McDonald adding insult to injury?

McDonald’s in recent years has been systematically eliminating any menu items that were even remotely healthy. Gone are yogurt parfaits (which were still high in sugar) and McDonald salads (which packed a lot of salt if you used the store dressing).

Stuck at a fast food outlet? Try to find one still offering salads like this one at Buona Beef in Chicago.

Now, according to a report by TastingTable, McD’s is adding insult to the very real injury its menu can cause your health by charging small order fees for delivery. I’m assuming this is in addition to any fees the delivery app charges you too.

My days of loving it at McDonald’s are long gone, In its salad days, pre-Covid, I would have salads and yogurt there two or three days a week. Then I could feel like a normal human being instead of one with heart issues that had changed all my eating habits.

I could just blend in instead of thinking about the two stents holding my arteries open. No more, though.

So I’ve been testing out other fast-food salads and found two I’m enjoying at Chicago’s Buona Beef chain and at the Potbelly sandwich shop chain.

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Experience Unique Waffle Flights at Elly’s Pancake House

Pancake house menus are pretty much all the same right — lots of pancakes, eggs, waffles, you know the drill.

When I go to one, I look for something heart-healthy, like an egg-white veggie omelet.

But recently I discovered a place near my father-in-law’s new retirement home that had a non-heart-healthy dish I simply could not pass up — waffle flights!

If you’ve ever done a beer or whiskey flight, you know the concept — four varieties of something in smaller sizes than normal but each with a very distinctive and wonderful flavor.

That’s exactly what Elly’s Pancake House in Glenview, Ill., is doing with waffles! Exclamation point? Yes, because this flight was really that amazing.

The waffles included are called s’mores, fruitopia, dalmation and apple pecans. You have to look back to the pancake section of the menu to find out what those include, namely:

  • S’mores — oreo, marshmallow spread, graham cracker crumbles
  • Fruitopia — strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, mascarpone sauce
  • Dalmatian — white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips

Regular readers know I don’t eat nuts, so I asked for the apple pecan without the pecans and our waitress was very accommodating about that.

Continue reading “Experience Unique Waffle Flights at Elly’s Pancake House” →
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Contaminated Oysters and Clams: What You Need to Know

My incredible oyster plate at Pearl Tavern.

Oysters and clams distributed in nine states are being recalled because they could make you violently ill, reports the Food and Drug Administration. The suspect products went to restaurants and food retailers in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington.

They may be contaminated with norovirus, which sickens millions each year.

Involved are oysters from Washington-based Drayton Harbor Oyster Co. and manila clams from the Lummi Indian Business Council from Feb. 13 to March 3. Given the time that’s past, those should not be on fresh fish counters any longer regardless of the recall.

It’s still unclear if the contaminated products were sent to other states, so avoid raw oysters and clams for a bit. They’re an acquired taste for some anyway.

I grew up near a clam bar in Brooklyn and watched my cousins compete in contests to see who could down the most. But I never ate them raw myself until years later when I moved to the Midwest and was anxious to find any dishes I had been familiar with in New York.

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Maximize Savings: CVS vs Walgreens Couponing Tips

With food prices continuing higher, looking for deals, coupons, sales, etc. is even more important now than in years past. I’ve written about seeking out supermarket deals. But a lot of us turn to drug stores for personal care items. So you need to work every available deal in those as well.

The two national chains, CVS and Walgreens, each have extensive couponing programs. But after trying both, using tips I found online from extreme couponers, CVS is the clear winner in offering deals to consumers.

The Walgreen’s program has more conditions, fine print and road blocks than does CVS. It really seems designed to be a bait-and-switch system, luring you to shop at Walgreens but then forcing you to spend more than you expected.

One recent example I ran into — I bought something there that offered me a $5 register cash reward. Walgreens register rewards are printed coupons that normally come with the restriction they must be used in seven days. So they basically draw you back, likely before you need to shop there again otherwise.

But the coupon I got was even more convoluted. It was for $5 off a future purchase. But it was only activated after I shopped there again and spent a certain amount (I think it was $20). Only then would it be activated — and for my next trip!

So I would need to make three shipping trips to get that $5; the first one, the second to activate it and the third to spend it! It’s an insult to shoppers, really. Shame on you Walgreens.

Continue reading “Maximize Savings: CVS vs Walgreens Couponing Tips” →
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2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find

Target 93% lean ground beef

Nutritionists constantly encourage us to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. But some of those healthy picks will be harder to find this year, as will some other foods like domestically raised beef, reports Tasting Table, mostly because of lower production.

For one though, cottage cheese, increased demand is creating shortages.

Continue reading “2026 Food Shortages: Key Fruits and Vegetables Harder to Find” →
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Recall-0-rama: 5 recalls to know about

Food-related recalls seem to be everywhere at the start of 2026.

Eating Well magazine’s website has a roundup of five recent ones that involve everything from fried rice to dietary supplements. And more than 20,000 peanut butter items are being recalled in 40 states by a processor called Ventura Foods. LLC.

The five items reported on by Eating Well include:

  • Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken with Japanese-Style Fried Rice and Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice sold in Canada and the U.S.
  • Frozen meatballs sold by Aldi in 32-ounce packages.
  • Rosabella moringa powder capsules with impacted expiration dates through November 2027.
  • Two-pound packages of salmon sold at BJ’s Wholesale Club locations in seven states.
  •  Turmeric supplements in 30 states under the Qunol Extra Strength Turmeric (1,000-milligram) label.

For the peanut butter recall: “More than 20,000 single-serve peanut butter items and peanut butter-and-jelly combo packs are affected. Some were distributed by DYMA Brands, Inc., US Foods, Sysco Corporation, Gordon Food Service and Independent Marketing Alliance, among others,” People reports.

I’m feeling good about not liking peanut butter right now.

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Why Iceberg Lettuce Deserves a Second Chance in Your Salad

Ever notice how nutritionists balk when you say you like iceberg lettuce? I had one audibly scoff at me once.

A pre-Covid Costco salad, now that was a salad worthy of the name. And it featured iceberg and other lettuces.

But a recent piece in USA Today says all lettuce is good for you, even the maligned iceberg.

Turns out it’s not as good as lettuce that more deeply green, and so higher in good things.

But “choosing darker, red-leaf varieties or mixing in baby greens or microgreens can really boost the nutritional value of your salads,” one nutrition expert tells USAToday.

So let the salads begin and enjoy the type of lettuce you enjoy.

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The cheapest groceries aren’t at a grocery store

Grocery prices have reached the stratosphere and we’re all scrambling to lower our food bills. Enter Consumer Reports which recently looked at where the cheapest groceries can be found.

My advice to lower your food bill — wherever you shop, plan weekly trips, search out deals and then plan your meals accordingly. I save between 30-50% on weekly trips, as this receipt shows.

Surprise, the winner wasn’t a traditional supermarket or even Walmart, it was Costco.

“Only six chains nationwide had lower prices than Walmart, and the cheapest grocery store in America was none other than Costco. According to the study, groceries at Costco cost, on average, 21.4% less than at Walmart,” reports Delish in analyzing the Consumer Reports study.

But before you run to Costco, keep in mind there are some downsides to shopping there. You have to buy a membership, to start. Costco also doesn’t stock as many grocery products as traditional stores. And you likely have to buy in large quantities, more than a small family might need.

But you could join with neighbors, splitting the $65 membership fee and dividing up what you purchase.

BJ’s Wholesale came in second, another warehouse concept store.

My advice for getting lower prices — shop sales, use coupons and plan your weekly trip, and your weekly menu to maximize your purchasing power. I rarely pay full-price for any grocery item.

My goal each week — to save at least 33 – 40% off full price for my weekly shopping list.

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Why Coca-Cola is Ending Minute Maid Frozen Concentrate

Breakfast takes on a light tone when you opt for low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar options. Pictured here is fat-free yogurt (regular and Greek), low-sodium English muffins, low-sugar orange juice, jams, fresh figs and Smart Balance instead of butter.
Orange juice is more likely to be in bottles on American tables these days, to in frozen cans.

Coca-Cola is dropping its iconic (at least for old people) Minute Maid frozen concentrate in the United States and Canada after a nearly 80-year run.

When it was first introduced, concentrate, essentially orange bits frozen in a can, was the height of convenience. Most people squeezed oranges for juice 80 years ago (it’s true, look it up).

With a can of concentrate, you took it from the freezer and dumped it in a pitcher of water, stirred and drank the stuff.

Today, though, people think nothing of buying big cartons or bottles of OJ and lugging it home.

Plus, I would guess with fewer people eating breakfast at home, home consumption is down as well. So Coke is concentrating on other, more profitable lines.

Coke and Pepsi are both scrambling to stay relevant for consumers who aren’t drinking their main soda offerings as much as in the past.

Pepsi just announced price cuts for some of its snack offerings, for example, worried that more people are gulping weight-loss drugs and turning away from snacks in the process.

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Halfway measures won’t get you to your fiber-eating goal

I had to laugh at a recent New York Times piece titled 4 Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber. These might be easy for some, but they’ll also be distasteful to others and they won’t get you to your fiber-eating goals.

I resolved to eat more fiber years ago and went all-in with a fiber-rich breakfast. I eat Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal every morning, even taking it with me when I travel. Two-thirds of a cup has 9 grams of fiber. I eat an entire cup each morning, so roughly 13 grams of fiber.

That puts me well on my way to the daily recommendation of 25 grams. I also eat nothing but whole wheat bread and pastas and I grab whole fruit whenever possible, adding still more fiber.

Back to the Times piece and its recs. I don;t do smoothies, so blending fiber into smoothies won’t help me. I also don;t snack on trail mix or seeds or whatever, so that’s two of the four that don’t help. And I don;t believe in making gradual changes, the first recommendation. At almost 73, I don;t have time left for doing anything gradually.

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