data-driven food posts Archives | Go Eat Your Bread With Joy

September 24, 2019

The Benefits of Drinking Gaba Oolong Tea

When you’re body has been overtaxed, it needs nourishment. But what are the best foods to eat when you’re exhausted or depleted in some way? All kinds of products promise to speed up physical recovery. What works? Here’s a look at what GABA, or specifically GABA oolong tea, could offer you.

Marketed as a hangover relief product, GABA oolong tea is right up there with a host of foods said to be healing, nourishing and stabilizing after physical stress. Unlike some of the everyday hangover-helpers featured in this recent Taste of Home article I wrote, however, GABA is not exactly a household word. Eggs, oats, bananas–sure. But GABA? What is it? What does it offer? How would it help you when you’re tired, sick, run down or drained? Here’s what you’ll want to know.

May 13, 2019

Feeding a Sourdough Starter Grapes: an Experiment

There are lots of methods for feeding a sourdough starter. Each baker has his or her own way. But: feeding your starter grapes? Once I heard this idea, I had to try it. Here’s what happened.

Google around for how to find a sourdough starter, and you’ll see a lot of opinions. You can get a starter from a friend (or a local bakery) or buy a starter online. If you’re adventurous, you might grow your own. (This post from almost a year ago lists a bunch of the possibilities.)

Because sourdough starters are, fundamentally, just a mixture of flour and water and air, making your own is totally doable–but not without some difficulty. That’s why many bakers have found little helps to accelerate activity and simplify the process. One example: feeding a sourdough starter green grapes.

April 10, 2019

Inspired Ideas for Making Salads Something to Look Forward to at Home

Everybody knows salad can be healthy, but does everybody know it can be fun? According to readers polled on Instagram, maybe not. Only 41% said their main reason for eating salad is pleasure—but those that did had ready ideas and recipes for spreading the love. Keep reading to see what they and other resources online have to say about the secrets to making salads something to look forward to at home!

According to research from YouGov, if you’re over the age of 55, there’s a 90% chance you like salad; if you’re a Milliennial, a 40% chance you don’t. In other words, while it’s not hard to find someone to praise the good of greens, it’s getting increasingly harder to find someone who’s excited to eat them. What’s going on?

February 27, 2019

Do Chia Seeds Burn Fat? (and 10 Other FAQs)

According to Google search data, people have a lot of questions about chia seeds. On the rise in the last 12 months are queries such as: “Do chia seeds burn fat?” “Are they keto?” “Can you give them to babies?” “Can you eat them raw?” If you’re like most people, you already get that they’re good for you and, if you’re like 75% of Instagram survey respondents, probably keep them on hand. But what’s the skinny on the rest of it? Here’s a look.

11 FAQs on chia seeds, from "do chia seeds burn fat?" to "Can you feed them to babies?" / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

The message is out. Everybody’s aware: chia seeds are packed with fiber, Omega-3s, antioxidants and other essential nutrients. In fact, in an Instagram poll this week, 92% of survey participants who eat chia say this is why. Touted as everything from a superfood to a nutritional powerhouse, chia seeds today are hip enough to star on upscale restaurant menus, yet common enough to find in the local grocery store.

February 11, 2019

What’s the Best Olive Oil for Salads to Buy at the Grocery Store?

In a recent Instagram poll, I asked followers about olive oil loyalty. Do you prefer a certain brand? If so, what’s the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? Here’s what surprised me: among responses, three names kept repeating—including one that, turns out, has also won at least five olive oil taste tests online.

What's the best olive oil for salads and everyday cooking? / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

Anyone who buys olive oil—and that’s essentially all of us, according to last week’s Instagram poll—knows the challenge of sifting through shelves of options at the store. How should you decide which one to buy? Is price most important? Or should you focus on source? Are oils from Spain better? What about Italy?

I asked you for your opinions last week, and about 24% of the 200 people polled said yes, you are loyal to a certain brand. Of those respondents, most people gave me one of three repeated answers.

January 30, 2019

Making Homemade Tomato Sauce with Canned Tomatoes: Which Brand is Best?

We all know nothing beats fresh tomatoes from the garden, grown in summer sunshine and picked straight off the vine. Sometimes, however, such as in the dead of winter (I see you, negative wind chills across America!), canned tomatoes are the next best thing. So, inspired by a recent canned-tomato comparison at The Kitchn, I took one basic tomato sauce recipe and made it with four different brands of cans. Here’s a look at how the different options stacked up!

Canned tomatoes for use in homemade tomato sauce: a look at how different brands compare / Go Eat Your Bread with Joy

Listen, it’s hard to beat the convenience of canned tomatoes. They’re available year-round. They can sit in your pantry indefinitely. Even better, they’re cost-effective, priced anywhere from $1.50 on the economical end to $4+ on the high side. But, wait: $1.50 to $4? That’s no small price disparity, at least when what we’re talking about is the same basic ingredient, tomatoes, saved and canned and sold. So what’s the deal? Do some brands of tomatoes truly warrant price tags double the rest? Will buying the pricier option make a difference in cooking, especially when you’re making, say, homemade tomato sauce?