Thank you to those who supplied me with polenta ideas. I sort of combined them and decided to slice the polenta into rounds and cook them in a pan with some olive oil and then top them with something flavorful.
I had some shitake mushrooms on hand so I decided to make a creamy mushroom topping to top my polenta.
So.. I sort of had a dinner fail.
I sliced my polenta and put it in the pan with some EVOO
I mixed up a creamy mushroom topping that consisted of sliced shitakes cooked in earth balance and garlic and added in some goat milk yogurt for the “cream”.
It looked great… it smelled great. 
But…um… I don’t think I like polenta. It didn’t really have any taste, even with the yummy mushroom topping. It mostly just tasted like oil.
Maybe I’ll try it again in a different form, but I’m not sure I’m a polenta fan. But at least I have a new mushroom sauce to use with quinoa or pasta!
I also tried to make the Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries I saw on Oh She Glows. 
I peeled and sliced 2 parsnips into fry shapes
Then I mixed up 1 tbsp of almond butter 1 tbsp of oil and some sea salt in a bowl, mixed it all together then popped them in the oven 
And promptly burnt them 
I managed to salvage a few and they were DELICIOUS! So, I am going to attempt them again tonight along with a smashed chickpea salad, and I will cook them on a lower temperature!
The Soda Tax
Have you all heard of the proposals for a tax on sweetened beverages like soda? In February the Obama administration announced a plan to ban candy and sweetened beverages from schools. And now a growing number of public health advocates are urging that soda be treated like tobacco: aka imposing a tax, putting on warning labels and starting a campaign to discourage consumption.
I’ve seen SO many commercials like this one against it in New York and I’m sure there are others in other states…
My knee-jerk reaction to them is to say THEN JUST DON’T BUY SODA AND SUGARY JUICE DRINKS ANYMORE!!!! Those commercials just rub me the wrong way. They’re supposed to be about family, but if you really want to help your family, don’t feed them sugary drinks!
I don’t know, I guess if you’ve been drinking soda and sugary juice forever, it is hard to just stop altogether. However, I really don’t think it’s a bad idea. I mean, can you truly defend soda? I think if people are so upset about paying more for their sugary drinks they shouldn’t buy them anymore. I mean, that’s the point right? To discourage the consumption of these unhealthy drinks.
Some people think it’s just another way for the government to get money, but I really don’t believe that.
I think that people against the beverage tax should really look hard at what they’re fighting for.
What do you think of the beverage tax proposal?
April 28th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I totally agree with you on those commercials. I can’t stand them!
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April 28th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I know people hate BIG GOVERNMENT interfering in our daily lives, but, really it’s just a preventative measure (aka help battle the ever-growing concern of child obesity…no pun intended). It will cost the government and tax payers more in the long run if people who didn’t make healthy choices for themselves and their family end up bleeding funds to aid deteriorating health later in life. Plus, money gained from a soda tax would allow inarguably beneficial services like libraries and rec centers to remain untouched by budget cuts. Woo hoo!
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April 29th, 2010 at 3:57 am
I agree with the soda tax so people will have second thoughts on whether to buy that expensive soda or not.
the government should serve the people by making sure that they create laws or policies that will help people become healthy.
it’s a win-win situation when soda tax will be implemented.=)
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April 29th, 2010 at 6:53 am
I kinda do agree with the soda tax.
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April 29th, 2010 at 8:48 am
wow… I’m with you on this one….
It’s a smart idea to encourage people not to drink that sugary crap…
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April 29th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Hey, sugar is bad for your teeth. Banning it from schools doesn’t make cravings go away (I keep a constant supply of candy, and brush my teeth after). When I went to Guatemala my friend told me that many families survive off of tortillas and soda simply because soda is cheaper than water there!! a lot of kids have horrible teeth by the time they are adults. a soda tax in and of itself should be correlated with some sort of pro-campaign about the benefits of drinking water, or promote alternatives to soda like natural, low-calorie flavored water drinks with some good ingredients. If you’re going to go through the effort of saying something is bad, offer an alternative.
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Janna Reply:
April 29th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I can’t believe that soda is cheaper than water in Guatemala! That’s terrible.
I agree with you, a lot of people are unaware of alternatives. If they could show that drinking water, 100% juice, milk and unsweetened tea beverages are inexpensive and good for your health, I think that would be very helpful.
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April 29th, 2010 at 10:12 am
I’m certainly would never defend sugary drinks but I will always defend people’s rights and one right we have is to eat and live how we feel is right. It needs to be a personal choice to stop drinking soda.
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Janna Reply:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I’m not sure. I think that making unhealthy choices can affect everyone. Due to the heavy consumption of things like soda, we are seeing a lot of health problems, which costs all of us money!
As much as food and beverage consumption is personal, I don’t see anything wrong with giving people the incentive to make a healthier choice.
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April 29th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
As a registered dietitian, I support the need to re- educate the public about sensible eating. If that were to happen the need for beverages taxes or other food taxes would not be necessary. We have lost sight of how much food is truly needed to fuel the body and are unaware of the amount of activity needed to bun off the amounts of food that we are consuming. There is nothing unique about calories that are consumed from soft drinks or other sweetened beverage and National Cancer Institute date show that only 5.5% of total calories consumed are from soft drinks so I am not sure what taxing soft drinks will solve. Soft drinks can be part of a healthy diet and should be consumed in moderation just like other sugary foods or beverages.
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April 30th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Hey Janna! Re: the oily polenta, maybe next time you can try roasting it instead of frying it? Or pan-roasting sans oil… it tends to sop up a lot of oil!
A few months ago I heard Governor Patterson speak about the proposed junk food tax, and even as he spoke about it I felt conflicted. On one hand, I never drink soda because I believe it is unhealthy and I support action towards raising general awareness regarding health and the overall impact of food on the body, and in light of “public option” healthcare, those who knowingly ingest unhealthy foods should compensate by contributing to the cost of their healthcare but on the other hand, I do not feel that a tax is necessarily an effective deterrent (cigarette taxes don’t stop people from smoking) and I am wary of the government taking reactive measures such as taxation over such a delicate issue. Health education should be a part of the public educational curriculum from a young age, through school food programs and classroom learning, rather than a measure that will raise public discomfit.
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Janna Reply:
April 30th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Excellently put. And thanks for the polenta tip!
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May 17th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Start with the taxes on my grandpa’s Ensure. No lie, check the ingredients http://ensure.com/products/ensure. A sugared beverage means taxed beverage! Then mix in complaints about no being able to pay off his cronies with my money by his boss. Commissioner Daines isn’t defending a government health policy but a public fleecing initiative.
Read the complete posting on my blog:
http://taxesreally.blogspot.com/2010/05/beginning-of-16-hour-day.html
Taxes, Really?´s last blog ..Beginning of the 16 Hour Day.
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