Wal-Mart Reducing Salt?!

Okay, fine.  My triumphant return wasn't all that triumphant. It wasn't even a return.  More like dropping in for a brief "hullo."  And now, in a boy-who-cried-wolf sort of way, this time won't be quite so triumphant.  But I'm fine with that.

As most of you know, I kinda dig salt.  It's sorta my thing.  I also like ginormous corporations that provide cheap goods at the expense of small businesses.  That's Capitalism.  That's Wal-mart.

But guess what?  Wal-mart is cutting down on the salt, sugar, and fat content in 165 of its private label foods.

 

But wait, Mr. President!  Wal-mart said last year that it was joining Michelle Obama's initiative to fight obesity, and, well, this is how.  So no complaining.

Now, I can live with the less sugar thing.  Sugar's overrated.  It's unhealthy.  But to lump salt in with sugar, just because it's white and granular?  Bollocks. 

Of course, all this means is that products sold under the Marketside and Great Value labels will have less sugar, salt, and fat.  Big deal, right?  (I can just never buy those products again...)

In conjunction with this reductive measure, Wal-mart will also be labeling foods with a "Great for You" icon if they meet a certain nutritional criteria.  Customers will also find that many healthy products will be priced cheaper.  For example, whole wheat pasta is now the same price as white pasta, and some healthy dairy products have seen price reductions.

Which is actually pretty nice.



Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/wal-mart-to-reduce-sugar-fat-salt-in-some-private-label-foods.html 

The Glorious Return!

To those who read my blog, it may have seemed like I fell off the face of the Earth.  Well, I did.  I hitched a ride on the turtle that carries the planet on the elephants on its back, and let me tell you, turtles are slow creatures.  Even giant space turtles.  That's what took me so long.

Some very interesting things out there in space, you know...

So I have a lot of catching up to do.  A big long list.  For example, I missed writing about New Year's.  One of my resolutions was to commit to a schedule for this blog.  Guess what?  I didn't.

I was also going to write about, for anyone resolving to eat healthier this year, how salt isn't as unhealthy as it's often made out to be.  Well, January 1st was 25 days ago, and I have no idea what those articles were.  I'll find them.

What's happened since I've been gone...?  Ah, yes!  SOPA finally got the attention it deserves, and the people of America -- nay, the WORLD! -- secured a temporary victory.  Unfortunately for me, all of the attention SOPA was getting eclipsed the attention given to a different bill, which, as luck would have it, spelled out the same acronym.  SOPA, or the "Salt On Pretty much Anything" bill was lost amid a flurry of protest.  I'm actually surprised that it didn't go through, considering so many people on Capitol Hill are old and salty (not to be confused with old salts).

Anywho...

Not just any who -- Cindy Lou Who!

But actually, anywho, this post isn't terribly substantial.  It's just an indication that, well, I'm back.

So there.

Salt Crystal Christmas Trees

It's Christmas Eve, everyone.  And for those of you who didn't know, that means tomorrow is...

CHRISTMAS!

So I bring you all a very salty Christmas project.  It's a festive twist on the old salt crystal project that's so common at elementary school science fairs.  If you start it tonight, it should be ready by Christmas morning.

Here's what you'll need:

• Non-corrugated Cardboard
• Bluing
• Ammonia*
• Table Salt, britches!
• Food Coloring*
• Measuring Spoon
• Bowl
• Water
• Scissors

*optional but recommended

Here's what you do:

• Cut some tree shapes out of the cardboard. Put slits in them like so:

•  Slide the two pieces together to make a standy-uppy tree like this:

• Put a bit of food coloring on the branches of the tree, if desired.

•  Now, mix the heck out of
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. bluing
• 1/2 tbsp. household ammonia

(The ammonia is not necessary, but it speeds up the process by a lot. Without it, this might take a couple of days to start working.)

• Stand the tree in the solution and watch it grow!

Obviously, this is very Christmassy.  The shape that you use can be anything, provided it stands up.  I missed the beginning of Hanukkah (sorry, Hasidic Plumber!), but it's still going on, so if you're ambitious with scissors you could probably pull off a menorah.  A Star of David would work well too, with some yellow food coloring or something.  Or for anyone wanting to go the non-affiliated route, a generic snowman would suffice.

There's loads of stuff to do, so use your imaginations, folks.  Happy Holidays!