yes, we're a community!

I just read this article in the NYTimes on food communities and I thought, yes! That's us @ itsjustfood! O! The possibilities!

Breakfast Meeting

I think the ugliest times our family had when I was a girl was when my dad tried to make me eat breakfast. It was so bad! He knew I needed to eat and I had absolutely no appetite. And, I was a teenager. It would start at home and often last the entire car ride to school. Dad knew the importance of the first meal of the day, but I knew I felt fine without it.

Not so much anymore! I can lose steam real quick with no food, no calories to give me energy. What's that they say? Eat like a queen for breakfast, a princess for lunch and a pauper for dinner.

The PBS Breakfast Special reminded me how, well... how special breakfast is! When I travel to new lands, I like to figure out the breakfast foods. Most of my favorite breakfast restaurants these days serve only breakfast and they're quaint little places to which I'd love to take my dad.

So, here's sort of a meme to get us all re-acquainted. Cut and paste it into the comment section and answer away! My answers are here to get things started.

What's your favorite breakfast?
What's your favorite place to eat breakfast?
Describe you favorite breakfast beverage.
What do you do to make you breakfast healthier?
Do you ever skip breakfast?

What's your favorite breakfast? It's a toss up between sausage and waffles AND rice and steamed salmon

What's your favorite place to eat breakfast? my all time favorite place is this place in Pingtung, Taiwan. I posted a picture of breakfast from there in one of my first blog posts. I never was real sure what I was getting for breakfast because I can't read Mandarin! Plus, what you would actually get on your plate would depend on what was actually available. Meals were served inside or out and you were free to sit with friends and linger the day away.

Here, now I really enjoy Three Sisters, a house converted into a restaurant that serves breakfast all day!Describe you favorite breakfast beverage. coffee with sugar and warm milk

What do you do to make you breakfast healthier? I'll eat oatmeal with soymilk and walnuts

Do you ever skip breakfast? not anymore!

The Debate over High-Fructose Corn Syrup's Name

You read well. High-fructose corn syrup producers asked the Food and Drug Administration the authorization to use the name "Corn Sugar" instead, on food labels.

Here is a fact: The American Medical Association says our bodies process high-fructose corn syrup just as they process cane sugar. In other words, the-maybe-soon-to-be-called "corn syrup", which is widely used in processed food, is not to blame for a weight intake or obesity. Because it hasn't been scientifically proven otherwise.

Okay.

That said, a Princeton University research, introduced in an article written by Hilary Parker claims otherwise: High-fructose corn syrup prompt considerably more weight gain. True or False?

Then why change the name?

Because regardless high-fructose corn syrup is singled out by some health-conscious persons. Not dietitians, but still people who just don't want it in the food they consume. HFCS is said to sound "too scientific," not natural enough... Would calling it "corn syrup" really make a difference in that case in people's minds? I am not sure. I actually doubt it would.

What do you think?

If you'd like to read more about it, check the following articles:

- Sun Sentinel Article: Corn Syrup or Corn Sugar, by David Martosko

- Princeton University ariticle: A Sweet Problem, by Hilary Parker

- An interesting blog dedicated to high-fructose corn syrup (though not updated regularly): High Fructose Makes You Fat.