| Fast foods under scrutiny
Inappropriate dietary patterns together with a sedentary lifestyle are major contributors to obesity and lifestyle diseases. THE topic of fast foods has been highlighted in this paper and other local press this past week. Several reporters have called me to seek information and explanation on the issue. Questions were mainly related to the ill effects of consuming fast foods and how to educate the consumer. I feel it would be appropriate and timely for me to talk about fast foods in this instalment of NutriScene. Through this article, I would like to address several issues that would serve to educate the public regarding fast foods. What are fast foods? I do not believe there is an officially recognised definition of fast foods.
Restaurant Food High in Hidden Calories, Fat & Sodium
Need a reality check about restaurant calories? A consumer group with a history of criticizing unhealthy Chinese, Italian and other restaurant fare says diners at popular chain eateries may be getting many more calories and much more fat and salt than they expect--even when they are ordering what appear to be healthy or low calorie menu items. In a recently published article in its newsletter, the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest has reignited the spat about fat and calories in restaurant food. The article, "X-Treme Eating, appeared in the organization's Nutrition Action Health Letter and highlights eight menu items from chain restaurants with sky-high calories, saturated fat and salt. Here's a look at those items: Ruby Tuesday Colossal Burger (two large patties, bun, and melted American and Monterey Jack cheese): 1,940 calories and 141 grams fat.
Mango sorbet with fresh mango
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and cool. Peel mangoes and chop the flesh. Puree mango flesh in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add cooled sugar syrup and lemon juice and process until combined. Pour into a shallow metal tray and freeze until almost set. Transfer partially set sorbet to the bowl of a food processor. Add the egg whites and process until smooth. Refreeze until firm. Serve scoops of sorbet decorated with the toasted coconut and accompanied by the sliced mango .
Letter: Immigration hysteria perspective
Our contemporary society in the United States is the result of previous illegal immigrants overrunning the rights and status quo of the existing inhabitants. From the moment the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, Native American society in North America was doomed to change. The current tide of Hispanic immigration may be slowed, but it can no more be stopped than the Plains tribes could preserve their culture from murderous villains such as Sherman and Custer. The peaceful Cherokees could not continue to farm their ancestral homelands when that "great hero" Andrew Jackson forced the men, women and little children to travel the "Trail of Tears" to Oklahoma in the dead of winter without adequate food or clothing. The motivation for the present northward Hispanic migration is the same as those previous waves of illegal immigrants.
KoKo's pan-Latin menu is at its best when it's all over the map.
A sopao is a thick Puerto Rican stew. I wish I could be more precise, but it's one of those dishes that seems to vary with every recipe: One requires andouille and Parmesan cheese, another peas and smoked ham. I'd say chicken, rice and tomatoes, at least, are a given, but then I'd probably get a half-dozen letters telling me otherwise. Even calling asopao a thick Puerto Rican stew might be too definitive. Sometimes it's described as a soup, sometimes as a gumbo. There are Cuban and Dominican versions, too. At KoKo asopao is chicken, chorizo, green olives, capers, tomato and saffron served over rice. It's hearty nearly as thick as gumbo but the olives and capers give it a welcome salt-and-vinegar kick. Had I not been starving already (owing to a planning oversight that in a minute I'll try to pass off as a stroke of restaurant-reviewer genius), I still would have cleaned my plate.
Bill Would Have Nebraska Claim Some $80 In Additional Food Stamp Funds
Nebraska could bring in approximately $80 million in additional federal food stamps by taking full advantage of existing guidelines, proponents of a measure pending before the legislature's Health and Human Services Committee said Wednesday. The measure (LB171) offered by Senator Gail Kopplin of Gretna, would have the state adopt a federal program that calls for actively seeking more people who are eligible for food stamps, but not receiving them. As many as 60,000 additional people might be qualified for food stamps, according to the Nebraska Appleseed Center. Food stamps are entirely funded by the federal government, and Nebraska received $124 million of those funds last year. However, state food stamp administrator Mike Harris opposed the bill, saying it would increase state costs because more workers would be needed to handle additional caseloads.
The wonderful world of tea
Amidst the Pacific Northwest's gourmet coffee craze, restaurant professional Gretchen Twill brewed up an alternative beverage business. "Coffee doesn't sit well with me, and I really got into tea," Twill said. Tea, Twill said, not only poses more complexities than coffee, it rivals the wine industry's trend toward connoisseurship. "Like wine, there are very subtle flavor nuances." An avowed tea drinker, Twill, 38, steeped herself in the beverage's culture and history in a locale known more for its coffee. While living and managing restaurants in Costa Rica for several years, Twill frequented the country's numerous Chinese apothecary shops, unearthing a vast variety of traditional teas and herbs. .
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