Cinco de Mayo and Water
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and as usual we celebrated with a Mexican dinner and margaritas. I never really thought about it, but margaritas rank among my all time favorite mixed drinks. When I was much younger I used to drink the frozen kind often served in restaurants. But as I’ve grown older, those seem a little too sweet to me and now I enjoy a much simpler variety. I made this one with fresh lime juice, tequila and triple sec. I always have mine with a little salt on the glass. Just right.
Other Beverage Thoughts – Water
My brother sent me a link to a trailer for a documentary called “Tapped” which talks about the bottled water industry. This two minute trailer raises so many questions about the entire industry of bottled water from the safety of the plastic bottles to the affect the bottling plants have on the communities in which they’re situated. After jumping on the bottled water “healthy” bandwagon several years ago, I have more recently stepped away from it. Lately, we only purchase bottled water as a convenience when we’re on the road. The expense is completely outlandish, the plastic bottle waste is horrendous, and the more recent awareness of the chemicals in the plastic are cause for concern. When you begin to investigate the source of these so-called healthy waters, you find that many of them come from public water systems. The soft drink manufacturers were smart to realize there was a backlash developing in health circles against soda. But what will they do when people realize bottled water is problematic too?
I hope to see the entire “Tapped” documentary soon and find out whether it’s worth abandoning bottled water entirely.
Road Food and Baby Formula
Not bad for road food.
So I forgot to take a picture of my best meal yesterday. Actually, it was kind of a surprise to me which was why I forgot the picture. I made Tilapia, Spinach, and Asparagus Packets for dinner and they were much better than I expected. Louisa was begging us for some of our tilapia since she wanted more. No one shared.
To make up for my mistake, I’m sharing this photo of decent road food from our trip. When you stop at highway rest stops, the menu is usually pretty limited, unhealthy, and boring – you can pick your reason for hating it. On our way to Penn State we stopped off for lunch at a rest stop that had a Bassett’s Turkey stand. I like Bassett’s because the bread is fresh, it includes tomatoes and lettuce, and the turkey doesn’t come across as too processed. This sandwich was already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator case, which isn’t the best sign of things to come, but it turned out to be pretty good. So, as Annie would say, 5 Stars for the turkey sandwich.
And in Horrifying News…
Mead-Johnson, long time makers of baby formulas, has come out with a toddler formula to be served to your child as an alternative or substitute for plain old milk, but the toddler formula comes in vanilla and chocolate flavors! They’re attempting to justify this product by saying it’s a supplement that’s fortified with Omega 3s and antioxidants. I think they just want a larger share of the children’s market, so they’re going to sucker parents in with the health claims and the toddlers get hooked on the sugar and flavors. Wow. What smart marketers.
Nothing Good to Eat; Starbucks News
The most notable thing I ate yesterday wasn’t particularly good. I met a friend for lunch at Applebee’s and ordered their Apple Walnut Chicken salad, which I found to be both bland to look at and bland to eat, except for the overly tart chunks of green apple. That’s what I get for trying to order a healthy meal at a chain restaurant. Unfortunately, the pickings are slim on that menu for anything with a calorie count under 550, which I consider the absolute max I should have for lunch anyway. When a restaurant starts to brag about, and highlight the lower calorie items on their menu, you realize just how out of control the rest of the menu must be. This is probably the exact reason why restaurant groups are having issues with mandatory calorie labeling. But knowledge is power, and if you are going to eat out, it’s better to make an informed decision. Now it’s time for restaurants to make their healthier choices be as appealing as the high fat, salt, calorie options.
Oh Horrors! Starbucks is Making Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Ice Cream
Starbucks Java Chip ice cream has always been one of my favorites. Starbucks makes coffee and so not surprisingly they make great coffee ice cream. But non-coffee flavors? It can’t be possible. Yes, I know they sell non-coffee beverages in their stores. But why? If you do something really well, I say stick with it.
P.S. This doesn’t mean I won’t try the new flavors for the sake of fulfilling my reporting duties to my faithful readers. I’ll report back on my findings when I do.