Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with food and eating

Breakfast: My best friend. My worst enemy.

Vorteks — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:31:35 -0800

What low-GI, high-protein, portable food can I cook on Sunday night and then reheat for breakfast Mon-Fri? To improve my health and diet, I need to be better about eating a good breakfast regularly. Lots of diet/exercise books and blogs recommend things like steel-cut oats, scrambled eggs, etc. The problem is... I hate getting up early, and will basically not do anything that adds any time to my morning routine, even 5 minutes. Even finding the time to eat a bowl of cheerios is difficult because I invariably wait until the last second that I could possibly get up and still get to work on time, then leap out of bed, get ready as fast as I can, and run out the door.

So, to combat this, what I thought would be nice is to create something ahead of time (the night before, or ideally Sunday night for the whole week), then refrigerate and brown-bag it. That way I could get up, grab my brown bag from the fridge as I run out the door, and then reheat (or whatever) the food at work and eat at my desk. I feel that if I could do this, I would be able to stick to a good breakfast routine.

So, finally getting to the point, what can I make ahead of time to eat for breakfast each day? I'm looking for recipes with step-by-step instructions. The ideal recipe will have the following traits:

Can be made at least 1 day, and ideally up to 5 days in advance
Can be prepared in roughly an hour or less
Involves no additional preparation on the day that it's eaten (other than microwaving or other simple things that can be done in an office)
Has a low glycemic index (GI)
Has at least 20% calories from protein (roughly 5g of protein per 100 calories)
Doesn't taste awful
Contains no artificial sweeteners

Does anyone have a good recipe that meets these criteria? I'm hoping to get at least 3-4 so I can make them in a weekly rotation. I have no food allergies, and I enjoy a wide variety of flavors. Other breakfast habit tips are also appreciated. Thanks in advance.

All I want for Christmas is...two butt cheeks

bilabial — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:01:56 -0800

Ravenously hungry in the middle of the night, lazy, and bored with my known options. Also: eating plenty in the daylight. Bonus round: I'm poor. I've been adding some physical activity to my life. 10 - 20 minutes of bike riding, 2-4 days a week. I got the brilliant idea that building some upper body strength would improve my confidence, so I went to a rock climbing gym. Which I love. I'll be going back (the confidence? I brought some of it home from the gym! It doesn't even smell bad!).

But. I'm already to small for the regular adult harness. I eat nearly all day long - nuts, fruit, cheese ravioli, ice cream when it's BOGO at Publix. I try to drink juice instead of water (again, I stock up at sales) and I just started making alcoholic drinks with I syrup, limes, and seltzer.

Oatmeal with whole milk for breakfast. Eggs. Plenty of bacon (on sale a lot! I have 2 packs in the freezer!), fruit, and fresh veggies in my diet.

I carry candy bars everywhere when if remember to look for them cheap - bags of Baby Ruth bars were on sale last week.

I live alone, so buying bread is not cost effective, especially as even when toasted, previously frozen bread is...ick.
Protein shakes are expensive, the stuff made with powder requires lots of willpower (to be less polite, that shit is nasty) and I really think eating is fun. I don't want my unconceived children to ever see me choking down something I clearly don't enjoy.
Help me improve my lifestyle, not just find a quick fix. Exercise depletes my calories quickly. Before I added the climbing 2 days ago I was down 10 pounds below my comfort level. If I can't stem this tide, I'll have to quit climbing. (also, I got a package deal with a harness that's too big. If I keep going with this I need to sell it and buy one that fits, but I'm not investing until Im pretty sure I can sustain it.)

Metafilter, fatten me up. Delicious beans and rice recipes that feature
lard? Yes please. Websites for reaaly good grocery coupons on junk food I can eat at home? (I like doritoes, and ice cream, but sadly I often prefer more natural choices. Butter is natural though...) I'd like things I can prepare ahead, that might freeze well (or not), some things that require little prep - adding calories to a hot dog? I'm game.

My bloodwork is good, you are not my doctor, and I am not asking for medical advice.i

Why do I always get so hungry late at night?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:32:35 -0800

Why do I always get so hungry late at night? I tend to go to bed around 12:30-1 am, though it usually takes me a long time to fall asleep. I always get hungry around 11-12, and if I stay up later than usual I get especially hungry. I usually eat something, but even then I don't feel full. I've been this way for several years, if not forever; I don't remember ever not being like this.

Maybe-relevant info: I'm 23 and male. I don't have any relevant health problems except a tendency to fall asleep late and wake up late (for which I take melatonin). I eat pretty nutritiously, mostly vegetarian. (I may lack some protein, but I try to get it from legumes; I might also lack some kind of vitamin, but I'd have no idea how to tell). I don't exercise much, though I think I had the same problem back when I did exercise more. I tend to consume a lot of caffeine, mostly tea (which I usually avoid drinking after 8 pm unless it's decaf).

Does this happen to anyone else? It seems like everyone else I know eats dinner somewhere between 6 and 8 and then doesn't eat anything after that until falling asleep, so it seems pretty weird! It's supposedly unhealthy to eat late at night, so is there anything I can do about it?

Anonymous just because I included a lot of identifying information.

How to eat for fun.

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:35:50 -0800

I want to re-learn how to enjoy food and the process of eating. For who knows what reason, I never really learned how to just enjoy food. I'm going to spare gory background details because even if they were important, I want to focus on the future rather than the deep inner meaning for my sorta-ish eating issues.
I've been a vegetarian for about five years or so, so I'm very health conscious...for the most part. During the day, I try to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins (mostly tofu/meat substitutes) and some dairy. I rarely stray far from "healthy" foods during the day. At night I sometimes go on crazy binges and end up feeling sick and out of control. During these periods, I usually binge on carbs, cookies/cake, basically anything I can get my hands on. What's odd is this times of complete lack of control are punctuated by a day where I simply won't eat anything.
I want to learn how to eat "normally"--whatever that means. How can I learn to just eat ONE slice of pizza and not constantly be thinking about more food, or the guilt of that slice? How can I just eat ONE cookie and not the entire batch?
I'm looking mostly for pragmatic solutions, mindsets, etc. I've tried some behavioral therapy, but it wasn't really for me. Thanks for your help.

nomming with my eyes

kidsleepy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:26:51 -0800

For such a picky eater, I sure like to read a lot about food. What good food books can you recommend? I've recently been on a food book kick. Books I've read and enjoyed are The Man Who Ate Everything, Julie & Julia, My Life in France, and Cooking for Mr. Latte. First person, humorous accounts rich in descriptive detail. I also enjoy it when there's a few recipes throw in. Bonus points for authors learning to cook or trying new foods.

What else would I enjoy? Whet my reading appetite!

For 75 bucks they'd better serve liquid gold

The Whelk — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:28:27 -0800

Post-ComicConFilter: Best Sunday brunch in San Diego that's not the Hotel Del Coranado? Near downtown a plus. Views or unusual atmosphere doubleplus.

Help me plan a healthier daily diet.

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:42:27 -0800

Help me plan a healthier daily diet. I really want to eat healithier. I don't think I'll be able to cut out meat from my diet entirely, especially not right away, so I'd like to work my way up to it. I also don't have any great love for most vegetables so that is something I'll have to work up to as well.

I've recently cut way back on fast food. I don't eat out more than once or twice a week, but I'd like to make that not at all, or at least very rarely.

I also have a job where I want to take a lunch or dinner type meal to work with me. I have access to a microwave and a refrigerator there.

Currently a typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: bowl of cereal, usually Oh!s or Honey Bunches of Oats (with cinnamon), with 2% milk. Sometimes I'll cut up a banana and add it in. On rare mornings, I'll scramble a few eggs and have buttered toast. I always burn bacon when I try to fry it.

Lunch: chicken or roast beef (from the deli, not pre-packaged) sandwich with fat-free mayo, lettuce and havarti cheese on multi-grain wheat bread with crackers and maybe an apple.

Dinner: This is where I have the most difficulty. I'm just now trying to teach myself to cook. Some nights I'll just go without. Other times I'll heat up a salmon patty and have some macaroni & cheese with it.

I can cook, I'm just lazy about doing so. I've taught myself to cook some delicious chicken pasta, but that's about the extent of my skill so far. I want to include more fruits and vegetables in every meal, and preferably have more frequent, smaller meals/snacks throughout the day.

To help, here are some of my likes and dislikes:

Like: melons, bell peppers, black olives, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, onions, apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, chicken (white meat only), beef, most any kind of fish (but no shellfish), pasta, avocado, pineapple

Dislike: pork, ham, pastrami, mushrooms, spinach, anything too spicy or sour

Willing to try: beans, just about any other vegetable

Links to sites with good tips, info, and recipes would also be appreciated.

I don't always have a lot of time to prep meals, so quick-prep meals are a plus. I also have two crock-pots (one large, one small), a toaster, and a blender at my disposal at home.

Bonus points if you can recommend something good to drink (besides water) that is not too sugary or expensive.

Why does my wife eat in this strange way?

winjer — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:50:14 -0800

My wife eats in a different way from anyone else I've ever seen eat, and I have no idea why. Most people eat a little bit of each foodstuff at a time, but she doesn't. Most people given a plate of food with a few different things on it will eat some of each thing, so a bit of this then a bit of that, then back to the first thing.

Instead she'll eat say, all the carrots, then all the potato, then all the beans, then all the meat, completely finishing one foodstuff before moving on to the next.

She does this completely consistently, for every meal, and never eats any other way. None of the rest of her family do this, and nobody else I've met has ever done this either.

She has no explanation for why she does this, she just says she thinks it's perfectly sane.

Do any of you do this, and has anyone got any idea of why someone might do this?

We're Probably Crazy, But We're Thinking About Eating Bugs

batgrlHG — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:24:00 -0800

Where can I eat bugs in southern California - on purpose? I blame this partially on watching too many episodes of Bizarre Foods and partly on y6 for thinking this is a good idea. (It's probably not, but we're silly that way.) We're looking for a place that serves bugs on the menu - and while I can google up a few places (there may be a Thai place in Santa Monica, can't find a link at the moment) I'd love to know if anyone has actually been to a restaurant that served bugs in the US. We can also road trip to anywhere in southern CA, will be going to Las Vegas soon and will be at the meetup in New Orleans. Any suggestions? (Yes, I'm afraid we will take photos.) Or any tips on bug eating, even if you've only had them in other countries?

I'm leaning more towards something small like ants and away from something like the giant cockraoch that would take more than one bite. y6 thinks scorpions sounds like fun.
*eye roll*
Obviously we're hoping that at a restaurant the bug supply will be something raised at home and not just scraped off the wall.

I've done a few searches here but may have missed a thread - most of the ones on bugs were about getting rid of them or eating one by accident. Let me know if I've missed something obvious!

Help me eat/feel better.

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:26:01 -0800

How can I find a general therapist who specializes in helping people with eating issues? I'm significantly overweight. Over the past year or so, I've been seeing a nutritionist, though it hasn't had much effect on my habits or behaviors. A few months ago, I stopped seeing her, because I found that I tried to use my nutritionist as a therapist: I'd talk with her about my issues with food and eating, but those issues are wrapped up in my general life issues (I can find it difficult to do things to take care of myself), and she wasn't up to the task.

It seems to me that a better way to tackle my issues with food (which are pretty garden variety: emotional eating, using food as a reward, inability to keep myself from eating everything that's put in front of me) would be to see an actual therapist, but one who helps people with eating issues. Do such therapists exist? How do I find one in the New York area (and specifically one who works on a sliding scale)?

I've never used a therapist before, but this is an area in which I could really use some help. Throwaway email: harlemnonymous@gmail.com.

Why does my dog have no interest in any kind of food?

geeky — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:05:45 -0800

Why does my dog have no interest in any kind of food? I know YANAVet and YANMVet, but we are working with a vet we know and trust and at this point I'm just looking for additional suggestions.

We adopted our dog, a female beagle approximately 3 years old, from the SPCA in January. She had been a stray and needed a lot of TLC. She had bad ear infections in both ears and pretty severe worm infestations. The good news is that we've gotten both of those problems cleared up. However, throughout all of this she's had persistent periods of time where she just wouldn't eat.

We had been assuming the loss of appetite was a symptom of her various other problems over the past few months, but now that she's otherwise healthy, she's still not eating consistently. When this first started, she would stop eating for 2-3 days, then go back to eating normally for a couple of weeks. However, it seems to be getting progressively worse. Over the last 2 weeks she's been eating very little, just 1/2 cup of food every couple of days at best.

She's had bloodwork done twice, urinalysis done twice, and numerous fecal samples taken. All came back normal, with the exception of slightly elevated protein levels in the urine. She had one incidence of vomiting blood over a month ago, which caused the vet to assume the problem is an ulcer. We've been treating her accordingly, with doses of Pepcid every night (to control acid production) and doses of carafate (sucralfate) as needed to help sooth her stomach. At first the carafate made a dramatic difference and had her eating within 20 minutes of dosing. Now even the carafate doesn't help in getting her to eat.

We've tried a couple of different dog foods (Science Diet and a no-allergen version of Natural Balance). She gets NO people food, with the exception of a small amount of peanut butter once a day to give her the Pepcid and on occasion, when it gets really bad, I will make her boiled chicken and rice. Even that usually takes some serious cajoling and literally sticking it in her face before she will eat it. The only thing she will consistently eat is Milk Bones, and even then she sometimes saves them for a day before eating them.

She has no other symptoms, aside from maybe slight lethargy and sometimes we can hear her stomach rumbling. She'll eat grass when she really doesn't feel well. Everything is, ahem, coming out properly. She's not vomiting. She just won't eat!

Like I said earlier, we are working with a vet. We have another appointment on Friday. At this point, I'm just looking for suggestions. What else could I ask the vet about and what other tests we should look into? Have you ever had a dog do this before? Does this sound like an ulcer to you? Any idea what could be causing her to not want to eat at all? We love this stupid little dog to death and it's breaking our hearts to not be able to make her better.

Looking for some healthy recipe resources

Afroblanco — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:15:58 -0800

Looking for cookbooks, blogs, websites, and forums that specialize in simple, healthy recipes. I'm a single guy who doesn't have a whole lot of time to cook or wash dishes. But I'm tired of eating out all the time, and would like to change my eating habits.

I'm not looking for a "diet." I want to make a permanent change in the way I eat.

I like healthy/vegetarian food, but am not myself a vegetarian. So no dietary restrictions really, except that the food must be healthy, nutritious, low-fat and low-calorie.

I don't mind putting some effort into my meals, but ideally these recipes wouldn't require a lot of time-consuming preparation or cleanup.

Assume that I don't know anything at all about cooking, because, well, I kinda don't.

How to stop nervous behaviors during conversation?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:46:17 -0800

I've been told I'm a very good conversationalist, but when I talk to people, I often get nervous about silences. This leads to two problems: 1) I compulsively fill in silences with questions or comments, in a way that eventually exhausts me, and 2) if food's available, I tend to impulsively snack and mindlessly eat to have *something* constantly happening (admittedly I often am munching away even when there isn't a silence). Any tips on changing these behaviors?

How to master ________ cooking on a tight budget?

Picklegnome — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:52:52 -0800

I need to eat cheaply. Can I do so while extending my cooking ability in a specific direction? What cuisines, categories, or focuses can my home cooking pinpoint while living on a budget? Just in case this isn't clear: are there types of foods, foods from specific regions, etc., that are generally low-cost while having a fair amount of breadth? Or is this a dumb question - do all cuisines have consistent scales that more or less overlap of low to high cost food?

yes, we eat like paula deen

kidsleepy — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:04:31 -0800

If your best friend was going to Savannah, GA, where would you tell them to eat? As a follow-up to this question, SO and I will be in Savannah soon. We will arrive in time for Saturday dinner, and leaving Sunday afternoon. I perused these two previous questions, and there's a lot of good info there; however it's almost 3 years old, so if anyone has any new advice, we'd love to hear it!

Where should we go for dinner on Saturday? Breakfast on Sunday? and lunch on Sunday?

Things we love: meat (no vegetarians here), cheese, seafood, great southern home cookin', and good beer. Willing to pay more for good food, but love those hole-in-the-wall joints as well. Can be formal or need reservations, or it can be paper napkins and plastic silverware.

Is it normal she's being picky?

sunshine arakhan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:11:00 -0800

Why has our new dog stopped eating her dry food? My partner and I (well, ok, me) adopted a new dog a few days ago... she's a 3 year old Staffy x Mini Foxy named Hope, sweetest little thing.
Her previous owner gave us all her current food that she's been eating and explained that she pours a little hot water over her dry biscuits and lets it sit for a few minutes to soften up before adding her meat, and that Hope is normally quite a little guts!

However she doesn't seem to be eating her dry food and is disinterested in it all together. I know because she's in a new environment she may just be a little nervous about eating, but she's eating up her meat with gusto, so I'm not too sure why she is turning up her nose at it. I've never had to soak dry food for any of my previous dogs so am I soaking it too much? Too little? Or am I just overanalyzing? She has regular meals times and is healthy and happy in every other way.

(FWIW her dry food is Optimum "Heathly Weight Management - with chicken, rice and vegetables". She's been eating it for most of her life, and is a little bit chubby)

This is probably a really duh-brain question, but thanks in advance!

No more Spaghetti-O's for me.

itchie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:20:18 -0800

I ate some hot (temperature-wise) food and passed out. What happened? While I was on the phone last night, I ate some hot food - unbearably scorching. Next thing I know I've passed out on my bed with the person still on the other line. They said I moaned and kept saying "Oh it's so hot!" and then all she heard was gurgling noises, and that I was out for about 5 to 10 seconds. My face was white and my vision was spinning for a few seconds. What exactly happened to me? Was it my body shutting down to protect me from the warmth of the food? Should I get it checked out (even though I feel no symptoms today)?

How to Eat off of $25 a week

oviedo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:50:32 -0800

Eating on $25 a week, suggestions? I'm doing an experiment after a food studies class this past semester, and eating off of $25 for a week. I would like to look at multiple options for this trial, such as fast food vs. grocery store, food stamps vs. no food stamps, vegitarian vs. omnivore, etc. Has anyone in the Hive done this before? Do any of you have suggestions?

Much Thanks!

It's just like being in school again! But with better food!

pdb — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:32:00 -0800

Help me grade myself on my new lifestyle. I'm not a new year's resolution person, normally, but this year I turn 40, which has occasioned a fair bit of stock-taking of who and where I am and all that good stuff. One of the things I decided to focus on this year was my diet - it needs improvement, I need to lose weight (the number isn't significant, but it's a larger number than I want it to be, thus the impetus to lose it), and I'm ready to take on the challenge of losing the weight.

There are two things I need to overcome to make this happen - my poor history of food choices (specifically as regarding portion sizes), and my constant beating myself up when I do make bad choices, which leads me to make more bad choices, etc. and so on.

So, I came up with an idea that needs some refining. I'm going to grade myself on a weekly basis, using the standard A-F grade scale (with +/- as needed), on the food choices I make during the week. If I can keep up at least a B average in a given week, I plan on rewarding myself with something non-food (a couple CD's, books, or whatever), and if I fall below that B average, I have resolved...not to punish myself and to spend the time to figure out how to get back to the B level.

So my question is, what in your minds would constitute each letter grade? There are the obvious ones (fast food is a D or an F, eating cheese and crackers for dinner because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to cook would be the same), eating one or two servings of vegetable per meal would be a B or an A, but then there are the "finesse" type questions, like:

1. Today at lunch, I had a six-inch Subway turkey breast (only additions were spinach and green peppers) with no spread - but with cheese. I decided to give myself a B - an A in my mind would have been the same sandwich but with no cheese. But, I thought to myself as I ate, what if I would have gotten a foot-long version of that same sandwich, with chips? Would that be a B or even a C grade, based on portion size?

2. Alcohol. I don't drink a ton, but I like to have a couple beers with dinner two or three times a week - it's not realistic that I cut it out entirely, so if I have one beer with an otherwise healthy dinner, would that require a reduction of letter grade? Does having one or two glasses of wine on a Friday night out also necessitate a grade drop?

Any and all ideas to further refine this concept would be welcome. I don't really need menu/recipe/cooking tips, I've got a pretty good handle on that side of things, I'm more looking for ways to help myself reinforce good eating behaviors.

Share your slow carb recipes

sid — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:50:34 -0800

Give us your slow carb recipes! We are attempting a slow carb diet, which for us means cutting out or severely reducing all flour, rice, potatoes, and bread. Our carb sources would be pulses, legumes, and sweet potatoes. It's going pretty well so far but I think we are going to soon grow tired of hummus! Please share any delicious recipes that would fit the stated parameters.

Looking for bog standard pub grub in London

Helga-woo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:09:02 -0800

I'm looking for somewhere, easily accessible from central London, that does a bog standard 3-course roast dinner (or similar standard pub fayre) at about £15 a head for about 20 people in January. I was told, and I quote, "none of that fancy, foreign food"*

The plan was to go to a Harvester. The nearest Harvester to us is apparently an hour's drive up the A40. I vetoed this on the basis that I, and several others, already have to travel an hour to get into central London, and we would not travel to Victoria to then have to sit on a minibus on the A40. I also pointed out that we were all based in and around central London, surely there must be somewhere nearer that could cater for us.

I should learn not to speak up at times like these.

So, I'm looking for something like a Harvester, accessible from central London, zone 1 or 2, and more West-ish than East-ish.

The venue can offer fancy, foreign food, but there should be a meat and two-veg option.

Bonus points if:

- It's within the borough of the City of Westminster, as that's where we are based

- It isn't actually a pub (there's a small Muslim contingent, who don't turn usually turn up to the social events, I think you can figure out why. I would like to think we at least made an effort to find somewhere slightly more accommodating to everyone.) Baby steps, people, baby steps. I rock the boat enough by being 20 years younger than everyone else, and actually doing things. As much as I would love to capsize the whole vessel and start again, the annual social event is neither the time nor the place.

*Yes, I believe this definition of fancy, foreign food includes pasta and pizza.

What's holding kangaroo meat back?

GIMG — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:54:17 -0800

What are the cultural barriers to kangaroo meat being a popular food in Australia? Some Australians eat kangaroo, but the demand seems low, and a re-branding of the meat as "australus" was even conducted to make the meat more palatable, but has been unsuccessful in drawing more fans of the meat (has it?). Yet tons of kangaroos are slaughtered for dog food...

Is it just fanciful to the Aussie? Or is it disturbing, as they think back to "Skippy" and their childhood, or their coat of arms? Has any research been done on how people determine what meats are acceptable for consumption? How important is the consumption of meat in the Australian lifestyle, and how does the consumption of kangaroo meat conflict with Australian cultural standards?

Its my birthday... where should I eat in Seattle?

bamassippi — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:29:27 -0800

It's my birthday... where should I eat in Seattle? I'm looking for insight into some of Seattle's nicest restaurants which I may not have yet eaten at. Chain restaurants are ok... though my wife and I usually prefer Seattle's unique restaurants.

Money is no big deal, though I'd prefer to have options which didn't break the bank.

Any suggestions?

How do I maintain a healthy lifestyle...

prunes — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:38:55 -0800

How do I main a healthy lifestyle while traveling for work? I work for a major multinational. Recently I was blindsided by the news that I had "volunteered" for a project that will involve significant travel, upwards of 75%, for around six months. There will be many different locations, so I don't think I will be staying in extended stay suites.

Now, I'm a very health conscious individual. I take great pride in not having succumbed to the obesity/grossness that plagues most people in my position. A large part of success is due to my near fanatical eating habits. I never eat fast food. I hate it. And after a day or two of eating out I feel gross. Daily I bring in to work multiple pieces of fruit; today I brought a pint of berries, two bananas, and a peach.

So my question, bluntly stated, is as follows: how will I be able to adapt to this new lifestyle with out my body turning to pudding?

Also, a related question while we're at it: given the great amount of responsibility and the crummy lifestyle I will be adopting, what demands should a person in my position reasonably be able to make (e.g. admiral club access, flying first class, health club access, etc.) ?

Foods that wiggle, foods that jiggle

brain cloud — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:36:17 -0800

What exactly is the appeal of jelly-textured foods? (Pardon my rash generalization here): I've noticed that among some east-Asian cultures (Japan specifically, China too somewhat, though it's more varied food-wise), jelly textured food is quite popular. In fact certain foods seem to be prized as a delicacy specifically because they have this texture.

In western cultures (again, generally) jelly-like foods tend to be sweets or candies, unless you want to get all fancy and talk to me about aspics, which are hardly an everyday food for most of us. But in eastern Asia jelly foods run the gamut to all parts of a meal, and are quite common.

Partially because I find jelly texture repulsive, and partially because I'm genuinely curious...what's the deal?