Whining and Dining

Tomatoes Gone Bad??

Tomatoes gone bad?? Yes, that is the word on the street and just in time for tomato season (one of my very favorite seasons of the year.... oh those heirloom tomatoes have my heart). But this year, we'll have to keep a watchful eye on tomatos that we buy due to the recent salmonella outbreak.

After attending a work event, I swung by Fatburger to grab a turkey burger for the road. Not even thinking, I ordered tomato on it. The cashier quickly responded saying, "Mam, we are not serving tomatoes due to the recent outbreak." It was comforting for me to hear that many food vendors aren't taking chances.

In case you aren't aware of the recent news, here is the story....

Reuters - Los Angeles, CA --U.S. health officials on Wednesday said they are still receiving reports of people falling ill from eating Salmonella-tainted tomatoes and that they now have 167 reported cases from 17 states. Click here for the rest of the story.

So, are there ANY tomatoes that we can eat right now? Yes, there are. Here's what the FDA says...

At this time, FDA is advising consumers to limit their consumption of tomatoes to the following types of tomatoes. The following types of tomatoes listed below are NOT likely to be the source of this outbreak.

• cherry tomatoes
• grape tomatoes
• tomatoes sold with the vine still attached
• tomatoes grown at home

FDA recommends consuming raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw round red tomatoes grown and harvested only from the following areas that HAVE NOT BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTBREAK:

Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida (counties of: Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, DeSoto, Sarasota, Highlands, Pasco, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Charlotte)*
Georgia
Hawaii
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
New Jersey
New York
Nebraska
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Belgium
Canada
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Israel
Netherlands
Puerto Rico

* Shipments of tomatoes harvested in these counties are acceptable with a certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Click here for more from the FDA's site.

Tomato alternatives? You betcha! Here's a helpful video on cooking with alternative fruits and veggies.

News Alert: Similac Organic Too Sweet for Babies?

When it comes to formula, do you go regular or organic? Interesting article from today's New York Times may make you think twice before you try organic. The article claims that popular formula brand Similac Organic is sweetened with cane sugar or sucrose, which is sweeter than the typical sugars used in formula.

Click here to read the story: "For an All-Organic Formula, Baby, That's Sweet."

News Alert: Is Starbucks the New After-School Treat?

Starbucks, the new after-school treat? Please tell me it's not. Well, apparently it IS catching on with the grade school crowd. After thinking about it for a bit, I guess I can understand why. Kids want to be like us, and we get coffee at Starbucks. Or if your kids don't see you going there, they see Britney and others going. And with frappuccinos and the like, it's a dead giveaway that kids would go bonkers for those drinks. Not only is it a high caloric habit, but it's an expensive one, too. And do we really want our kids to be hyped up any more than they already are? Not so much.

As parents, we worry about what our little kids eat. The below article gives good cause to paying attention about what they drink, too.

Excerpt from "Is Starbucks the New After-School Treat?"

"Keep an eye on what your kids are drinking and educate them on what caffeine can do to their nervous systems. Encourage them to drink more ice water, low- or non-fat milk, and 100-percent fruit juice (you can dilute the juice to save some calories while still getting some of the flavor). Your kids don't need caffeine to do their homework. " Click here for the rest of the story.

News Alert: Mom's Diet May Influence Baby's Gender

Fascinating news out there for you mamas....

CHICAGO - Snips and snails and puppydog tails ... and cereal and bananas? That could be what little boys are made of, according to surprising new research suggesting that what a woman eats before pregnancy influences the gender of her baby. Click here to read more.

News Alert: Food Price Hikes Changing Eating Habits

A story on MSNBC.com claims that as food prices rise more people are eating at home. Another trend is that people are buying their food in bulk at stores like Costco and Sam's. Click here for the rest of the story.

Because we're all about keeping up with the latest trends, we'll try to bring you more "Meals on a Budget" and "Costco Finds" posts.

News Alert: Starbucks to Close Some of its Stores in 45 Minutes

Starbucks will close many of its stores today for a companywide training session. As requested by CEO Howard Schultz, the unprecedented training session will take place between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. and affect approximately 135,000 employees.

To compete, rival Dunkin' Donuts will drop its price for a small coffee down to $0.99 from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. as "to ensure that no coffee lover is denied a delicious espresso-based beverage."

THANK YOU, Dunkies, because what would Americans do with a "delicious espresso-based beverage" from Starbucks for three hours today!

News Alert: Childhood Allergies to Milk & Eggs Harder to Outgrow

For parents of kids with milk & egg allergies, you'll want to read this....

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Childhood allergies to milk and eggs appear to be harder to outgrow than in the past, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Click here for the rest of the story.

News Alert: Check your frozen pizza stash

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Almost five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings are being recalled because the pepperoni may be contaminated with E. coli, General Mills Inc said on Thursday.

Click here for the rest of the story.

New Trend: More mamas eating at home

Since I know you want to stay up on the latest trends, you'll be interested to know that more of us mamas are staying at home and eating at home. According to an article in Advertising Age, the number of women in the work place has flattened. The resulting effect is that restaurants are seeing a dip in sales. Quite intersting, especially since there's a perception that families eat out more than ever these days. Not so, says the article. In fact, take home prepared meals are seeing the largest gain in market share with Whole Foods leading the pack. It's not that we are cooking from scratch more, but buying either pre-made meals or cooking semi-homemade meals.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Is there a picky eater gene?

Yesterday's article in the New York Times food section suggests just that. Experts claim that kids actually inherit a gene that makes them more likely to be a picky eater.

No wonder why my dad, brother and me all have a major aversion to mayonnaise. It's so bad that we can't come within 10 feet of the stuff. Much to my mother's dismay, the oh-I'll-just-scrape-it-off-the-bun-and-it-will-be-fine move never worked. My brother and I apparently inherited the anti-mayo gene from our dad. Fascinating.

Click here for the story.