How to Buy Groceries without a Tricorder

With the abundance of processed foods and preservatives overwhelming the shelves of grocery stores, each trip I make to buy groceries is like an epic quest. My mission is tri-fold: (1) buy organic, gluten-free, minimally processed foods, (2) try to be kind to my wallet; and (3) try not to have a breakdown over labels, unknown ingredients, and/or the general confusion that reading the backs of several products of the same thing (but just a little different) will cause.

This makes me wish I had a tricorder.

What is a tricorder? you may ask if you’re not a hardcore trekkie. Or you may ask this if you HAVE watched quite a bit of Star Trek but can’t remember that thing that Spock carries around all the time on missions. 

Well this contraption in the picture on the right is a tricorder. And in the Star Trek universe, a tricorder is defined as a “multifunction hand-held devise useful for data sensing, analysis, and recorded data with many specialized abilities which make it an asset to crews about starships and space stations as well as on away missions.” (For more about the tricorder click here. You can also buy one here.)

As you can see in this picture below, Spock is usually carrying one. And sometimes you’ll see Bones with one as well.

Yet, while we’re close to mass-marketing a medical Tricorder, and there are apps  that can aid in grocery shopping, there’s no real way to know what exactly IS in the food we’re buying, especially if it comes in a box, a can, or plastic packaging. I would love to believe that having a tricorder would make shopping easier, since the device could just tell me what’s in my food, how much preservatives or non-natural ingredients have been added, or if all natural, just also happens to be gluten free. But alas, I must wait for that day.

In the meantime, however, I strive to be aware of what’s in the food I buy. Yet this can be incredibly difficult, and is only becoming more difficult as time moves on. Take for example Breyers ice cream:

Breyers ice cream used to be known for it’s short and simple ingredient list that included milk, cream, sugar, and the flavor ingredient (chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, etc). I even remember some of the commercials that advertised this. Yet now, even Breyers has unidentifiable ingredients. Their new list includes Tara gum, Guar gum, ice-structuring proteins, monoglycerides, diglycerides, corn-syrup and natural flavors. If you ask me that’s a big difference. And if I were to pick up such a package and read those ingredients, I would ask myself: What the frak is guar gum? And why I am eating it?

What I think are even worse, are ingredients described with familiar words, that make me think I know what they are, when really, I have no idea what they are. The biggest culprit in this category, for me at least: Modified Food Starch. What IS that?!

Separately, I know what each of these of these words mean, but together they’re just a vague label. Common sense would suggest it’s starch, made out of food, and something has been done it for it to be modified. But how are they modifying it? Why are they modifying it? Will it have an adverse effect on my health? And what kind of food is the starch made out of? Or is it even made out of food at all? Once they’ve modified it of course.

I did some googling and came up with the photo above to the right, and a general definition, of modified food starch as being any kind of grain or vegetable starch. Good luck for anyone who’s sensitive to gluten. If it says food starch, it’s probably not worth the risk. But what’s worse, is that most food has modified starches, or other chemicals and preservatives that we can’t even pronounce, nonetheless determine if they are a hazard to our health. Like Potassium Bromate. Which brings me to Walter Bishop’s thoughts on the matter. 

I tend to agree with Walter some days. There are times when I feel like grocery stores, or the companies whose products are filling the shelves ARE trying to kill us. With strawberry flavored death of nonetheless.

Strategies for Shopping in the Supermarket

So in an absence of tricorders, and only equipped with my smartphone, I have devised a simple strategy for shopping safely in the grocery store, which I will provide below. Apparently it’s all about Fringe  science.

Sort of.

In my experience, I’ve noticed that many grocery stores are set up with similar if not the same layout. Produce, Dairy, Meat, Seafood, Deli and Grains on the outside along the walls (the Fringe area), and processed foods, drinks, snacks and baking items on the inside. And to show you an example I’ve created a layout of the grocery store I go to all the time. Without any of my sci-fi biases, the layout kind of looks like this:

Curious to know how I view grocery stores through my sci-fi lens? Using my grocery store’s layout, I view grocery store space like this:

All those aisles full of processed and preservative filled foods: Romulan Space. A forbidden territory. I don’t go in there unless I must, and if I do go in there and buy processed or preservative foods (which is much more likely than outside of Romulan Space), I must be prepared for war, because my body is going to have to fight off the negative impact such preservatives and modified foods are going to have on my body and my health.

However, on the days, I’m not in the Star Trek frame of mind, and thinking more about Westerns, I view the grocery store like this:

Once again, that dangerous middle aisles space is off limits. This time as Alliance territory. From a Browncoat’s perspective, it’s better to stay away from the areas of the ‘verse that are highly regulated by an unfavorable super government (In this case particularly in the form of highly unfavorable mega-corporations, like Kraft and Blue Sun). It’s safer to cruise out on the fringes to avoid the Alliance. 

Well there you have it, when it comes to grocery shopping Fringe strategy is best. Avoid the Romulans. Avoid the Alliance. And when you can’t avoid either, for the safety of yourself and your crew: Read the ingredients lists!! If instinct or your smart phone tells you some ingredient is inexplicable, or you can’t pronounce it, avoid the Romulan and Alliance traps, and don’t buy it. Life’s safer that way.

Personal Pandoricas

I recently read a blog post by Paul Chek on Happiness, and a concept called Buddha’s cage. And while I can’t speak for everyone, Happiness is a pretty big thing for me, so Paul’s post got my attention, and after a day of pondering, I think I’d like to share.

 In his post Paul wrote something that really resonated with me:

“I’ve found that a huge amount of people’s inability to create sustainable happiness in their lives is because they allow themselves to be governed by other people’s opinions and expectations at the expense of their own.”

Captain Mal Reynolds

I’ve been a people-pleaser all of my life and it wasn’t until the last few years, that I recognized this and discovered that it could be extremely unhealthy. So when I read this statement, I thought: I know exactly how that goes, and unlike floral bonnets, it usually ain’t pretty.

Chek then went on to describe what he teaches to be a Buddha’s cage: limitations created from attaching our sense of personal happiness to mental, etheric, emotional or physical experiences or expectations. 

A Great way to remember these elements is by acronym: MEEP.
Which of course reminds me of Road Runner: Meep Meep.

As a result these limitations end up closing us in, not only creating a false sense of happiness, but also acting as a barrier to reaching true happiness, or reaching personal potential.  Paul Chek’s diagram of a Buddha’s cage looks like this:

My first thoughts and reactions to this picture took a while to develop, as my brain sifted and scanned through everything I know (or think) is true and ways to analyze and connect with the information presented to me, and find a sci-fi equivalent. My first “search result” in my brain was this:

A Pandorica. 

For you Whovians, this might give you an idea where I’m going. Everyone else, please bear with me: This image depicts more than just a box.

In the universe of Doctor Who, at one point, all of the Doctor’s foes form an alliance to create the ultimate prison for the most dangerous person in the universe. Or at least who they consider to be the most dangerous person in the universe: The Doctor. This prison, the Pandorica, is equipped with every type of barrier to keep the Doctor in: deadlocks, time stops, matter lines, and a restoration field to prevent escape by death. The Pandorica is indeed a comprehensive prison.

The Buddha’s cage Chek describes is actually very similar. The cage people tend to build around themselves is just as comprehensive including the mental, emotion, etheric and physical limitations (MEEP MEEP). But unlike the Pandorica, outside enemies are not the creators of such a prison, but in fact, the creator of our Buddha’s cage is none other than our greatest inner foe: ourselves. 

And it’s really easy to start building a Buddha’s Cage or what I like to call a Personal Pandorica. Most people, whether they know it or not, already have one, and some determined souls have found a way to break free. The types of limitations that create a cage on your happiness and personal growth can develop out of anything and everything from the perceptions and expectations of others (this can be anyone: family, friends, co-workers, professors, strangers), to your emotions and/or emotional ties to expectations of others (such as getting approval from those you admire), to physical limitations such as body-weight, self-perception, or past injuries; There are infinite sources of material to build bars or walls.

The Next Step: Escaping your Pandorica

As with most things, the first step is awareness, now that you’re aware of the limitations you have imposed, or have allowed others to impose on yourself, what do you do next?

In my personal experience, it takes time to break down these barriers, but as soon as you discover them, the demolition process can begin. It wasn’t until about a little over a year ago that I started to discover the limitations I had imposed on myself for most of my life. I’m now working towards breaking down 25 years of limitations and negative thoughts that hindered me in attaining happiness, moving forward and approaching life’s next big adventure. 

So how to plan your escape:

Scofield from Prison Break

Well first you get a full body tattoo of the prison you want to escape from since your brother Lincoln... Oh wait, sorry, wrong show...

In my personal opinion, the story line of the Pandorica, and the tale of Rory and Amy (The Pandorica and the Roman soldier) in Doctor Who is one of the greatest love stories ever. I also think that escaping Buddha’s Cages and Personal Pandoricas also requires the same element of love, but applied differently: self-love and a developed sense of self-worth. 

When we are young and we need others to make decisions for us, we rely on the perceptions and expectations of others to guide us to safety, and to the right choices. However, when one graduates from a child to an adult, there is also a need to graduate from relying on the opinions and expectations of others to, trusting oneself to make the decisions. As an adult, no one knows you and what’s going on in your life better than you, particularly in terms of what makes you happy. And many times others won’t be able to understand all of the challenges that you face. As a result, the expectations and opinions of others are not always going to align with what you think, like, want, or most importantly, need. This doesn’t mean you can’t still ask for advice or listen to the recommendations of others, but it does mean you can’t let others set the standards for your happiness. As soon as you let others decide what will determine what makes you happy, the door to your cage or Pandorica is as good as locked. Oops.

So next time you feel your happiness being threatened or being absent, ask yourself:  Is it because of what others think of you? Or what someone told you? Why does their opinion matter? How do you know they are telling the truth? If you think they are telling the truth, is it the absolute truth? Or just how they see it? What will their opinion matter six months from now? A year? 10 years? Are they setting the standards for your happiness? Why?

I find these types of questions to be extremely helpful. The biggest gray area I have is when professional opinions or advice is given. These professionals have experience and knowledge that I don’t, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean they know everything, especially about me. The most difficult area of my personal Pandorica to deconstruct is the limitations that come the expectations of family and close friends: I want them to be happy, but when I let them set the standards of my happiness, my life turns into a lab of gloom and doom where things go boom.

This kind of oxygen mask.

Someone once told me that surviving life is like surviving a plane crash: You must put on your own oxygen mask first before you can help others put theirs on.

Not this kind of Oxygen Mask.

This principle suggests that once you have your own oxygen mask on you will be able to help others, many more so than if you yourself were running out of oxygen in the process. Likewise, once figure out your own happiness, you can help others find theirs, many more so than if you yourself were unhappy. 

One Step Closer to The Doctor[ate]

This past weekend I flew to Boston for my Graduation Ceremony at Northeastern University for my Masters in Public Administration. For the past three years, I’ve been working towards my degree part-time online, while also working full-time and pursuing my sci-fi and holistic health passions.  It was completely surreal to fly up to Boston having finally finished my degree. I actually completed undergrad in Boston and lived there three years, so a return to Boston was like going home again. There were so many familiar things that I wanted to do again, and several new things I wanted to try.

That Shiny Building is Fringe's FBI HQ

But a few things had changed since I had last been to Beantown, and the biggest one: I’m now gluten-free. (The Second biggest thing: I have discovered Fringe, which, fans know has a storyline based out of Boston. And my hotel was unbelievably close to what is known as “FBI Headquarters” in Fringe. For the record, it’s not the actual FBI building, which is  further in town, and isn’t anywhere as shiny).

Fringe Observer

This was terrifying and exciting all at once.Where would I eat?  Would I be able to eat at my favorite restaurants? Would I see an Observer? I would have to figure it all out as I went. I like to categorize this type of unknown as adventure. Much more fun that way.

Graduation

My Graduation ceremony was on the afternoon of May the 3rd, and I was more than ready. It was definitely a unique experience since I had completed my entire degree online and had never met any of my classmates or professors in person. With such a sense of anonymity, I decided to attend Whovian style. This included

1. Showing my Whovian pride and increasing my chances of meeting the 10th Doctor:

2. Not Blinking (Weeping Angel protection, and there were lots of photos being taken.)

When arrived I didn’t see anyone else wearing anything on their cap, and for a second doubted my Whovian boldness, but at the end of the ceremony, I had other Whovians track me down in the crowd filled with Masters, Doctors, Graduates and families looking to tell me they loved my cap. I’m convinced now that it was worth it. And I’m already designing my next CAPtions for any future degrees.

Newbury Comics - The Nerd Mecca of Boston 

Besides Walter’s lab of course. Actually, while scenes of the outside of Walter Bishop’s lab in Fringe is filmed on the traditional Harvard University in Cambridge, the actual building it’s supposed to be in (the Kresge Building) is on a separate campus in South Boston. Anyways, I digress. One of my favorite things about returning to Boston is the chance to visit Newbury Comics. While the original store is on Newbury street, the chain now has several locations throughout New England (but only in New England). However, if you have never been, should you see the smiling face logo, GO IN! They have everything from movies and tv shows to music (both new and used) as well as novelty items for every fandom, whether it be Dr. Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Dexter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, True Blood and so on and so forth. It is a gold mine. 

But buyer beware (caveat emptor) your money will part from with you there. And for the love of your wallet, don’t go back the next day, especially with the thought you wont buy but just one more thing... like I did... Yet if you can browse without giving in to temptation, the whole store is kind of like chicken noodle soup for the nerd. You won’t feel alone here.

Goodies I purchased

Gluten Free Feasting and Finds

My food discoveries over my graduation weekend, were very much positive. A lot of my fact checking (what’s gluten free, what’s not, and what’s such and such made out of) for my favorite restaurants were made on my phone, but I happened to stumble across some helpful knowledge and websites, as well as actually stumble into a couple of restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. Here’s some of the things I found:

Fire and Ice - This is one of my favorite restaurants and is where I held my graduation dinner. Twice. This bar and grill can be found in a few places across the states. They’ve gone gluten free friendly now, and offer gluten free pasta as well as designate all of the sauces that are gluten free. If you’re super sensitive, they will even cook your food in a separate pan in the back :)

Noodle Street - This cafe was a staple part of my life as a student at Boston University, and it’s actually located on BU’s urban campus. For two years I lived on the street behind it and was tempted by the smells. Noodle Street doesn’t have a gluten free menu, but in my determination to eat here I found this website on gluten free Asian noodles, and then researched everything else on the menu via smartphone (universe bless technology). Gluten-free nerds, please remember to steer clear of soy sauce!

Naked Pizza - This is probably the coolest pizza place I’ve ever found by just walking in. Their ingredients are all natural and they even offer gluten-free pizza with all natural ingredients. Just be aware that gluten free pizza at this chain only comes in one size, so plan to share or take home leftovers. Yum!

Sweet - My accidental find of this small sweeterie almost brings tears to my eyes. One of my friends took a quick dive into here while we were walking downtown and at first thought, I just knew I would only be able to look at the cupcakes and never eat them. But then I spotted the gourmet gluten free cupcakes, and the gluten-free candy. The gf cupcakes must be bought in pairs (but it’s totally worth it) and the candy is a little pricey, but delicious. I wish they had a SWEET in Houston...

Panera - I haven’t eaten at Panera since I went gluten free. Why? Well the majority of the things on the menu include bread. However at 8 am in the morning, I hadn’t a clue where I could score a gluten free menu, so I searched the web for a gluten free Panera menu and found this website. And while many of the gluten free items are lunch or dinner items, Panera will actually sell you salads for breakfast. I tested this. Twice.

Jason’s Deli - There actually isn’t a Jason’s Deli in Boston, but when I travel, this chain is usually my fall back because they have a pretty extensive gluten free menu,  you can dine in, order take out, or have your meal delivered. And everything is rather reasonably priced. I think that it deserves honorable mention.

The Perfect Souvenir

I will admit that when I travel, I do like to pick up souvenirs, particularly if their sci-fi related in any way, regardless of whether the item is for myself or others. This trip I found something that I’ve been looking for for a long time. My childhood best friend and I watched the entire reimagined Battlestar Galactica series together just a little over a year ago, and since the moment she saw them she has been obsessed with Admiral Adama’s stemless, double-walled glasses. Specifically this kind:

Well, I’ve been casually looking for them ever since, and I just so happened to find some when I was finishing my lemon 

cupcake from Sweet Cupcakes. I found them in a store known as David’s tea, in which I also bought organic spearmint loose leaf tea, in a TARDIS-esque looking container (imagination is a powerful tool):  

Needless to say, I purchased the glasses on her behalf, and gave them to her when she picked me up at the airport. She’s always doing that: shuttling me to the airport and I love her for it.

Anyways, David Tennant: Awesome. DavidsTea: Awesome. And not just because they sell glasses that look like Adama's. They also sell loose leaf tea online here.

And that’s where I’ll end my reminescence of Boston. I didn’t see any Observers this time. But I’ll return again, with my eyes open for both Dr. Who and Dr. Walter Bishop.

The Unintended Consequences of Drinking Inorganic Milk

Ever since I can remember, I’ve never really ever *liked* milk. I can remember adults telling me to finish my milk when I was a child, and I can remember when the GOT MILK? ads targeted the nerd population. Now years later, I still don’t really drink milk, and live under my childhood milk and cereal commandment: If there is no cereal, I shall have no milk. And now, well I pretty much think the same thing only modified: If there is no gluten-free cereal, I shall have no [organic] milk. Picky, I know. I’m a work in progress. Holistic Health after all, is an ongoing process.

So what’s so special about organic milk, besides the higher price? Well first, I’ll start with the convenience factor. Ignoring the price, organic milk lasts SO much longer. Next time you’re in the milk section at the grocery store, take a look at the expiration dates on the organic milk: yep, about a month into the future. Amazing. Shelf life for organic milk, is pretty awesome, especially if you don’t drink milk all the time (like some people *ahem* me) and there’s no worrying about it going bad right away.

But the big difference between organic and inorganic milk, is that the organic milk is completely free of the hormones and antibiotics that are often given to cows in the United States (the EU actually doesn’t allow hormones in milk, nor do they allow U.S. milk into the EU either). The worst of these hormones is rBGH or recombinant bovine growth hormone. This is the chemical that is given to cows to extend the length of time during which they can produce milk by up to 8 to 12 weeks. During this extended time period, the cow is stressed, since producing milk occurs at the cost of the cow’s own tissues and health, and the cow becomes more at risk mastitis (inflammation of the breast tissue) which can impact the milk. But besides just having a negative impact on the cow, rBGH actually has a negative impact on humans too.

As it turns out, cow DNA and human DNA are quite similar, only two strands apart, as Walter Bishop notes when he requests a cow for his lab in the first part of this clip from the Fringe Pilot:

 This is worrisome, as rBGH causes an increase in a growth hormone called IGF-1 in milk. A chemical which is identical in both humans and cows (sounds like frogs and dinosaurs in Jurassic Park doesn’t it? And we all how that turned out...). This similarity causes human bodies to identify IGF-1 in cow's milk as their own when ingested. Increased levels of IGF-1 can be associated weight gain, as well as several types of cancers. Those may not be beer bellies that many a person may sport, but milk bellies. The debate that surrounds these issues is often touchy and is still ongoing. If you’d like to read more from the anti-milk side, Robert Cohen has a book titled Milk: The Deadly Poison, which goes into much more detail. Particularly with regards to the milk bellies, which actually sounds like a condition Walter Bishop himself would have discovered. And my opinion? I’m not an anti-milk extremist myself, but I do prefer organic milk, and I eye regular hormone infused milk with suspicion; I won’t drink it.

So, if you’re a big milk drinker, or you have kids who drink lots of milk, play it safe and buy organic milk. Because unfortunately, in the reality we live in, chemicals don’t usually grant super hero powers (no matter how much we want them too), but often cause ailments or cancers of some sort instead. And instinct would suggest that chemical free is usually best.

But, if you already do drink organic milk, here’s a challenge for you: Go Goat (organic, of course). Its the most commonly drank milk on the planet, and much better for you, despite its distinct taste. 

I may not drink much milk, but when I do, it’s organic, and it’s goat. And there’s usually cereal involved :).