I went back to Safeway today; some staples: sardines in hot sauce, chicken livers and gizzards, chicken breasts, round steak, grass-fed hamburger, hot salsa/picante sauce, unsweetened almond milk, and cage-free eggs on sale. They only had cinnamon-raisin Ezekiel bread loaves, but I discovered that they had several Flatout flatbread packages in the same frozen section, so I stocked up. I found one package remaining of Arnold's whole wheat sandwich thins at a good price. Another example of opportunistic buying: they had 1 lb. of packaged Alaska salmon burgers on sale for $5, buy-two-and-get-one free: between salmon and sardines, I'm eating several servings of cold-water, oily fish a week. (In the past, they've also carried economical canned mackerel, although I haven't found them recently. Hint for the interested dieter: Amazon carries a wide variety of cases of canned fish--you name it, mackerel, herring, sardines, tuna, salmon, many of which you can find packed in your favorite liquid, e.g., water, olive oil, or my favorites, hot sauce or mustard. With its $25 shopping total free shipping policy, you can get a good price on cases or bundles.) I usually go through the frozen veggies section and bought Green Giant packages of Brussels sprouts, green beans, and broccoli on sale. I also added cans of spicy tomatoes and beans; beans, as is the case for oats, berries, and other foods, are a good source of soluble fiber, a heart-healthy nutrient that, among other things, can help stabilize blood sugar.
Finally, I don't like to discuss politics in this blog (for interested readers, I have a flagship libertarian-conservative blog where I post almost daily). But a few topics I wanted to briefly touch on:
- Paul van der Velpen, head of Amsterdam's health service, wants to see sugar with tobacco-comparable warnings and taxed and regulated as an addictive product. (Yes, this comes from a country with a very liberal tolerance of marijuana.) Now as a low-carb dieter who wants to maintain steady blood sugar, I generally shun the "white foods", especially sugar; however, people at a healthy weight and normal metabolism without special health-related dietary concerns (e.g., diabetes), sugar in moderation isn't a problem. As a libertarian, I believe diet experts should persuade people and not rely on force (government). On my two longest successful diets (over 75 pounds each time), I started not because my family, friends or doctor read me the riot act, but on my own initiative. (I will admit my doctor ragged about my weight earlier this year, but I had already started to lose weight before my first visit.) What made me start? Among other things, it's a hassle buying reasonably priced clothes, women are generally not attracted to fat guys (at least the ones without a bulging back pocket), it's a hassle sitting in public transit or on planes, etc.
- Chipolte, the Mexican convenience food chain, is on a non-GMO food kick. Let me be blunt: I am less than convinced that there is a net marginal benefit to organic/non-GMO foods, and for the most part, anti-GMO policies are used as a protectionist strategy to discriminate against, e.g., American food producers. As Dr. Sicherer points out, "There is broad scientific consensus that GM foods on the market pose no greater risk than their normal counterparts, although there are skeptics and critics. Nonetheless, there are no documented ill effects." Every reader is entitled to make his own decision, but if Chipolte thinks selling more expensive food will grow its customer base, the management is not aware of the fundamental laws of economics and making a strategic error. I have no problem with them opening a premium-priced menu line aimed at higher-earning yuppies...
- The "diabetes warrior" blogger Steve Cooksey, represented by one of my favorite libertarian organizations, the Institute for Justice, won a case as a North Carolina dietetics board tried to shut him down, a classic anti-competitive tactic. The district court sustained the licensing board but was overturned on appeal. I am very impressed by some pieces I've seen on the blog; these people take food very seriously. For example, in one case a dieter discussed when he experienced a blood sugar rut, he shifted into a ketogenic (higher-fat, medium protein) diet mode and experienced success.
