Category: ingredients

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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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.

Continue reading “Protein primer: How to find the protein you want” →
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Understanding Boy Kibble: A New Trend for Men

Men, especially young men, can do some pretty strange things. But eating kibble? Isn’t that for dogs?

Not exactly, according to a recent New York Times piece, Move Over, Girl Dinner. Boy Kibble Has Arrived.

“Boy kibble — also known as “human kibble” since women eat it, too — is a ruthlessly efficient, male-coded rejoinder to the extemporaneous charms of “girl dinner.” The latter is a TikTok term for the assemblage of light bites that women sometimes cobble together and eat as a meal, with little care for gastronomic coherence,” The Times reports.

“Boy kibble, in contrast, focuses on some nutritional ideal — here a mix of carbs, protein and fiber — that helps one achieve a specific body type or fitness goal. Pleasure-seeking details like flavor and aesthetics are tossed to the side.”

The person profiled in the article makes his boy kibble with rice, vegetables and ground beef, all cooked in the same pan.

Part of the ongoing effort by men to define what being a man means these days? Perhaps, the article suggests. Or just another goofy fad? Time, as always will tell.

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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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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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Eggs too expensive? Try these protein sources

Eggs prices have been coming down lately. A store near me had them on sale for $2.99 a dozen recently, causing a stampede of people around the egg freezer. But if prices are still to high for you, here are some protean alternatives courtesy of LoseIt.

A tasty edamame appetizer at Seasons 52.
  • Plain Greek Yogurt
  • Tofu
  • Cottage cheese
  • Lentils
  • Tempeh
  • Protein Shakes
  • Edamame

There’s two on there I’d eat, Greek yogurt and edamame. Cottage cheese has never appealed to me, it just looks wrong doesn’t it?

Continue reading “Eggs too expensive? Try these protein sources” →
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Asparagus — how to buy it, why to eat it

Asparagus always seemed like something only posh people ate when I was a grubby blue-collar kid growing up in Brooklyn. These days, I must be posh because I regularly eat asparagus and have come to love them. I recently read This Is the No. 1 Thing to Look for When Buying Asparagus which answered a question I’ve always had about them.

Asparagus and zucchini ready for my backyard grill. I use these disposable grilling sheets to keep my main grill clean.

Ever see asparagus sitting in a tray of water in your supermarket? That always looks messy to me. But it turns out that’s a must, according to the Food & Wine article. the water helps keep asparagus fresh.

Other tips — look for firm stalks, dry buds and know when it’s asparagus season. My tips include smelling it, old asparagus has a distinctively bad smell. Also decide whether you like very thin stalks or thicker ones. I normally go small, I love the more delicate flavor.

On the health side, asparagus is high in nutrients but low in calories, according to 7 Reasons You Should Eat More Asparagus

With summer coming to northern climes, my favorite way to prepare asparagus is grilled on my backyard grill. Simply wash them, then lay them out in a disposable aluminum pan, spray with olive oil, season with a salt-free Italian spice mixture and grill them for 8-10 minutes depending on your grill. Here’s one quick recipe I found on Hey Grill Hey.

You’ll find more tips in this piece I wrote as well, just click here.

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Even Christmas treats get downsized

Christmas 2024 seems long way away these cold January days. But before my neighbors (finally) take down their outside decorations, I wanted to write about how even Christmas candy is getting downsized in the face of rising ingredient costs these days.

My wife (or was it Santa?) gave me these marshmallow Snowmen in my Christmas stocking this year. They’re a regular item at our local Dollar Tree store.

Continue reading “Even Christmas treats get downsized” →
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Up for a wellness challenge? Check out NYT

The New York Times started the year with a five-day wellness challenge, a series to help you shop for healthier foods.

Fiber One ultraprocessed? Yes, according to the Times.

Day one defines ultra processed foods and gives you a digital game to see how much of what you buy can fit the definition.

Some of the results may surprise you, as I’m sure they were picked to do.

I found out, for example, that Fiber One cereal, my fallback buy when I can’t find Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal, is considered ultra processed because of thickening agents and Sucrolose it contains.

How does the series define ultraprocessed?

“Ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, are commonly defined as products you couldn’t typically make in your own kitchen. They contain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, protein isolates, emulsifiers and artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners. Think chicken nuggets, hot dogs, flavored yogurts, sodas and many breakfast cereals, packaged breads and snack foods,” it states.

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