Thursday, 15 March 2012
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Michelle Obama Eats Cupcakes
On Jay Leno a few nights ago, Michelle Obama mentioned baking red velvet cupcakes. (No, I'm not middle-aged. I can't explain why I was watching Leno.) Although the first lady is well known for her healthy prerogatives, she eats cupcakes.
One cupcake won't kill you.
Since providing content for this site, I have been astounded by how polarizing the topic of food can be. I believed the food philosophy of most was similar to mine and Michelle Obama's, moderation. One cupcake won't kill you, twenty might, but skipping them all together is no fun for anyone.
I tend to write a lot of humorous posts because they get the most views, however not all the reactions are positive. For example, I wrote about Kraft Singles and frozen food month. I was overwhelmed by the number of negative comments I received for supposedly promoting unhealthy eating. It was a joke. One Kraft Single is not why America's fat. I also wrote another post on "real" cheese which barely had any views.
I care about what I eat. I buy local, seasonal produce. I drive an hour away to buy poultry and eggs directly from a free-range farm. I spend $25 a pound on beef. But I also believe there can be a place in this culinary world for the occasional Kraft Single or Wonder Bread. These foods are part of the American food culture and it's futile to deny it.
Many American's seem to take the all or nothing approach. We witness celebrities like Natalie Portman, whose recent veganism is clearly making her ill, and Leno who has not eaten a vegetable in over a decade. Neither of these diets are healthy or make any sense and I believe both are a product of ignorance.
American's are unbelievably ignorant about their food. This is my life, so it's overwhelmingly discouraging. The advent of food television and blogs initially had positive influences, but now has taken the industry two steps backwards. Food and nutrition is too complicated for Rachael Ray to babble about in thirty minutes. I know nutritionists who are no better, resolving to answer all questions with hummus and carrot sticks.
In a world where our senses are flooded with food porn and anorexia, it's a challenge to have a balanced perspective on eating. I've had issues on both ends of the spectrum. What we need to be striving for, what Michelle Obama it teaching the country, is moderation. Jay Leno needs more apples in his life and I want to bake Natalie Portman a cupcake.
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About the Author
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- From: Sohla
- About Me: I used to be a cook. I went to culinary school. I have a lot of knives and know how to sharpen them. Also visit me here: www.iusedtobeacook.com
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Comments (12)
Loved this post. I completely agree with you. Moderation keys healthy eating. Even though it's a blessing having countless food options, it can be difficult knowing what's ok to eat, and how much.
Hopefully, health education is improving now. When I was in elementary and high school we rarely spent any time on eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet in our health and fitness classes.
I like your approach to food. It is realistic, reasonable and honest. There are some people completely ignorant when it comes to "real" food and there are people who are overzealous in promoting veganism, "clean eating" and what have you. Thanks for your food posts, you've brought real insight into food and gourmet recipes.
Thank God you have logic. I'll eat a cupcake when I want to. It's not going to kill me.
And I think people get Michelle Obama's campaign jumbled. She never said don't eat anything bad. She's just promoting good foods and exercising.
I can remember a time when food celebrities/politicians/people ate was not national news.
I agree with you, but Kraft cheese is just plain nasty, lol. I don't see any place for plastic cheese :-/
I think it's funny that she's constantly saying things like, "Just one won't kill you!" but we hear about her saying this every other day. At the end of the week, it does all add up and just one easily becomes five. I feel when you spend a lot of times criticizing or telling somebody how they should eat, there are inner issues that the person needs to battle. Yes she's the first lady and she needs things to do but I get the feeling she goes home and feels guilty about what she eats so she turns around and tries to better our diet to help her feel better about herself. Make sense? I remember in high school when I would go home I would binge and then throw up. I hated my body and was more focused on staying in shape than anything. When my friends would put themselves down I was always to cheer them up and offer advice but I wasn't following my own advice. Helping somebody for whatever reason made what I did to my body after school okay. I'm not saying she does this but you never know! It's something to think about.
Moderation. It's so simple. Sometimes I fear common sense has been bred out of our youth. It is not on the MAP tests, so it isn't taught
Those cupcakes look delicious.
"Live life to the fullest. Take big bites. Moderation is for monks." --Lazarus Long.
Okay, quote aside, I think you are rejecting the armchair philosophizoring of internet users, the 140-character twitter mentality of celebrities, the soundbyte-central speechwriting of politicians, and the behind-the-screen-hypocrisy of the editorial page. The fact that food is the noticed medium here is almost tangential. The world is seldom a black-and-white place, but when you pick up a ballot, you're generally stuck with "Choose A or B". We educate our children with fifty multiple choice questions per each single essay. Heck, you can't even decide you like the Yankees without being forced to dislike the Red Sox. The American world is one of rushed polarization and increasing attempts to sift complex issues down to "If not X, THEN Y" choices. Hey, it is easy to sit behind a computer and say that Michelle Obama is a hypocrite for telling schoolchildren they shouldn't have cupcakes in their lunches, but eating one herself. Insert clever Marie Antoinette comparison here. But, what other option do many users have? If they post their feelings about something on a webpage, at least it is out there, and they feel like they've done something... because really, we all do feel pretty ineffectual dropping names we don't really like into ballot boxes, and filing Better Business Bureau complaint forms directly into a slot that probably leads to a shredding machine.
I guess I'd agree with your sentiment. I prefer to complexify the world as much as it allows. Issues are more interesting when examined closely, and discussion more entertaining with an erudite conversation partner, rather than a purely emotional one. But I also will say that I know that it is hard to maintain strong sentiments while searching library stacks for case precedent, and that this comment is too long to be read by almost anyone. Therefore its content does not matter, so maybe we're on the wrong track after all.
I think a lot of your posts are interesting. I definitely do enjoy reading them (even though I don't comment at times).
As long as there is moderation, I say eat whatever you want.
i enjoy your posts a lot! keep writing!
@Alpha_May@xanga - i agree with you! post more! :D