Stupid Diet Don't Work

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Food, flavor, seasoning, etc.

Some few months ago I came to the conclusion that the rising rate of obesity in this modern era can, in part, be blamed upon the idea that food must taste good to be considered palatable. Cookbooks (some of them startlingly expensive) abound in bookstores and obtainable via the Internet. They all concentrate on presenting recipes that produce foods that are visually attractive and are tasty, or delicious. Which makes sense; who would want to prepare meals for family and friends that are bland or tasteless?

Sometimes though, no matter what you do, the dish you are preparing does not turn out as desired. Perhaps the seasoning was not done properly. Seasoning is the process of adding salt, herbs, or spices to food to enhance the flavor. When this happens one can always save the day by drenching the failed product in a highly flavored sauce, thus fooling the unsuspecting palate.

Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". However, Larousse Gastronomique states that "to season and to flavor are not the same thing", insisting that seasoning includes a large or small amount of salt being added to a preparation.

Salt may be used to draw out water, or to magnify a natural flavor of a food making it richer or more delicate, depending on the dish. This type of procedure is akin to curing. For instance, kosher salt (a coarser-grained salt) is rubbed into chicken, lamb, and beef to tenderize the meat and improve flavor. Other seasonings like black pepper and basil transfer some of their flavor to the food. A socially acceptable, well designed dish may combine seasonings that complement each other.

Even though I suspect that preparing foods without any seasoning at all, and with no sauces or flavor enhancers, would go a long way in reducing the habit of overeating and its accompanying result of obesity. I have never actually attempted to do so. I am a creature of habits with a strong hankering for fats, sugars and other sweeteners, and plenty of salt and pepper.

Eating simple non-enhanced meals? I really, really do intend to give it a try.

Soon.

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I saw this on Facebook and thought I'd share

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Did You Know That . . . ?

70 percent of Americans have visited Disneyland/Disney World.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On October 5 in 1974, American David Kunst completed the first round-the-world journey on foot, taking four years and 21 pairs of shoes to complete the 14,500-mile journey across the land masses of four continents. He left his hometown of Waseca, Minnesota, on June 20, 1970. Near the end of his journey in 1974 he explained the reasons for his epic trek: "I was tired of Waseca, tired of my job, tired of a lot of little people who don't want to think, and tired of my wife." During the long journey, he took on sponsors and helped raise money for UNICEF. He was accompanied by his brother, John, but in 1972 John Kunst was shot to death by bandits in Afghanistan and David was wounded. After returning to Minnesota to recuperate, Kunst traveled back to Afghanistan and continued his global journey with another brother, Peter. Peter had to drop out later for health reasons, and David Kunst completed his trek alone, returning to Waseca on October 5, 1974.

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WORD FOR TODAY

gorp  [gohrp]
noun
A mixture of high-energy foods, such as nuts and dried fruit, eaten as a snack.
synonym
trail mix

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Kate Elizabeth Winslet

(born 5 October 1975)

Kate Winslet is an English actress and singer. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader (2008). She has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award for television acting, winning once for her role as Mildred Pierce in the 2011 mini-series of the same name.

Winslet made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994), for which she received her first notable critical praise. She achieved recognition for her subsequent work in a supporting role in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and for her leading role in Titanic (1997), the highest-grossing film in the world at the time

Neil deGrasse Tyson

(born October 5, 1958)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

From 2006 to 2011 he hosted the educational science television show NOVA ScienceNow on PBS and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jeopardy!. It was announced on August 5, 2011, that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series.

Karen Jane Allen

(born October 5, 1951)

Karen Allen is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Allen has also had roles in films, including National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Wanderers (1979), Cruising (1980), Starman (1984), Scrooged (1988), The Sandlot (1993), and Poster Boy (2004).

Larry Fine

(Oct 5, 1902 - Jan 24, 1975)

Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) was an American comedian, actor, violinist, and boxer, who is best known as the smartest member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.

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We don't walk. We overeat because we've made it easy to overeat. We have fast-food joints on every corner. By the way, the 'we' is all of us. It's not the government. It's all of us doing this together.
--Mehmet Oz

NASA TV

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