The dirt on Wild Garden Hummus Dip

Just kidding. There's no dirt in this hummus - and it's REALLY good. It tasted just like what we ate in Israel, only smoother, which is a plus in something you hope will come out in a thin stream on a carrot stick, a cucumber chip or a cracker when you're up in the air or riding a train.

I can't remember where I picked this up; it probably came in a snack pack on some airline, and I probably wasn't all that hungry at the time. And it looked like it would keep well without refrigeration, which it did.

I was so impressed, I went online to see where I could get it. Unfortunately, it's not in any Charlottesville stores yet, but they do have online ordering as well as a store locator. The website is www.wildgarden.biz. The 50-gram packages are just the right size for a snack, 63 calories, and have twice as much protein as fat or carbs.

Here's a segment on the product that was featured last October by Supermarket Guru:

Suitcase full of surprises

Good news - The Sacramento Bee sent me home with a suitcase full of cookbooks, so I'm going to get started on testing them right away and will be reviewing them soon. Some of the titles: The Scandinavian Cookbook, The Adaptable Table, Cooking Green, Real Cajun and Falling Cloudberries. I'm getting hungry just looking at them.

But today, here are some tidbits I've collected over the past few days from my reading while in airports.

• Over the past couple of years, 100-calorie snack packs have soared in popularity as a convenient way to control portion size. But sales are falling and, according the Mintel Global New Products Database, new launches of 100-calorie packs have slowed. What isn't known is if anyone lost weight by snacking. I'm betting the answer is no.
  
  
• A piece on NPR over the weekend says that ordinary farmers — the people who grow the lion's share of what America eats — have largely been left out of the mainstream media debate over "Food Inc.," a documentary film about the modern agricultural industry. The movie argues that large-scale agriculture produces inexpensive meat and vegetables, but imposes high costs on the environment and Americans' health.
  
  
• Is your favorite chef touting avocados? If so, he or she may be getting a little gift from the California Avocado Commission. The Packer, an industry journal, notes that the commission's Artisan Chef program has 14 chefs in California, Georgia, Florida, New York, Texas and Illinois. To see a full list of who's on the avocado dole, go to www.avocado.org.

Kale that crunches

I didn't join a CSA (community supported agriculture) co-op this year; getting moved into our new house was enough excitement for one spring. But I know that most of them feature kale during the cooler months. Kale isn't high on many people's list, but as with most vegetables, it takes a little experimentation to figure out exactly the recipe that you like the best. For me, I've enjoyed it most when it is cut into ribbons, then sauteed quickly in olive oil and garlic. But here's a recipe I came across today and I think this may elevate kale to "favored vegetable status."

Jacques Pepin's crispy kale

Take a big bowl of kale greens, removed from the stems, broken up into smallish pieces. Toss with a tablespoon of oil and a good sprinkle of salt, and other spices if you'd like. Crisp up on a baking rack set over a sheet pan at 250 degrees for about 25 minutes. Toss about halfway through. The kale will darken in color and diminish in volume dramatically.

Result is a crispy crunchy snack that makes it easy to get your kale.

Stress = snacking = excess weight

An unexpected twist of the recession, as reported by Reuters news service last week:

The recession that is shrinking workers' paychecks may also be expanding their waistlines.

One in 10 U.S. workers said they are snacking more during the day due to concerns over the economic situation, and nearly half complained of gaining weight in their jobs, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.

It said 43 percent of employees surveyed reported they have gained weight while in their present jobs. A quarter said they gained more than 10 pounds and a sixth gained more than 20 pounds.

Admitting to eating habits that can contribute to weight gain, 39 percent said they eat out for lunch twice or more a week, and 12 percent buy lunch from a vending machine at least once a week, the survey showed.

Two-thirds said they snack at least once a day, including 24 percent who snack twice a day, it said.

"Weight gain in the office is common and is a result of a variety of issues including today's economic stress and poor eating habits," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder.com.

Only 9 percent of employees exercise at midday, the survey said, although a quarter of U.S. companies provide gym passes, workout facilities or similar benefits, it said.

Women are more likely than men to say they have gained weight, 48 to 39 percent, it said.

The online survey was conducted Feb. 20 through March 11 by Harris Interactive among 4,435 U.S. adults employed full-time. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.47 percentage points.

CareerBuilder.com is owned by Gannett Co, the Tribune Co, McClatchy Co and Microsoft Corp.

Full disclosure here: I worked for the McClatchy Co. for more than 20 years. But they acquired CareerBuilder when they swallowed up the Knight Ridder chain, and I had no contact with that part of the company.

And one thing I noticed in those 20+ years: When the editor and the corporate officers used the gym, and made a point of taking some time out of their day to march down to basement with their gym bags, many of the employees followed suit. Once that stopped happening, the gym gradually emptied, and when I left, it was used only by the most dedicated exercisers.