visit to supermarket - nutritional/medical & economical

Today, we took a trip to Associated Supermarket. I went to look at the yogurt section and the peanut butter section. I compared two brands for both yogurt and peanut butter. The brands that i compared were La Yogurt vs Yoplait yogurt and Skippy vs Jiffy peanut butter. While I was standing in front of all the yogurt, I chose to compare the brands La Yogurt and Yoplait because they were right next to each other just like Skippy and Jiffy. I first took a look at the yogurt and asked myself many questions. So I first took a look at the La Yogurt brand. When I looked at the nutrition facts for the raspberry flavored yogurt, the percentage for vitamin A was 2%. Then I took another look at another flavor, which was mango. The percentage for vitamin A was 4%. The cost of the product, La Yogurt is only $0.79. The price of Yoplait yogurt is only $0.89. Then I walked over to the peanut butter section and I walked over to the Skippy and jiffy brand. I looked at the different types of peanut butter they had: original, chunky, low fat or creamy. The appearance for both look the same for me, except for the nutrition facts. When I looked at the different types of peanut butter for Skippy brand, all the nutrition facts were all the same, which I found weird because for Jiffy, all the nutrition facts for the other types of peanut butter were different. The cost was also close just like the yogurt. The cost of Skippy is $2.49 and Jiffy is $2.59. The nutrition facts on the Jiffy bottles were closely related to each other, they weren't very different liek the nutrition facts on the La Yogurt.

Questions:
- Is this how much yogurt really costs?
- Is yogurt expensive to make?
-Why would the percentage of the same brand yogurt be different? Shouldn't they be the same percentage?
- If the product is the same, what's the point of the brand/company that makes it?
- Which brand is healthier, La Yogurt or Yoplait?
- Should all yogurt & peanut butter brands have the same nutrition facts?
- If both products were made differently, would it cost more or less?
- Is the better or healthier one a bit more expensive than the other?
- Does Jiffy and Yoplait costs more because it costs more to make it?
- If La Yogurt added more ingredients to it, would it make it more healthy or less healthy?

fast food

Today, I had decided to stop by the pizza shop to grab a slice. I went to Frank's Pizza Shop by School of the Future. I just got slice of pizza. I got a plain slice of pizza with nothing on it, which cost $1.75. The slice of pizza is made of dough with tomato sauce and cheese. While I watched the guy cut a slice for me and placed it on a paper plate, I starred at the slice of pizza. As I took the paper plate away from the guy, I was looking at the cheese and tomato sauce on the slice. Then when I sat down to eat my pizza, I fold my pizza in half. As I put the pizza on the tip of my tongue, I felt the pizza was still somewhat warm. It wasn't fresh out of the oven, but it was better than cold pizza. I took a bite and I can taste the tomato sauce. I also tasted little bits of basil in the tomato sauce. As I took another bite, the cheese slid off the pizza and stretched as I pulled my head back. Then I took a look at my pizza and saw that all the oil was in the middle of the pizza. I held my pizza vertically so that all the oil would drip down the pizza and onto the paper plate. I watched as the oil dripped down quickly and the oil went through the paper plate. Parts of the pizza was crunchy because of the bread which was dough when it first started out. As I got closer to the crust, there seemed to be a lot more cheese towards the crust, which made it alittle messy for me since the cheese would slide off the pizza and onto the paper plate or on my chin. When I get to the crust, there is still some of the pizza left, when you look at that specific part, it looks soft and easy to chew. When I take a bite of the crust, it was very crunchy. I could hear myself chewing when I took a bite of the crust. Although I had a slice of pizza, it doesn't really quite fill you up. I was still alittle hungry after the slice.

healthy food

B. Which foods seem healthiest to you? If you had infinite time and infinite skill and infinite money, what would your 3 day menu be?
The types of foods that seem healthiest to me are the ones that give you calcium, protein, iron, vitamins and etc. so that they help your body. Some types of foods that seem healthiest to me are vegetables, meats, drinks, and fruits. If I had infinite time, skill and money, my 3 day menu would be of the following:

day 1:
breakfast: toasted plain bagel with cream cheese, milk with tea
lunch: turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, mayo & cucumbers, snapple fruit punch
dinner: baked ziti with parmesan cheese, salad [iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, croutons with dressing (A Thousand Island)], lipton green tea citrus, mix of melons [cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew]

day 2:
breakfast: Rice Crispies with bananas with milk [fat free milk]
lunch: hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, onions&pickles with ketchup on all white bread, french fries, water
dinner: steak with a-1 sauce, mash potatoes with garlic, corn, ginger ale, fruit salad [apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, pineapples, grapes, melons, strawberries, raspberries]

day 3:
breakfast: waffles with maple syrup, bowl of mixed berries [strawberries, raspberries, blueberries]
lunch: chicken burrito [flour tortilla, shredded chicken, rice, beans, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, sour cream, cheese], water
dinner: beef stew [chunks of beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions], whole wheat bread, vitamin water, fruit salad [apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, pineapples, grapes, melons, strawberries, raspberries]


C. Generalize - What should people eat?
People should eat healthy because then they wouldn't need to worry about having to go on a diet or have to go to a doctor for pills because they're either eating too much or eating too little. So that they end up developing eating problems. They should try to eat as much of the nutritional needs that we need for our bodies to be in good condition along with exercise. People can eat anything they want, as long as they give nutrition to the body as well.

introduction to locally available goat milk cheese

A. What is it?
Goat Milk Cheese is a type of cheese that is made from goats milk. There are a variety of goat cheese made all over the U.S and sold in supermarkets. It is when milk is taken from the goat and is made into cheese. The goats milk is pasteurized at a temperature of 145 degrees farenheit. Pasteurize means that the goats milk is exposed to a certain amount of temperature to kill any germs or bacteria in the milk.

B. Why is it good to eat?
Goat Milk Cheese is good to eat because it helps you stay healthy. Some reasons as to why goat milk cheese is eaten by people is because it is lower in cholesterol and in fat. Dairy products that are made from goat's milk, they help you burn more fat. Some health benefits is that goat milk has a good source of calcium, protein (good for muscles), riboflavin (good for enegery), potassium ( good for your heart) and phosphorus. Goat Cheese is less in calories and it's lower in fat and cholesterol compared to cow's milk products. It is also easier to digest compared to cow products. It is also low in sodium, it may even lower the symptoms of your asthma, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis.

C. Who sells it here?
The people who sell goat milk cheese here in NYC is Lynn Fleming. She sells the goat milk cheese here in NYC at the Farmer's Market in Union Square (14th street). Although the goats are not raised in the city, they are raised in Pine Bush, NY. The cheese is also made in Pine Bush, NY.
Contact Information:
Person: Lynn Fleming
Address: 414 Church Road, Pine Bush, NY 12566
E-Mail: LynnHaven@hvc.rr.com
Phone Number: (845) 744 - 6089
Website: www.lynnhavennubians.com/

D. Basics of how they grow it?
Goats are born and raised in farms. Goats are fed hay and grains. The goats grow each day and are fed daily until they are able to produce milk.

E. Web Links
http://www.drcheese.net/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=131
http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/goat1.htm

cooking rice

First I took 2 & 3/4 cups of rice from the rice container and placed it in a pot with cold water. I rinsed the rice a couple of times until the water was clear. Then I took some ginger and minced it into tiny pieces and added it to the rice in the pot. Then I took some water and added it into the pot with the rice and ginger. I then placed the pot with water, rice and ginger on the stove and turned the stove on high. After everything was ont eh stove and slowly cooking, I placed the lid on top so that the rice would cook faster. As the pot slowly started to heat up and cook the rice, I noticed there was some steam coming out of the pot. I took the top off and saw foam on top of the rice. The foam was from the rice and water cooking and the rice absorbing the water into it. When I first lift the top off the pot, a whole cloud of steam hit me in the face. It was very hot. Also when I took the lid off, I was able to smell the ginger that I had added in the rice. Then I put the lid back on the pot so the rice could finish cooking and be ready to eat.

what i ate part 2

Today, my brothers and I had decided to have a home cooked meal since it was so cold today. We didn't feel like spenindg money and going out to get take out food. So we decided to make beef with tomatoes, chicken wings with potatoes, fish and choy (chinese vegetable). I will first start off with the beef and tomatoes. The beef in this meal was very chewy. Although it was chewy, it wasn't as chewy as gummy bears. The beef didn't really have a flavor. The beef absorbed a lot of the flavor from the other ingredients in the meal. The beef absorbed a lot of flavor from the tomatoes and onions. The tomatoes were easy to bite through. When I bite the tomato, I felt a tingle on my tongue. I felt the seeds of the tomatoes against my teeth. The seeds were floating around in my mouth. They were hard to bite, but it was easy to swallow down since it was so small. On the otherhand, the onion was a bit crunchy when I bite it. The onions' taste was exactly like the smell of it when you cut it. And now, onto the next dish, chicken with potatoes. The meat on the wings were tender and easy to chew. Although there were a couple of wings that had burnt parts on it (thanks to my brother for not watching the stove), the meat was still tender. As my top and bottom front teeth sank into the potato, I felt a powdery feeling on my tongue as I was chewing the potatoe breaking it down into smaller pieces so that it's easier to swallow. The chicken wings and the potatoes both had a thick sauce/gravy covering it. Moving along to the next dish, FISH! The fish was very soft. It was as soft as tofu. The sauce that the fish was marinated in, the fish really absorbed the flavor. As I let the fish sit in my mouth for flavor, I taste sesame oil from the marinade. The fish was so soft, it felt like there was nothing in my mouth to be chewing on. And the last dish on my menu is the vegetable to be healthy. My dish for vegetable is choy, which is a chinese vegetable. As I bite into the choy, there was a crunchy feeling to it. It was like biting into a Cheeto. I also felt a small fizz when I bite into the choy. As I chewed the choy, my taste buds sensed oyster sauce. Oyster sauce is a bit salty, which I was able to sense in the choy. Also because the oyster sauce was used to flavor the choy. Normally, choy doesn't really have a taste to it, it just has texture and is healthy because it's a vegetable. And you can't forget the RICE! Rice doesn't have a flavor, having these dishes just adds a variety of flavors to the rice. The rice is just there to go with the dishes that were prepared. I felt the small individual grains of rice floating around in my mouth as I chewed on the rice and chunks from my dishes that my brothers and I had prepared for dinner.

what i ate

Since my brother and I were too lazy to cook, we decided to get take out from Chinatown. We had a lot of chinese vegetables that I do not know the english name to. Most of the chinese vegetables were green and the outside was hard, but when I bit into it, it was soft like the tofu. I also had chicken as a part of my meal. As I took a bite out of everything I had on my plate, everything just seemed tasteless to me. Although the texture of everything seemed the same as well. All of the vegetables, the outside was hard and the inside was soft except for the eggplant. The eggplant was overall soft. The skin of the eggplant was a little slippery and the inside was soft and gushy. All the vegetables that I had on my plate seemed tasteless to me. The chicken was tender. The meat of the chicken was just perfect, it wasn't too chewy or too dry, just right. The smell of everything combined was different from how each and everyone of them tasted. Although most of them did not have a taste, it was more what I thought the taste would be like. Then when I ate the rice, I was able to feel the individual pieces of rices as I was chewing my food. When it came to swallowing my food, there was just no taste present. I guess vegetables don't seem to have a flavor in my taste buds, seems like all vegetables are tasteless to me.

what's in my refrigerator?

Milk
Canned Fruits [Pineapple, Peaches & Pear]
Cheese
Butter
Bagels
Chicken
Pork Chops
Grape Jelly
A-1 Steak Sauce
Mayonnaise
Pound Cake
Honey BBQ Sauce
Chicken Broth
Tomato Sauce
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Soup
Carnation Milk
Honey
Ketchup
Starbucks Peppermint Syrup
Left over rice
Orange Juice
Apples
Hawaiian Punch
Oranges
Plums
Garlic
Broccoli
Scallions
Sesame Oil
Eggs
Enviga Green Tea
Cranberry Concentrate
Dried Scallops
Mustard
Hershey's Kisses
Onion
Lily Bulb
Jell-O
Oyster Sauce
Dried Scallops