The Fat Acceptance Movement: A Dangerous Precedence?

This week, I read about a woman in NJ named Donna Simpson, a 600+ pound woman whose fantasy is to reach 1000 pounds. Ms. Simpson recently applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to be listed as the world's heaviest birth mother; three years ago, she gave birth to her daughter, with the help of a 30-person medical team called in to help with her high-risk C-section. Now she's gearing up to attempt to become the world's most massive mom. She admits she has tried to lose weight in the past, but ultimately came to the conclusion “It's a struggle for me to be thin, and I've said if it's such a struggle it must not be natural, so I refuse to do the battle anymore." Amazingly, her 150-pound husband is encouraging her in this endeavor.

One of the stories about Ms. Simpson stood out to me in particular, from CBS.com, advising that Ms. Simpson has become an outspoken advocate of the Fat Acceptance movement. I had never heard of this movement before, so I decided to look into it.

Recipe: Chicken Paprikash (or Csirke Paprikás)

I've been promising this recipe for awhile now. I know I keep talking about Chicken Paprikash, and how wonderfully satisfying it is, well, now you can see for yourself! This is such a simple recipe: 5 major ingredients, throw 'em in the crockpot before work, and when you come home, you'll have dinner on the table in 20 minutes!

Social Dangers of Being a Foodie

Being a foodie can be dangerous.

We are by nature inquisitive and analytical, and we're always looking for an idea or recipe to take and make our own. We look at food in restaurants and think "How can I re-create this at home?" We consider what we would change, how we can make things better.

This can be hard to shut off when you are, say, invited to a friend's home for dinner. Dining at someone's home is very different from dining in a restaurant. In a restaurant, you are allowed to be critical, maybe not openly to the chef, but you can go online, and pick the dish apart on your next post, without any real fear of retribution. By putting out a dish, and making you pay for it, the chef thereby opens their dish up to criticism, and interpretation.

The Tomato Diaries

News Flash: People don't eat their veggies!

I think a big reason why people tend to not eat their fruits and veggies comes down to a pretty simple explanation: they don't like them! I know, it's a major shock. But here's the thing. For the past 60 years or so, food production has gotten out of the hands of locals, and into the hands of big mega-super-duper-markets. Seasons no longer matter; you can get virtually any shippable produce anywhere, anytime. This is where the problem lies. If you pick a tomato while it's still green, for instance, then ship it to a market, and expect some mom to convince little Johnny "Sweetie, it's good for you," well I'm sorry, but if I were little Johnny, I'd say no dice!