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| Eggplant and rice |
Food Diary (December 20, 2011)
Breakfast: Rolled oats with raisins, coconut, sunflower seeds and flax seeds
Lunch: Eggplant and rice
Dinner: Potato soup, toast
Baking/sweets:
Today I bought cocoa powder and it made me think of mispriced shares. Strange. I bought the cocoa from an underground market in the city. When I say underground I mean below ground level, and not a shady or dodgy place. There are two such markets in the city, or maybe more, and they are generally more expensive. The cocoa was organic but it was much cheaper than regular cocoa from the supermarket. So not only was the cocoa cheaper it was also organic. These things should not happen, just like mispriced shares. In the stock market when this happens investors buy and push prices up. I don’t think a lot of shoppers will head towards the market to take advantage of this mispriced cocoa.
While the cocoa was quite a bit cheaper in percentage terms, the difference was nominal in monetary terms. However scoring this good deal still made me happy!
Today's Favourite Photo
Fortune Mandarin Orange Pound Cake
Today’s Favourite Blog
There is no shortage of research on what is good or bad for us. I’ve summarized many articles already. While I don’t want to cause more confusion by presenting yet another list of good and bad foods, I found this list interesting. Whether we believe it and follow it is another story, its interesting reading at the very least.
As a background, Robert J Davis has written a book titled “Coffee is Good For You”. Robert is a health writer and lecturer in public health. He has taken into account the thousands of scientific studies that are published and tested each claim on his own 'truth-scale.' The results aim to be unbiased. I suppose all studies claim to be unbiased.
Here is a summary, some of which will make you smile, some of which will shock you, and many of which you are probably already familiar with:
Untrue
- You need eight glasses of water a day for good health
- Sea salt is more 'healthful' than regular salt
- Detox diets make you healthier
- MSG is harmful
- Carbs make you gain weight
Half True
- Raw veggies are more nutritious than cooked
- Chocolate is good for you
- Vitamin C fights colds
- Gluten is harmful
- Yoghurt improves digestion
True
- Oats lower cholesterol
- Trans fats are harmful
- A Mediterranean diet is good for you
- Dairy products cause cancer
- Bagged salad should be washed
Inconclusive
- Grass-fed beef is more 'healthful' than grain-fed beef
- Mercury in sushi is toxic
- Garlic lowers cholesterol
- Tomatoes prevent prostate cancer
- Organic produce is more healthful than conventional produce
MSG's appearance in the true list shocks me the most.
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I'm glad you posted this new list...the MSG is curious. Maybe it's not harmful, but it makes me puff up which is a look I'd like to avoid!
ReplyDeletelove love love how you clarified the meaning behind "underground" - in case any of us were confused... :D
ReplyDeleteYes, that is staggering about MSG. But what about all the people who say it gives them headaches? I love the look of your eggplant and rice dish.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I was rather happy when I came across some vanilla beans that were very inexpensive but good. It was mispriced, they were just a good price!
ReplyDeleteI am not shocked by MSG at all because from what I read it is a concentration of umami taste, found in so many natural food products. I don't know how it's produced but I wouldn't be surprised if it was made from concentrated seaweed or something similar.
ReplyDeleteI must tell you I have similar experience sometimes in my local shops. For example in one supermarket basic pepper corns are more expensive than organic ones in another one. Also the soymilk I regularly buy is organic and costs exactly the same as the non-organic! (Both come from beans cultivated abroad). For me it means only one thing: they earn a fortune with non-organic, less healthy food and cannot put the organic prices too high because people wouldn't buy it. (The same goes for free range chicken: how come my small butcher has the same price for it as Carrefour supermarket buying in huge bulk and selling to millions of customers? In general, in France, supermarket meat and the butcher's one have the same prices, unless there is a difference in quality or label. I wonder why people keep on thinking supermarkets are cheap. The same goes for organic products: a small organic shop has exactly the same or even lower prices! We should think more while shopping... and support what is better).
In NYC, whole foods with it's all-organic produce and products is actually cheaper than the local supermarkets. So I can TOTALLY understand this!
ReplyDeleteI'd be willing to pay more for better quality chocolate but I'm not going to say no to paying less either!
Hi Mr Three Cookies, I really missed reading your blog and so happy to come by today to read this fun post! So relieved that I don't need to drink 8 glasses of water everyday. I hate water (I know I'm weird) and hate being told I need that much water to drink. Wait, I hope truth is not 10 glasses of water though. I can drink tea and coffee but just plain water is too boring for me to drink that much. Also my husband recently told me triple washed salad also requires to be washed. It's true!!
ReplyDeleteLizzy: that’s good reason for you to avoid MSG
ReplyDeleteAmanda: hahaha, I would have been confused myself if I read this somewhere else
Hotly Spiced: Lot of questions unanswered about MSG I suppose.
Lorraine: that’s good to hear that you also found good deals!
Sissi: I read that most of the MSG is produced by bacterial fermentation, similar to making wine, yogurt etc. Doesn’t sound that bad actually.
Glad to hear about your shopping experiences. I always think supermarkets are cheaper but I need to visit other places more often. Supermarkets are convenient but they can make some items expensive and customers may not realize it I guess. That place I bought cocoa from probably has very high rent and its a small shop.
Joanne: I am sure you won’t say no to paying less either for chocolate!
Nami: I haven’t heard of triple washed salad, that’s a lot of washing plus more washing at home.
Good list, was surprised at some things. I try to stay away from some of the bagged salads, I think they have an odor I just don't care for! Good for you on the cocoa, I'm surprised organic was cheaper. The eggplant looks delicious!
ReplyDelete