2001 Volpaia, Borgianni, Chianti

[Innkeeper]

2001 Volpaia, Borgianni, Chianti (9.95 Belfast Coop). An OK, but very ordinary Chianti. The really bad news was the food match. Picked up some "Lo Carb" penne at the same store. Fixed it with Italian tomato sauce and broiled sweet Italian sausages. The pasta was horrible. Bev, who it was intended for mostly, couldn't finish her's and I had to struggle though mine. Simply awful.

[quijote]

Ugh, some of these new-fangled lo-carb foods are truly horrible. I bought a box of Atkins Banana-Nut Harvest cereal at a close-out store (that should've been a sign right there) a couple of weeks ago. The cereal tasted okay right out of the box, but when I added milk to it.... *GAG* It all went right down the drain. The lesson learned: the best way to eat pasta and cereal and keep the carbs down, is just to have smaller portions.



[This message has been edited by quijote (edited 09-30-2004).]

[Thomas]

Cut the carbohydrates out of grains and what you get is facsimile of a grain. Might as well eat something else, as you each have learned the hard way.

Is it cutting carbohydrates that is necessary or is it cutting simple (refined) carbohydrates? A lot of studies show that complex carbohydrates are good for us, so long as we find a way to expend the energy they provide. It's the refined, simple carbohydrates that are bad for us because they are stripped of everything needed for health except the stuff that turns to weight gain and metabolic problems.

[Zinner]

Yep, you guys have got that right!

The more they muck around with food and take stuff out and try to put substitutes back in, the more likely it is bad for us. The partially hydrogenated oils are one of the worst things healthwise, and that's in a ton of the packaged food.

I just pick up a loaf from my local baker and try to choose multi-grain, the most often. I'd rather have a little of what tastes great than a lot of low-carb, low-fat and low-satisfaction.

If all the fad food stuff is so great for us, shouldn't the folks around us be looking a lot thinner and healthier?

[quijote]

The main ingredient for the horrible lo-carb cereal was soy flour. I haven't yet met a soy flour-based product that I like, so I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. I guess hope springs eternal, even for jaded ol' Quijote.

I agree, Zinner, that quality has to factor into the low-carb equation, even if it means taking in a few more impact carbs for the benefit of taste.

A few years ago I did the low-carb thing with a lot of success (I lost 25 pounds), but I did it the old-fashioned way--lots of meat and greens, fewer fruits and grains. I was able to make creative, low-carb dishes without the need for lo-carb tortillas, pastas, and other monstrosities. But I guess there are people who really like those things, or who at least can tolerate them.

[winoweenie]

IK I had the same success story as you with the low-carb pasta. When I took it out of the pot, took one look, and into the garbage. Took the other 2 boxes back to Trader Joes' and was told by management that they had never had so many complaints as they did on this product and were dropping it immediately. WW