Reflections on America’s 250th Birthday: Optimism vs. Scarcity

As the country reaches its 250th birthday, I can’t help look back to its 200th in 1976 and think about how much has changed, not only in daily life, but more importantly in the very essence of America.

In 1976, The United States was still a country of optimism in the future, of believe that we would always make life better and that each generation would be better off than the last.

Toady, when I speak with people just out of college or early in their working lives, what I hear predominately is fear that their jobs, their professions, will be done in by artificial intelligence sometime before they reach retirement. In politics, both parties embarrass philosophes which focus on scarcity. Not enough housing, not enough jobs, not enough to go around anymore. Forget thoughts of a country with boundless resources. The watchword today is who gets what of what we have left. Republicans would take from the poor and give it to the rich. Democrats would take from the rich and give it to the poor. 

Both those approaches start from a place of scarcity, not one of optimism or of any possibility that a growing economy will help everyone.

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Streaming restaurant reviews leave a lot out

I watch a lot of streaming restaurant reviews, primarily through Facebook reels, but elsewhere as well. And I’m getting fairly upset about how much basic info they tend to leave out — like when the restaurant is open!

Twice now, and from the same reviewer, I’ve gone to try a place he talks about only to find it closed. Actually, the second time I called ahead, having been burned once. Not only was the place closed for lunch but it only serves its speciality, a giant mozzarella stock, on Sunday.

So even if I had gone for dinner, I would have been out of luck. And this with an out-of-town guest looking for unusual fare.

I’m old so when I try new places it’s more often than not for lunch, not dinner. Night driving isn’t the most comfortable for me these days.

So I want to know when a place is open for lunch and which days of the week it’s open as well.

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My Stan’s Donut Quest Ends Well

Stan’s Donuts is the Illinois offshoot of a similarly named Los Angeles donut shop. It’s been getting noticed around Chicago for years now but every time I try to buy a donut there, I’ve been disappointed. Disappointed not in the donut but in the lack of donuts when I show up at local outlets.

As fate would have it, I always seem to find a Stan’s at day’s end when it’s out of any donuts I would want. It’s become a running joke in my head (since I have no one else to tell about it), “There’s a Stan’s donut shop…oh it’s closing.”

So when I happened to be near Chicago’s upscale Michigan Avenue shopping district on a recent Sunday afternoon and I saw a Stan’s nearby, I assumed it would be closing early that day because I was nearby.

But no! It was open and well-stocked with chocolate-covered donuts, the only kind I like to waste precious calories on.

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U.S. moving at a slow pace to reduce salt consumption, expert advises

We recently reached out to Neha Chatterjee, a research & development scientist specializing in formulating and developing protein-rich foods. We asked her to discuss U.S. salt consumption and salt-related health topics. Read what she has to say here. The views expressed are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer Glanbia, a global nutrition company.

What is the current state of salt consumption in the U.S.? Have intake levels been rising or declining in recent years?

The short answer is Americans are still eating way too much salt, and that hasn’t really changed. The national average sits at around 3,400 mg/day, which is nearly 50% over the recommended 2,300 mg limit. Data from 2003 show that 86–89% of adults have consistently exceeded that threshold. So, despite all the awareness campaigns and label changes, the needle just hasn’t moved much at the population level. Intake has been essentially stable where it is not really rising, but not declining either.

From a food science perspective, that’s not surprising. Salt isn’t just a flavor enhancer, it plays critical functional roles in food processing, controls microbial growth, affects dough structure in baked goods, improves moisture retention in meats, and influences texture in everything from cheese to canned vegetables. Those functions are deeply embedded in how our food supply is manufactured, which is part of why reducing salt content at scale is so technically challenging.

Are Americans being encouraged to consume more or less salt amid changing dietary recommendations, and the potential health implications of these shifts?

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One more danger from salt — kiss your memory goodbye

Salt causes our bodies all sorts of problems like high blood pressure and bloating but here’s a new one. Salt can contribute to memory loss, according to new research from Australia.

“Dr Samantha Gardener, a research fellow at Edith Cowan University’s McCusker Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in Australia, found that higher sodium consumption may reduce episodic memory, the type used to recall personal experiences and specific events such as where you put your keys or parked your car,” reports The Times of London.

“Looking at the sodium intake and cognitive decline of 1,208 participants over a six-year period, Gardener and her team showed that men who ate the most salt showed a faster decline in episodic recall,” the story reports.

So there’s one more reason to put down the salt shaker and read food labels before you buy packaged foods — if you can remember.

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If you must have salty snacks, pick these

Our edamame at Crave was a nice appetizer.

Salt has been a great demon in my life, routinely impacting my blood pressure and heart health. So I avoid it whenever and wherever I can. But some people insist they have to eat some salty snacks to satisfy occasional cravings.

If you’re in that group, at least opt for low-calorie, lower-salt snacks, such as those on this list from LoseIt!.

Edamame is on here, but I normally ask for that with no salt in restaurants. When you buy it pre-packaged in food stores, you normally get salt.

Another option here I like is Babybel low-fat cheese which comes in little rounds.

“Babybel’s mini cheese wheels are just 70 calories and provide 140 mg of calcium (10 percent of the Daily Value) per serving. Cheese also helps to balance blood sugar levels because it contains protein and fat,” LoseIt! reports.

I’m a little shocked to see beef jerky on the list. Whenever I sample that at Costco, I am flooded with salt.

Once you start cutting back on salt, you’ll taste it in the extreme when you do get food drenched in it.

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$6 beer? We’re a long way from the 1930s

The U.S. average cost for a beer at a restaurant or bar has reached $6.52! Wow, that tells me how long it’s been since I went out drinking.

“The most expensive city to buy a beer in is New York, at an average price of $9.16, and the most expensive states are New York, Hawaii, and California.

“The most affordable city to buy a beer in is San Antonio, and the places with the highest cost growth are New Mexico, at 4.8%, and Philadelphia at 3.3%,” The Food Institute recounts about findings by Toast.

Following the end of Prohibition in the early 1930s, nickel beer became common across the country. Often, in those tough times, free food came with the beer.

My dad would talk with joy about the free sandwiches. We even once went to an old bar in the pre-gentrified Washington, D.C. that still had that perk in the 1970s.

Those days are long gone now. I suppose the only upside to expensive beer is that it’s much tougher to get drunk on beer now than it was when I was in college in Milwaukee, the original beer town, where we were served free beer on campus once a year.

If you plan to belly up to the bar now, be sure your wallet is full first.

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My air-frying disaster: my perch didn’t fry

Air frying has gotten a lot of hype in recent years as a healthier way to get fried-like foods. But my first experience trying to air-fry some perch fillets was a disaster.

My wife theorizes our fryer isn’t powerful enough for what I tried to do. I think the perch was just too thick. I was following a fish air-0fry recipe I found but the breading didn’t;t stay on and more dramatically, the fish wasn’t cooking.

I ended up baking it in a regular oven where it turned out fine. The while sad affair is documented in a video on our new YouTube channel. Check it out and let me know what you think I did wrong.

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AHA vs. Federal Guidelines: Meat Consumption Debate

While the federal government is pushing red meat consumption these days, the American Heart Association remains committed to recommending limited meat consumption, according to its newly polished food guidelines.

The federal guidelines highlight animal sources like eggs, dairy, poultry, seafood, and meat as “safe and high-quality options,” offered alongside plant proteins. The AHA, on the other hand, recommends shifting from meat to plant sources (legumes and nuts) and seafood, with guidance to limit red meat and choose lean cuts if consumed,” reports Mindbodygreen.com.

Two other major areas of disagreement emerge as well, Mindbodygreen.com reports.

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Protein primer: How to find the protein you want

Know what you;re buying when you pick a yogurt to eat.

America seems a bit obsessed with protein these days. Those on the new weight-loss drugs think they need to eat it. Those trying to drop pounds the old-fashioned way think if they eat more rpotein,m they’ll basically eat less of everything else.

So how much protein is enough? American women eat an average of 69 grams a day, about 2.4 ounces, reports a piece on LoseIt.com. Some health types advocate eating as much as 100 grams a day, 2.5 ounces.

I tend to ignore food fads, but if you’re on the current protein quest, LoseIt.com has a list of 10 foods that provide at least 15 grams a serving.

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