Good Does Not Equal Cheap... Or Does It?

I know there is a lot of people up in arms over the Taco Bell thing. Why? I have no idea. How else could you get the tacos so cheap? People just don't think sometimes. I know that tacos from Taco Bell are nasty, but I like them anyway. Have you seen Burger King's BK STUFFED STEAKHOUSE? If anyone claims that is anything better that Taco Bell's taco... they must be smoking crack.

I can't believe BK is trying to sell this... at least they do put their ingredients up for you to see. But anyway I'm torn by this subject. I want the best... but when you pay for the cheapest, you can't really complain when you find out you get anything but the cheapest. I mean if it were 100% ground round, taco's would cost a dollar or two more than they do now. And I'm not sure they would taste any better.

We're All Fat... Maybe

On the way to work I hear this story about how we are fat. Well, honestly I know that I'm fat. Not fat guy big, well I guess that term is relative. I'm not like those fat people they show on TV or in print. If that means anything. They also lauded Colorado, because it had the lowest percentage of fat, or obese people. I feel somewhat accosted by all of this. I'm 6'4" and 275 lbs. Do you know how much weight I'd have to lose? About 75 pounds (that is to be considered "normal" 25 pounds if I just want to be "overweight"). Now I know I could stand to lose 10-20 pounds, but I don't see how in the hell I could ever lose 75.

I'd be miserable. I only eat twice a day (yes I know, that messes up my metabolism) because I'm a type 1 diabetic. I have to account for every carbohydrate ingested. So I just don't know what to think about being fat, if I'm listening to someone who may or may not suffer from the same condition.

Back to Colorado. I've lived there, specifically the Denver area. It gets hot there, but it is a dry heat. Right now we've been under a heat advisory since April, or whatever (yes I meant it in jest, but it is hot in the south). And though I see plenty of walking trails... or sidewalks, who the hell would walk on them in the heat of the day? I know it will not be me. I've been a heat casualty before, I don't want to go through that again.

I don't look fat, I mean, I look big, I am big, but aside from a bit of a pooch around my belly (probably a little too much beer) I look normal, no triple chin, no thunder thighs, I don't need a horn to back up, I can see my feet, with the exception of the beer gut, I seem to be normal, hell I test normal too my cholesterol is 154 (with the help of cholesterol meds because of my stroke, I'll always take it).

Which brings me to the whole cost thing, well according to the BMI thing, I have been overweight for some time. So this is to blame for my diabetes? I thought it was because my white blood cells saw my pancreas as an enemy. Now I know it was just because I was fat. The stroke too, I think it was because I gave myself too much insulin. Nope it was because I was fat... Whatever.

It goes on to talk about kids. All of my kids are normal to underweight and they eat the exact same stuff I eat. Do I think that there is a problem with obesity? Surely. But unless we can look at it from just a perspective of numbers and charts we will never solve this problem. And really I have a problem with the numbers anyway, my kids are underweight, while I am obese, I know that it really doesn't add up, so I take it with a grain of salt, but still the problem, if there is one, won't be fixed by only looking to lower BMI.

In fact I've done a little hurting around and I found this site and this site (politics aside) seem to have a much different take on the "obesity epidemic". So now I'm even more confused then when I heard the story on the radio. I am, I am not... who cares at this point? All this is really doing is elevating my anxiety level, and that is never good.

A Veggy Garden... for the Fall

Ok so this is my own economic stimulus package as it were. Our tomatoes are long gone, the pepper plants made their last pepper a few weeks back, everything is overgrown and unkempt, basically the shine that was present in the spring had dulled over the summer and by the fall, had become an eyesore.


But with the 4 of us working about a whole day... Ok not really... 1 is too little, 1 is too stroke bound, this was a 2 person job. My 13-year-old still owed on her little vandalism escapade. So she got most of the weeds out of there (and paid off her debt in full). My wife did most of the fine tuning/actual planting. I did have a hand in the boarder (to hopefully prevent the grass from invading again) and some mulch, as well as bricks for the garbage can.


This is the first time that we have planted from seed. We always took some plants already started from the store. We know that as far as timing, we are late, but I'm hoping for global warming, or I can cover the plants with plastic. We have, in our little garden, some broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, spinach, and onions. I doubt that everything will take, as we have no skill or previous knowledge of farming. And it's going to be watered on the irrigation system, so perhaps some might get too much or not enough water.


But all things considered it at least looks better that it did, and so even if this garden fails we'll be that much more experienced when the spring rolls back around. Now we just wait and see.

School District to Tackle Obesity

I just so happened to catch some of the school board meeting tonight. There’s not a whole lot going on, but one thing that stood out to me was the new health initiative the district is looking at implementing. I don’t have specifics or links as this is a real-time deal, but the gist of the presentation (that played like a broken record 3 times…I love it when that multi-million dollar technology they use makes them look like a 3rd world country) was that many kids are obese and the school district is going to tackle the problem through education, limiting bad food choices, and increased exercise. Sounds good right? Not so fast. Some of it made sense, most of it was downright laughable (like placing the responsibility on vendors like Sodexho to teach nutrition).

Here’s the problem, a lot of kids are fat, but honestly it’s not JUST the school that’s making them this way. Forcing teachers to implement and document some 15-20 minutes of extra exercise a day (rubric and all) isn’t going to erase that bag of Doritos and zombification sessions in front of the TV for hours on end once these kids get home. What this will do is put an even higher workload on teachers, who already have more than enough ineffective paperwork to chase and it will take away from academic instruction time.

This is nothing more than a “feel good” program that will not effectively curb adolescent obesity, but it’ll give those folks up top something to pat their own backs about.

An Update to Yesterday’s Post Concerning Local Seafood

A friend of mine recently contacted the South Carolina Seafood Alliance and passed along some additional pertinent info that deserves public exposure. The most shocking is that 83% of the seafood we eat, comes from waters not our own. Not only are we missing out on local and fresh “taste”, we’re contributing to the downfall of our local seafood industry by not supporting it.

State House Bill H 3028. If enacted it will provide for punishment to those that misrepresent the identity of food or food product that is served. Call or write your representative and tell them food origination and integrity is important to you.

Here’s a link to The SC Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. This is another organization that seeks to promote good business practices while promoting a healthy environment for local businesses and wildlife. Look for the restaurant list that identifies local establishments who support sustainable local seafood.

The South Carolina Seafood Alliance (SCSA) is working with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to certify sellers of local seafood and have them display the new "SC Brand." Look for this label as a sign of assurance for a quality local food product.

**EDIT**

Just because a business claims to support local seafood doesn't mean you can shop or order without worry. I noticed a local eatery on the "good restaurant" list and yet their menu is almost completely devoid of any local fair. As always, buyer beware.

South Carolina's Dirty Little Secret.

Fresh local seafood (with the exception of oysters and maybe some shrimp) is a farce in South Carolina. The way the state regulates commercial fishing and game fish designators makes it nearly impossible to obtain fresh locally harvested seafood, unless of course, you go out and pull it from the water yourself. In fact, the majority of “fresh seafood” one would find at a market here is of the same quality (and origination) that one would find in say Kansas City or Denver… which is to say, from foreign waters (farmed or otherwise) from a delivery truck, empirically not a local fisherman’s net.

If you’ve been to any of the higher priced establishments around Beaufort County you’ve probably noticed fancy wording for otherwise ordinary fish. This is not just for the air of sophistication; it likely has a lot to do with the fact that the ordinary (aka local) version of the very same fish is not available commercially. Case in point: An area restaurant sells “Dorado” (for almost $30 a plate). Dorado is the South American import version of Dolphin fish or mahi-mahi (all are the same fish by the way). 30 bucks for some frozen South American fish? How fresh is that?

Some restaurants claim to “specialize in fresh local seafood” but that’s a far cry from guaranteeing the locality (maybe one dish on the menu entails local oysters or shrimp) and is misleading at best. At any rate most seafood restaurants are banking on customers assuming that since they are located close to the water, therefore must have fresh and/or local seafood… which in actuality is not the case at all.

That’s not to say the area is devoid of tasty seafood fair, but my point is just because you’re this close to the water doesn’t mean you’re getting fish from that same water, which is a damn shame.

There’s a glimmer of hope. The backlash from cheap Chinese imports has caused outright bans and brought prominence to quality local shrimp.

It’s time we demand better. Make informed food choices and assume nothing. Ask for local seafood from your food server or fishmonger.

For more info checkout the South Carolina seafood Alliance.