fake meat?

https://wapo.st/3D6DQWb .......I don't know if this will go through but i wanted to address this because, it seems, i am not the only one that feels the way that i do........I am, essentially, a vegetarian and have been for years. I love, love, love eggs and yogurt and eat both daily but only rarely do fish. I can do "fish that tastes like nothing"....canned tuna, steamed/poached tilapia, cooked shrimp (not cocktail)...but not grilled salmon or raw anything (ceviche---ick). Thus, veggie burgers are a good option for me when others are having cheeseburgers or the like. And i love my bean burgers...or even the Boca Burgers...but then the Impossible Meat and Beyond Beef burgers came out and i had to try them. They were advertised and reputed to be "just like beef". They even "bleed" with heme-protein (from plants). So, fired with my curiosity and interest, i tried them at a restaurant. On release, they were only available commercially, before they were to be available in stores. And, yes, the burger was juicy and looked like a "real" hamburger. Yes, it had "blood" when it was cut. And, it tasted (according to Hubster, my omnivore) just like beef. So.... you would think that would make me a convert........And i didn't like it at all. The sensation and association of biting into a bloody hunk of flesh just turns my stomach and makes my skin crawl. I took one bite and put the rest in a "to go" box for Hubster, filling my lunch belly with the sides from my plate and ordering a dessert to fill in........The Beyond Meat burgers are even available now in our local Coope grocery store here in Atenas, Costa Rica! But, i cannot bring myself to buy them. I'm happy to buy ground beef or pork for Hubster and have a bean burger or just beans or the ever-present, ever-yummy local, organic, free-range, grass-fed, brown-shelled eggs (today's lunch, in fact!). Even if i did want to buy the Beyond Beef burgers..they are highly processed, higher in saturated fat than beef and three times the cost per kilo/pound. I don't see an advantage. That said, they are selling fairly briskly to a niche population of gringos here in Atenas. Who knew? But, according to this article, i'm not the only one who finds them, well, lacking........https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/01/19/plant-based-meat-failing/ ....... CLIMATE SOLUTIONS The big problem with plant-based meat: The ‘meat’ part Companies invested hugely in plant-based meat alternatives. But human psychology is stubborn. By Shannon Osaka January 19, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. EST For a while, plant-based meats — those complex concoctions of soy, oils, yeast and potatoes that are designed to look, feel and even bleed exactly like meat — seemed to be unstoppable. In 2020, with everyone stuck at home, sales of plant-based meat brands like Impossible, Beyond Meat and Gardein skyrocketed, increasing 45 percent in a single year. The arrival of realistic-seeming products amid rising concern about climate change seemed to herald a new era of plant-based meat consumption. Soon, it seemed, everyone would be eating burgers, chicken fingers and steaks — made purely out of vegetables. 10 steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint Then, a slump. Sales plateaued in 2021, and some of the plant-based meat darlings — including Beyond Meat and Impossible — began to dip. Beyond Meat’s stock price has fallen almost 80 percent in the past year; Impossible conducted two rounds of layoffs in 2022, letting 6 percent of its workforce go in October alone. Even as emissions and temperatures continue to rise — fueled in part by animal agriculture — and roughly a quarter of Americans claim they have cut their meat consumption, plant-based meats aren’t succeeding as expected. So what went wrong? Advertisement Some experts believe that plant-based meat’s error may be the exact thing that was supposed to make it popular: Its attempt to be indistinguishable from meat. Alternative “meats” are nothing new. In the early 20th century, the food company owned by the Kellogg family — the same family that brought America cornflakes — sold a meat substitute known as “protose,” made of a combination of soy, peanuts and wheat gluten. (It does not seem to have been very tasty.) “First-generation” plant-based meat alternatives include tofu and tempeh — protein-rich foods already popular in Asian cuisines that bear little resemblance to meat. “Second-generation” plant-based meats, however — like Beyond and Impossible — are designed to look, cook and taste exactly like meat. Impossible even developed an ingredient called “heme,” a genetically modified version of iron that allows its fake meat to “bleed” much like meat from a cow or a pig. Advertisement The idea was to appeal to omnivores and so-called “flexitarians” — people who eat meat but want to cut down on their consumption for environmental or health reasons. Is plant-based meat all hat, no cattle? The environmental benefits are clear. Researchers estimate that 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from raising meat. Producing 100 grams of protein from beef, for example, sends around 25 kilograms of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; tofu, on the other hand, emits around 1.6 kg. Plant-based meats, meanwhile, have greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 90 percent lower than traditional meats. But the focus on appealing to meat eaters may have run afoul of human psychology. “The mimicking of real meat introduces that comparison of authenticity,” said Steffen Jahn, a professor of marketing at the University of Oregon who studies consumer food choices. Jahn argues that by trying to align plant-based meat closely with its cow- and pig-based counterparts — Beyond Meat once introduced packaging that said “Now even meatier!” — companies have gone all-in on a category that many consumers don’t love: artificiality. “They try to mimic it and say, ‘We’re almost real,’” Jahn said. “But then some people will say, ‘Yeah, but you’re not real real.’” There’s more psychological complexity here as well. When consumers shop for food, they tend to simplify foods into categories: healthy, “good” foods on one side, and less-healthy, indulgent foods on the other. Consumer psychologists call these categories “virtue” and “vice” foods, and they guide how many products are marketed and sold. A Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar is sold on its delicious creaminess, not its fat content; a bag of spinach is hawked for its rich mineral and nutrient contents, not its taste. Advertisement “We always try to simplify stuff,” Jahn said. “We dichotomize many things, including food.” But plant-based meats confound these “virtue” and “vice” categories in a few different ways. First, many alternative meats — especially those that are ready-made to resemble burgers, sausages or bacon — include a long list of ingredients. “I was pretty shocked when I saw the ingredient lists,” said Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition and food studies at New York University. “I thought, ‘Oh dear.’” These products fall under the category of “ultra-processed” foods, which many consumers associate with weight gain and health problems. That creates a conflict for buyers. Those consumers who are most likely to want to be “virtuous” by avoiding environmental or animal harm are also most likely to want “virtuous” food in another sense — healthy food with simple ingredients. Advertisement JP Frossard, the vice president of consumer foods at the investment firm Rabobank, says that faced with sustainability or health, consumers often opt for health. “At the end of the day, we are looking at our bodies and what our intake is,” he said. And taste hasn’t quite reached a point where plant-based meat can easily be a “vice” food either. Emma Ignaszewski, associate director of industry intelligence for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that promotes meat alternatives, is skeptical that consumers are paying very close attention to long lists of ingredients. But, she says, the Good Food Institute’s research shows that consumers prioritize taste over all else when it comes to alternative meats. “From consumer studies, we see that 53 percent of consumers agree that plant-based meat products should taste just like meat,” Ignaszewski said. Part of the issue is exactly who the customer is for the bleeding, pink-in-the-middle plant-based burger copy. It’s a bit like the all-electric Ford F-150 truck, or the Hummer EV — a vehicle with environmental flair, packaged in a form that could be palatable to a much wider group of Americans. But those consumers actually have to buy it. And while the electric Ford F-150 Lightning sold out in the United States in 2022, artificial meats are facing more resistance. Advertisement It may just take time. The biases against alternative meats are deep and long-lasting: According to one recent peer-reviewed study, consumers’ top association with meat was “delicious”; the third-highest association with plant-based meat was “disgusting.” (“Vegan” and “tofu” also made the cut.) It’s impossible to unwind perceptions of plant-based meat as bland or oddly textured overnight. “Some of it might just take more years,” Jahn said. “And therefore it’s more than a single brand can do.” Price can play a role as well. According to data from the Good Food Institute, plant-based meat is still two to four times as expensive as traditional meat. With inflation cutting into people’s paychecks, paying double for a similar experience is not an ideal choice for omnivores. But there is a broader question: whether the right way to shift people away from meat is to offer a highly processed imitation of burgers, sausages and steaks — or to guide them toward other vegetarian and vegan options that look less like traditional “meat.” (There’s a third option as well: Some companies are pushing ahead in attempts to make lab-grown meat from animal protein.) “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Frossard said of the switch to a less meat-heavy diet. As for the ultra-processed plant-based meats, he added: “We have to see if they’ll double down on the bet that people want this.” Sign up for the latest news about climate change, energy and the environment, delivered every Thursday R

Last Wednesday, i had four teeth removed and posts installed to anchor eventual implants. I also received a temporary bridge with fake teeth that i'm to wear for the coming months (2-6) that the posts are healing into my bone. I had two root canals about a month earlier and one didn't take. I also had a bite guard made as i was grinding my teeth at night, not only giving me headaches but killing the root of a tooth. So, i've had a lot of "stuff" going on in my mouth since Thanksgiving.>>>>>>> And it has, sadly,not been painfree.No, not by a long shot. I"m pretty tough on pain but this isn't the sharp pain of a slice or broken bone but rather a constant, nagging ache throughout my jaw, nose, forehead and into my ears. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen subdue it to a dull roar but also make me bleed more so i have bruises on my arms and legs from incidental bumps and even from drying my hands too agressively.>>>>>>> I was saddest by this yesterday when i came to a resolution...an eiphany if you will.>>>>>>> This is just how it's going to be going forward. This is going to be my "new normal". I will always have some discomfort and will have to be used to it and focus on what is working in my life. Looking outward at the pretty hummingbirds on the bush near my lunch table rather than thinking of how biting into the peanut butter sandwich is uncomfortable.....thinking of how blessed i am that i can get new teeth, eventually, instead of having an open space like my friend Brenda has...and, the bridge/temporary teeth look better than the caps that i had there before (from a dentist in NM after a fall) so there is the expectation that the final implants will look nice.>>>>>>> But, will it ever be the comfort that i had four years ago, before my fall that started all this "fun"? Nope. I don't think so. I think that not being 20 years old anymore means that things break and fall apart and stop working as well. There is some wear and tear and this means that i'll just always have "something". I can walk out in nature every day. I ahve friends and family. I live in flippin' paradise. Life is good...and more so if i focus on the good and not the piddly inconveniences (that said, i would love love love to be able to be 20 again...if only for a day!).>>>>>>>Pura Vida.

OOOHHH!!!

More on better (but not good or best necessarily)>>>>>>> I often have trouble falling to sleep at night or falling back to sleep when i wake in the middle of the night. So, being a big 5 year old, i play games in my head to bore/entertain myself into falling asleep. When we owned the condominium in Washington, DC, i used to play the "better here or there" game. I would review things/activities in both locations and compare which was better. For example, the zoo in DC is better than the zoo in Albuquerque. The bed/mattress in DC was better than the one in Albuquerque. My friendship circle was better in Albuquerque than in DC. The weather was better in Albuquerque than in DC. But, we no longer have the condominium...and i still have the sleep delay issue. So, to calm my racing mind, i play it with life in Costa Rica and life in US (and mostly the Midwest where my family and best friends live).>>>>>>> The latest entries? The weather is better in Costa Rica than in Ohio/Indiana, especially in any month not October (i'm a hot house flower..i cannot do the cold!). My closest friends, however, and my mom/sister and my mom/sis-in-law are in Ohio/Indiana. I can get Cool Whip and good cheese and Jiffy corn mix in Ohio/Indiana (not here!). But, the eggs here in Costa Rica are a lot cheaper and more tasty. I have yummy bananas, plantains, uchuvas, and tomatoes growing year 'round in my yard/garden in addition to three kinds of citrus and five avocado trees. We have no ethnic restaurants to speak of in the area nor, really, "good"restaurants. We have "sodas" (local cafes) and less fancy restaurants but a good "dining experience" (for Hubster, i like eating at home generally) is not easy to come by without a 1+ hour drive and even then, rare. There is no JoAnn fabrics (or, really, any sewing stores/supplies at all) or DollarStore (but we do have Pequeno Mundo, kinda like a DollarStore/BigLots hybrid). I have toucans and monkeys and coatis and hummingbirds and social flycatchers (and vultures) in my yard, year round. No pretty snow at Christmas. I had to leave my much-loved hot tub in the US and cannot really get one here. And....i don't speak Spanish (tried!! tried sososo hard!!) so talking to locals (the nice woman behind me in the line at the grocery! the woman that pass every day on my walk!) does not happen. No crime here to speak of...but the drivers are super-frustrating. We have no nightlife here (at all) but with "night" falling at ~5:00, we don't miss it. We weren't big "partiers" ever. >>>>>>> So, usually by this time, i'm falling to sleep but every time i come up with something new, depending on how that day/week has been going. The big advantage here? Retired and spend the day with Hubster and kitties and reading/enjoying all day, every day. The big disadvantage? My friends and family are in the US (including that cute grandbaby that i have yet to scrunch!!). What would be the things that you would like to get away from where/how you are currently living? Would it be worth the trade to not have Diet Dr Pepper or access to Olive Garden (although there is an Olive Garden in San Jose....1 hour from Atenas)?

GOOD, BETTER, BEST

My faith is known for a lot of things but one of my favorites is the "good....better...best" philosophy. I know that i'm not perfect...and that my efforts to become what i would like to be are not perfect either. But, the "good/better/best" philosophy says that what i am doing, the effort that i'm exerting, is "good". And, when i know more, can do more, i can be "better". And, when i go farther, know more, exert more effort, and build on the earlier progress, i can maybe achieve "best". This is reassuring to me in that the results that i get towards a goal can be "good", the efforts that i make can be "good" and, while there is always room for "better" and "best", i'm doing "good" (or maybe already at "better" in some areas!) already. This is like the "gold stars" or smiley faces that we used to get on our paperwork in elementary school (see name of this blog site.....4ever5...i've never really outgrown being a 5year old, but i digress...).>>>>>>> What "good/better/best" do you have in your life? The progress that you make towards a goal (be in a New Year's Eve resolution or just an everyday wish) is good...or better. The "best" that you see others do on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook is not a yardstick for you. You are already "good" or even "better" than you were before. I hope that this gives you the smile inside and momentum to continue to slog towards that goal of good/better/best results that it does me. Let me know? Groovy.

MOROCCAN VEGETABLES

When Joe and i lived in DC, one day we took a walk after a lunch out and found a clearance bookstore. We ended up buying ~15 books and one of the was entitled "HAPPY HERBIVORE ABROAD". This woman (Lindsay Nixon) traveled around the world on trips and brought back pictures, and stories, and recipes. All of them are fat-free (a couple include optional 1/2t oil...so essentially fat free), vegan (no animal product at all) and ethnic. I have made three recipes from this book (that i "refound" this week in my bookshelf). This was the one that i made on Saturday(today's will be posted with the longer note later this week).>>>>>>> MOROCCAN VEGETABLES........1C vegetable broth.......1T tomato paste (or ketchup).......1/4t cinnamon and ground ginger.......1/2t cumin.......1/2t paprika.......1/2 red/yellow onion, diced.......1 carrot, peeled and sliced.......1 zucchini, sliced.......1 yellow squash sliced (or use 2x zucchini).......1/4C raisins, chopped.......cayenne pepper to taste.......whisk broth with tomato paste/ketchup and spices......saute onion and carrot in pammed pan with water to moisten/keep from sticking untl softened, add squashes and fluid mixture, simmer to fork tender, about 5-7 minutes.......enough liquid should be left to coat veg but add more veg broth if needed....(i added extra fluid and made a sauce with a cornstarch/water slurry).....serve over rice or ramen or couscous........(add chickpeas or sauteed chicken, if desired, to add more protein..recipe has 5g protein per serving without them)......serves two (but it served three of us).......

MEDITERRRANEAN PASTA

If i am speaking of life being like an ocean of waves, i have to give you a recipe that is "beachy". This is one that not only i loved but Hubster did as well. As early as 2007. I made it again this week and he love, love, loved it. Big smile!******* MEDITERRANEAN PASTA******* 12oz spaghetti....... 12 olives, black and green is best but can just do one or the other, sliced....... 1 can tuna IN WATER, not drained....... 1 can tuna IN OIL, not drained....... 1/4-1/2C parmesan cheese....... 1/2-1 onion(depending on the size), slivered....... salt/pepper....... 3/4t red pepper flakes....... 1 lemon, zested and juiced, ~3T....... boil pasta....... meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients....... drain pasta and reserve ~1/2C water....... toss pasta with tuna mix, add water or more oil to bring to desired moistness (sorry Christian!)....... would be even better with roasted red bell pepper instead/in addition to olives....... adding a bit of the olive marinade is also good...... i hope that you love this too. the original recipe called for 2x tuna in oil and that is an option. the tuna in oil here in CR is _very little_ oil, nearly dry (more tuna! win!) so i had to add some more oil/olive juice to keep everything smooth and yummy....... very few leftovers.......enough for a lunch portion.......

fwaves

Life, i think, is like the ocean. I am not much of a water child but do like to play on the beach (building sand castles but mostly walking along the edge of the surf. Walking alone, both on the beach and here in Atenas along the roads/by-ways, i have a lot of time to think and let my mind wander. And i was thinking today of the "ocean of life".******* In your teens, everyone is pairing up, going out on dates/parties, going to Prom and Winter Formal. Life is all about the "girls' nights out" and going to parties/dancing and hanging with your BFF (and a larger group of friends=). This "wave" splashes over you and you frolic in the wave with your friends and it is all that you see. The social activities wash over you like the waves of the ocean and you enjoy the immersion. You feel safe and included and happy.******* Then, _whoosh_ that wave passes and you're in your 20's. People are really pairing up now and relationships are getting more serious. The wave of the big group outings and having BFFs in whom you rely has receeded to be replaced by a smaller group, more serious relationships and more focus on attaining and maintaining careers. The wave of engagements, college graduations, and marriages washes over you and you're immersed in the activities that these entail. You have a smaller friend group and less time to spend with them but you're so overwhelmed with the activities that this part of your life involves that you don't miss it. This wave is variable...some are tossed and turned as things don't go as planned while others are so focused that they barely notice the wave covering their heads.******* Before you know it, that 20's wave receeds to be replaced by the 30's and 40's tsunami. This wave has fewer marriages and new babies....fewer career establishment and college graduations..less frivolity. Instead of baby and wedding showers, there are job promotions and, often, divorces. This is the wave that begins, for many, the "sandwich generation", caring for growing children and developing careers and aging parents. This is the wave that washes over you more stealthily, less fun and body surfing, more undertow and body shifting. The effort of keeping afloat with all the varying pulls in one direction or another makes this time/wave pass quickly. One day, one wavelet, flows into another and time passes seemingly unnoticed amidst the activities of keeping afloat and getting to the goals that were set back in the 20's wave. This is also the wave that often includes adding new "swimmers" in the form of second marriages and blended families, both with marriage and with aging parents moving in/adult children moving back.******* I"m now in the 50's and 60's wave. It's not a pretty one in many respects. Yes, there are often additional swimmers in the form of adult children and/or aging parents needing more assistance and patience. But, this is the wave of not weddings and births and job promotions and other beginnings but rather the start of ,or intensification of, losses and retractions. Instead of new births and baby showers, there are illnesses and funerals. The "girl gossip" shared over the phones isn't "who is sleeping with whom...who's pregnant....what crazy drunk thing happened last weekend" but rather "did you hear that Jim is in the ICU?....that Julia broke her hip?....that Clark has "the big C"?. While this wave isn't as much of a "washing machine" as the 30/40 tsunami, it is a more subtle feeling of loss. This wave washes over you with the realization that those goals that you set in the 20's wave...if you haven't accomplished them...you likely won't. As one of my buttons says, "i just realized that i'll never be a ballerina". While there is still some energy to the swimmers in the 50/60 wave, it is tempered. This is more of a wave that you experience walking in the surf, not swimming out to be immersed. The wave washes up to the knees but doesn't threaten to knock you down. You're experienced enough to avoid the trauma and drama of the 20/30 waves...but realize that you're missing out on the excitement too of the immersion. You stay on the beach, with this wave only up to your calves because immersion may not be worth the risk of a broken hip, a caution that you have never had in past waves.******* The subsequent waves are small. You walk on the beach and look out on the horizon at those in the water...splashing through the waves of earlier times. You remember the fun..and fear..of those waves for yourself. Do you want to relive those waves and days? Sometimes. This is the time to be thankful that you made it through the waves to land on the sandy warm beach where you are. There are fewer people here with you but you value them all the more. There are still losses (those funerals keep happeningn until you run out of friends and family) and some gains (those swimmers in the 20/30 waves are like rabbits!), but the desire for peace over drama leaves you on the beach in the small wash after the waves have crested. Fewer dramatic highs and fewer drastic lows....a calm that is more like contentment.******* I'm chronologically in the 50/60 wave but with early retirement and relocation, am psychologically in the subsequent waves. Our friends here in Costa Rica are mostly 75+ and i just got notice of another in the ICU, not expected to live much longer. We have lost friends both to death and to relocation (back to US/Canada for healthcare or family reasons)in the past three years. We don't do the drunken outings...in fact rarely go out after dark (which occurs here at 5pm....). I cannot remember the last baby/wedding shower, wedding, or job promotion celebration that we attended. Life is calm, like the little lapping foam on the beach that i splash in when walking on the baked sand. Life is good but those waves came, crested, and whooshed away awfully quickly. I was so immersed in each wave/stage that when they receeded, i hardly recognize where i am some days. I loved each stage/wave.