Tag Archives: planet

Sep 29 2019

Impossible Burger at Burger King

impossibleThe other day, hubby and I were eating at a favorite restaurant near our home. While perusing the menu, I noted that they now serve the “Impossible Burger” for $15. To be fair, that includes “free” salad and a side, but it struck me as a high price for a fake burger. I’m actually a fan of a good black bean burger, but these new fangled burgers (such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat) purport themselves to be equal in taste and texture to beef. But I wasn’t too keen on spending $15 when I could get a nice salmon fillet with two sides for $12, so we didn’t try it that day.

However, after church today, we went to a fast food restaurant. That’s quite unusual for us, but hey, I got to try an Impossible Burger for a possible price. The B&K palace we visited was one of a series of fast food joints along a busy highway, so they had customers, but not too many. We ordered the meal (a golly whopping 900+ calories) which includes a small drink and fries. BTW, neither the drink nor the fries didn’t seem all that small to me, but the gal at the counter seemed surprised that we didn’t take the 30 cent upgrade to medium.

Hubby looked a bit skeptical, but I dug in immediately. Low and behold  the Impossible “Whopper” tastes quite a lot like any old fast food burger—nothing outstanding, but just fine for the price paid. Anyway, the burger seemed a bit thinner than I remember for a whopper, but the condiments and bun made it a substantial sandwich, which we ate without cheese, as there seemed to be sufficient calories without that addition. The fries were good and crisp, and I ate half of them before shoving them across the table for hubby to finish.

My Fitness Pal tells me that I’ve just about eaten all I should for this day, but I can now say I’ve tried one of the latest innovations in food, and it is okay…as long as one has enough calories left to enjoy the thing. Oh, and I do recommend trying it at Burger King, because we both ate for the price of one at our local sit down and get waited on favorite.

Apr 22 2019

Earth Day

planetI have mixed emotions about this day, but I do like some of the promotions associated with it. There is a nifty kids’ consignment store over in Buford that is having a big sale today, urging their customers to buy used. For kids, that’s generally a win-win, as children’s clothing is often not worn out before it is out-grown, and as kids are hard on their clothes, cheaper options are better for play clothes. I noticed some emails from an online clothing vendor, which is offering sale prices and promotional buttons which say “used.” I’m not going so far as to wear one of those, regardless of how good buying and wearing pre-owned items is for the planet.

One of my friends works with elderly folk, doing both house-keeping and care-giving, and she recently brought me some bags of fairly nice clothing from a client who is downsizing. I’ve been going through those, listing some items on eBay, and setting aside some for charity. She was told to “get rid of them” by the client, so my friend had the choice of trash or wholesale charity, but she is a thrifty sort, as I am, so she went through them first. Some readers are going to say, “Yuck, I can’t imagine being that poor.” But, the truth is that neither of us is especially impoverished, but we do realize that the planet is better off when things are re-purposed or re-used.

In my kitchen, I have a compost bin, and I take it out regularly, adding to my compost pile in the back of my property. When I set out plants, I use the composted material for fertilizer, instead of using chemicals that aren’t good for me or the planet. When I’m away from home, I generally take a water bottle, rather than buying those. I use rags and towels when cleaning, rather than always using paper towels (which I can’t get hubby to do.) And, I’ve learned that Dawn+vinegar+water trumps most pricey cleaning products.

As a reader, I enjoy new and old books and magazines. These days, most of the content I read is in digital form, which sometimes saves significant amounts of cash, but it also prevents the waste associated with old or remaindered books. If you haven’t tried eBooks, this is a great time to take the plunge, as there is plenty of free and inexpensive content. Try the “Nook” app from Barnes and Noble, as it works quite well.

Earth Day is a chance to think or re-think consumption.