Epic FAIL

This post will discuss an epic, epic fail that Whole Foods has committed; it's a post to express my disappointment and dissent with what used to be one of my most beloved sweet purveyors.

After a semi-satisfying run (er jog...tepid jog? walk/jog? wajog?) on Townlake, I was ready to reconsume all the calories I had just burned (and apparently many more...really, it was not my greatest run). I headed over to Whole Foods, hankering for one of their cookies that they advertise as being "all natural." Standing in front of their bakery case, staring at all of the amazing confectioneries in front of me, I also made sure to pour over the ingredients of the items, as I customarily do. Most of the beautifully displayed items had 'sugar' listed as one of their primary ingredients. For the past however many years that I have been a faithful patron of our hometown grocery hero, I always assumed the bakery items were made with sugar in the raw, pure cane sugar, succanat, turbinado or evaporated cane juice, all of which are natural sweeteners that only alter ones glycemic index innocuously (particularly when compared to the dietary Satan that is refined sugar). Yesterday, I had a sneaking suspicion that my sneaking suspicion that Whole Foods uses one of these natural sweeteners might not be entirely accurate.

So, I did what any crazy obnoxious consumer would. I inquired as much with a employee of the bakery section. Keep in mind, I poised my inquiry rather gingerly, because the mere thought of Whole Foods using refined sugar seemed ludicrous. The employee (we'll call him Englestein) said "I would think we use sugar in the raw or evaporated cane juice, but let me double check." I of course complied, and began to feel rather silly for asking what was surely an overly-paranoid question. As I waited for Englestein, I resumed my visual lovemaking to the bakery items, even entertaining the thought of purchasing two. After about ten minutes, a felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Englestein, sporting a quizzical look. He said he spoke to several people in the bakery section, who informed him that the sweetener used in the bakery items was indeed refined sugar.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. The room was a spinning pastiche of cookies, fruit kolaches, hipster and yuppy WF regulars, and teeny mutant packets of refined sugar. That were pointing and laughing. The horror. I felt surprised, angry and confused at the same time.

Now, for those of you thinking "Um...its just cookies. Get a life," the thing you must understand is that this revelation further reduces the number of semi-healthy sweets for people with the same affliction as yours truly; namely, those of us who love, love, love sweet treats, but know that we can't realistically indulge every whim, and need to find healthy options in between indulgences (or risk being in a questionable physical state). Also, from a consumer point of view, Whole Foods' usage of refined sugar contradicts, in a significant way, their shtick of selling high-quality, all natural food that people dish out the monies for. There is nothing high-quality or natural about refined sugar.

Le sigh. That's the end of my rant. And of my days eating bakery items from Whole Foods sans guilt.

Dolce Vita Acai Agave Sorbet

Over the years, I've come to realize there is a distinct charm in discovering things that are a bit random and perhaps not as widely disseminated as their counterparts (although this hasn't been true for me in all cases - I was covertly one of the millions that admired the Spice Girls back in their halcyon days even while espousing the musical superiority of Cradle of Filth; even on this blog, I make no secret of the fact that I am a regular and avid patron of Whole Foods. One of so, so, many regular, avid patrons).

Anyway, getting back to the point - I recently became aware of a godsend of sorts (thanks to a ridiculously titled albeit informative NY times fav. "Skinny Bitch") that most people are still relatively unaware of, beyond health junkie circles, that is. Said godsend is the natural sweetener Raw Agave Nectar. Although it is commonly associated with the production of Mexican Tequilas, this nectar of the Agave plant (when used in its raw natural form) is not only devoid of all the unhealthy side effects of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners, but can also offer health benefits such as keeping one's glycemic index steady and promoting the absorption of nutrients.

Ever since I became apprised of Agave's righteous existence, I have acquired the habit of launching into a full-on mental search party when dining out; I fastidiously scour menus of local eateries for Agave-sweetened sweeties. Alas, my efforts over the past few months have lead me to realize that:
1. Not many eateries in Austin will forfeit refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup in favor of healthier alternatives.
2. I am remarkable lazy when it comes to making sweets; virtual cookbooks are abound with recipes that make good use of Agave nectar, but I have yet to attempt a single one.

You can imagine my pleasant astonishment then when I discovered that Hyde Park's very own Dolce Vita is home to a delectable Acai Agave Sorbet. I was overjoyed to see this healthy yet succulent addition to their gelato offerings not only because of their use of Agave nectar, but also due to the other main ingredient being the super food Acai (check out the health benefits of Acai here). As you can see from the photo above, the sorbet is colorful and rich. The flavor was tangy and very cool; it was the perfect antidote for the sweltering temperature. I ate my serving slowly, partly because I like my sorbets a little melty, and partly due to the fact that I wanted to really savor the small bits of Acai that were in the treat. Overall, it was just as sweet and luscious as any refined sugar-sweetened sorbet I have had; in fact, it's difficult to say if I would have known the difference had I not been told as much. Dolce Vita offers the sorbet in single gelato servings or on a bed of granola (as you can see in the photo above).

Now, a disclaimer for those who have been rendered skeptical after consuming their fair share of healthy yet unappetizing sweets: the truth is, Agave nectar does not taste exactly like sugar. The sweet sensation it creates is indeed understated compared to most commercial sweeteners (particularly refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup). Also, since it is unlikely to find Agave sweetener in granulated form, the consistency of some sweets might be different. However, Agave nectar won't incite your glycemic index or blood sugar levels the way sugar and artificial sweeteners do. If being healthy is at all a concern for you, then I can guarantee that the trade off is more than worth it.

Lazy days

As it stands, today marked nearly one month since my last posting. I just wrote up a grocery list for my room mate for things needed 'round the house, so I thought I would channel that energy into typing up a list of reasons for my recent slackitude:
1. SXSW came & went & drained the holy bejesus out of me. Put simplistically, I attended it HARD - Got in all the free shows I could, sang along as much as possible, wore the hippest threads I possess, and made sure to make obscure musical and ironic life references to blend in with the power-hipsters that overran our fair city. I also had the chance to see, among many many others, Kanye West, Yelle, Solid Gold, Loney Dear, Peter Bjorn & John, Graham Coxon, Beach House, Explosions in the Sky, M Ward, and Little Boots. Of course, it took more than a good week for my body and mind grapes to recover from it all. To wit, album covers for Kanye's "808s and Heartbreak" and Solid Gold's "Bodies of Water."









2. Various factors led to the revival of my previously dormant love of all things British. British music, fashion, culture, movies, accents, lingo, Pounds Sterling, men; I'll take them all (especially the last one. What IS IT about British men?). My anglophile revival was further fueled after finally seeing "Control," the Anton Corbijn-helmed biopic for Joy Division lead Singer Ian Curtis. We dearly need one for Bowie now. Thus, my mind space that was previously used to day dream about sweet concoctions will now need to share space with my Anglophile wistfulness.
3. Speaking of Bowie, I had some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in my job situation; many thanks to the recession. Yeah.
4. I ran the Statesman Capitol 10k last weekend. The training and anticipation leading up to it made my dessert consumption a bit lax.
All of these factors (compounded by few new DVD purchases) led to my mind-grapes becoming a little rusty and a tad lazy, sprinkled with writer's block, with a side of just plain uncreative. All of these element combined were of course the recipe for a dry, dry month of March on this blog. So here we are.

I will confess however, that I did partake in a few sweet indulgences in the past few weeks. Rather than write dated entries for all of them, I present a few summations (and another gratuitous list):
1. Had the El Ray Chocolate Cake and Lemon Meringue Pot at Wink Restaurant. The desserts were pricey for sure, and as twenty-somethings, my friends and I were by far the youngest patrons in the place. The El Ray Chocolate cake was sweet and succulent, and the cocoa was daaaark, just like I prefer. I also quite enjoyed the Lemon Meringue Pot, even though I'm not big on anything of the lemon ilk for dessert. It was a unique twist on the classics; the center was tart and chewy, and the crust hard and sweet. Good stuff, if you are willing to spend the bucks.
2. Went to Sugar Momma's Bakeshop and tried the Black and Tan Cupcake. It is probably my favorite cupcake of the moment. It is a chocolate Guinness-infused cupcake with cream-cheese icing. AMAZING. Really, try it if you get the chance.
3. Had the similarly-named Black and Gold cookie from Upper Crust Bakery. No Irish Beer infusion here, but the cookie gets its name for being a chocolate/espresso cookie with Pecans and walnuts. Also very good. I jimmied this photo (left) off another blog fer ya.

4. I have to give a special shout-out to Buenos Aires Cafe at East Sixth and Attayac. Their delicious empanadas were half-off during SXSW, and kept my belly full in between shows at the Fader Fort. This cafe has really nice people, great food, and a delicious Kalhua-soaked flat cake garnished with fresh cream and strawberries that my friend and I had the chance to sample. It's possible the cake tasted better because it was free, but really how can that combination of ingredients be bad?

Finally, my proclivity to forget my camera was at a raging peak during this time period, so I have no pictorial supplements for any of my posts. However, what I DO have is a photo of British thesp Sam Riley as he portrays Ian Curtis in "Control," because eye-candy is better than no eye-candy.
Also, some wonderful, wonderful individual on the interweb made this video for Little Boots' "Stuck on Repeat" featuring clips from the wonderful, wonderful aforementioned film :)