Zimmern and Bourdain and Deen...OH MY!

Over a week ago I happened upon an article on my Yahoo homepage about Anthony Bourdain and the comments he made publicly about Paula Deen. Now before I go anywhere else with this article, Bourdain is a very outspoken man and we all know that. Like my fellow blogger said, we shouldn't expect anything less from him. In fact, it's what we expect of him. Needless to say he basically said that she was the worst and most dangerous person to America. And this is true...to an extent.

My fellow blogger pointed out to me and other readers that there are some opinions on this spat that I would not have seen. Not long after this came out, Andrew Zimmern commented on the Deen-Bourdain fight on his blog. He gave commentary up and down the board, practically praising Bourdain for his harsh criticism and down-playing Deen and other TV-chef personalities for their lack of concern in the health of the nation. In the first paragraph of his article, he points out the flaws in the nation (economic class) and yet blames "Deen & Co." (as they're coined) for continuing to make the nation more unhealthy.

But let's read the article some more. Like I said, he gives Bourdain all of the props in the world for using his voice to platform an epidemic that is sweeping the nation: obesity. He literally "shames" Deen for not using her power to help change the way average Americans eat.

And here is where my issue lies. Deen is a very influential woman and is the voice for the average American family. I don't know about some Americans but fresh ingredients can be expensive. I am a product of a well-cultured environment and I am able to afford the healthy things, but not everyone can. I hate to be repetitive, but has he seen the economy? Some people can't afford to eat like he does. I wish I had a fraction of his salary. I would be at Whole Foods all the time, but I can't afford to spend $80 for one meal for 2 people. He can. He has to take a step back and look at who Deen's audience is and what they can afford. Now, Deen clearly says that she cooks for the average family who can't afford expensive ingredients.

I understand where Deen is coming from, but I also understand where Bourdain stands as well. Because Deen is so well-known, she could use her "power" to ignite a change in her intended audience. She should not be blamed for the obesity of EVERY American. That's not her place. The 'weight' of the nation should not be on her own shoulders. It's not fair. We all know that Deen uses mayo in quite a few of her recipes. What I would suggest for Deen is possibly switch out mayo for something else. But I want to see if my theory is correct when it comes to cost. Let's just do a price comparison for a second. On walgreens.com, a jar of Hellman's Mayonnaise costs $7.49 for a 30oz. jar. A jar of Hellman's Light Mayonnaise costs the same amount but has 8oz. less. Already, a consumer is going to purchase the bigger jar for the same price. Now let's look at the calories. Regular mayo has 90 calories for 1 tablespoon and 35 calories per 1 tablespoon of the light mayo. Deen could break it to her audience that a substitute would be better for their health. In an article, Frank Bruni claims that unhealthy food is a personal choice. But as I stated earlier, it sometimes is the only way to feed the family.

Like my fellow blogger said, everything in moderation. While this is true, food items that are high in fat will ultimately hurt the people in the long run. But like she (lululovesdumpling) said, Zimmern doesn't quite fit into the skinny group himself. So how does he have the right to be so brash against Deen? He has a platform himself and yet doesn't exercise his social responsibility to educate his devoted audience. I must admit that I am a huge fan of his show (Bizarre Foods), but after reading his attack on Deen and jumping on Bourdain's bandwagon, I am looking at him in a different light. Not once does he stand up and play devil's advocate for both sides, but he beats down Deen for her place in the TV-chef realm. In fact, he spends one WHOLE paragraph on the ways we can change our health.

What good does one whole paragraph do to help change the obesity problem facing this nation? Nothing. Zimmern should practice what he preaches instead of standing on the sunken soap box of Bourdain.



*I know this entry may seem a little misguided, but my intentions were to play devil's advocate.

Sources: Zimmern's Blog
LuluLovesDumpling's Blog

Book Review: The Dorm Room Diet by Daphne Oz

The Dorm Room Diet by Daphne Oz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The intended audience for this book is a few years younger than myself, but I am a college student and have fallen into the trap of eating pre-packaged foods because it's convenient. This book is an easy read and often repeats the same tips over and over again in different chapters. While this may be good to some, it was quite annoying to me. While the information is not the best, it is easy to understand and Daphne breaks it down as simple as she can.



View all my reviews

Book Buying Ban - Revisited

So remember my last entry that said I was going to embark on a book-buying ban? Yeah, well I haven't purchased any books since then...especially since I don't have any money. To fill you in on the progress of the books I am 'slated' to have finished this summer, I have not completed 1 single book. O M GEEZ! Why is it that I have not completed a single book, you ask? Because it's summer! I remember years ago when I would do absolutely nothing during the summer and at least 2 times a week I am out doing things with friends. However, in my free time I am usually reading because I don't really watch tv. I save all of my tv watching for when school starts. Half of the time, my laptop does not even come on. This is the first it's been on in 4 days! I usually watch youtube and that's all I really do. I also keep up with blogs as much as I can (though not my own).

As usual, I am stressing about money yet again as I have to pay rent September 1 for my apartment back at school. I have a summer job, but they don't pay me nearly as much as my store in Riverside. I am basically poor and can't buy clothes or shoes or anything! What kind of life do I lead, really? A life of boredom. Hahaa, it's not boring at all. I love my life. If only others could love their own and quit being so negative. But that's a whole 'nother entry. I'll save that for a night when I am not falling asleep at the keys.

*yawn* *stretch*

Alright. That's my cue from my bed.
Goodnight. I'll hit you up soon (hopefully). At least I'm not promising anything...

Book Buying Ban

I know that I haven't been on here in months. I was in school and am now enjoying the summer. There has been a lot of drama and I'm still in the midst of that too. When it all blows over and when I feel like I am ready to divulge details (if I even feel like divulging) I will most definitely be back to let you know what it is that I have been experiencing and how it all turns out.

Just so all of you know, I like to spend the entire summer reading. Can you believe that I have not started yet? I am so far behind! I happened to be on youtube (which is literally an addiction) and saw that one of my subscribers embarked on a 'Book Buying Ban' for the summer. One thing that I've found is that avid readers buy books any chance they can, regardless of what they already have on their shelves. These avid purchasers of books go through their books and pick 10 books to read before they can buy more. They also pick a couple of alternative books to counter some of the choices they have that they may not be able to finish for whatever reason. And they also have a couple choices that don't count all the way because they were books that were started but never completed.

I have decided to take on this challenge, but I don't think that I even have 10 books to read. Because I am up at school, I usually have other books to read for classes and such. Now that I am home, I can read whatever I want.

I am working at my old store here at home in Irvine and I am working with a girl who happens to be an English major (and African American Studies major)! This is good news to me because we bonded over a new writer that a professor of mine, Stephanie Hammer, introduced me to. Haruki Murakami. THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE was one of my favorite books as well as THE DEW BREAKER by Edwidge Danticat. Back to the task at hand...here are the books that I have slated to conquer this summer:

I started reading this book a long time ago and never finished. My goal is to finish it!

That's it for all of the books right now. It's a lot to conquer.

San-ity Fran-kly

I had been planning for a few months to take a mini vacation to San Francisco with my best friend, Erica. And this weekend was that trip.

So here's the whole run-down:
This quarter has just been a barrel full of mess! For the past few weeks, I have just about had enough of people and their drama. This all started with my cousin who basically said a lot of messed up things about my family and me and lied in order to make herself look better in the eyes of the Pastor of my church (that's all to make a long story short). People at school have just been putting their two-cents into my business when it doesn't belong. I finally came to the realization about 2 weeks ago, that people have been taking my niceness for granted and stomping all over me. Well no more.

Basically, this San Francisco trip couldn't have come at a better time. While in the car, I was just playing my ipod in order to pass the time and keep me and Erica awake for the 7 hour drive. There was lots of singing and dancing (in the seat, of course).

Friday night, we took a dinner cruise in the Bay and had a really good time. It was awesome. We sailed under the Bay Bridge, around Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge and came back. It was lovely. The downside of this fabulous evening, was the fact that we got back to the parking garage and the grate was pulled down. Apparently, the garage closed promptly at 10p and we didn't get back to it until 1045-ish. The sign said that we needed to call the number on the door and pay $50 for someone to come back and open the door. I didn't really care because I didn't want to 1)wait for a taxi or 2)pay for the taxi that night and then in the morning to come back and get the car. It wasn't that kind of serious to me. Before I could even dial the number, a man happened to be inside the garage and asked if we wanted to pay the $50 to get the car out and without hesitation, Erica and I said "yes". We walked to the car, drove to the exit and the man said he would only charge us $20. I had no problem with that. I can definitely tell you that it was God's grace.

We went back to the hotel and went to sleep since we had a reservation to go on the Alcatraz tour at 1030a Saturday.
Saturday started out okay until I decided to text roommate about noise issue. This went back and forth for awhile until I finally said that I couldn't take it anymore and that if the situation wasn't rectified, there would be grave consequences. I didn't let that issue damper my day. Went to Alcatraz and had a most surreal experience and then went to China Town for lunch at Four Seas Restaurant for Dim Sum. After we ate, we HAD to go shopping in China Town. We walked around for awhile and I purchased many things and of course had to carry them all the say back to the hotel.

Our hotel was on Lombard Street and if you know San Francisco at all, you know that this is the hilly-survy street. I wanted to walk the length of the curve but psyched myself out because I didn't see a sidewalk. Instead, we walked around it and ended up taking Chestnut (which runs parallel to Lombard). While walking up the steep hill, I was getting out of breath (toll of the stress on my body and the lack of energy in keeping up my health) and carrying that heavy bag wasn't helping. I stopped halfway up the hill and wanted to throw the bag in the air and just watch it fall all over the place. But I didn't do it.

In retrospect, this bag represented the weight of people's problems that I carry around with me all the time. It's the emotional baggage I've been carrying around for months. Everyone's disappointment in me (for whatever reason), my niceness. After getting back to the hotel, I realized that I didn't want to do this nice thing anymore. I'm tired of people stepping all over me and then wonder why I am responding the way that I am. Now you know. If I'm not talking to you, it's because I just need to remove myself from your drama and not help you anymore. I help because I want to, not because someone is paying me to. So don't take advantage of my niceness anymore. I am officially taking matters into my own hands and am not going to be nice about situations anymore. You may hate me for it, but this is for my sanity, frankly.

Breaking Up

Breaks up are hard.
Especially if you've been with someone since you were 17.

To my dearest roommate, I am here for you if you need me. Lay it all on me and I will help you carry the load.