Food in the news: Diets and no diets

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Here’s a tip for workers who brown-bag it. Avoid poisoning yourself.

Store food in the fridge as soon as you get to work. Some foods can spoil after just 2 hours.

No fridge? Use an insulated lunch bag with a cold pack, just like the kids do.

Everyone getting take out? Put the leftovers away pronto and don’t leave it sitting out all afternoon.

If you walk in to find food on a table, be sure to ask how long it’s been sitting there. Better to throw it out than throw something else.

Soda sweetener

Not sure this will save the sagging soda industry, but Diet Pepsi is changing from one artificial sweetener to two.

Gone is aspartame and in is sucralose (Splenda) and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K). But we all know what happens when you mess with a recipe — New Coke — so it might not go over too well.

Diet Coke is sticking with aspartame and funding studies that say it’s not what we eat, it’s how we don’t exercise that affects our girths. Umm ….

But here’s a study that says playing video games can block food cravings. There’s your exercise right there. Thin thumbs for everyone.

Myth busting

For folks wondering about that morning banana, a New York nutritionist says go ahead and eat it.

Contrary to a popular myth, people will not gain weight by eating bananas. People worry about the sugar content, but the nutritionist says, a banana is full of potassium, vitamin B-6, vitamin C and fiber. Better to eat a banana than a muffin.

People can also use bananas for smoothies, pancakes and more because of its natural sweetness.

Americans typically do not eat enough fruit, so a banana is a good way to get started. One banana contains about 22 percent of your recommended allowance for B-6 and about 17 percent of vitamin C. Potassium can offset a high sodium intake, as well.

Gut busting

The Iowa State Fair is weighing in with what might be the most caloric fair food yet imagined — Jalapeno Pete’s deep-fried nacho balls: six meatballs and cheese, breaded and fried, for a whopping 1,650 calories.

Iowa’s KCRG TV says it would take a 160-pound person 11 hours to walk off the calories.

Or, if you want more meat, you could try the Ultimate Bacon Explosion, 8 ounces of fresh brisket trimmings, infused with a light jalapeno cheese, blended with seasoning, wrapped in bacon, then smoked and dipped in sweet chili barbecue sauce.

And here’s one more — Corn in a cup: Sweet grilled corn from the cob, mixed with pork chorizo, butter, chayote cheese, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise and toped with “Magic Dust.”