Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Two words: Junk food.

If you're looking for a conveniently-packaged 100 calorie snack, why not eat an apple (~72 calories) or an orange (~86 calories)? Want less carbs and more protein? Try a cup of yogurt (low fat with fruit, ~115 calories) or a stick of string cheese (~80 calories) or a hard boiled egg (~76 calories).

All the above are easy, tasty, snack foods with the benefit of less packaging and less processing. High fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and processed foods aren't good for your diet whether they come in calorie packages of 1,000 or 100.

Aside from that, yay! Congrats on the continued weight loss.

For the most part, I agree with what Brody says. When it comes to prohibited items though, she writes: "Raw fish and shellfish, a possible source of the parasite Toxoplasma that can cause fetal blindness and brain damage." I have never seen this anywhere, though if I had I might have reconsidered eating raw oysters. Sushi is frozen, which kills the parasites.

Another confusing point she makes regards soft, unpasteurized cheeses. Unpasteurized soft cheese is illegal in the US, so the chances of a pregnant woman ingesting it are pretty slim, unless she's making a concerted effort to do so.

And I don't know why she lists prohibitions without explaining the logic behind it. Raw sprouts? I'd like to know why.

There's a German-sounding brand that is sold by the box at Stop-n-Shop that I love. I can't for the life of me come up with the name, but it's on the meat section, the dogs are linked together, and come probably twenty to a box. Really yummy. I've bought them on Nantucket lots of times. Any one have any idea of the brand?

Josh, you might want to talk to the farmers and get more information about the meat to understand why it's more expensive. You say it's organic. Are the animals grass-fed or corn-fed? Are they fairly free range or confined to feed lots? Are the ranchers part of the Certified Humane Raised & Handled movement? And what kind of cattle are being used? Is it some kind of heritage breed or a common breed? 60 percent of beef cattle are of the Angus, Hereford or Simmental breeds. Any/all of these factors contribute to the price of your meat.

Of course, it boils down to your values and the taste. If you're concerned about eating local and supporting local farmers (which presumably you are as you joined a CSA), it might be worth paying the extra money, knowing it's supporting the farmer directly. But if it doesn't taste great, even an interest in saving small farms might not be enough to justify doing it.

In answer to your question, I buy almost all my meat direct from the farmer at my local greenmarket here in NYC. It is more expensive, and as such, I don't eat a whole lot of meat. But when I do, I want to know where it came from and what kind of life it had.

Best. Post. Ever.

I was a vegetarian for a while, maybe around 8 years, one of which was spent in India, where it is supereasy and superdelicious (if you love Indian, especially South Indian, food like I do) to be a vegetarian. A few years later, I moved to Brasil where it is a lot harder to be a vegetarian, but I lived in Liberdade (Asian neighborhood) in Sao Paulo, and with all the access to cool mushrooms, noodles, seaweeds, etc., I was pretty happy.

I remember reading that book "Eat Right for your Type" which theorizes that people with type A blook do better with a predominantly veg. diet and people with type O blood do better with a carnivorous diet, and perhaps there's some truth to that.

Later, I was taken to a Brazilian rodizio (meat until you can't no more) place here in NYC and all that beef was delish, although my stomach rebelled.

Since then, I still don't eat much meat - small portions and lots of vegetables. Eating meat in huge amounts seems to only perpetuate the dominant model of a few lucky people getting the lion's share of the world's resources, and the factory farming of animals to be eaten still continues to be inhumane and motivated solely by profits. Mad cow disease is still much more of a problem than the major media and the government will cop to. I'm careful where I get my meats from, and still ya never know.

I becamse a vegetarian for a while in high school, but it was really only to annoy my grandmother, who I was living with at the time. She only had 4 stock dinners that she rotated over and over every week: meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes; roast beef, salad, baked potatoes; broiled salmon, broccoli, roasted potatoes; and spaghetti. She liked her meat and potatoes. There's only so long one person can deal with that if they're more adventurous. So I went veg.

These days I still only really eat meat twice a week. I feel like the US has a serious meat overindulgance problem.

Being a poor student! I was happily veg for 4 years of high school, first 2 years of college while I lived in the dorms. Then I got an apartment. I have no problem cooking a totally vegetarian diet for myself in my home - I never buy meat ingredients at the store. And I still very rarely pay for meat when eating out, unless I'm really sick of just ordering the freaking veggie burger. But the number of free food events at my university and my poor student budget make passing up free meaty meals seem wasteful. I call myself a freegan now (vegetarian unless it's free). I've heard others use the term too.

i was a vegetarian from the age of 18 to 22. what did me in was a plate of prime rib at a hotel in kansas city. it just looked so good, i was starving, and the alternative was a crappy looking industrial iceberg lettuce salad and an anemic little roll. i had always been a meat lover, had embraced vegetarianism in college during the 70's after reading frankie lappe´, and always struggled against my carnivorous inclinations.

interestingly, years and years later, i find myself not especially wanting to eat meat at all these days. i haven't consumed animal flesh, except for the occasional tuna sandwich, in months. although generally i am a very healthy eater, and in addition to the fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains i eat daily, i eat plenty of nuts, seeds, yogurt, eggs, and cheese, i am bemused to report that my ability as an athlete seems to have suffered as a result. i don't recover as quickly after my workouts, i can't run as far or as fast, and i can't lift as heavy weights or complete as many sets as i was doing as a meat eater.

a few years ago i was in a relationship with someone who insisted on having meat at every meal, and when i left, it was such a relief to not have to cook and eat it all the time. i'm much thinner and happier basing my diet on salads and veggies, although i am somewhat concerned about my workouts deteriorating. we'll have to see. i don't call myself a vegetarian right now, because i don't want to label myself or call attention to my private eating habits {i live alone, so there's no one to please but myself}.

I was a vegetarian from age 6 when I was a stubborn brat and declared myself a vegetarian to avoid having to eat a hamburger one meal. Flash forward to being 18, at my boyfriend's house, and the smell of flank steak on the grill. I pointed out how good it smelled, and he asked, "why won't you eat it again?" and I realized I really didn't have a reason. I just didn't even see it as an option since I had completely forgotten what it tasted like. It wasn't for animal rights reasons, or health, it was just habit at that point. I had a taste, and now I am a fiend. RARE steak. I think i'm making up for lost time, although that was 8 years ago and I'm still just as into meat, hah!

BTW -- after 15 years as a vegetarian I broke my vegetarianism with two plates of rare meat. Felt great. I don't know why they say everyone gets so sick to their stomach.