Saturday, June 21, 2014

Just Plain Nutz

No Added Sugars Please

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Treehouse gardens producing food

This is the time of year that residents who have vegetable gardens begin to see the fruits of their labor. Of course I am riffing on the fruit/vegetable debate about tomatoes.

According to the Oxford Dictionary the tomato is the fruit of the tomato plant, but when used for cooking it is a vegetable.

Did you know that many nuts are also fruits?


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California poppies

California’s Fresh Water Supply Solution

It is good for households to conserve water, among other things, but lets not overlook where 2/3 of California's fresh water goes; Livestock production. If we reduce our meat consumption from 3 meals a day to one, we would not only be healthier, but we could double our existing water supply.

I’ve been writing different versions of this same information in online comment sections for a few years, now. You would think that the people who write for newspapers, radio, TV, magazines, and online media would include this verifiable information in every drought related article. That seems like important data that no conscientious reporter could omit.

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Gadzooks

I have noticed that there are a growing number of food shoppers who, presumably for the same reasons as myself, buy Nature's Path Organic Flax cereal exclusively. This I buy at Trader Joe’s. (Always $2.99)

They have a whole side of an aisle filled with boxes of cereal 4 shelves high. Many of them claim to be natural and/or organic, but only one kind sells out leaving an empty spot on the shelf every few days or so.

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X marks the spot

It used to be that both Nature's Path Flax Plus and Heritage Flakes would sell out, but some corporate someone thought it would be a good idea to add additional sugars to Heritage Flakes. To my taste that made them inedible and unhealthy.

Since they changed the formula, Heritage Flakes just sit on the shelf, like all the other cereals, but now the Flax sells out twice as fast.

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Reminds me of a sign, code or notation

A curiously similar buyout occurs with another favorite food item I get at Raley’s. Michael Angelo’s Vegetable Lasagna frozen dinner. It is uncannily like the cereal aisle at T.J.’s. There were only 2 frozen food dinners I eat; Vegetable Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan by Michael Angelo’s. (The eggplant is being made with cheap ingredients lately, so it hasn’t been moving like it used to. Sort of like Heritage Flakes!)

The Vegetable Lasagna tastes like real tomatoes, vegetables, cheeses, and noodles.

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Fascinating

The freezers on one side of the aisle are filled 4 shelves high with popular brands of frozen entrees. Every shelf remains perpetually fully stocked. With one exception. Michael Angelo’s Vegetable Lasagna. I have seen the vegetable lasagna sell out in a matter of hours.

What does this mean? For me it means those are the only nutritious food items I can buy in a box. To my taste and digestion, everything else is crap.

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Trying to beat the heat in a shady spot

I would be tempted to conclude that the fast emptying shelf space must mean that other people are finding nutrition and satisfaction in the same couple of items as I do. I hope other manufacturers take notice and start putting some real food in their packages so people might buy them, too.

Today’s Video;

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Satisfactory Sustenance

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