but I seem to remember that we would sometimes get a junk meal on Fridays.  Sort of like casual Friday at the office.

Another headline stated that States were cracking down on junk food.  They are stipulating what sort of food gets served at office parties, regulating calories per serving, restricting advertising on state property and in general creating confusion without really taking any meaningful steps.  Here's the link.