Too strange not to be true

I just heard something on our local news that was far too strange not to record for posterity. We've got a fairly sizeable snowstorm moving into our area tonight so I decided to catch the weather forecast to see just how bad my morning commute will be tomorrow, and I heard about something that makes dealing with snow on the roads seem like a picnic. On a highway in California a tractor-trailer overturned and lost its load, releasing approximately 8 million bees in the area. The truck was filled with beehives, and the bees went everywhere. The news report said that residents were advised to keep their windows closed (DUH!). At least we can shovel the snow away, salt the icy spots and go about our business. Could you imagine calling in to work because your yard is full of bees and you can't get to your car without being stung?

I'm reading a fascinating book right now (okay, I'm reading about 5 fascinating books right now but this is the one I want to write about.) It's called Food Fight by Kelly D. Brownell, PhD and Katherine Battle Horgen, PhD, and it's about the obesity epidemic in this country, factors that fuel this epidemic, and what we can do about it personally and as a nation. One huge factor discussed is the explosion of serving sizes, particularly in restaurants (both fast-food and sit-down restaurants). It's completely horrifying how serving sizes have exploded, and how we've bought into them so thoroughly. When I was little, soft drinks came in returnable glass bottles, and we would buy 8oz Cokes or 10 oz. Pepsi's. That was sufficient, and we didn't drink soda all day, we actually drank tea or water or juice too. According to Food Fight, 20 oz soft drinks are becoming the new norm. Burgers have also grown tremendously; in 1957 the average hamburger contained 1oz of beef and 210 calories, today it's 6oz beef and 618 calories (p182). And for many, that's a snack!

What made me think about this book is a commercial I just saw for a really disgusting pizza with five different meats layered between two crusts. Come on now, what is that anyway? Does it come with a free angioplasty? And I really can't stand watching Burger King commercials, I believe that BK has set a corporate goal of marketing the unhealthiest, most disgusting burgers it can concoct. Maybe I'm getting a little mental about healthy eating, but I'm about to the point that a lot of those extreme items are just revolting. I'll take a vegetarian pizza, thin crust, extra sauce and easy on the cheese, please. YUM! Other than that, my fast food intake is now limited to Subway's heart-healthy options, or Wendy's for chili, baked potato and side salad.

This book also contains some discussion on the pros and cons of taxing unhealthy foods. I'm not going to take a stand on this issue one way or another, but if it ever happens I hope that some of the tax proceeds will go toward subsidizing healthy foods to lower their prices and make healthy eating more affordable. I spend a fortune each week just in the produce section, and it is clear to me that larger familes on limited incomes must resort to less expensive, carbohydrate- and fat-laden foods just to make ends meet. I myself have resurrected some of the dishes I used to cook back when Hubby and I first got together and money was really tight. Let's face it, for all of my jokes about being a poor college student and Hubby's jokes about being the husband of a poor college student, we're not joking - things are getting tight and getting tighter due to the drastic rise in prices on everything from apples to gas to bread and beef. Time to get creative with tuna and mac/cheese again, and to dust off my vegetarian cookbook ($8/lb for steak, or $0.50 for a pound of lentils - you do the math). Beans and brown rice and cheese, with a can of diced tomatoes, some onions and peppers, that's a wonderful meal right there.

"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace,
AuntieM