Just in time for July 4th I'm posting my thoughts on the patriotically themed flavors of UP2U gum. The package is American Flag-y, and even the flavors are patriotic -- STRIPED Red Strawberry and STARmint. Get it? Stars and stripes?
The Starmint flavor is probably one of my favorite minty flavors so far. I am terrible at identifying mints, so I have no idea if it's a blend of mints or what, but I can say that it's a very light and fresh mint flavor -- very nice and refreshing.
Like the other non-mint flavors I've had (aka Berry Watermelon and...Berry Watermelon), the Striped Red Strawberry does have a weird minty undertone to it. But the flavor is also very definitely strawberryesque, and nicely so. What I REALLY liked about this was the smell -- talk about getting a good smack of strawberry right in the nose (I like strawberry smells)!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Mentos UP2U Gum: Berry Watermelon/Fresh Mint
The Fresh mint starts off nice and sweet -- the way fresh would be expected. At times, though, it gets some bitter/sour notes, or it did with the first few pieces I tasted. (This may also be because I was simply trying the gum, rather than having a piece after food, so the neutralizing effect of the mint was overstated.)
I'm not sure how much I like the Berry Watermelon. It's got a nice sweetness to it, but at the same time, while you're feeling the berry tang and everything, there's a minty undertone that is a little odd considering this is a berry and watermelon flavor. It's kind of like the Fresh Mint is an undertone and it's a bit strange. Besides that, though, the gum is really succulent-feeling and sweet and nice.
I'm not sure how much I like the Berry Watermelon. It's got a nice sweetness to it, but at the same time, while you're feeling the berry tang and everything, there's a minty undertone that is a little odd considering this is a berry and watermelon flavor. It's kind of like the Fresh Mint is an undertone and it's a bit strange. Besides that, though, the gum is really succulent-feeling and sweet and nice.
Chubster: A Hipster's Guide to Losing Weight While Staying Cool
Recently I was perusing my library system's cache of weight-loss/dieting books (I know that might get people all up in arms, for some reason they always do when I talk about me and dieting -- but hang on for a second before I get all the naknaknakking) and came upon a book by Martin Cizmar called Chubster: A Hipster's Guide to Losing Weight While Staying Cool.
Never mind trimming off fat, did I really just rea that title?! And so, I borrowed the book.
(By the way, apologies to hipsters everywhere. I don't mean to rag on you. I just found the juxtaposition of a dieting book and hipsters kinda funny from the "what how seriously" point of view.)
As much as I thought the book would be a good laugh (as I, for one, do not quite identify with the hipster subculture), it was actually more accessible than I thought it would be. Sure, the narration got snarky and stereotypical hipster-y (something you've probably never heard of--sorry, sorry, I'll stop) at points, since the audience it's aimed it is...well...hipsters, those on the forefront fringe of youth culture, and I couldn't help but giggle when there came a part when a basic caricature of the various stereotypes (the hippie or "granola", a music hipster going to concerts of bands we've never heard of, the trendily nerdy bookworms, the artsy fashionistas, the Twitter prodigies...etc) was given to suggest different ways of going about the "Chubster" plan. But, even the author admitted those stereotypes were...well...stereotypes, extreme cases.
I have to say though, just to get it out there, the Music Snob Hipster was what made me start laughing. The idea of ironic 80's band t-shirts (why they're ironic...I guess 'cause there's no way you'd actually have a shirt firsthand from old bands and they're so old it's ironically being slowpoke.jpg?) and a portable turntable put me in the mind of a character, Dave Strider, from Homestuck, and the ability to concentrate and be mature about things spiraled from there.
If you look past the aim towards being "cool" by the modern standards of being a barista that frequents art galleries and doesn't roll with "The Man," though, the book gives some pretty sound advice. It focuses on calorie counting, and even gives a small sampling of what's calorically better or worse among some fast foods, ethnic foods, and microwaveable meals -- taste taken into consideration as well. Apparently alcohol is a large concern, at least by this book, so there's a whole section discussing the goods/bads of your various recreational drugs (alcohol and marijuana, specifically). There are also some good organizational tips, like creating a database of foods you eat and their nutritional values so that you start to, over time, get a broad picture of what's a better or worse idea in your personal diet.
As exercise, too, is generally considered important for health, the book gives some good alternatives to simply signing up for the nearest gym. Example: walking.
The book tries to drive home that, so long as you're aware of what you're eating and expending energy-wise, you can get a handle on your body. I really liked that it gave a starting point for foods, including defining 'fancier' foods like foi gras and whether it may be a good or bad idea to have (i.e. I would have sworn foi gras was a plant, since gras looks like grass. I was wrong. It's duck fat or something like that. NOT a green like arugula or endive). Not only does it give you a few reference points, it shows in its brief analyses some of the things you should look out for. Another example is the entry on quinoa, where it's pointed out that quinoa IS nutritious, but it's also caloric -- something that has to be taken into consideration with what the meal is.
So, while I sort of took the book out as a shallow joke, it's actually a worthwhile thing to browse through if you're thinking about dieting. It's written by someone who's done the weight loss thing, who has definitely done their research, and who very relatably did not want to glue to a crazy fad diet (never mind if it's too mainstream, those are too ineffective on the whole!).
Never mind trimming off fat, did I really just rea that title?! And so, I borrowed the book.
(By the way, apologies to hipsters everywhere. I don't mean to rag on you. I just found the juxtaposition of a dieting book and hipsters kinda funny from the "what how seriously" point of view.)
As much as I thought the book would be a good laugh (as I, for one, do not quite identify with the hipster subculture), it was actually more accessible than I thought it would be. Sure, the narration got snarky and stereotypical hipster-y (something you've probably never heard of--sorry, sorry, I'll stop) at points, since the audience it's aimed it is...well...hipsters, those on the forefront fringe of youth culture, and I couldn't help but giggle when there came a part when a basic caricature of the various stereotypes (the hippie or "granola", a music hipster going to concerts of bands we've never heard of, the trendily nerdy bookworms, the artsy fashionistas, the Twitter prodigies...etc) was given to suggest different ways of going about the "Chubster" plan. But, even the author admitted those stereotypes were...well...stereotypes, extreme cases.
I have to say though, just to get it out there, the Music Snob Hipster was what made me start laughing. The idea of ironic 80's band t-shirts (why they're ironic...I guess 'cause there's no way you'd actually have a shirt firsthand from old bands and they're so old it's ironically being slowpoke.jpg?) and a portable turntable put me in the mind of a character, Dave Strider, from Homestuck, and the ability to concentrate and be mature about things spiraled from there.
If you look past the aim towards being "cool" by the modern standards of being a barista that frequents art galleries and doesn't roll with "The Man," though, the book gives some pretty sound advice. It focuses on calorie counting, and even gives a small sampling of what's calorically better or worse among some fast foods, ethnic foods, and microwaveable meals -- taste taken into consideration as well. Apparently alcohol is a large concern, at least by this book, so there's a whole section discussing the goods/bads of your various recreational drugs (alcohol and marijuana, specifically). There are also some good organizational tips, like creating a database of foods you eat and their nutritional values so that you start to, over time, get a broad picture of what's a better or worse idea in your personal diet.
As exercise, too, is generally considered important for health, the book gives some good alternatives to simply signing up for the nearest gym. Example: walking.
The book tries to drive home that, so long as you're aware of what you're eating and expending energy-wise, you can get a handle on your body. I really liked that it gave a starting point for foods, including defining 'fancier' foods like foi gras and whether it may be a good or bad idea to have (i.e. I would have sworn foi gras was a plant, since gras looks like grass. I was wrong. It's duck fat or something like that. NOT a green like arugula or endive). Not only does it give you a few reference points, it shows in its brief analyses some of the things you should look out for. Another example is the entry on quinoa, where it's pointed out that quinoa IS nutritious, but it's also caloric -- something that has to be taken into consideration with what the meal is.
So, while I sort of took the book out as a shallow joke, it's actually a worthwhile thing to browse through if you're thinking about dieting. It's written by someone who's done the weight loss thing, who has definitely done their research, and who very relatably did not want to glue to a crazy fad diet (never mind if it's too mainstream, those are too ineffective on the whole!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)