krdavis's Profile

Mid-C Frank, I think you're missing the point a little bit. While no one expects food "on the run" to be outstanding, given the constraints on time (especially in airports or train stations with their tight schedules), bringing along alternatives or encouraging less-processed food choices in airports, etc is really important. Although most people won't suffer great harm by eating a fast food meal occasionally while traveling, I really doubt that food allergies disappear just because you're "on vacation" and it can be almost impossible to find safe foods amid the processed options, especially depending on what kind of allergy you have (corn, soy, and wheat spring to mind as the most difficult to avoid). If you rely on the options at the airport/station/rest stop, your options often become a) go hungry b) take a gamble that you'll miss your connection because you're in the ER with anaphylaxis.

I think we need to highlight that it's ridiculous that travel hubs are a fresh food desert. Perhaps with enough interest in the matter, restaurants will be more encouraged to offer less-processed, more allergy-friendly fare in airports, etc. And in the meantime, we need to figure out what foods are easy to prepare and take from home, so we aren't stuck hungry.

Hmmm, I live with my fiance and he stills eats peanut butter from the jar, naked, at 2 AM. Then again, I'm with a spoon right there with him, so I guess we have no problem sharing our "single quirks" with each other. I like what Pi said, that it's totally different having a partner than having a roommate. I'm anticipating being on my own for most of this summer, and I think I'm going to miss my partner : ( But I also think having the experience of "fending for yourself" in a sense makes you better equipped to live with someone else later (if you choose to).

As a science major, I feel compelled to comment. The study doesn't have a control group because it's a correlational study, not a true experiment. A true experiment would randomly assign people to groups that ate varying amounts of red meat, including eating no red meat, which would be the control group. Then any differences in mortality among the groups could quite confidently be attributed to red meat consumption. Now, as you can imagine, this kind of study would be nearly impossible to actually do, because most people don't take kindly to being told what to eat for decades, and if the researchers had reason to believe red meat consumption did increase mortality, it would be unethical to purposefully get people to increase their red meat consumption.

So this study doesn't demonstrate that eating red meat causes increased mortality, but just that there's an association between eating a lot of red meat and having an increased risk of dying. It could be that there's a genetic factor that makes people like red meat more, but also increases the chance of getting cancer, or heart disease.

There are a lot of better reasons to limit red meat consumption, such as the appalling way we treat most animals that are raised for food, the fact that it just isn't a very efficient food source, and that compared to other countries, Americans eat much more than our fair share of meat.

Sorry for the long rant, but misunderstanding/misapplying scientific research slows down progress for all of us, even though this study's findings are ones that I would really like to believe (full disclosure: I'm a vegetarian).

Candy melts are indeed gross tasting. My first thought when I saw these was that they were repackaged salt water taffy sticks. Harder to do yourself (unless you have a taffy puller in your house?) but better tasting than candy melts, in my opinion.

Does this only work with Parmesan or can you use the rinds from other hard cheeses?

I also use a strainer as a sifter. I haven't thought of using a whisk with it, though. Good idea! I'll have to try that when I do holiday baking.

Hmmm, my family just doesn't put lights on the back of the tree. We usually have it in a corner, and we just zig-zag the lights in the front and around the sides.

Now, we also once brought home an 11-foot tree for our 10-ft ceiling, so maybe we're not the ones to ask about Christmas decorating : )

There are a lot of do-it-yourself recipes online, like this one: http://wickedgooddinner.blogspot.com/2011/03/soy-free-soy-sauce.html. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but if you like cooking, they might be a good option.

Good luck with your new diet! My bf is severely allergic and it's amazingly hard to avoid soy in anything even remotely processed. You might already know this, but watch out for bread and peanut butter. Lots of soy flour/cross-contamination issues there that I would have never thought about (if it weren't for the threat of anaphylaxis).

I looooove the vegetarian chili that my boyfriend's mom makes, but it irks me so much because 1) she never eats it herself and 2) she won't share the recipe. How do you make such good food if you've never tasted it? I make a lentil soup that we really like, so at least she doesn't have the monopoly on tasty soups/stews.

I agree with ArchDarling; I'd get some other chairs that are easier to get out of for my guests that need that. If space won't allow for more chairs, perhaps you could get some extra cushions that could be put down to add some height to the seats. You could pick a fabric that goes well with the couch and stash them in a closet when you don't need them. If you're handy with a sewing machine you could probably make them yourself.