The Psychographics of Breakfast Cereal

Ah yes another piece for which I must write a disclaimer!  To whit: “my opinions here in no way reflect those of anyone else on staff, or, indeed, on Earth.  Also, they don’t reflect Debra’s, yet she is still kind enough to print them.  Cheers.”

Did anyone else catch that article in the New York Times[1] about how what you eat, and where you buy it, predicts how you’re going to vote in the presidential election?  Good stuff.  To be honest, part of me resents the way the spin-meisters and sales consultants intrude on our privacy, observe and record, cut and splice everything we do, for the sole purpose of turning it back on us.  But an even bigger part of me is simply fascinated.

Almond Kelp Noodle Salad

Amanda adapted a recipe from a package of Sea Tangle kelp noodles, and her rendition is below.  She says, “This lively and delicious salad will surprise everyone when you tell them the ‘noodles’ are actually mineral-packed sea kelp!  Jazzed up with sesame oil and lemon, this dish tickles and brightens the palate and satisfies a salt craving without weighing down your system.”

Kelp noodles are gluten-free, and very low in carbohydrates and calories.  Their texture is chewy, and you can use them anywhere you’d use pasta.  They are, for those of you who follow a raw food diet, raw and ready to use right out of the bag.  Ingredients?  Kelp, water, sodium alginate (from brown seaweed).

Spicy !!!

I suppose the icy depths of winter would be a more appropriate time to cover herbs that are heating and spicy.  But now is when the mood strikes, so, here goes.

Actually, summer might not be such a bad time for this, after all.  Traditional South American, Asian, and Indian cultures don’t back off the spice just because the temperature is rising.  On the other hand, the Eskimo’s aren’t exactly known for their spicy cuisine (or much any cuisine, for that matter).  Kenyon also points out that cayenne pepper sends circulation to the surface.  It might make you feel warmer, more flushed for a bit, but in the end it might cool you: heat at the surface is more easily dispersed than heat at the core.