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Home-Grown Tomatoes

photo belongs to www.ShelleyGoldbeck.com
photo belongs to www.ShelleyGoldbeck.com

“The only things that money can’t buy are love and home-grown tomatoes.”

I heard this in a song last week and I believe it to be true.

There is nothing like the taste of home-grown tomatoes. The tomatoes we get in the stores are mere thick-skinned, tasteless, mealy, red orbs, even when we pay $4 per pound for the privilege of buying them “on the vine”. They’re designed to look pretty in the supermarket, all the same size and shape, and thick-skinned to survive travelling the globe.

Many Calgary gardeners picked bushels of green tomatoes off their plants prior to the first snow of the season, the summer season! We got several inches from September 8 to 11,

photo courtesy of Joyce Smith
photo courtesy of Joyce Smith

devastating our city’s mature deciduous trees.

I simply covered my tomatoes and prayed. They were late starting and had just begun looking promising after six weeks of decent summer weather. I thought we’d get a skiff of snow, some frost and then I’d uncover them and they would flourish in our two additional months of summer. Dreamer!

Almost a week later I have yet to uncover them. The snow was followed by several nights of serious frost. I’m frankly, scared to look.

For those who picked them all, here are some tips for getting the most out of your home-grown tomatoes.

  • Sort them. I put them one layer deep, not touching each other, in stackable boxes in a cool dark place. I tend to put the larger tomatoes together and the cherries, grapes and other minis together.
  • Check often. Tomatoes can ripen overnight, it seems. One day there are none. The next, there are too many to reasonably consume.
  • Eat them. In tomato season, I serve sliced tomatoes at almost every meal. They provide enzymes, vitamin C, lycopene, and taste so wonderful! A fabulous dish is tomato soup (see recipe) made with home-grown tomatoes. You’ll never go back to the canned stuff.
  • Freeze them. When the ripening tomatoes exceed our ability to consume them, I wash and dry the excess, pop them whole into freezer bags and freeze. Then when I need canned tomatoes for a soup, stew, or other dish, I simply run the frozen tomatoes under hot water. The skins peel right off and I throw the tomatoes into the pot, chopped or not. As canned tomatoes are quite salty, I usually add salt to the dish. Freezing is so much easier than canning tomatoes, less labour, heat, and electricity. I can use just one tomato or a number. (When I open a can, I have to use them all!) I rarely buy canned tomatoes: even the organic ones come in plastic lined tins, a source of toxins.
  • Share them! Non-gardeners have no idea how wonderful home-grown tomatoes taste. If you share this “candy*” with them, you might motivate them grow their own tomatoes.
photo belongs to www.ShelleyGoldbeck.com
photo belongs to www.ShelleyGoldbeck.com

It seems to me there would be more of the other thing money can’t buy, love, if more people knew the joy of home-grown tomatoes.

*That’s what my friend called them to get her reluctant Grandtoy to try her home-grown tomatoes. Grandtoy agreed and ate more!

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Book Review: Wheat Belly

wheatbelly“Did you know that eating two slices of whole wheat bread can increase the blood sugar more than 2 tablespoons of pure sugar can?”

Wheat Belly is a provocative book by William Davis, MD, a preventive cardiologist. He describes the extraordinary results his patients have achieved by giving up wheat and explains complicated science in simple terms, with a generous dollop of humour, making this book an easy read.

Davis begins by exploding the term “beer belly” attributing our record girths to wheat, rather than beer. He explains the long history of wheat, especially the last thirty years when wheat, without any tests of its effects on humans, was hybridized so it barely resembles wheat our ancestors ate.

Davis makes some amazing claims, based on years of research on his patients. He says, “ Wheat, because of its unique blood glucose-increasing effect, makes you age faster…..wheat accelerates the age at which you develop signs of skin aging, kidney dysfunction, dementia, atherosclerosis and arthritis.” He proposes, therefore, that going wheat-free is anti-aging.

He claims whole grains, including and especially wheat, mess with the brain, causing dementia and physical brain damage in many people. He explains how wheat wrecks havoc with our immune systems.

Dr. Davis writes about the pervasiveness of grains in our diets. He points out that several aisles in the supermarket are devoted to grain products. He reveals the power of the companies that manufacture and promote grain products and their profit potential.

My favourite quote: “One thing is clear: There is no nutritional deficiency that develops when you stop consuming wheat and other processed foods.”

The food industry and its cohorts (USDA, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, etc.) suggest that grains are somehow necessary for health. Not true. For example, we don’t need grain to access B vitamins (added to baked products) because they are ample in meats, vegetables and nuts.

Davis claims that eliminating wheat makes it easier for people to fast, the ability of which is natural. When people eat wheat they need to eat every few hours due to their ride on the glucose rollercoaster and other factors. Eliminating wheat may be inconvenient but it is not unhealthy.

I have been virtually wheat-free since 2005 and my own experience is remarkable. I lost 30 pounds in two months. Acne breakouts that had plagued me for 30 years magically disappeared, never to return.

I continued to eat substitute grains like rye for a while. I soon noticed I felt better avoiding grains altogether. I do still eat some brown rice, about twice a month.  When I want to “cheat” I will have a slice or two of ciabatta bread; I am immediately bloated, gaining five to eight pounds after eating just two slices. This typical outcome makes it easy for me to avoid bread.

Avoiding wheat means foregoing most processed foods, which allows me to avoid other food culprits like hydrogenated oils, salt, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and chemical preservatives.

If you suffer from inexplicable medical conditions or the inability to control your weight, I encourage you to try eliminating wheat from your diet for a month. You may notice no difference, but I believe Dr. Davis’s book provides plenty of evidence that you will most likely feel better.

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Salt of the Earth

saltAre you afraid of salt? Is that fear based in fact?

Sodium is key in the operation of all signals within, as well as to and from, the brain.

Salt is so essential to the body that if you drink too much water it can flush salt out of your system and cause fatal hyponatremia.

Consumption of too MUCH salt can be deadly: about 1 gram of salt per kilogram of weight will kill you. In the western world we are constantly reminded to lower our sodium intake.

Obviously salt, like anything else, can be used for good or for evil. There are variables. For example, the kind of salt you ingest really matters.

Ideally you consume unrefined sea salt. All salt came from the sea at some point. The difference is in the refining. Table salt is heavily refined where sea salt is generally sourced by evaporating water out of sea water, leaving salt.

Sea salt isn’t white. It can be grey or yellowish or pink. But never white. White is a sign of refining. Refining is a sign of reduced nutrients.

Sea salt contains as many as 84 trace minerals in addition to calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Table salt is primarily kiln-dried sodium chloride with anti-caking agents added. (18 food additives are allowed in salt!) Kiln drying involves scorching salt at high heat to remove moisture. Trace minerals, as well as calcium, magnesium and potassium are also removed creating a product that is unnatural to the body, contributing to high blood pressure, heart trouble, kidney disease and eczema, among other problems.

Besides quality, the quantity of salt ingested is a major factor. The average North American consumes two or three times the recommended daily allotment for salt, about 1500 mg. Some experts believe our health woes could be dramatically reduced (by up to 50%) if we cut our salt intake in half.

The majority of salt consumed in North America comes from processed and restaurant foods. Food manufacturers understand that salt (along with its fellow criminals, sugar and fat) is highly addictive. They have gradually added more and more salt to their products, conditioning their customers to that taste in food. They also liberally use another offensive salt, monosodium glutamate or MSG, a known neurotoxin, which excites the taste buds, providing the illusion of better taste.

If you avoid processed and restaurant foods you can better control the amount and the quality of salt in your diet and therefore control the health problems it causes or exacerbates. There are other benefits too: fewer transfats, more fibre, less sugar, etc.

Leave the shaker off the table. Or don’t cook with salt but add a little at the table, to taste, meaning taste first, then sprinkle.

Choose sea salt; it’s more expensive but you will use less of it.

Be aware of hidden salt. Soft drinks, for example, are major sources of sodium.

Many companies make salt substitutes; I prefer those made with organic herbs and spices. They are good transition products to help your taste buds return to their natural state. Be careful not to eat too little salt.

At first you may find that you miss salt but I assure you that you will quickly get used to using less. You will find that food tastes different, better and requires less seasoning in general.

Then you will find that processed and restaurant foods are often too salty to eat. I can no longer stand to eat soup in a restaurant or out of a can: too salty!

Don’t be afraid of salt. Its historical significance is no coincidence. It is vital for life.

(I first became aware of the effects of salt when I was pregnant with my first child over three decades ago. My doctor advised me of the dangers and identified some of the hidden sources of sodium. Reducing sodium gave me immediate benefit and I have been vigilant about salt ever since).

Sources:

Michael Pollen has written a number of good books including “In Defense of Food” where he discusses fat, salt, and sugar.

Mineral content of sea salt:

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-minerals-sea-salt-8907.html

Hyponatremia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia

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Unfood

no-junk-foodDefinition of Food:

1) things people eat.

2) things people eat that nourish, sustain or supply substances to sustain growth, repair and propel vital processes and to furnish energy.

Sadly Definition One is how most people think about food. If it’s edible, it’s food. Edible seems to mean if it doesn’t kill you immediately or in the short term, it’s okay to eat.

I prefer the second definition but if we use it as a ruler, the majority of what we eat falls short of food. We tend to eat a lot of what I like to call “unfood”.

Unfood is edible in that it doesn’t cause immediate death. Unfood is usually heavily processed and denatured of its nutrients. Unfood often includes substances created in labs to enhance, smell, taste, mouth-feel and shelf-life of the product. The body doesn’t know how to process these chemicals so it sequesters them into fat cells or reacts to them with aches, inability to sleep and other disorders.

Sadly, our first inclination is to reach for more poison: over-the-counter painkillers and sleeping pills, which further add to the toxic burden our bodies bear.

Look at the labels on the packaged food in your pantry. Are there words you can’t pronounce? I suggest you look them up online. Find out what other uses there are for these chemicals to determine whether eating them is a good idea.

Real food doesn’t require dozens of chemicals. Bread is a great example of how our food has been adulterated. Real bread requires five basic ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, water and yeast. Gourmet breads may include eggs, milk, and seeds.

But check out the label on your favourite bread. Subway has over 50 ingredients in its bread. A recent news story touted Food Babe’s victory in convincing Subway to remove one chemical from its bread. Big Deal. It’s a start but it seems rather like “lip service”. “We care about your health so we are removing X to lull you into forgetting about the other 40-some questionable ingredients!”

Chemicals are used to cover up the stench of processed food, which is often made with inferior ingredients. Pink slime, a lab concoction of proteins captured from slaughterhouse waste, is washed in ammonia before being added to patties, nuggets, sticks, and other forms of “pre-chewed” meats.

There is an entire industry manufacturing and marketing grain-based foods, most of which are corn-based. These foods are evil on many levels:

  1. 90% of corn in North America is GMO. In studies (except those conducted by GMO companies) consumption of GMO foods led to gastro-intestinal issues and higher cancer rates.
  2. Much of this corn is fried in GMO oils like corn, soy, canola and cottonseed oil. Frying creates acrylamides and other toxic substances and consuming them leads to Omega acid imbalances. (They’re all too high in Omega 6 vs Omega 3.) And they’re GMO.
  3. These foods are a major source of empty calories. Digesting food is an enormously energy-sucking process for the body. To achieve optimum health and reduce stress on the body, it is best to eat high-nutrient foods.
  4. Grain has been used to fatten animals for centuries, millennia. Why do we think a grain-based diet (which is the recommendation of the USDA Food Pyramid and the Canada Food Guide) is NOT going to make US fat?

There is plenty of unfood in our grocery baskets. Soft drinks are a significant portion of the family grocery budget but they do not nourish or sustain or supply anything. In fact they rob your body of calcium and other minerals. They are most likely loaded with GMO High Fructose Corn Syrup, an evil sweetener, which is manufactured using dry cleaning fluid and mercury. Even if they contain sugar, it is GMO if it’s made with sugar beets and all that sugar (9.5 tsp per can of Coke) steals vitamins and minerals from the body.

A lot of people assure me they’re fine because they avoid sugar, opting instead for artificial sweeteners. Little do they know that diabetes has skyrocketed, in part because of the prevalence of artificial sweeteners. The body simply doesn’t know what to do with these strange chemicals.

Before food gets to the factory (or supermarket) it can be contaminated with dozens of chemicals, namely pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and other substances designed to kill things. The Environmental Working Group releases a yearly list of the most polluted fruits and vegetables called The Dirty Dozen. These are the most heavily sprayed food crops and one is prudent to choose organic versions of these. They also have a list of the Clean 15, those foods least likely to be sprayed.

I’ve never understood the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality of ignoring the consequences of toxic chemicals in food. I also don’t understand consumers’ blind trust of the system and their tolerance of governments, obviously in cahoots with powerful food lobbyists. These organizations care about money, not the health and wellness of their customer.

Sometimes it all seems hopeless. 100 years ago all food was organic. Now we have to pick our way through food minefields. Tragically, most of us won’t know until it’s too late that we’ve been poisoned by our food.

What can you do?

  1. Grow as much of your own food as you can.
  2. Get to know your farmers.
  3. Buy ingredients, not products made with ingredients.
  4. Choose organic products whenever you can.
  5. Ask for organic products from your store managers. Create a demand for clean food.
  6. Vote with your dollars, supporting local, organic, and ethical food.
  7. Be prepared to pay more for quality food.

Moving away from unfood is a process. It won’t happen overnight. But your health and your world will reap the benefits of your intention to banish unfood forever.

 

http://www.ewg.org/

http://foodbabe.com/

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The Last Soup Recipe You’ll Ever Need

 

soupLearning to make homemade soups is one of the best investments in your healthy eating strategy. Soup making is more of an art than a science: there is no one right way to make a good soup. Yet many people are afraid to even try to make it.

 

Soup is comfort food. Chicken noodle soup alone is famous for its ability to soothe the sick.

 

Soup is filling. In fact, soup can be an effective weight loss tool as long as it’s made with whole real ingredients and not popping out of a can.

 

Soup starts with broth. Broth should be homemade because of the unnecessary chemicals and lack of real nutrients in packaged or canned broth.

 

Broth is easy to make. Simply submerge bones (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, (I’ve even used ham bone)) in water, add sea salt, two TBSP vinegar (to leach the calcium from the bones into the broth) and boil for several hours.

 

You can add vegetable scraps and water from cooking vegetables. (Caution: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts contain sulphur, which can make your broth bitter. But if I’m making cauliflower soup or broccoli soup, I use them). Leftover gravy goes into the broth pot and I usually add a couple bay leaves. I have also tossed in leftover mashed potatoes.

 

I freeze my broth in two-cup containers so I am always ready to make a soup. Sometimes I boil the bones again, especially a big turkey carcass. The second batch is not as strong but still tasty.

 

A good friend told me the one ingredient required for good soup is butter. I agree butter is nice but with dairy-free individuals in my family, I’ve had to try other oils. I have found equal success with coconut oil and olive oil.

 

Now for the recipe: Sautee a small chopped onion, two stalks chopped celery, a chopped carrot and a clove of minced garlic in your oil until the onion is translucent and the celery begins to soften. Add salt and pepper.

 

Now comes the fun part. With your broth and this soup starter you can make almost any flavour of soup you want.

 

The other day I had some leftover carrots, turnips and sweet potatoes along with some beef gravy. I began with my soup starter, heated the veggies, then pureed it with my stick blender. Then back into the pot to warm up. Served with popcorn (as crackers), my Root Soup was a hit with my granddaughters.

 

I love to make squash soup with fresh dill or basil, especially if I have turkey broth, my favourite. Sometimes I throw in green beans for colour, crunch and variety.

 

In the fall I make borscht by adding beets, cabbage, potatoes and dill to my basic beef broth soup recipe.

 

I like to make chicken/turkey noodle/vegetable soup, loaded with stuff so it eats like a meal. One day I made oxtail and butternut squash soup. Very yummy.

 

Mushroom soup is easy to make by adding a couple cups of various chopped mushrooms and sautéing before adding broth. Puree, a few spices and finished with cream: gourmet all the way!

 

My favourite soup is one I make by first taking a trip through the garden with my bowl. Baby carrots, fresh zucchini, green beans or summer peas lightly steeped in my soup starter make a lovely summer supper.

 

I make seafood chowder by adding bacon, potatoes, clams, shrimp, and other fish to the pot. Top it off with some red peppers, frozen peas, and cream (or coconut milk) moments before serving and we’ve got a hearty meal.

 

I pour hot leftover soup into jars and refrigerate. They keep for a long time (if they are sealed hot) and make lovely quick lunches and gifts to the sick and shut-in, all without BPA, table salt, and other harmful chemicals. To keep longer, freeze soup. It’s best if used within three months.

 

Warning: once you begin making your own soups you will never again be able to eat soup from a can or eat it in a restaurant. You will be able to smell the chemicals; it will taste too salty yet seem tasteless.

 

Making your own soup means you are in charge of the ingredients. You control the salt and sugar. (Sugar in soup? The canned stuff has it!) You control the kind and amount of fat. You control how long the vegetables cook. (Ideally they are not overcooked).

 

Most importantly, homemade soups have nutrients that canned and packaged soups simply don’t have. We eat to provide our bodies with nourishment so why would we eat soup from a can?

 

If you’re on a budget (and who isn’t?) homemade soup can be a very economical way to feed yourself and your family.

 

I hope you’ll try to make some soup. If you do, be sure to tell me about it.

 

As always I urge you to eat The Food. The Whole Food.  And Nothing but the Food.

 

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Ritz Crackers are Not Grain: They Aren’t Even Food!

Ritz towerIn a recent news report a woman was fined $10 for not sending a grain in her child’s lunch, even though it had fresh vegetables including potatoes and carrots. The child’s lunch was supplemented with Ritz Crackers, under the pretense of providing the child with a grain.

This story appalls me on many levels.

First why was THIS child’s lunch the focus of persecution? What about the kids with fruit roll-ups, aka, sugar and food colour!?!?

What about the kids with white bread (stripped of its nutrients), slathered in margarine or mayonnaise, (hydrogenated “edible” oils, not food, but edible) and cancer-causing processed meat? That such a sandwich qualifies as food and fits nicely into the food pyramid is ghastly!

What qualifies a Ritz cracker as a grain?

Let’s examine the ingredients in a Ritz cracker.

Wheat Flour, (some labels say “enriched wheat flour”) Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Soybean or Cottonseed), Sugar, Raising Agents (Ammonium and Sodium Bicarbonates, Disodium Diphosphate), Salt, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Barley Malt Flour.

 

The main ingredient is wheat flour. It doesn’t say whole wheat so it means they’ve taken the whole grain, removed all

the nutritious parts and the fibre and left the starch. The law states they must replace some of the nutrients, namely niacin, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid. Sounds good until you realize that they add synthetic substances, and the body doesn’t necessarily use them in the same way as it does naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.

Grains in their whole state have fewer nutrients, pound for pound, than almost any whole food. Sure they have calories, but few of us have difficulties getting enough calories.

Our bodies need micronutrients like minerals and vitamins; we need fibre and proteins and healthy fats. Grains are not the best sources of any of these nutrients.

The next ingredient is vegetable oil (on some labels), soybean oil and cottonseed oils (on other labels). Soybean and cottonseed oils are most likely genetically modified, as 90% of North A

merican fields of these crops are GMO. GMOs have not been proven safe for human consumption and have been associated with severe environmental issues, including an increase in chemical usage, the creation of super weeds and super insects resistant to pesticides, destruction of soil ecology, and loss of biodiversity.

Ritz crackers info

In addition, the oil in a Ritz has been hydrogenated (adding hydrogen to convert liquid to solid) to give the food the right texture and mouth-feel and a significantly longer shelf life. Hydrogenation converts oil into a poison, as our bodies don’t know what to do with the resulting strange substance: trans fats.

Sugar is the next ingredient. Sugar is another poison in our food supply, contributing to over a hundred conditions and diseases. If it comes from sugar beet (as opposed to sugar cane) it is likely GMO and again, not proven safe for human consumption.

Then there’s baking powder and salt, and then more sugar, in the form of high fructose corn syrup, a sugar known to contribute to obesity and food addictions and usually GMO too. Food manufacturers often use several types of sugar so that they can list them separately and keep sugar from showing up first on all the labels. It’s a trick to keep us from realizing we are overdoing sugar.

About the only food value in a Ritz cracker is in the calories, which have been stripped of what little nutrients were in the grain and combined with unhealthy fat, sugar and salt.

What is really scary is that according to government-sponsored surveys, Ritz Crackers are the #1 perceived snack food in America.

If Ritz crackers are a staple in your diet, I suspect your body is starving. In North America we consume copious amounts of food but we are always hungry.

It’s because real food is so much more than calories or carbs, fat and protein. Real food is about the micronutrients that we can’t get from a processed food product like Ritz crackers.

After examining the evidence, what do you think?

Is a Ritz cracker a grain?

Is it even food?

Does it belong in your kid’s lunch?

My philosophy: Eat the Food, the Whole Food and Nothing but the Food.

Resources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/19/ritz-crackers-fine_n_4303073.html

http://www.snackworks.ca/en/products/Ritz.aspx

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Ban Bottled Water Bans

waterbottleRevised July 2013

I have a confession: I drink bottled water!

The recent vilification of bottled water drinkers is most disturbing to me. I’m not oblivious to its negative impact on the environment and the overall absurdity of paying for water.

Lately, news of the danger of plastic drink containers leaching harmful chemicals into their contents, the environmental costs of transporting water, and the problem of properly disposing of the containers (recycling) have caused some to re-examine the intelligence of consuming bottled water. Some jurisdictions are even toying with banning the sale of bottled water.

I embraced bottled water years ago, not for the fad but the taste of it. I despise soft drinks; too sweet, too fizzy (make me belch; not becoming) and loaded with harmful substances. I’ve never liked the taste of coffee or tea, except some herbal teas. So I drink water.

Before bottled water my request for water with my burger was met with a disdainful glazing of eyeballs. I had to endure tap water in wax-lined paper cups, invariably with ice that tasted of dirt and refrigerator.  Usually it was dispensed from the wash-up sink, an area of questionable sanitation. Depending on the season, there was an added cocktail of chlorine and dissolved organic matter that had surpassed the city’s treatment capabilities. I was often charged for this swill, because, I was told, of the cost of the cup!

I grew up on non-chlorinated well water so tap water smells (and therefore tastes) like a toilet or a swimming pool to me. The only way I can stomach the water I order in a restaurant is to get a lemon slice with it. Not every restaurant or vendor provides lemon (and one study found the germs from the bar staff’s hands contaminate the water via contact with the lemon skin).

I also object to the fluoridation of public water. Our city added this toxic industrial by-product to our water for 20 years. (Council recently voted to abandon the practice, citing cost savings).

My consumption of water greatly increased with the installation of a water cooler in my home. Sure, I could have a container with a filter in my fridge but I’ve been turned off by the mold on other people’s filters and that “fridge” taste of their water.

Now that I’ve defended my reasons for choosing bottled water, I want to know why has not one word has been breathed about banning soft drinks!

Soft drinks also come in plastic bottles capable of leeching noxious chemicals into their contents.  Perhaps nobody cares because soft drinks are already loaded with sugar or (neuro-toxic) artificial sweeteners and other chemicals like phosphoric acid, a known dissolver of bones and other mineral compositions in the body. Most also have caffeine, another culprit in the deterioration of our health, especially when over-consumed.

Why is there not a movement to save the environment by not transporting soft drinks? How much global warming could be reduced if there were no plants churning out thousands of bottles of pop each day? And no trucks delivering it to stores? Or no refrigerators to keep it cold, at the ready for thirsty customers?

Sure, the odd school board has banned non-nutritious beverages from their vending machines. But parents routinely fill their shopping carts with soft drinks and buy their children fast food meals, which often include a soda with their deep fried entrees. Then they wonder why their children are threatened with obesity. (Clearly good nutrition is not motivation for the average parent’s choices). Why aren’t they connecting the dots?

Significantly more bottled soft drinks are consumed than bottled water but there is no squawking about all the non-recycled pop bottles or the cost of transporting that product. Perhaps it’s because shutting down Coke and Pepsi is not an option: too many people own their stock and rely on their products to get through the day! Their consumption is so pervasive in the general population that banning soft drinks would be akin to banning coffee.

Admittedly, not all bottled waters are created equally. Some water comes from springs and other so-called natural sources, but nobody is required to measure the purity of it. That muddies the waters, so to speak, for me. Other brands are filtered tap water; some taste better than others.  Coke’s Dasani is filtered tap water with salt, which accounts for its odd taste.

It may seem stupid to you that I pay for filtered water; I will admit it is arguably rather frivolous. But if that’s what it takes for me to drink the recommended eight or so glasses of water each day, nobody should have the right to tell me I can’t take delivery of it in a bottle, just like my colleague’s Diet Coke.