Lean Finely Textured Beef (LTFB), more commonly referred to as “Pink Slime” is gaining more attention from the public these days. New Jersey just put a ban on the ingredient in their school system. Good for them. LFTB - which I don’t think deserves to be narrowed down to an acronym; pink slime is way more fitting - is the ingredient put into ground beef to enhance the color, preserve the meat, and eliminate bacterias from the meat. It is made from the fatty trimmings of meat, which are susceptible to e. coli and salmonella. To make these portions safe to eat the fatty trimmings are sprayed with ammonia in order to kill the bacteria. The fatty trimmings are then mixed in with “regular” untreated ground beef and put on the shelves. And there you have your good ol’ American burger. How do you like those beef patties?
(Source: The New York Times)
"Biologically we eat to fill ourselves with a certain volume of food. “Energy density” is the term for the number of calories in a given weight of food (each 100 grams for example). Foods with many Calories per unit of volume or weight are high-energy-dense foods-pizza with extra cheese, or French fries, for example. Carrots, asparagus, pumpkin, greens, apples and cantaloupe are low in energy density. Higher energy-density foods contain more fat, protein, and sugar, but less water. The higher the energy density of our foods, the more calories we eat in a meal or snack. For example, oily nuts such as pecans or macadamia nuts are about 700 calories per 100 grams, 100 grams of broiled lean steak is around 300 to 400 calories, and broiled codfish is less than 100 calories per 100 grams. "
— The World is Fat - The Fads, Trends, Policies, and Products that are Fattening the Human Race by Barry Popkin
A blogger announces a challenge to all her followers. Jennifer McGurther sets a “28-day Real Food Challenge” instructing participants to rid their pantries of any processed foods. Many participants blogged about their four week experience with the new diet. In the end the challenge is meant to make people understand that eating healthy, unprocessed foods does not mean you are sacrificing taste.
CNN article about the challenge. (Check out the photos, the food looks pretty damn delicious. I mean LOOK at the blackberry sorbet!)
