Krafty bastards

To make money you have to spend money. If your product has been revealed to be processed garbage that destroys people's health and the market is turning against your interests, you also have to spend money. Spend money to make a better, healthier, less-processed product? I guess that would assume that "corporations are people" with "morals" and "love for humanity".  In reality, you buy off non-profit organization to gain a sheen of respectability at the least possible cost to promote your interests...

The goal, according to the academy, was to spread the word that children need more calcium and vitamin D in their diets. "We saw this opportunity to help parents bridge that dairy gap," said Katie Brown, national education director for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, the academy's philanthropic arm.

As part of the arrangement, Kraft agreed to provide money for a grant to be used at the academy's discretion for scholarships, research or public education initiatives. Ms. Brown declined to disclose the sum provided by Kraft.

In sum, Kraft paid an organization whose goal is it to protect the public from corporations like Kraft to put a logo of said organization on it's "cheez product". Children need more calcium and vitamin D? Not getting enough from the massive amounts of unnecessary dairy from those child-unfriendly foods like ice cream, chocolate milk and pizza? (Not to mention those crazy leafy greens and nuts.) Kraft recently had to recall over 2.5 million boxes of mac and cheese that might have been contaminated with metal pieces -- maybe they should promote it as fortified with iron?

Never have an iron deficiency ever again...

Though I promised not to rant about McDonalds yet again, this is really the same story. Kraft produces processed convenience foods for people to prepare at home. That was the trend my parents fell into it, after a life time of seeing their own parents make everything from scratch. Both their mothers had never entered the work force and spent their time in the kitchen.

(Kraft) specializes in cheeses, salad dressings and Oscar Mayer meats — things that are typically used to make sit-down meals. But sit-down meals are not what consumers are buying, says Jared Koerten, senior food analyst with market-research firm Euromonitor.
"When you look sort of at the broader U.S. food landscape, you're seeing a big shift toward snack foods," Koerten says. "Some people have called it the 'snackification of U.S. food.' "
Another challenge: a younger generation that prefers artisanal brands with a healthier image.

Our parents raised us on Kraft mac n' cheese, Hamburger Helper and supermarket roasted chicken. As families started to require two incomes to get by, less time was spent in the kitchen: maybe rather than blame the divorce rate on liberated women entering the workforce, perhaps we should blame the push "snackification" and less time in the kitchen by the entire family unit for proper sit down meals?

For special occasions out, a cheap fast meal at McDonalds further relieved us of "kitchen drudgery". Now even that seems anemic, unhealthy for body and earth and the continuous urge for cheap and convenient is starting to be met with an urge for what cheap convenience really costs us: a lack of health, freshness, wholeness, earth friendliness, quality and care. When some corporate monolith can start actually embodying those values over cheapness and shareholder value, perhaps corporations can actually evolve to become a little bit more like actual people and less than evil mono-goaled monsters.

Oh, it's GAS that will save us from kitchen drudgery. Please sir, what else can you sell me to meet this need I didn't know I had?!

-----

WEEKLY AVERAGE: xxxx
Between a late birthday celebration on Thursday evening, Seder and holiday eating on Friday (and an all day ride on Saturday and massive amounts of Easter candy on Sunday), I'm not even going to try to figure a weekly average this week -- suffice to say, I was more or less on the ball for the first half of the week, and not in the 2nd. Hope things steady up with the holidays behind me and more riding in the immediate future.

-----

MONDAY COUNT: 3135

SLEPT: 11pm - 4:30am, 5.5hrs

AM SNACK: 4:45 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, Fage with honey, almonds, vanilla, 450 cal  

LUNCH: 3:15pm, almond butter and jelly on whole wheat, health salad, pickle, 610 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, momma salad, cheezits 310 cal

DINNER: 7pm, tilapia, asparagus,  poppa salad with dressing, 745 cal

EVENING SNACK: 7:45pm, popcorn, +/-400 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, peanut butter crackers, 460 cal

-----

BIKE CREDIT: 1560 cal
TUESDAY COUNT: 2430

SLEPT: 9:30pm- 2:30am, 4:15am-6am, 6.75 hrs

AM SNACK: 3:15 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 9am, fruit smoothie, 450 cal

BIKE SNACKS: 11am-5pm, whole wheat bagel & cream cheese, 3 homemade granola bars, +/- 1430 cal

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

DINNER: 5:30pm, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, poppa salad with dressing, 1040 cal

EVENING SNACKS: 6:30-8:30pm, 1 cracker pack, 1 kind bar, 2 kid granola bars, 600 cal
-----

WEDNESDAY COUNT:3155

SLEPT: 9:30pm - 4am,  6.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 4:15 am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST 1: 7am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST: 11am, steel cut oatmeal 450 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, chicken meat balls, steamed string beans, mushroom curry,  pickle, 720 cal

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, momma salad, cheezits 310 cal

PM SNACK: 6pm, cashews, 235 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, Chipotle burrito, poppa salad with dressing, 1080 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, peanut butter sandwich crackers, 480 cal
-----

BIKE CREDIT: 680 cal
THURSDAY COUNT: xxx

SLEPT: 10pm - 3:30am,  5.5 hrs

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, homemade granola bar, 150mg caffeine, 200 cal

BIKE SNACK: 5am, homemade granola bar, 200 cal

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, apple/beet/celery/carrot/cayenne/cucumber/ginger juice, 160 cal

BREAKFAST 2: 11am, fage yogurt with honey, vanilla, almonds, 450 cal

LUNCH: 2pm, poppa salad and dressing, sauteed shrimp and mushrooms,  600 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, cheezits, 310 cal

PM SNACK: 5pm, whole wheat bread with nutella, +/-400 cal

DINNER: 7pm, Pastrami sammich, soup, fries, pickles, health salad, babka, XXXX
Overate with an old friend just like we used to years ago at a restaurant that meant a lot to both of us. Haven't felt this full since before I lost weight. I imagine I ate my entire calorie budget in this one sitting. Worth it, too fun, it was in honor of my b-day anyway.