Re: low-fat, there is also the issue that sometimes the full-fat version is more satiating, so less gets consumed overall. :P
I generally need to actively avoid artificial sweeteners. NutraSweet, like MSG, gives me incredibly intense migraine-like headaches, which is just all kinds of not fun (and annoying because it means I can't have most gum at all). I theoretically can consume sucralose/Splenda in moderation but more-than-trace amounts end up making me rather ill, and if it's just a trace amount anyway I might as well have actual sugar instead of a substitute.
I have had to ask before-the-fact if a meal someone was intending to serve to me had MSG in it, because the sick I get from it is not fun and it's not terribly safe for me to, you know, drive home in that condition. People I eat with on anything approximating a regular basis know to read food labels before offering me things that might be a problem (anything cooked in or with broth or gravy; any salty snack other than plain pretzels, plain potato chips, or Fritos; salad dressings in general; Chinese takeout; sausage; various oddball things like curly fries). If it's a restaurant or a larger event with multiple dishes being served, I take the responsibility to order or select foods that are generally unlikely to make me ill.
I do the best I can to accommodate the common issues when I'm the one serving. I cannot guarantee an environment 100% free of cross-contamination issues, but for instance, my basic template of one 5-dish course in an SCA feast includes one completely vegan dish, one additional dish that is vegetarian but may have eggs and/or dairy, and one additional meat-based dish that has no eggs or dairy whatsoever (and is also low-carb friendly). I also avoid repeating the same ingredient in any more than three of the five dishes, and try to avoid it in more than two out of five if it's one of the big allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, soy, fish/shellfish, wheat, alcohol). I also have no problem telling people exactly what is in the food I make.
Or when you all brought lunch and launch into a lecture on why your lunch is the healthiest, what's wrong with everyone else's lunch, or what you do and do not eat.
FFS. IT'S CALLED MANNERS, PEOPLE! My four-year-old knows she'll get in trouble if she goes on about what she does and doesn't like to eat - BECAUSE IT IS RUDE.
The one that particularly infuriates me (especially when it's my immediate supervisor doing it) is the whole "let's be good" and "let's be bad" thing, because, y'know, actually enjoying food is totally contrary to being a moral human being - not because the food might have been produced under exploitative conditions or whatever, but simply because enjoying something with more than, say, 100 calories is BAD.
I generally need to actively avoid artificial sweeteners. NutraSweet, like MSG, gives me incredibly intense migraine-like headaches, which is just all kinds of not fun (and annoying because it means I can't have most gum at all). I theoretically can consume sucralose/Splenda in moderation but more-than-trace amounts end up making me rather ill, and if it's just a trace amount anyway I might as well have actual sugar instead of a substitute.
I have had to ask before-the-fact if a meal someone was intending to serve to me had MSG in it, because the sick I get from it is not fun and it's not terribly safe for me to, you know, drive home in that condition. People I eat with on anything approximating a regular basis know to read food labels before offering me things that might be a problem (anything cooked in or with broth or gravy; any salty snack other than plain pretzels, plain potato chips, or Fritos; salad dressings in general; Chinese takeout; sausage; various oddball things like curly fries). If it's a restaurant or a larger event with multiple dishes being served, I take the responsibility to order or select foods that are generally unlikely to make me ill.
I do the best I can to accommodate the common issues when I'm the one serving. I cannot guarantee an environment 100% free of cross-contamination issues, but for instance, my basic template of one 5-dish course in an SCA feast includes one completely vegan dish, one additional dish that is vegetarian but may have eggs and/or dairy, and one additional meat-based dish that has no eggs or dairy whatsoever (and is also low-carb friendly). I also avoid repeating the same ingredient in any more than three of the five dishes, and try to avoid it in more than two out of five if it's one of the big allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, soy, fish/shellfish, wheat, alcohol). I also have no problem telling people exactly what is in the food I make.
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FFS. IT'S CALLED MANNERS, PEOPLE! My four-year-old knows she'll get in trouble if she goes on about what she does and doesn't like to eat - BECAUSE IT IS RUDE.
The one that particularly infuriates me (especially when it's my immediate supervisor doing it) is the whole "let's be good" and "let's be bad" thing, because, y'know, actually enjoying food is totally contrary to being a moral human being - not because the food might have been produced under exploitative conditions or whatever, but simply because enjoying something with more than, say, 100 calories is BAD.
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