On KD and Soda Pop

"No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means."

Maimonides

Food bloggers, I've learned, have started a petition to remove the artificial food dyes that are responsible for Kraft Dinner's distinct appearance. Tartrazine, or yellow food dye #5 and #6 is an approved food additive according to North American food watchdogs. It serves no nutritional purpose and does not affect product flavour...just colour.

In fact, and I find this strange, the same food dye is NOT in the same product sold overseas to European consumers. Hmmm.

In reading the article discussing consumer petitions, I learned that PepsiCo recently made modifications to their product after a consumer petition received national attention.  Good job active consumers!

I'm not a fan of Kraft Dinner.  I was raised on a macaroni and cheese casserole that my mom makes with tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese.  There was not a lot of prepared food in our home.  Sliced bread, margarine, Miracle Whip, Peanut Butter, sometimes cookies and the occasional store-bought buttertart (thanks Dad), but otherwise we were a meat and potatoes, snack-deprived family. Apples were our snack.  "Have an apple." "Oh you're hungry?  Grab an apple, dinner will be ready in two hours."  Apples, apples, apples. 

Our meals were almost always made from scratch. The exception was grocery night which was, almost always, hot dog night. Fortunately, due to this tradition, I have already consumed my lifetime quota of hot dogs. KD was usually purchased for nights when the kids had to make dinner.

As far as PepsiCo goes....ahhhh geez....don't get me started.   I have a very low opinion of soda pop. At our grocery store, there is an entire isle dedicated to chips/snacks and soda pop.  One isle. An entire isle of carbonated, sugary drinks. Empty, pointless, tooth-rotting, belly-busting, soda. I can choose from over 20 kinds of soda pop in my grocery store. There are precisely three varieties of mushrooms in the vegetable isle. The bananas are almost always green and you have to check the bottom of the berries to make sure you're not buying half-rotten fruit....but there's a crap load of soda pop on the other side of the store.  ..... Sorry....didn't I say "don't get me started?"

KD is a childhood food really. I remember it from my childhood and I fed it to my kids when they were younger. I stopped buying it when my kids were able to eat using their own knife and fork....around the time KD hit a buck a box. I occasionally crave the nostalgia of Kraft Dinner but have learned, after a few failed attempts, that it's true...you can't go back. 

As a result, KD has been forever banished to my food category  "foods that you think you want, until you eat them, and then you're just disappointed."  KFC is also on that list....and fried egg sandwiches.

So there you have it.
1)  Kraft Dinner may become a paler version of what you're used to but...hey...they still eat it across the pond. 
2) Consumer petitions can be effective but the biggest impact consumers have is their choice to buy or not buy a product. 
3) I would strongly suggest you consider NOT BUYING soda pop. 

It's my opinion.  You are, as always, invited to take it or leave it.

Public Health Care - Canada's Frankenstein

"Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted."

~ Denis Waitley

I was born and raised in the province of Ontario. I am average, I am in good health and I pay taxes.  I use the health care system as necessary but I wouldn't want to rely on it to save my life.

Public health care is a noble idea.  When it was first introduced it was intended to provide its residents with emergency medical services and preventative care at no charge. (Well, no additional charge -- the "system" after all is financed through taxation.) It meant that the impoverished or the uninsured/uninsurable could access basic health care. Honourable.

Some forty years later, Ontario introduced an additional health care premium on personal tax returns based on annual earnings.   The same year the new levy was introduced, the provincial government began to de-list services that had, until then, been made available through OHIP.  Residents were now being asked to pay more for less. Those of us paying attention noticed that certain health care coverage was now offered to individuals under the age of 19, over the age of 65, or to individuals on social assistance.  Wage earners -- those funding the program through taxation -- were being asked to pay out of pocket for services available free of charge to the unemployed.

The fact is, our medical insurance program lost sight of its original purpose -- to provide emergency health care and preventative care at no cost.  It has grown over time to fund diagnoses and treatment across multiple modalities from birth until death on an inpatient and outpatient basis.  It became and unwieldy beast.  Our Canadian Frankenstein.  It was a good idea at the time...but it soon grew out of control.

How could an idea conceived 50 years ago integrate contingencies to reflect decades worth of medical advances and their financial implications much less anticipate swings in the economic landscape and changes to the the nation's demographics?  It cannot.  And, as with every other government program, failure to manage the program has resulted in a crisis.  That, in my opinion, is the single biggest flaw with government health care -- it is not managed.  It is budgeted, it is regulated, but it is not managed. 

So now what?  So now we have a system that is built to fail.  It is unsustainable. Worse still, Canadians feel it is their birthright and they become outraged when insurance drops another service.  Our health care program has become a political playground used to launch platforms and criticize government spending.   Now, doctors and bureaucrats are playing tug-o-war with our health insurance as the latest cuts focus on a "wage freeze" for physicians.  That's right...our government currently maintains that the health care crisis is partly due to medical professionals who have benefited from a 75% increase in earnings over the past 10 years.

Canadians need to read between the lines.  Politicians will not freely endorse or work towards a two-tiered system until it has the support of the Canadian public.  There is too much unease around any inequities that may follow.  We all agree that class should not dictate the level of care one receives...but it does.  It always did.  It always will.  If you have money, you can spend it on your health.  It is as simple as that.  Let's not be naive. 

Private health care options already exist in Canada, however they are few and far between.  The Canada Health Act penalizes provinces who, among other things, make private health care an option for their residents by reducing federal transfer payments.  Some view the penalty as an acceptable loss in exchange for alternative health care solutions that would alleviate a program in crisis.  Clearly it's a financial win for some provinces. 

Canada needs a strategy that would provide health care solutions for individuals covered by private insurance plans or who may be willing to pay out-of-pocket for health care services; a two-tiered system that alleviates a straining health care system without diminishing services to those that rely on a public health care.  A system that keeps health care dollars in Canada to promote research and development and create jobs for health care professionals that are being lured south of the border.

There has been no health care reform in Canada.  If anything, Canadians should not be upset because services are being de-listed, they should be outraged that their government is not planning a strategy that will outlast its term of office.

Bucket List - Yi Peng Festival, Thailand

“No one lights a lamp in order to hide it behind the door: the purpose of light is to create more light, to open people's eyes, to reveal the marvels around.”

~ Paulo Coelho

Each fall in Thailand, the Yi Peng lantern festival is held in Chiang Mai.  The picture below taken by Ng Chai Hock was recognized in Sony's 2013 Photo Awards.

The lanterns are released in respect for Buddah.  It is thought that this symbolic act would release bad memories and that the lantern would transport a wish for the future to the heavens.  It was monks who had traditionally released the lanterns but the festival has grown so that anyone may participate.  In the evening floating lanterns are released all around Chiang Mai province. 

This event has made its way to my bucket list.

Soul Sista Lost and Found

Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.

~ Oscar Wilde

I met Nori one summer at a local campground.  I was a shy teenager completely captivated by this outgoing, cheerful, funny dynamo who was unlike anyone else I had ever met.  She truly was one-of-a-kind.  We spent a lot of time talking and I credit her with being a trusted confidante and a guide, of sorts, as I stumbled -- often blindly -- across the minefield of teenage angst.  She kept me happy and real and positive.  I met her when I absolutely needed her and am better for it.

We found each other on Facebook a while ago and tonight we talked on the phone for about an hour.  It was interesting to hear about her life and all of the changes.  I am beyond thrilled to learn that she is a mom -- because when I met her all those years ago, there was nothing more important to her than having children. 

People change over time.  We see it every day.  Some people resign themselves to their life.  Some people trade their ambitions or desires for the role of parent or partner.  The people that learn and grow from their trials become better versions of themselves; the people that don't are at risk of becoming empty husks. 

Nori is a light.  She is everything I remember but better.  I can't wait to see her. 

I sometimes make fun of Facebook because it can be bogged down with pointless remarks and hurtful messages.  Sometimes though, it delivers a friend.. For that, Facebook, I am grateful.

My Asshole Cat. Part 4 - The Surrender

Kneading on You. You may think this is a sign of affection, but your cat is actually checking your internal organs for weaknesses.

~from How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You

Yesterday, I carted up Mac and we headed to town for our vet appointment. I dropped Lys at the high school and made my way across town to collect my drive-thru breakfast before making a quick stop at the office. Within a few minutes of dropping Miss Alyssa, I was assaulted by a stench that – literally – brought tears to my eyes. I lowered the windows and tried to calm Mac but her nerves clearly had gotten the best of her. I stopped at the office for some paper towels and some cleaner and decided to make an early appearance at the vet clinic.

Dr. Greg hadn’t arrived yet so I begged the vet tech to borrow an exam room and clean up Mac before her debut appointment. Once in the room I forced open the windows and released Hell herself from the carrier. She left her prison like a shot and was soon a drenched, smelly mess on the other side of the exam room. I decided to let her gather herself so I took the opportunity to clean up the carrier. There are no words that can adequately convey to you the breath-robbing, eye-stabbing stink of that cat. I dabbed and rubbed at her wet fur without any measure of success.  It really seemed like nothing more than busywork.

As Dr.Greg entered the room, his first words were “Wow, smells like a tom cat in here.” I quickly apologized and explained that she messed herself in the carrier on the way over. He placed Mac on the exam table and after the briefest palpation exclaimed – “…because it IS a tom cat.”

Congratulations, it’s a boy!

I burst out laughing. “Boy, do I feel stupid!” He assured me that I shouldn’t feel bad…it would be far worse, he explained, if THEY got it wrong.

(You should understand that this man knows that we have not actively pursued “pet owner status.” We do not go to pet stores, choose our pets, build our intelligence about their breed and behaviour and then dote upon them with our vast knowledge and skill. We are…instead…a small family of bleeding hearts that cannot turn their backs on a stray animal in peril and so we commit to their care in the absence of a loving owner. We are pet owners by circumstance.)

He excused himself from the room to gather the vaccinations. I could hear him tell his tech to correct Mac’s chart to show a male cat…”the she is actually a HE,” he said. I smiled and turned to Mac… "You tricky little bastard,” I whispered. I took those brief seconds to reflect on Mac’s behaviours and things began to fall into place. Wait until I tell the kids, I thought..

The rest of the appointment went very well (obnoxious odour notwithstanding) and Mac was treated for every possible parasite and disease before returning – with much help from Dr. Greg – to the carrier for our return trip home. I paid for the appointment and booked Mac’s neutering for next Thursday. The tech and I laughed about the Mac’s sexual confusion and I told her it was going to take some getting used to – I refer to the cats as “the girls” so I’m going to need some retraining. I suggested that in all likelihood, Mac would return to its rightful owner AFTER I vaccinate and neuter him and the tech reassured me that “at least” neutering was less expensive than spaying to which I thought…OK…silver lining. (I clung desperately to that little thread of positivity as I tried to bathe the stink off that tom cat later in the evening.)

So there you have it.

I confess to being an inadequate pet owner – so much so that I failed to correctly identify the sex of my cat. I confess also to surrendering to this irksome little beast. While I will continue to fondly refer to “my asshole cat,” I have to admit that he has grown on me. If I’m being honest, I kind of prefer “spunky” behaviour – predictable can sometimes be boring – and this little jerk kind of fits with our familial band of misfits anyhow.

Love him or hate him…Mac’s vet record clearly shows that we are now, officially, his family.