For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

The highlight this week (for me anyway) was the first Summer Tomato appearance over at my favorite blog, Lifehacker. Apparently they thought my tip on getting soft fruits and veggies home from the market without smashing them was pretty awesome. This week’s link love features a ton of cool food-related science tidbits, including a podcast from NPR’s Science Friday and a video “Baloney Detection Kit.”

I read many more wonderful articles than I post here each week. If you’d like to see more or just don’t want to wait until Friday, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@summertomato) or the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. For complete reading lists join me on the social bookmarking sites StumbleUpon and Delicious. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you there.

I also invite you to submit your own best food and health articles for next week’s For The Love of Food, just drop me an email using the contact form. I am also accepting guest posts at Summer Tomato for any awesome healthstyle tips you’d like to share.

This post is an open thread. Share your thoughts, writing (links welcome!) and delicious meals of the week in the comments below.

For The Love of Food

• Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food <<Read this. If you’re still not convinced our industrial food system needs a change, I hope this article changes your mind. (Time Magazine)
• Of car crashes and Snickers bars <<Really cool article putting calorie counts into perspective. (Grist)
• More evidence that saturated fat has been falsely accused? <<Seems more and more like the real culprits in cancer and heart disease are processed foods and insulin, not so much saturated fat. (Nutrition Data)
• Tests Begin on Drugs That May Slow Aging <<This is a fantastic article, but I’m calling it B.S. of the week to prevent myself from getting into politics and healthcare (grrr). Though the story is well-researched and the science of anti-aging drugs is fascinating, I’m not holding my breath for the fountain of youth pill. (New York Times)
• Exercise won’t make you thin, or so concludes misguided TIME magazine article <<My friends over at Obesity Panacea did a great analysis of the Time Magazine article from last week about exercise and weight loss.
• Phys Ed: Does Exercise Reduce Your Cancer Risk? <<Whether exercise makes you thin or not, it is still likely to have other benefits such as lowering your risk of cancer. (New York Times)
• When good tongues go bad <<The best ever reason to quit smoking. It kills your taste buds!! (Los Angeles Times)
• Thai cucumber salad (Yum Tang Gwa) <<Speaking of taste, check out this amazing Thai shrimp and cucumber salad recipe. Yum! (Chez Pim)
• The Cheese Chronicles <<Science Friday on NPR did an awesome piece last week on the science of cheese making–the real stuff, not that orange goop. The listen button is in the upper left corner when you go to the page. (National Public Radio)
• Are you getting sold snake oil? <<One of the most difficult things about science is sorting out the good from the bad. This Baloney Detection Kit gives you the intellectual tools you need to hone in on the facts. Thanks to Yoni (@yonifreedhoff) and Esther (@estherar) for the tip!

Tags: B.S. of the week, calories, cancer, cheese, Exercise, home cooks, industrial food, saturated fat, Science, smoking

In general I would say I eat pretty normal food. Admittedly the fruits and vegetables I buy are extraordinary (thank you San Francisco), but they are still just plants that grow out of the dirt in California. I realized recently that what is truly unusual about my diet are the groceries I do not buy.

10 Groceries I Never Buy

(and why I think there are better things to spend my money on)

1. Sliced bread. Sure my grandparents think it is the greatest invention of all time (literally), but I would argue that the fluffy loaves that come in plastic bags at the market can barely be considered food. Don’t believe me? Check the ingredients list. If you don’t fall asleep by the time you get to the bottom, try pronouncing some of those words in the middle. Exthoxylated…wuh?
2. Fruit yogurts. It is generally accepted without question that yogurt is good for you. That may be the case for old-fashioned plain yogurt (though I am still not convinced), but I guarantee you those sugary yogurts that take up the bulk of the dairy case do not qualify as health food. 15 grams of sugar is my cut off before a food transitions to dessert. Look before you eat.
3. Iceberg or romaine lettuce. Besides being colorless and flavorless, these boring greens add little (zero?) nutrition to your life. Instead I buy the colorful, loose spring mixes that come in bags, boxes or bulk bins at the grocery store and farmers market. If you prefer to stick with one kind of salad green at a time, try green or red leafed lettuce. Mix it up occasionally with cabbage or radicchio.
4. Corn-fed beef. As I have explained before, I love beef (even though I don’t eat much of it). When I decide it is worth the indulgence, I go straight for the gourmet grass-fed kind. Why? Cows were never meant to eat corn (industrial cows have been bred to do it), and those that do are sicker and less nutritious than cows that are pastured. Moreover, the factories that process this sub-par beef are likely to be huge, unsanitary and foster E. Coli outbreaks. Thanks, but I’ll pass.
5. Soda. There was a time in my life when I drank quarts of Diet Coke a day. But since I started focusing on my health I gave it up and never looked back. Even natural sodas add very little to your quality of life. And if they contain full sugar, your life may even be shortened. When I’m thirsty I drink water.
6. Pancake or brownie mixes. I am not immune from the occasional pancake or brownie craving (and sometimes my friends demand these of me!). So if it is a special occasion, why bother with the boxed stuff? Both these goodies are easy to make from scratch and worth a little extra time in the kitchen to make them spectacular! Isn’t that what indulgence is all about?
7. Winter tomatoes. Need I say more? There is no room in my life (usually) for an inadequate tomato. Canned tomatoes are a better option during the spring and winter.
8. Juice. Even 100% fresh squeezed juice is dangerous for your blood sugar and insulin levels (not to mention your BMI). If I decide to try some, I consume less than 8 oz. You can probably guess what I think about the phony 10% juice products from concentrate (see point #5).
9. Deli meats. On the surface these purportedly lean meats seem to be healthy. But under the surface they are packed with salts, sugars and nitrates. For a quick protein fix, try canned salmon (boneless, skinless), sardines or lox.
10. Cheese that comes in plastic. Similar to beef, I indulge in cheese so infrequently that I prefer to go straight to Cowgirl Creamery for the good stuff! My recent favorite is called Midnight Moon.

• What popular items don’t you buy?
• Have any questions about other common items in your shopping cart?

Tags: beef, bread, cheese, deli meat, juice, lettuce, soda, tomatoes, yogurt