Batch of links - The food version

- I can’t believe I haven’t posted this already. Here’s an article where the author basically says that she doesn’t want to cater to other children’s food allergies when bringing treats to the classroom for her child’s birthday. I can agree on two of the points she makes: 1) it sucks to have to take into consideration theoretical food restrictions (for example, “No one in my son’s class has celiac disease, but I still have to bring gluten-free treats”), and 2) it isn’t always desirable or feasible to buy allergen-free treats (as most schools won’t let you make them in your own kitchen, for fear of cross-contamination). However, I completely disagree with giving allergic kids allergen-laden treats and just hoping they don’t touch anything! A rebuttal article can be found here. To me, though, the real problem is that schools these days basically make the treats mandatory. As in, if it’s your kid’s birthday, you HAVE to bring something for all his classmates. THAT’s the insanity! Whatever happened to learning things in school, and having a birthday party on your own time on the weekends? The Bloggess remedied that situation by bringing books instead of cupcakes for her daughter’s birthday. (And while we’re at it, watch out for hidden allergens in everyday products.)

- What is the difference between natural and artificial flavors? Very informative.

- Also, stop describing your diet as “clean eating”. I see this more on Pinterest than anywhere else, and it really bugs me!

- You know how sometimes you have something going in the oven, and maybe other things on two different burners, but only one kitchen timer? Enter Thyme, an app that lets you set separate timers for various things simultaneously. (It’s $0.99 on iTunes, but seems to be free on Android.)

- This describes my friend the Legal Chef to a T.

- What ridiculous food day is your birthday?

- Here’s a very interesting article about a new food substitute called – what else? – Soylent. This isn’t a meal replacement, it’s really something that is meant to replace food. My initial reaction was, What a great way to take the fun out of eating! And out of life, while we’re at it. Upon reflecting further, though, I do see that this really inexpensive solution could be very useful in certain situations like refugee camps, famine-stricken regions, military rations, and it could even be beneficial to people who can’t afford to eat properly or who are too busy to do so. (As the creator says, this isn’t meant to replace your Sunday dinner, just your frozen quesadillas.) But if implemented on a large scale, it might eventually give way to an uncomfortable situation where only the wealthy truly eat…

- 10 foods that might be in short supply this year, and what you can use instead of lime (the ingredient people talk about most in this context).

- Research has found that the reason chocolate is good for our health may be because of flavonols that are indigestible.

- The 10 worst online reviews of the 10 best restaurants in the world. Because they can’t all be good all the time.

- Did you know there’s a small restaurant in Chicago that produces no trash?

- How your ancestors’ farms influenced your thinking - it turns out there is some truth to the stereotype that rice farming encourages collective thinking, while wheat farming encourages individualism.

- Vermont could become the first state to label GMOs.