First EVER All-Vegetarian McDonald's in India

McDonald's in Kashmir, India

An all vegetarian McDonald's was introduced in India and is located infront of a temple. Since it is opened in front of a temple where people are mostly Hindus meaning that they are restricted from eating meat on Tuesday and Fridays. McDonald's has a variety of vegetarian meals for Hindus to choose from instead of limiting them to their normal religious foods such as; roti, boori, rice and such.  McDonald's is planning to open another vegetarian location near the Hindu site of Vaishno Devi cave in Indian Kashmir. I think this has brought such a big change to the Indian eating lifestyle. Sooner or later they would be eat more McDonald's and gradually forget about the rice and roti and will become in the same situation as Americans with high risks of obesity and such. Although the introduction of McDonald's in India may be a good idea, it also has serious reprecussions for the citizens of India in the future. America as we all know have many people that are obese and suffer from many chronic medical conditions such as; obesity and type 2 diabetes. And most of these are caused by the fast food industry one of which is McDonald's.  When this is western diet is introduced in other countries they are also going to be prone to these medical conditions as well. In my honest opinion I feel that this isn't a good idea that McDonald's has imposed as it strips away Hindus from their religious foods and makes them adapt to a dangerous diet like this.

What's in Fast Food Chicken? (Hint: It's NOT CHICKEN!)

Have you guys ever wondered what's in your fast food chicken? It's definitely not chicken guys! I know so many of you love McDonald's chicken McNuggets, but sorry to break it to you, but after you read this you wouldn't want to buy this ever again. Companies add dimethlpolysiloxane. What a huge word right? This substance is am anti-foaming agent made of silicone that is also used in cosmetics. Another chemical that is added is tertiary butlxhydroquinone. "This causes nausea, vomitting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse" Now do you want to eat these delicious nuggets? I guess not! Kids be aware that what you consume is not 100 percent orginal or has no preservatives added to it, rather it has many chemicals added that can be harmful to the human body. There is only 50 percent chicken in the chicken mcnugget meaning that the other 50 percent is made up of hazardous substances. I believe people are so encouraged to buy fast food because of the convience and the cost is so cheap that they rarely make fresh healthy meals at home. More people have to start cutting there consumption of fast foods and begin eating healthy meals, because who knows what they add in the other products at McDonald's!

Diet Soda makes you FAT

Just like me there are people that have quit drinking coke assuming that diet coke is a great alternative, but what consumers do no is that diet coke still makes you gain weight, and this is how. Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center has should strong evidence that diet soda may make us fat. The more diet soda a person consumes the fatter they get. Researchers have concluded  those that are drinking only diet soda gained more weight than those drinking regular soda. "41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day" (Foodie Buzz). I think that diet soda and regular soda as a whole could be avoided. What people don't know is that when they consume diet coke, it produces gastric juice that makes us feel hungry. Another thing that consumers do not know is when we drink coke the body produces insulin to help blood flow, but when we drink diet coke there is no actual sugar that goes into the body. My opinion is that diet coke and regular coke can be replaced by other alternatives like fruit juice and water. They are getting the wrong impression that "diet" means that it is healthier than original products. So stop drinking diet coke, because you might as well be drinking regular coke.

http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/diet-soda-makes-you-fat.html

Top 10 Strangest Foods from around the World

Fried Brain Sandwiches

Balut

Hagis

Did you know there are so many foods all over the world that you might not of heard of. These foods aren't the most delicious, but for sure they are the most strangest. Caution: YOU MAY LOSE YOUR APETITE! The strangest foods include; fried brain sandwiches, hagis, balut, etc. Fried brain sandwiches already sounds as gross as it is. You could guess how this dish is made. Basically it is a calves brain fried and placed between two thinly sliced bread. This dish sold in certain parts of America including; Missouri, USA and St. Louis . How are such gross dishes sold and marketed to consumers? In my opinion I believe people should take a risk and try new things before they judge a specific meal. Of course  a meal would sound disgusting. When you hear fried brain sandwiches you probably would be grossed out, but once you give it a try it could probably be one of the most amaziest thing you have tasted by far. Balut is another dish which is listed in the top 10 strangest foods around the world. This dish consists of a fertilized duck or chicken egg with a undeveloped embryo. My friend Aaron which I showed this article stated that he ate this when he travelled to the Phillipines over the summer. He told me that it actually tasted good, it wasn't as horrible as it sounded. From the observation of this article I could say a mean can have the grossest name, but the best taste ever! So try something new guys!

http://www.moolf.com/interesting/top-ten-strangest-foods-from-around-the-world.html

Surprise! Your Starbucks strawberry smoothie has bugs in it

Let's talk about our most favorite drink we all love to enjoy at Starbucks, the Strawberry Frappucinos. Have you ever thought of why the color of the smoothie is the color it is? Perhaps it's the red dye that makes the smoothie have such a beautiful pink tone to it. After reading this article I have also found out what actually makes the Starbucks smoothie so rich in color. And yes guys it's not red dye. It's a red dye made from crushed bugs, and not any bugs but beetles! So what do you think happens to all those vegetarians out there that have consumed the Starbucks Crème Frappucino? It states that there was no source of information about the red colorant in the smoothie. Cross-contamination is present in this situation as Starbucks cannot guarantee a pure drink for vegans. Now looking at not only Starbucks let's look at other products that you use everyday. It says there are also cochineal extract which is used since the 15th century. This is used in many dairy products, and guess what many other products have cochineal extract. What all girl's wear when they start their teenage years, cosmetics. Starbuck's president Cliff Burrows made an apology to all the vegans and other vegetarians about the company's usage of cochineal insect extract and has promised to use alternative natural ingredients for the drinks. To me there is no real big surprise here though. The cochineal extract has also been used in many American products just like how I mentioned before it's also used in cosmetics. Other products this extract is used in is Yoplait yogurts and Kellogg's Pop tart flavors.  I think that business people should inform the public about the ingredients in certain products so that they know exactly what's used to make these. Companies should be charged for their mistake as it affects everyone.

http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/stocks/articles/SBUX-Starbucks-vegans-cochineal-extra-bugs/3/30/2012/id/40161

After 5,000 deaths , Bloomberg finally finds a solution for OBESITY!

So it was Monday morning and Mr. Stevenson was passing out a newspaper article. And you could expect a newspaper article to be quite boring. But shockingly, the article captured my interest. I just got to tell people about this. As this article was talking about the New York City Board of Health has approved a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters. The point of this ban in my opinion is to encourage health. Sadly this is what has to be done. Although it is an individual’s right to eat and drink whatever they want. The US had tried pointing out the potential dangers of overeating and weight gain, but no one took the awareness into consideration. So that is why the New York Board of Health reached to this decision. Also it states that treating obesity medically is very expensive and leads to health complications. There are way to many deaths occurring in the states, and if we don't change now then your kids will be at risk to dying before the elder. This should be a main concern to everyone! People may argue about how it is their right to 40oz of sugar water. Right now you could do that in one huge container. This is a great step to change. According to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s idea it will now take2 times smaller containers. If Bloomberg did not think about this idea, Americans will continue to suffer from obesity and costs for medical procedures will continue to increase. "This is the single biggest step any city, I think, has ever taken" (Bloomberg, New York Times).

http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/stocks/articles/SBUX-Starbucks-vegans-cochineal-extra-bugs/3/30/2012/id/40161

What's for Dinner? Crickets, Bugs & Grubs !!! *YUCK

Crickets and bugs being served at a Chinese restaurant in Japan

Have you heard about this shocking news?! According to The New York Times there has been a wide variety of scientists that claim crickets, caterpillars and grubs are high in protein and minerals which could be a food source during emergencies. How gross! I think that there are way more edible things in the world that contain protein, than insects. There are other things such as; tuna, cheese, pumpkin, squash. What’s even more surprising is that a German biologist V.B. Meyer-Rochow, who eats insects wore a T-shirt with a Harlequin longhorn beetle to a UN-sponsored conference promoting bugs as a food source. I know he loves bugs, but is wearing a bug outfit really the way to go? If Thailand wants to eat bugs I think they should feel free to, but they should  not try to introduce these small bug food operations in other countries like Canada. I'm sure we wouldn't want to eat insects for breakfast and grubs for dinner. I think the UN Food and Agriculture Organization should take a survey from each province and go by the decision of the majority. Then only could they allow bugs to be sold in markets. Who agrees with me? Whoever thought about this idea clearly did not take people's opinion into consideration. Without us knowing they will probably start sell snakes and tiger body parts claiming that these animals will be a good source of protein and fibers. One of my  good friends have already seen bugs being crushed and sold in some stores at Scarborough Town Center. If anyone agrees with bugs being sold, please comment!

WELCOME TO LAVANYA'S BLOG ! (:

          HEY HEY HEY ! Guess who it is ! It's your favorite classmate Lavanya & I am in the grade 12 Food & Nutrition class blogging about some of the awesome experiences I will be having in Mr. Stevenson's class. Let me tell you how fun it would be to follow my blog. You could  read about some of the many most amazing meals I had at one of my favorite restaurants, the shocking news I have read in the daily paper, and many more. Keep following on my weekly posts, because I will be looking forward to your replies on some of the most interesting topics that I will be presenting on my blog. Hope you enjoy ! Stay tuned next for the shocking news I read in the New York Times paper :-#

- Lavanya.S <3