Scary Things Our Moms Didn't Know They Needed to Be Afraid Of

Antibacterial soaps are actually bad for us.  Your refrigerator is harboring germs, mold spores and bacteria multiplying at a rapid rate.  And talcum powder? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

This week, a look at some scary foods our moms didn't know they needed to be afraid of.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it." - Gloria Swanson (US actress, 1899 - 1983)

   Scary Things Our Moms Didnt Know They Needed to Be Afraid Of by fredwine

The 5 Best Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

While canned vegetables tend to lose a lot of nutrients during the preservation process (notable exceptions include tomatoes and pumpkin), frozen vegetables may be even more healthful than some of the fresh produce sold in supermarkets, says Gene Lester, Ph.D., a plant physiologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Center in Weslaco, Texas. Why? Fruits and vegetables chosen for freezing tend to be processed at their peak ripeness, a time when - as a general rule - they are most nutrient-packed.

This week, a look at the cold, hard facts and the five best frozen fruits and vegetables.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." – Dwight D. Eisenhower (five-star general in the United States Army during World War II, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and the 34th President of the United States, 1890 - 1969)

   The 5 Best Frozen Fruits and Vegetables by fredwine

5 Things You Might Not Have Known About God And Beer

More on religion and beer...just because.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." – John Muir (naturalist, explorer, and writer, 1838-1914)

   God And Beer – Five Things You Might Not Have Known About by fredwine

To Stave Off Decline, Churches Attract New Members With Beer

With mainline religious congregations dwindling across America, a scattering of churches is trying to attract new members by creating a different sort of Christian community. They are gathering around craft beer.

Some church groups are brewing it themselves, while others are bring the Holy Mysteries to a taproom. The result is not sloshed congregants; rather, it's an exploratory approach to do church differently.

To doubters, the Beer & God crowd has this pop quiz. What was the first miracle Jesus performed? Turning water into wine.

This week, a look at religion and beer.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807 - 1882

   To Stave Off Decline, Churches Attract New Members With Beer by fredwine

How 17th Century Fraud Gave Rise To Bright Orange Cheese

Kraft, that behemoth of a food company, announced a few weeks ago they were removing two artificial dyes in some versions of its macaroni and cheese products. Why did we start coloring cheeses orange to begin with?

This week, a look at the curious history here of coloring cheese.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "Christmas Time is here again, Ain't been round since you know when..." - The Beatles, "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)

   How 17th Century Fraud Gave Rise to Bright Orange Cheese by fredwine

7 Foods That Won’t Be the Same If Trans Fats Are Banned

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is moving toward significantly limiting–more or less banning–trans fats from foods in the US.  The agency decided that trans fats are not safe for human health, and shouldn’t be in foods we eat.

Many companies have already rid their foods of trans fats, and New York City even banned trans fat from restaurant food in 2006.

This week, a look at foods that rely on trans fats and some predictions from industry experts about how these foods will change.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If the sun has faded away, I'll try to make it shine." - The Beatles, "Any Time At All" (Lennon-McCartney)

   7 Foods That Won’t Be the Same If Trans Fats Are Banned by fredwine

The Surprising History of the Pencil

"Take out your No. 2 pencils for Iowa Test of Basic Skills."  There are many things about grade school that no longer haunt me, but a call for pencils will make my stomach churn in a flash.  Rigidly timed, complicated instructions and inflexible rules made standardized test taking very different from normal classroom life.  And while it was not the cause of the anxiety, the No. 2 yellow pencil, the easily remembered visual associated with those tests, gets the blame. 

This week, a look at the history of the pencil.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Take a sad song and make it better." – The Beatles, "Hey Jude" (Lennon-McCartney)

   The Surprising History of the Pencil by fredwine