America in 25 things?

In this issue: An attempt to describe America via 25 items, how our diets need to shift as we age, and Chipotle's jalapeño drama.

The World Cup is behind us, but the fervor visitors had when faced with our giant markets and mega sizes is lingers. Imagine then trying to encapsulate what it’s like to be American using only 25 objects? This is exactly what the NYT did in a recent visual explainer. Some of the items chosen elicited a hell yes in my head. Others got a hmm. Number 1 was the $4.99 Costco rotisserie chicken. (Hell yes.) The discount retailer has its own plant in Nebraska, but also uses the same big suppliers you might buy at a grocery store. We don’t know how the animals are raised or what they’re fed. And, because Costco is universally mum with most every journalist, I won’t even try to find out. Other downsides about Costco’s cheap chicken? Hot meat stored in plastic bags has been shown to leach microplastics. Cheap food is most definitely an American thing.

On Etsy you can find these artsy Solo cups.

Another hell yes were the red solo cups the writer chose. These cups say college, they say keg parties, they say picnics and barbecues. All so very American. They’re so ubiquitous that you can find them in a ceramic version, which I think look pretty cool. (I’d include the curly-edged paper plate as iconic of being American and these can also be found in a permanent version. Hell yes.)

The George Foreman Grill was one of the 25 items, and it seems right on except is anyone still using theirs or have they all made it to the White Elephant Sale? I never had one. Today’s equivalent might be an air fryer. I keep wanting one and never pull the trigger. I do love the instant pot and I don’t see that waning. Sad desk salad was another item on the list. This was once called ‘sad desk lunch,’ versus salad, but maybe the world is changing and more people are actually eating their salads? (Yay and hell yes.)

A vexing item included and also on my love-hate list is the bottomless basket of chips and salsa. Oh if only I could eat chips and not worry about what it was doing to my blood sugar. The only way I could eat endless chips is if I could hike or run a marathon WHILE eating the chips and salsa. Does REI make a chip bladder?

It looks like someone caught chips & salsa on their Ring camera, which is also one of the 25 things. Photo by Flickr/CMZieBarth.

Not food related but so true of the American identity is certainly the gas station key, or any location that has a key no one wants to lose and so they make it big, ugly and awkward so that we don’t dare forget to return it. At my boat house we use buoys for the bathroom key fobs and I’ve yet to hear of someone walking away with it somehow in their pocket.

Some on the hmm list were the Goop yoni egg, Juicy Couture sweatshirt, and dirty soda because these seem, to me, to be brief moments in time. We could instead pick Goop alone or today’s version of the Juicy outfit might be the red plaid pajama pants that “all” kids seem to wear out of the house.

Back to the Solo cups and Costco’s chicken. While another 25 items, or people, could be chosen as explainers of what it’s like to be in America, these two are so very very IT. I hope you have a great weekend, and have fun coming up with your own 25 things. Drop me a line and tell me what’s on your list.

I’m just here for the tidbits:

1. The cover story of the recent New Scientist is about how we need to shift our diets as we get older. Fascinating stuff. I learned that my current body needs more calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C than my younger self. As we age our appetite declines, and what we eat must work harder. “This means that to achieve optimal health, there is less and less space for lower quality foods.” (Imagine the segment of the population on GLP-1s that are eating even less?) The magic bullet to get more protein, fiber and micronutrients, says the article, are whole grains, which includes beans, brown rice, quinoa, lentils, and wheat bread.

2. As if we weren’t already worried about lettuce, Chipotle axes jalapeños nationwide over a growing salmonella concern. I don’t eat fast food but I do love a good salad bar and eating from a salad bar is the same kind of mystery black box as eating bagged salad mixes that I told you not to eat in my last Substack. Ugh. Things are not looking good for the FDA, not to mention any large franchise with a big multi-layer supply chain. And while I mostly know our food system is safe, I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve gone off the rails.

Where you can find me:

1. My long-time readers know that I like to work on the plane, which is what I’m doing right now on my flight to Los Angeles—where I grew up. I’ll see my aunt and two dear friends from my junior high days. Then I’ll buzz up to Ojai to visit my brother and nephew and we’ll hit the Ojai farmers market.

2. I’m working on two assignments. Links to come.