In this edition of Bookmarks, a mixed bag of stories ranging from fibre—including the trendy fizzy kind—to eggs, vinegar, and lunch in cubed form.
Is it true that … you can never eat too much fibre?
Food trends come and go and, apparently, it is fibre’s turn in the spotlight. I had not heard of fibremaxxing but it is a thing on TikTok. This brief article talks about fibre needs and cautions people to go slowly when increasing dietary fibre.
“If you want to increase your intake, do it gradually and drink plenty of fluids. ‘Fibre acts like a sponge…Without enough liquid, it can make things dry and uncomfortable.’” (The Guardian)
Are prebiotic sodas actually good for you? A registered dietitian breaks it down
On a recent trip to the grocery store, I overheard three young women talking about Poppi and wondering where to find it. We were in the “regular” beverage aisle where they keep the plain soda and sinful drinks like Coke and diet Coke. Although I had never bought Poppi, I knew the store kept it in the natural foods department and advised the women as to its location. I’ve always thought prebiotic soda sounded gimmicky and I may be right about that. As noted in this article, drinks like Poppi might not harm you but they probably won’t help a whole lot either.
“While Health Canada regulates nutritional claims on food products, Morin stresses that the legal definitions of terms like ‘gut-healthy’ remain a bit of a marketable grey area… ‘Be an educated consumer,’ says Morin. ‘If you enjoy it, then go for it, but take the nutritional claims with a grain of salt.’” (Canadian Living)
Brown, white, or blue eggs—what matters for taste (and what you’re really paying for)
I knew that the colour of an eggs shell didn’t affect what was inside, but was never clear on what caused the variation in hue. Nor did I think about chickens having earlobes. Herein, a deep dive into eggs and why colour is pretty much irrelevant as an indicator of freshness and taste.
“A delightful piece of folk wisdom I learned while choosing chicks at my local feed store is that one can generally tell what color egg a hen lays by the color of her earlobes. A laying hen’s earlobes are somewhat scaly patches in the jowl area, on the sides of her head, behind the wattles that hang down from her face. Red earlobes typically mean brown eggs; white earlobes, white eggs.” (Serious Eats)
A beginner’s guide to black vinegar
I bought a bottle of Chinkiang black vinegar a while ago, as directed by a new wok cookbook. I haven’t known how to use it outside of the few recipes in that book so I found this article helpful.
“…black vinegar adds a dimension of umami flavour with a slight, lingering sweetness. Bold and complex, it can transform a dish.” (Chatelaine)
I tried the ‘Lego Lunch’ trend—here’s my unfiltered review
I’m not a TikTok user and had never heard of Lego Lunch but this looks like a good idea. I agree with the writer that perfect, uniform shapes are probably not essential, but I do like the look of it.
“Meet ‘Lego Lunch,’ a trend that involves freezing various types of batch-cooked food in rectangular trays for easy mix-and-match lunches throughout the week. The main appeal? Your food freezes into perfect blocks, and they all fit into a lunch container for easy transport.” (Delish)
Photo of eggs by Nick Fewings on Unsplash.