I love sweet things. I don't think I'm alone in my sugar-happiness, but recently, my stars are aligning to bring sugar awareness to the forefront of what I eat. When I make a meal or a dessert, I am aware of how much sugar I add, and aware of just what it is that I consume. It's harder to realize, I think, how much sugar might be in every day products, like baked beans or hot dog buns. And that's where this awesome video from buzzfeed comes in - I saw it on Mark Bittman's excellent blog on the NYTimes. Take a look and a listen, and share your thoughts!
http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/the-sugar-hiding-in-everyday-foods/
And if you liked that video, I highly recommend Michael Moss' Sugar Salt Fat, an eye-opening story of how food companies use knowledge of our taste buds to create food that you literally can't stop eating.
What are your crave-able foods? And is it the taste you crave, or is it the memory of an experience eating the food?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
lettuce, grow!
I have a secret.
I love vegetables and fruits and all things verdant, but I cannot grow them. I mean that quite literally. I have never been successful at maintaining a plant - each and every one ends up yellowed, browned, dried-out, or drowned with my futile attempts at love and water.
But yesterday, I went shopping for plants - lettuces and herbs. I may just be Charlie Brown, continually kicking the football of plant hope, but here I am again, striving to cultivate green things. There is hope in these seedlings, young things, stretching towards the light. I can't help but invest in the promise of the seeds, even though their failure to launch is an almost absolute.
Almost. See? I can't even believe with my whole heart that these seedlings will not turn in to full vegetables with some careful tending. And the end result, reaping the joy of healthy green energy from my window ledge garden, outweighed the memory of many past garden fiascos. My down-to-earth sensibility succumbed, sending me soaring for the potential of a soon-to-be-garden.
There is a good chance that I will be crushed when my lettuce wilts and my rosemary crumbles (again), but I will start with hope, and proceed accordingly.
I love vegetables and fruits and all things verdant, but I cannot grow them. I mean that quite literally. I have never been successful at maintaining a plant - each and every one ends up yellowed, browned, dried-out, or drowned with my futile attempts at love and water.
But yesterday, I went shopping for plants - lettuces and herbs. I may just be Charlie Brown, continually kicking the football of plant hope, but here I am again, striving to cultivate green things. There is hope in these seedlings, young things, stretching towards the light. I can't help but invest in the promise of the seeds, even though their failure to launch is an almost absolute.
Almost. See? I can't even believe with my whole heart that these seedlings will not turn in to full vegetables with some careful tending. And the end result, reaping the joy of healthy green energy from my window ledge garden, outweighed the memory of many past garden fiascos. My down-to-earth sensibility succumbed, sending me soaring for the potential of a soon-to-be-garden.There is a good chance that I will be crushed when my lettuce wilts and my rosemary crumbles (again), but I will start with hope, and proceed accordingly.
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