things i love!

It's Thursday and I haven't posted anything this week, so here's another shot of "Things I love Thursdays!" Come on, it's fun, right?

Here's my first pick. It's an absolute requirement to wake up early enough every morning to make myself some kind of meaty goodness for breakfast (and often, mid-morning snack!), but I can never seem to make time to eat it before leaving for work. Here's my perfect solution:

(source)

The don't forget me lunch bag! So cute and practical with a clever red silk ribbon. Of course, I use it for breakfast instead of lunch. And I don't forget it. It came home with me at felt club last Christmas and has been a good friend ever since. What do I do for lunch, you ask? Well, I currently happen to be lucky enough to walk home for lunch so I can fry up some fresh bacon, along with some berries and a mug of peppermint tea. I'll always be a scavenger at heart.

Here's another thing I love, a weekly dose of internet irony! I found it curious that these two articles circulated in the same week--

Woman's Shattered Life Shows Beef Inspection Flaws

The FDA's Ten Riskiest Foods

Or, would you rather suffer from E. coli as a result of eating this:


(source)
Father's Office burger*


or this:

McDonald's Side Salad

Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely soulless. Every now and then, I do partake in a sketchy ground beef patty or take a chance by not re-washing pre-washed greens (though I find them to be pretty ridiculous in general-- how hard is it to rinse and chop your own lettuce?), and I do so in full awareness that these products come with their fair share of risks. It is so unfortunate that a woman's life was ruined by enjoying a hamburger, but as you can see, anything you eat comes with some sort of risk unless you grow or raise it yourself; that's just the price we pay for convenience. Perhaps these articles will encourage us to be more educated consumers and not just become radical scare tactics...

And speaking of health food, another interest of the week was inspired by this post on svelte gourmand.

(source)

Yes, that's right, lard! I'm itching to try cooking something with it. I love the idea of cooking Brussels sprouts in lard, as Joshua Ozersky (author of The Hamburger) suggests in this interview. Perhaps I will get some good stuff next time I visit my friendly local butcher, or perhaps I will try this technique for rendering lard, although since I don't technically have a kitchen window, I run the risk of my home permanently smelling of pig fat.

*I am aware that this is an unfair comparison, since I am fairly certain Father's Office uses only the highest quality meats and grinds their beef in-house, but doesn't that burger prove the point better than a frozen beef patty?

mid-morning snack time.

By now, we've all seen the ads for McDonald's new 1/3-lb Angus burgers. While I commend the effort of trying to push something aspiring toward quality upon the masses, I of course say, why bother?
Please take a moment to watch this informative video on how to make the perfect burger yourself. Chef/restauranteur/cooking show host Hubert Keller shares some excellent tips that go beyond the basics (i.e. don't press your burger). Of course, freshly ground meat makes the best burger, but if you don't have a meat grinder, he does a neat little demo showing how to chop up a piece of steak and turn it into a patty. Then, he makes a sandwich of two patties stuffed with... well, just watch it! Guaranteed to make your tummy growl-- and hopefully inspire you to put a little more effort into your diet than making a visit to the drive-thru.
(source)

the poor man's turducken

or "the bird and the beefs."

all of us southern californians know of the secret menu at in 'n out, but did you know that mcdonalds has one as well? some sound more appetizing than others-- from the mcbruschetta, which is pretty much a grilled tomato sandwich (because mcdonald's buns are so tasty someone wanted to eat them with the meat?) to the mcnugget mcflurry, for which no description is necessary.

but here's the one that perked up my ears, the mcgangbang--

(image source: www.eatmedaily.com)

sure, the name is pushing it, but it is amusing none the less.

what do you think? would you order this sandwich within a sandwich? i think it sounds like a serious stomachache! or the next documentary subject for that supersize me guy.

sustainability: the carnivore vs. the veggie

regarding the fois gras controversy:
(perhaps this is old news, but i don't know much about it, so maybe you don't either!)

"Food morality is not as black and white as we like to believe: it's possible to raise animals sustainably and it's possible to raise vegetables unsustainably. Neither side has a monopoly."

"Working to ban something that 99% of people never eat is not an act requiring great moral or physical courage...it's a confidence game in which participating meat-eaters, by agreeing to condemn something that they don't care about, receive the equivalent of a get-out-of-jail card, i.e., the right to feel slightly less guilty as they bite into that factory-farmed McNugget. Guilt and moral superiority are tradable currencies; the anti-foie gras camp exploits this to the hilt."

"If someone really wants to make a difference in the world...start with the fact that more than 12 million children here in the United States live in households where there is risk of hunger or malnutrition every day."

i think that the above-referenced essay makes some very valid points, but i tend to steer away from the moral relativism camp (in theory, at least!). just because mcchickens are grown by the millions and by comparison, very, very few ducks are subjected to gavage* doesn't make the process any less questionable. but questionable is what it is. when any animal is raised and slaughtered for food, there is pain involved. it is just the cycle of life. eat or die!


*gavage refers the use of a funnel inserted into the duck's esophagus to force-feed grain to the duck over the final 15-21 days of its life. those who oppose gavage assert that the ducks choke, vomit, and suffer greatly because of this process.


and here's some sad duck clip art, just to add some, er, red eye to your day.

"stop that, i'm allergic to grain!!"

what your portion should be.

(image source: www.hsph.harvard.edu)

so, i've been giving the "stop eating red meat to save your planet" thing a lot of thought. it is pretty tough to know that a meat-based diet is bad for the environment, but i'm trying to put it into perspective. upon further research, many experts recommend cutting your (red) meat portions down to 4 per week and restricting them to the size of a deck of cards. so, i'm pretty much rolling my eyes while writing this. how much meat does one really need? and isn't the deck-of-cards thing how we are supposed to determine meat portion sizes anyway? and do we really need to have red meat every day? switch it up! be creative! there are so many other options out there, i've decided these principles mostly would change the eating habits of the fast-food, white bread, meat-and-potatoes crowd.

harvard revised the usda food pyramid (as seen above) and you can see that it focuses on whole grains, good fats, fruits and vegetables, supplemented with lean proteins and red meat. just because i'm carnivorous doesn't mean i have to have a steak for every meal, but i think that doing so a couple times a week keeping in mind the deck-of-cards portion will do me a heck of a lot more good than harm (especially since my particular diet doesn't allow me proteins of the vegetarian variety.)

so, here are a few examples of meat portions from the typical American diet.

mcdonald's quarter pounder

stats:
serving size - 6 oz.
calories - 430
fat - 21 grams protein - 23 grams

outback special steak

stats:

serving size - 12 oz.

calories - 820
fat - 50 grams

protein - 90 grams

bk original whopper

stats:

serving size - 10.26 oz.

calories - 720

fat - 43 grams

protein 31 grams

in and out double double hamburger

stats:

serving size - 11.64 oz.

calories - 670

fat - 41 grams

protein - 37 grams

(all stats from www.chowbaby.com)

as you can see, all of these options are considerably over the recommended 3.1 ounces of meat (with only half of that being red) per day. in conclusion, i'm officially over feeling guilty for my meat consumption.

oh, and if you're checking my math on the sandwiches, i do know that the serving size includes the bun and toppings, but if you refer to the smallest portion - the mcdonald's quarter pounder, a quarter pound equals four ounces, going over the limit with one little meal.