Jaime Oliver's food Revolution

So I finally caught the last episode to this series. It's been something that I've held in passing interest. Not because I didn't think the content was important, but because I hardly watch TV and I hate reality shows. However this is kind of an important show to watch. It's Basically Jaime VS a school district in West Virginia (Huntington?). He's trying to reform elementary school cafeterias to be more healthy for the kids going to school. He's trying to wage a one man war against processed foods in school lunches, shifting focus from convenience foods to conventional cooking.

The comical bit about this show is it treats junk brands like cuss words. While you can clearly make out what kinds of foods children are eating. Some of which I remember myself eating in school. I think one of the more shocking elements to the story was the fact that the school is running into a different crisis. The USDA is sending the schools he exact kinds of foods he's been trying to get rid of. The Problem is that processed foods are cheap, which is both unfortunate and a little backwards. The Fresh items should be cheaper then the processed stuff. While I don't believe that the USDA should be treated like the bad guys, I think it's just one small part of a bigger issue.

Here's Hoping Jaime's experiment is a huge success.

Salt Regulations?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/20/salt.guidelines/index.html?hpt=T2

According to this article the Institute of Medicine is trying to press the FDA to regulate salt. We are on a very slippery road folks. If we regulate Salt, next will be fat. While I like the idea that the megacorp processing plants will finally start a salt reduction (seriously have you looked at how much salt they throw into this stuff??) I'm a little worried what this kind of regulation means to restaurants. My technicality we do serve processed food. How will this kind of possible regulation effect us in the future? How will it effect large chains of restaurants? Will the regulation be the same from top to bottom? If there are limits what kind of limits will we see?

KFC's Double Down

So KFC has announced a new sandwich replacing the bun with two breaded fried chicken breasts, two pieces of cheese, bacon, and sauce. The calories for this monstrosity aren't bad, but the sodium of one sandwich is very high. I'm not certain how I feel about this "sandwich".

Though really how is it any different then some of the other sandwiches you can buy now a days? In an out burger has the 100x100 Thats 100 burger patties and 100 slices of cheese in one bun. In japan Burger king has the Windows 7, it's a burger with 7 beef patties in it weighing in at over 1 1/2 pounds of cooked meat! :\ Some of these are becoming gross just thinking about.

At what point does something become too much? At what point do we as Americans stand up for better proportioned food?

Microwaving rice

I have a challenge living campus life. I'm not allowed a hotplate or stove to cook on. So everything has to be done with a microwave. Currently I'm learning to teach myself to cook rice in the microwave only using a bowl. I've almost gotten the technique down. (This is for medium grain rice in an open bowl)
When you microwave rice you need to make sure the rice is hydrated throughout the cooking process. SO there are two stages to cooking rice: The first stage is where most of the cooking happens, this is where you follow traditional recipes of using a 2:1 water to rice ratio. This stage requires 7-9 minutes, In the microwave here I use 8 minutes. When the 8 minutes is up, remove the rice and add enough water to cover the rice. It will still be crunchy, but not burned. mix the rice lightly with water, then place back into the microwave for another 1-2 minutes. Fluff, serve, enjoy.

Talking with a friend of mine I've been making a green tea soup style rice dish. Make the rice as described(or with traditional methods if you have access to a kitchen), then brew up some green tea. After the rice is finished add: grated Daikon Radish to taste. (or 1/2-1 regular radish, but it will be slightly spicier), wasabi powder (though I'm currently using a paste) again this is to taste. After that you can top with fish flake (or soy sauce as I do currently) then pour the hot green tea over the rice mixture and enjoy.

Discussion: The health care bill and you

So Healthcare reform has become a new buzzword. Suddenly everyone is talking about it in the same hushed tones that you would describe an illicit deal. So lets cut through the tape and look at the bill.

First of all most of it doesn't kick in till 2014. Right now isn't the time for gloom and doom until the government finishes setting up the Small business Health Options Program or SHOP Exchanges. On top of the fact that the Senate and House are still amending the bill to suit their own needs, on top of the law suits against the bill, ect. Being aware of the Bill and changes being made to the Bill is a better plan of action currently.

The SHOP Exchanges will allow groups of business' to bundle together under a single plan. While it sounds like this will save business' money, the savings probably won't be worth it. With that being said, lets do a little bit of work that if there are no more changes to be made to the bill how does it effect the small business world.

"businesses with 10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees earning less than $25,000 a year on average will be eligible for a tax credit of 35% of health insurance costs" - CNN Money

So really this means that the optimal employee size for a business healthcare plan is about 10 full time employees and maybe up to 20 part time employees. Currently the healthcare plan is what it is. As an employee I welcome this plan, working in kitchens can be a very dangerous place. It's not uncommon to see people being rushed to the hospital due to knife injuries, or other things. Kitchens can be extremely dangerous. On the other side of the coin It's a double edged sword: I'd hate having to pay the bill, but ultimately it'll become another bill on the P&L statement.

I haven't seen anything on what as an employee you have to pay on this insurance coverage. So perhaps the best way to handle it is another tax on an employee's wages that go directly to paying for the group medical coverage. This is a very sticky bill, even though it's now a law, it's still a bit of a crystal ball read. Only in 2014 will we be able to really feel the full effects of what this new law means.