I've got mail!

You may remember my post about Yogi Tea and their natural flavors. In trying out some of their other flavors I’ve wondered how natural they are. For instance, I saw on their “Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut” list of flavors, they put “natural butterscotch flavor”. They claim that their natural flavors are derived from bark, leaves, herbs, etc., but I had no idea that there were butterscotch trees! Well, only in Tahiti, I guess.

I wrote to the Yogi company back in March and today I got a reply. It surprised me a little, because I had forgotten exactly what I had asked them about! Well, since I’ve only gotten in the habit of writing to food companies in relation to potential allergens, I had a slight idea.

The email was very informative and more in depth than most of the emails I have received in the past. It starts off with the fact Yogi takes “a very conservative stand whenever individual health issues, especially when allergies and intolerances are concerned.” That statement is so nice I’m willing to forgive the missing comma. They state that none of their natural flavors contain the FDA’s list of 8 major allergens, however some teas do contain barley and this ingredient is listed on the label. The sucrose they use is derived from sugar beets and sugar cane, not corn, however they are not sure if the producers of their natural flavors process corn derivatives with the same equipment as the Yogi ones. Yogi explains that “Corn is not considered one of the FDA’s 8 major allergens so manufacturers do not have to list it on their allergen statements; therefore we cannot guarantee that the natural flavors do not come into contact with corn derivatives, indirectly.”

As I’ve mentioned before, the corn issue isn’t the biggest cause for concern. I think if my boyfriend really wanted he could drink this tea, however with finals coming up he won’t risk the chance of having a reaction.

I’m quite pleased with the response I got from Yogi, however I wish they had this information on their website. With more and more people seeming to develop allergies, you’d expect the customer service reps to get tired of typing out these responses. However, despite the fact that I had to contact the company directly, it was worth it: they are going to send me two complimentary tea bags! Okay, fine it’s only two bags of tea. However, being in college means I’m willing to except anything free, even if it’s a button. They give you a choice of different “paired” sets of tea bags, the pairs having names like “Delicously Energizing” and “Nurturing Mother”. I chose the “Immunity” pair, which contains an Echinacea blend and also kombucha. I have no idea how bagged kombucha is going to taste, but I’m intrigued. And besides, it’s free.

(image from here. And no, that's Meg Ryan. Not me)

My pants are sexist, and yours are too

This isn't a food related issue, and although I want this blog to be primarily about food, I also want to raise some other issues that are interesting.

For instance: have you ladies out there ever been annoyed by the fact that your pants pockets are about 2 inches deep? I have. If there are pockets in my pants, why aren't they useful? A few times I have tucked my phone in my pockets only to have it slip out just because of the normal movements of my leg. Almost as bad is when you put some change in your pocket and have to wrestle with it because your pocket is too tight.

Why is this? Well, I've come to realize that it is probably a result of the internalized "female" image our society has. Nearly all women are seen carrying some sort of bag these days, and in this bag we are supposed to carry our phones, over sized wallets, water bottles, small dogs, you name it. Even if we cut it down to the bare minimum items of wallet and cell phone (and maybe an iPod), you just can't shove those into your pockets. Instead you are supposed to buy a purse and use that to carry your stuff.

This could be the result of having typically "feminine" clothing items, such as dresses and skirts, not having pockets. Through most of history it seems that sort of detachable pockets such as this:

were used, however with the gradual acceptance of women wearing historically "men's wear" (ie pants), you might expect them to be a bit more unisex. Nope, instead we can wear pants but still have the privilege of being encumbered by an over sized bag.

Personally, I think the reason women's pants pockets aren't functional is because we are still supposed to maintain some portion of our girlish figures even garbed in men's attire. Our pants are typically tighter and you can see every curve, so the bulge of a Blackberry on the front of the thigh might not be seen as appealing.

As women, we are expected to follow (if not actively, then at least passively) the current trends in clothing based on what we are able to buy in stores. Currently, that trend is skinny jeans which, let's face it, only look good on a few people. However, since that is "in" at the time and there are almost no baggier sizes, we are forced to go with the ones so tight that if you could fit a quarter into the back pocket, you could probably read the date. By buying these pants, you are conforming with the current image of what a "woman" is in society and there is no space for function (literally) within that frame.

Why have room for your wallet when it will only make your ass look bigger? If it were any bigger, you couldn't fit into these pants. Go buy yourself a coach purse you could use as a flotation device to make yourself smaller by comparison. Why don't you have one already?

(image taken from here)
I know that it isn't an authentic colonial pocket, but it's the same style.

Curds and What?

Healthy snacks. You may think it’s allergen safe. When looking at a vending machine and all you see are Ritz Bitz and Jax cheese puffs, Smart Food may seem like your savior. After all, it doesn’t appear to have been altered. That white powder is from the white cheese, you tell yourself. Also, it says “smart” right there on the label. I must be making the right choice. To my boyfriend, SmartFood is the devil. I mean, after all it’s cheese-covered corn! You may be only getting 100 calories for that little snack pack, but you’re also ingesting potential allergens.

I assumed that all foods labeled as healthy would be just that: healthy. Slowly but surely I’m realizing that you not only have to look at what’s left out of it (like obvious chemical preservatives and colors), but also what’s actually inside of it.

For instance, I recently opened a box of Special K Cracker Chips in the sea salt flavor. In my defense, my mom got them for me, however after seeing the commercial I was also swayed into thinking that they would be the right choice for a snack. I was expecting potential allergens, for instance soy or even gluten. I wasn’t expecting so many. Let’s take a look:

“Potatoes, potato starch, long grain brown rice flour, soybean oil (with TBHQ for freshness), whole yellow corn meal, oat fiber, contains two percent or less of sea salt, monoglycerides, salt, wheat flour, defatted soy flour, sesame flour, whey, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citric acid, soy lecithin.”

Wow. Eight allergens, counting citric acid for its corn potential. Not to mention the preservative in the soybean oil. Now, if you don’t have any of these allergies or intolerances this is probably still a healthy product for you. However, I just wanted to emphasize just how omnipresent the allergens are. I mean, we hit the four major ones: gluten, casein, corn, and soy. We also brushed the mold allergy with sesame flour because sesame can contain some amounts of mold just like all seeds and nuts.

I was very surprised to see whey on the list. Wasn’t this supposed to be the sea salt flavor? Why in the heck would you need it? I was expecting potato and rice flours and perhaps some corn and/or soy oil! Apparently whey is a common additive in food and is difficult for people with lactose-intolerance. Although my boyfriend has casein-intolerance, we go through similar motions as those avoiding lactose in foods. I guess whey can be as sneaky as corn when it wants to be.

http://www.nowhey.org/whey.htm

(image from here)

a lovey-dovey post

Although most of my life seems to be preoccupied with what my boyfriend can and cannot eat, the truth is that I don’t follow the same diet. Although I eat his food when we are together, when I am alone my diet is full of the unhealthy things college students are supposed to eat. In fact, as I type this I am eating one of my Mexican cookies. I made two batches, which equals four sticks of butter, eight cups of flour, two cups of confectioner’s sugar, and two teaspoons of vanilla extract which is probably made with alcohol.

Now before people start calling “hypocrite”, let me reiterate that my boyfriend’s diet is due to intolerances toward certain food products. I am not pretending to go along with a lifestyle choice and then secreting “unsafe” food behind my back. On days when I see him, I go allergen-free so that there is no risk of contamination. I don’t eat “unsafe” food around him and if by chance I have eaten any allergens or potential allergens before I see him, I brush my teeth carefully and floss to make sure that there are no food particles hiding.

There is, however, the fact that even if my boyfriend could eat gluten and all the other allergens, he would still avoid the processed foods that so many of us depend on. I would be lying if I said that at the end of an allergen-free weekend I’ve never craved fluorescent orange food. As soon as my boyfriend has said goodbye I race to the vending machines for some Cheetos and an orange Fanta. However, I feel guilty about it. I know that these foods are terrible for me and even though my boyfriend isn’t with me, they would still be harmful to him.

That is why I’m glad that I met him. I don’t have a lot of self-control when it comes to my eating habits and in the past I have always ignored the fact that most of the food I eat is bad for me. Having the food actually be harmful to someone else puts it into a new perspective. I’ve found that when I’m with my boyfriend and someone offers me a chocolate chip cookie, I can say no without batting an eye. If I was alone, however, I would rip the cookie out of their hands and then go through their pockets looking for more. Although sometimes it gets tough at the end of a weekend when all I am craving is red 40 and yellow 12, I still won’t consider eating them until my boyfriend is safely out of harm’s way. And then I buy a 3 Musketeers for being so resilient.

For everyone who is in a relationship with someone with a food allergy, take it as an opportunity to get creative with cooking. You may end up trying combinations of ingredients you would have never considered before or discovering new foods. You might even get better at coming up with recipes on the spot. Even tweaking the recipes you know to accommodate allergies can be a fun challenge. I am extremely grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to cook during college, and the fact that I get to do it with my boyfriend makes it even better.