Parts is Parts

All white meat chicken?

ATLANTA - Daniel Fletcher has found a way to transform dark meat chicken into white, a scientific advance some purists say has gone too far.

"Leave chicken alone," said Mary Raczka, who's in charge of hospitality at Mary Mac's Tea Room, a prominent Southern-style restaurant in midtown Atlanta that serves more than 500 pounds of fried chicken a week — dark and white meat.

But Fletcher, a University of Georgia poultry science professor, said his other white meat isn't designed to compete with the real thing on restaurant menus or grocery shelves. Instead, it's a filler that can be used to add protein and amino acids to something else, such as chicken nuggets.

The recipe involves adding excess water to ground-up dark meat to create a kind of meat soup, then spinning the mixture around in a tub at high speed. The centrifugal force makes the mixture settle into layers of fat, water, and extracted meat, which can be molded into breast-like patties of all-white meat.

Is that supposed to elicit a "Yum?"

hln

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Today's Obesity Commentary

Reading the newspapers this last year or so, I get this impression that journalists are trying to convey that obesity is as simple to "catch" as the common cold. And as quick to manifest itself on unwary souls.

And I really have to laugh at that. What poor schmuck doesn't notice that he's gaining weight. Wow, Jim Bob, you really need to do something, that belt doesn't have another notch. I mean, come on now. There's no Metamorphosis going on here. Gregor woke up one morning...and he was...FAT. Uh, no.

Equally silly is this journalistic "newness" applied to obesity "treatment" - CNN has an article that seeks to carry an air of novelty when it suggests that cycling might curb obesity. Move more, eat less, wow, there you have it in simple form. Even McDonald's gets that.

I guess, in a nutshell (don't eat that - just the nut), what really gets me with the "poof, you're fat" mindset is that the problem has been taken off the individual and put to society. As if we can actually say, SOCIETY, it's your fault Timmy's fat.

I hold out one hope even in this continuing trend to blame everyone but the Twinkee stuffer. Video games. You're scratching your head, but with EyeToy and DancePads...how long until virtual reality's in the living room. To defeat the bad guy and have the ultimate time, you're going to have to sweat. And once kids (and adults) are sweating, the endorphins will kick in.

Ok, one last thing. Blaming the food industry. Forget it. I'm not defending the food industry, but, see, there's this free will thing. You choose what goes in your mouth. You choose for your family, so be responsible. If you have a day where you eat everything in sight, make sure you see healthy things. (I sorta had one of those, but I hope to use it to my advantage when I attempt a century (not sure if it's metric or imperial yet...will know at the lunch point how far I'm going to go) on my bike on Saturday. But that extra 500 calories I downed today, my fault, not Snyder's Pretzels of Hanover, not Great Harvest Bread Company, not Perdue chicken. Nope, all Heather Noggle.

I'd better not wake up fat tomorrow. Better pay the obesity fairy.

hln

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New Hobby

I've been on this kick of trying to eat natural food (devoid of preservatives, few ingredients on label if it's storebought) lately. I've brought out the breadmaker, been making desserts, etc. Something I'd never done until recently, though, is make my own salad dressing.

I have this habit of buying Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette and then draining off about 5/6 of the oil and declaring it good. That's very acidic when I get done, so one doesn't need very much at all. But I tried my hand at a few of my own dressings here lately, and, mmm, quite good. Here's the best one yet, though gentler folk might want to up the oil a bit.

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 clove (not head) of garlic, run through press
1/8 to 1/4 of dry teaspoon mustard
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

It packs a punch, for sure, but it was mighty tasty.

hln

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Bottle That

Bottled water. What does it mean to you? To me, all I can do is wish it was around when I was growing up, non-soda-drinker that I've been for 33 years now. I like the fact that it's portable. That you can buy it anywhere, from the movies to ball games to the cooler at Walgreens.

The City of Milwaukee (and other cities) want you to reconsider tap water, though. I have no qualms with tap water - usually drink it at dinner. The though just amuses me. How do you put a spin on tap water?

The utilities' message to consumers: Our product is as good as what's found on store shelves — and less expensive. The utilities hope to make a few bucks and help their ratepayers in the process.

"People should not have to spend an exorbitant amount for quality water," said Ken Blomberg, executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Water Association, which promotes the sale of bottled municipal water as a less-expensive alternative to the commercially bottled product.

What is the "sale of bottled municipal water"? How do you brand that? I'd try it. I'd also pay a premium for safe reusable bottles that are shaped like the ones I use that come from commercial products (our brand of choice is Ice Mountain, which comes out to 15 cents or so a bottle when we buy at Sam's Club).

Propel, made by Gatorade folk, now has a competitor. Powerade has its own version of the flavored low-calorie, vitamin-fortified water. Powerade Option. Same calories as in Propel (10 per serving) - better taste on its Lemon product. The black cherry's pretty tasty, too. Dunno about the strawberry. Propel's got many more flavors, though, and it's been in the market longer.

Just thoughts.

hln

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These Times They Are a Changin'

Would this have been newsworthy before the fall of Atkins? The thought amuses me.

Feds Aren't Subsidizing Recommended Foods

WASHINGTON - The government says half your diet should be fruits and vegetables, but it doesn't subsidize the farmers who grow them. Instead, half of all federal agriculture subsidies go to grain farmers, whose crops feed animals for meat, milk and eggs and become cheap ingredients in processed food.

What's wrong with that?

"Obesity. That's clearly the problem, if you look at the outcome in today's society," said Andy Fischer, executive director of the Community Food Security Coalition, a Venice, Calif., advocacy group.

Ha ha ha. The food pyramid changes, and now all of a sudden protein strikes us with overnight obesity.

The article then breaks down farm subsidies by type. 1.5 billion for tobacco. Disgusting. Perhaps that's what Mr. Fischer should decry. That clearly doesn't aid anyone's diet.

hln

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Not New Fat City

Ok, New York, you're probably going too far here.

New York City wants restaurants to narrow their list of ingredients — and maybe some waistlines — by cutting out trans fats. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said the voluntary change could also help fight the city's biggest killer, heart disease.

To comply, chefs would have to dump many margarines and frying oils, and possibly reworking long-held recipes for baked goods.

Do I want it labelled? You bet. I'd love to see full nutrition specs on every meal I eat. But banning ingredients? Tsk. And what's next, no Crisco in the grocery stores?

I'll clarify my stance on all of this. What people put into their own bodies (alcohol, cigarettes, food, drugs) - not my business. The only reason I get so worked up about smoking is because the byproducts affect my air when I'm around a smoker. And there are certain expectations in life where one is trapped with smoking smokers, sadly. A trans fat eater - no way to affect me.

This is way overstepping the bounds of what government should do.

hln

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So Long Atkins Diet

So I'm a ways behind reporting that Atkins Pharamceuticals is now bankrupt defunct. Good riddance.

There's an article today from yesterday I found on CNN that says no new diet has risen to the fore. And that's probably a good thing, too.

Some are counting the minutes between meals or checking a food's glycemic index. And old-school calorie counting continues to have its followers.

This week's bankruptcy filing by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins' old company provide fresh evidence of the low-carb diet's demise, a downward spiral that began early last year. But no single new diet has filled the void.

I'm trying to trim a few, taking advantage of my exercise schedule this year which is a little less weekend warriorish and far more steady. The new, improved food pyramid really seems to have something here. Lots of whole grains, healthy oils. If you haven't visited lately, here it is.

In everyday eating, I'm apt to grab a bowl of raisin bran topped with blackberries and raspberries. It's not exactly a small bowl, either. While this works on days I ride in the morning and burn 600 - 800 calories, I have found I don't actually NEED 350 calories of fiber filled goodness on most mornings. So doing a bit of retooling there. Fewer calories at lunch, too, and a few more in the afternoon. Also trying to nearly wipe packaged foods out of my diet. The fewer ingredients in something store bought, the better. I've gone so far as to make my own salad dressings. This adds some olive oil in. Going to dust off the breadmaker and see what high-fiber concoctions I can come up with.

Just some pre-bike ride thoughts this morning. Don't forget to eat your whole grain bread.

hln

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