A collection of food related items for your dinner enjoyment:
- A Good Oil. The NY Times has an article on Coconut Oil, which has gone from being a bad oil to a good oil. Virgin coconut oil, that is. Not the hydrogenated stuff. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid. Lauric acid increases levels of good HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, and bad LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, in the blood, but is not thought to negatively affect the overall ratio of the two. It has a haunting, nutty, vanilla flavor, is even milder and richer tasting than butter, sweeter and lighter textured than lard, and without any of the bitterness you sometimes get in olive oil. It can also be used in pastries in place of butter.
- Convenience Food. One pastry you might try it in are Pop Tarts. The LA Times has a nice story on the goodness that are pop tarts, including how to make them from scratch at home. Flaky crust encasing a jammy center — you can fill them with almost anything — and popped in the toaster just long enough to warm the tart, give a sudden crisp to the edges and encourage a bit of steam when you break it open. Hungry yet?
- Bad Italian. However, be careful what you eat. The Daily Beast has a summary of the 30 unhealthiest pastas, ranging from the 1,930 calorie Spaghetti with Meatballs and Bolognese Sauce at Bertuccis to the 804 calorie Spaghetti with Meat Sauce at Bob Evans, or the 2,193 calorie Farfalle with Chicken and Roasted Garlic at Cheesecake Factory to the 1,370 Broccoli Sun-Dried Tomato Fusilli with Grilled Chicken Breast at CPK.
- Weird Food. Perhaps you’re not in the mood for Italian. How about snack foods? Some yummy pork chop potato chips, perhaps? Yes, they exist. Other odd snacks include Lobster Flavored Lays Stax, Mediterranean Flavored Chips, Grilled shrimp Pringles. Red Chili or Paprika Chipsletten.
- Another Out of Work Clown. McDonalds is gentrifying, going upscale with fancy coffee and all that. Of course, this means that you won’t be seeing Ronald McDonald much anymore. He’s on the unemployment line, along with that little minx Wendy.
