:: Thomas Penton :: May 3 :: Cleveland

[vicman]

i just reread your post and saw that you had sabritas! maybe i should stay away 'cause i don't want to gain 10 lbs!

i got a box of gansitos and putthem in the freezer as soon as i got home. had one of them with a coke for dinner on saturday.

[kken]

not inca cola?

[tinybutterfli]

not inca cola?

that's peruvian, not mexican!

[kken]

whatever it is, it's freaking battery acid...

[vicman]

inca cola is disgusting . . . as thick as cough syrup.

each can has like 70grams of sugar.

[tinybutterfli]

yeah it doesn't taste too good

[rockyblue]

Speaking of which, Rockyblue there is a JOHNNY DEPP FILM FESTIVAL later this month in Silver Spring. I'm all over that

I'M SO THERE!!

[rockyblue]

all this talk of mexican food is making me drool.

[joeygk]

Flamboyant fashion designer Donatella Versace has checked into a rehabilitation center to be treated for addiction to cocaine.

The 49-year-old head of Italian style giants Versace has quietly entered the undisclosed facility for treatment, her spokesman has confirmed.

The representative told Pagesix.com, "The family views this as a private matter. We hope the press will respect this as such."

Friends of the tanned style guru say Versace has been privately battling a drug problem for years.

Versace and her brother, Santa, took over the Versace empire after their brother, Gianni, was tragically murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach, Florida, mansion by Andrew Cunanan in July 1997.

--- really.....Imagine that?!?! Are people really surprised by this one.

[vicman]

straight edge --- i think not!

[tinybutterfli]

oh for fuck's sake - i have nothing going on this month at work basically and now i'm being roped into some training on AUGUST 27 from 9 am to 5 pm - NO NO NO! I want to leave early that day to go to NYC

I'm gonna try to get out of it. bastards!

[vicman]

call in sick!

any other dates available for that training?

[tinybutterfli]

the next one isn't till february! wtf is that about? And its in MCLEAN! ARGH!

I think I can take it over the web on alternative dates *crosses fingers*

[rockyblue]

Vending machines getting healthier

Companies aim to please consumers, nutritionists

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The typical vending machine fare consists of chocolate bars and potato chips, leaving few options for people seeking low-calorie or low-salt snacks.

That is changing now as companies develop markets for products they expect to satisfy both nutritionists and consumers. Imagine peeled baby carrots instead of candy, or crispy baked pita bread in place of those chips.

Healthy products, relegated to a few trays or maybe a row or two, if they were sold at all, are starting to take over entire machines. These offerings account for a small but growing share of the $3.3 billion business.

Companies hope to attract adults who have avoided vending machines because of the diet-busting temptations. Another focus is on schools, where parents and administrators would prefer that students much on raisins rather than powdered doughnuts.

A vending machine without candy bars and regular soda is a big step, said Mike Kiser, chief executive officer of Compass Vending Services, an industry leader based in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We've never had the courage to take out our best sellers," he said.

Compass is experimenting with a bank of food and drink machines lined up behind a plastic facade to look like a single unit. Products include granola bars, PowerBars, salads, energy drinks and smoothies.

Sodexho Vending reserves nine of a typical machine's 45 trays for healthy items, said Tom Smith, senior vice president of the company, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Examples are nuts and dried fruits, and low-sodium chips.

As the companies see it, that offers a little something for all the different needs.

Busy workers may want to eat healthy if they are getting something from the machine because they are too busy for lunch, said Bill Mitchell, Sodexho Vending's director of program development.

Of course, there still is a place for candy. People still will want "a small indulgence" as a reward, he said.

Stonyfield Farm, an organic foods company in Londonderry, New Hampshire, has 15 vending machines in California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and has applications from schools in 36 states, spokeswoman Cathleen Toomey said.

To help fill the machines, the company rounded up products from a number of organic vendors. She said the company followed guidelines from a children's nutrition group, Kids First, to make sure the offerings were healthy.

The machines offer baked pita chips instead of potato chips, and yogurt drinks instead of soda, Toomey said. Students tested the products, and the company founder is sure "you can put a Coke machine alongside our machine and we will survive," she said.

School districts increasingly are looking for healthier snacks. In some cases, they are being pushed by state law that restricts what students can get from the vending machines. In other areas, healthier choices could be district policy.

Schools in Hopkins, Minnesota, will switch this school year to treats such as yogurt and carrot sticks, said Bertrand Weber, director of operations for the St. Paul-Minneapolis-area district's food service program.

There also will be standard snacks, but with a healthy edge -- for instance, no trans fats, he said. Health experts say this kind of fat can clog arteries.

Weber said students already watch what they eat. Hopkins High School's Health Nut Cafe, which specializes natural and organic meals, accounts for half of the lunch business, he said.

________________________

[vicman]

Vending machines getting healthier

Companies aim to please consumers, nutritionists

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The typical vending machine fare consists of chocolate bars and potato chips, leaving few options for people seeking low-calorie or low-salt snacks.

That is changing now as companies develop markets for products they expect to satisfy both nutritionists and consumers. Imagine peeled baby carrots instead of candy, or crispy baked pita bread in place of those chips.

Healthy products, relegated to a few trays or maybe a row or two, if they were sold at all, are starting to take over entire machines. These offerings account for a small but growing share of the $3.3 billion business.

Companies hope to attract adults who have avoided vending machines because of the diet-busting temptations. Another focus is on schools, where parents and administrators would prefer that students much on raisins rather than powdered doughnuts.

A vending machine without candy bars and regular soda is a big step, said Mike Kiser, chief executive officer of Compass Vending Services, an industry leader based in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We've never had the courage to take out our best sellers," he said.

Compass is experimenting with a bank of food and drink machines lined up behind a plastic facade to look like a single unit. Products include granola bars, PowerBars, salads, energy drinks and smoothies.

Sodexho Vending reserves nine of a typical machine's 45 trays for healthy items, said Tom Smith, senior vice president of the company, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Examples are nuts and dried fruits, and low-sodium chips.

As the companies see it, that offers a little something for all the different needs.

Busy workers may want to eat healthy if they are getting something from the machine because they are too busy for lunch, said Bill Mitchell, Sodexho Vending's director of program development.

Of course, there still is a place for candy. People still will want "a small indulgence" as a reward, he said.

Stonyfield Farm, an organic foods company in Londonderry, New Hampshire, has 15 vending machines in California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and has applications from schools in 36 states, spokeswoman Cathleen Toomey said.

To help fill the machines, the company rounded up products from a number of organic vendors. She said the company followed guidelines from a children's nutrition group, Kids First, to make sure the offerings were healthy.

The machines offer baked pita chips instead of potato chips, and yogurt drinks instead of soda, Toomey said. Students tested the products, and the company founder is sure "you can put a Coke machine alongside our machine and we will survive," she said.

School districts increasingly are looking for healthier snacks. In some cases, they are being pushed by state law that restricts what students can get from the vending machines. In other areas, healthier choices could be district policy.

Schools in Hopkins, Minnesota, will switch this school year to treats such as yogurt and carrot sticks, said Bertrand Weber, director of operations for the St. Paul-Minneapolis-area district's food service program.

There also will be standard snacks, but with a healthy edge -- for instance, no trans fats, he said. Health experts say this kind of fat can clog arteries.

Weber said students already watch what they eat. Hopkins High School's Health Nut Cafe, which specializes natural and organic meals, accounts for half of the lunch business, he said.

________________________

i want my chex mix!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kken]

i want my chex mix!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i remember when chex mix had peanuts in them...

[vicman]

i remember when chex mix had peanuts in them...

they still do . . . some of them.

[kken]

they still do . . . some of them.

really? huh, i remember when chex mix went 'healthy' like nine years ago, they totally ditched the peanuts... added more dry pretzels and baked thingies instead of them oh so good fried chex mix squares...

[vicman]

really? huh, i remember when chex mix went 'healthy' like nine years ago, they totally ditched the peanuts... added more dry pretzels and baked thingies instead of them oh so good fried chex mix squares...

[vicman]

http://www.taquitos.net/

[vicman]

i'm sure we all know a few of these characters . . . which reminds me, they are in DC later on in september.

http://bbs.clubplanet.com/showthread.php?t=235167

[rockyblue]

silly Boston peeps.

[rockyblue]

[tinybutterfli]

my throat is killing me

so being the genius that i am i managed to somehow set off the alarm to my own house yesterday, uh yeah.... so the security company calls and i'm like "oh it was just me, i entered the code & it stopped" but they were asking me for some secret password. I had no idea what the hell they were talking about and my roommate is in scotland so i can't ask her. so a cop shows up at my door like 5 minutes later. I had to explain to him that yes, I am that dumb. At least I know the alarm works and that they are quick in responding to it! oy!

[kken]

ugh yeah it's one of those days where you wake up late, have to get bk for breakfast coz you know you won't have time for lunch, and you have to take a cab to work... bleh.