Eat light, but eat a lot…
If there's one food-based argument that rages on inside the offices of SFR, it's the inferior fans of the inferior Cheese Nips, and the people who correctly understand that Cheeze-It is better (despite the use of the letter zed). We're in camp Cheez-It if that wasn't clear. They're not all oily like the Nips are, and there's this one variety (of which there are MANY) called Extra Toasted, and—get this—they're extra toasted, and holy smokes, they're good.
And while we fully understand that this is not, like, pressing or even important, really, it does bring up something that's very near and dear to our hearts: snacking. We didn't bother to look it up, but our friends who do CrossFit (and who scream at everyone about how to eat right) say that those looking to get healthier or lose some weight (which we don't think anyone should do unless they want to—don't @ us) should embrace snacking many times a day rather than eating big meals. And while the consensus is that some things work for some people and not for others (OK, we lied and we DID look it up, and snacking is good for some, less good for others; everyone is different, duh), there are healthier ways to snack than shoveling cheese—or cheez—crackers down one's gullet.
For example—string cheese. Yeah, we didn't stray too far from the crackers here, but lissin' up, y'all, because them cheesy little bastards can, in moderation, like all things, be pretty OK for you. In fact, according to this slideshow about healthy snacking from Forbes that doesn't have a date at the top, but at least the photo captions mention someone from a story that may have once been associated with the slideshow, some brands of string cheese can be pretty low-calorie … like 80 cals, which is a good, very good, cal number. Whole Foods' brand 365 has an organic one, which presumably is available in the store. And no, we didn't drop everything to drive over to Whole Foods to check on whether they had the cheese in stock.
Something more crispy, maybe? And also with protein? Word, we hear you, because we love the crisp. Well, our digging led us to a company called Hippie Snacks, and after we were done being pissed off because hippies are the absolute WORST, we found out that the company has all kinds of crispy li'l snax we didn't know exist—like these Avocado Crisps. Yum, right? Anyway, they're probably good for you (we're not a doctor) as the company says they're all about gluten-free and high-protein and blah blah blah. There's a bunch of potassium in there, too, so it's bye-bye, bananas! Naw, but you should have bananas.
Because fiber is important, y'know? It's important because it's good for your gut and your butt and because it makes you feel like you ate more than you did. Like, eat two bananas and try to tell The Fork you're still peckish, and The Fork will ask you if YOU are bananas. You can also put said bananas on granola in slice form. Here's a granola recipe from that insufferable Pioneer Woman whom, we learned, could eat this stuff all day. It's apparently "magnificent."
Other than that, follow your gut, y'know? Like, fruit and little bits of organic cheese and most veggies and stuff like celery and peanut butter (probably the organic stuff that drips everywhere as opposed to the stuff like Skippy that actually tastes good) and cranberries or any berries really, and just, like, non-sugary stuff, y'know? Those things are great, they exist, we eat them, but a little bit of popcorn you popped yourself and for which controlled the salt and butter content is way better than one of those 5-pound bags that only has a cartoon clown as an identifier on the bag. Oh, and almonds. Raw almonds? Up to you, but probably raw bulk almonds from one of THOSE stores (you know what we mean) as opposed to candied almonds … that's probably better for you.
And it doesn't even end there, because we wanted to compile some snacks that you think are good for you and which you've been eating like some kind of sucker, but that are actually bad for you because marketing is evil. Here, check it:
- Microwave popcorn See? We were just talking about this! These brands are often so so so high in salt and such. Just be careful. Like, if you love m-wave p-corn, don’t go overboard, OK?
- Store-bought granola Another case of so dang much sugar in something that would have been easy to handle yourself without making it unhealthy.
- Store-bought packaged salads This one is a bit of a heartbreaker for The Fork, because we can be lazy sometimes and you figure hey, it’s salad—how bad can i be? Well, it turns out there can be all kinds of sodium and preservatives in those bad boys, so maybe just opt for making a salad yourself. Or go to Vinaigrette.
- Yogurt with flavors and stuff Sorry, Brown Cow, with the cream on the top and the good-ass flavors, you’re so crammed with sugar that we might need to break up.
- Cheez-Its and Cheese Nips Yeah, we know these are probably terrible for us. But we have to do what feels good sometimes, right? We’re only human (as far as you know).
So yeah, there you go. Snax and such. What're your favorite healthy snacks?
Check out this weird-quality album called Snacks from former Santa Fe band Kidcrash.
Also
-The big news of the week is probably that New Mexico Fresh Foods says it'll ask the city for $18 million Industrial Revenue Bond, which would mean the manufacturing facility could move into a space in Midtown, create jobs and, we hear, extend the shelf life of produce with magic (or, y'know, its process of preservation that doesn't use chemical preservatives). According to this-here press release, Mayor Alan Webber says that "Santa Fe is perfectly positioned to grow a thriving business in value-added food industry." Word, that sounds just PR-ish enough to work!
-OK, this one's in Albuquerque, but it's for all you beer lovers out there. Seems Kelly's Brew Pub in Albuquerque is all about that canned beer right now, and so, for a mere $12 pittance, y'all can go party with Kelly's and canned brews in ABQ on Saturday September 7. There's live music, vendors, games, food, a beer koozie—word? Word.
-Has anyone been to the new Santacafé? We'll have eaten there this week by the time you read this, but we wanted to share a message with our future selves and all of you, that we think new owner Quinn Stephenson, who also owns the Coyote Café and Rooftop Cantina, does great stuff, and we just hope we had a good time and meal.
-Get all psyched up for Mampuku Ramen, a new ramen restaurant going into the old Pizza 9 location at 1965 Cerrillos Road (pretty much across the street from the El Rey Court, right by Los Potrillos). We originally had heard it would open next month, but we're happy to report that someone from SFR happened by last night. Long live Mampuku Ramen!
More Tidbits
-Speaking of ramen, Atlas Obscura has the fascinating history of how the black market, Americans and a post-war Japan unwittingly came together to help ramen thrive.
-Meanwhile, in Tanzania, the noble avocado is giving farmers a new lease on life and fully transforming communities, and it's all thanks to white ladies. Just kidding—everyone loves avocados, but in Tanzania, they've traditionally been considered no better than food for dogs and pigs. Not so for Africado, a new eco-conscious farm in the African nation that reportedly uses far less water to produce than anyone thought possible. Amazing!
-Speaking of white ladies, Dunkin' (the chain FKA Dunkin' Donuts) announced it's bringing back pumpkin spice season a little earlier this year, August 21 to be precise. You've been warned, Melissa.
-The History Channel, shirking its 20 hour a day commitment to shows about middle-aged white dudes who own pawn shops, has a pretty neat li'l show going about the food that built America, and it's called, aptly, The Food That Built America. Thus far, we're told it's about Corn Flakes (boy, that Kellogg sure hated people who touched themselves), fast food and maybe ice cream. Sounds pretty cool.
-Setting aside how much we love the investigative and op-ed pieces on eater.com, we chortled heartily at this piece about maaaaaaaaybe saving your food from a ravenous seagull. Related: We're scared of geese.
Finally
In the print edition of SFR, Bagel Fan Club president Zibby Wilder got Boultawn’d and everyone else learns why bagels rule when they’re done well. TK LINK
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A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence Number of Letters Received
48
*One more than last week, jabronis!
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (not edited for content)
“I’m very impressed.”
*Not a tip, but we love that we impressed you!
Actually Helpful Tip
“I signed up for Friends of the Reporter, and 98% of that is The Fork.”
*We heart you, Sue!
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Friiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeends foreeeeeeeevvvvveeeeerrrrrrrr,
The Fork
