When you live alone, it can be hard to find convenient food. Even though the number of single-person households has exploded in recent decades and is on track to become the largest demographic in most countries, commerce has not followed and is still focusing on larger families while mostly ignoring small ones and when it does provide options for single-person households, its practices tend to border on gouging.
For example, 4 litres of milk are usually cheaper than 2 litres of milk. Not in terms of CAD per litre, which would be somewhat understandable, but in total: 2 litres will set you off more than 4. There is something really perverse about that. One would be tempted to buy 4 litres and throw away 2 in order to save money. One can only imagine the negative effects this has on the environment, not to mention the poor cows that are leading rather unenviable lives, not even to feed us, but only to feed Waste Lake.
However, it is sometimes possible to find a workable compromise. Frozen mussels are a nice example. You buy the package, use what you need and keep the rest in the freezer until wanted again. On top of that, no elaborate preparation is needed. Just take out what you need and use it.
In other words, when looking for something to eat, mussel meat is certainly worthy of consideration. I buy mine at the local Loblaws store.
Contrary to the habit of giving information related to ridiculous "serving" sizes nobody uses, Loblaws has the decency to use the international standard quantity of 100 g:
I like to "normalise" protein foods to 15 grammes of protein because I consider that a decent amount for a single meal for a single person. That may not look like much, but we should not forget that this is merely one ingredient of a meal and that the other ingredients are likely to contain protein as well.
This explains the first picture showing 63 g of frozen mussel meat.
That said, I also like to use "convenient" quantities that are not awkward. In this case, a package contains 340 grammes, which means that 68 grammes is exactly one fifth of a package. This is how the nutrition facts given translate into that:
For example, 4 litres of milk are usually cheaper than 2 litres of milk. Not in terms of CAD per litre, which would be somewhat understandable, but in total: 2 litres will set you off more than 4. There is something really perverse about that. One would be tempted to buy 4 litres and throw away 2 in order to save money. One can only imagine the negative effects this has on the environment, not to mention the poor cows that are leading rather unenviable lives, not even to feed us, but only to feed Waste Lake.
However, it is sometimes possible to find a workable compromise. Frozen mussels are a nice example. You buy the package, use what you need and keep the rest in the freezer until wanted again. On top of that, no elaborate preparation is needed. Just take out what you need and use it.
In other words, when looking for something to eat, mussel meat is certainly worthy of consideration. I buy mine at the local Loblaws store.
| Anchor's Bay mussel meat | Nutrition facts | |
 |  |  |
| Calories | 170 |
| Fat | 4.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 7 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Protein | 24 g |
| Sodium | 370 mg |
I like to "normalise" protein foods to 15 grammes of protein because I consider that a decent amount for a single meal for a single person. That may not look like much, but we should not forget that this is merely one ingredient of a meal and that the other ingredients are likely to contain protein as well.
This explains the first picture showing 63 g of frozen mussel meat.
That said, I also like to use "convenient" quantities that are not awkward. In this case, a package contains 340 grammes, which means that 68 grammes is exactly one fifth of a package. This is how the nutrition facts given translate into that:
| Weight | 100/100*68=68 g |
| Calories | 170/100*68=115.6 kcal |
| Net carbohydrate | (7-0)/100*68=4.8 g |
| Fibre | 0/100*68=0 g |
| Protein | 24/100*68=16.3 g |
| Sodium | 370/100*68=251.6 mg |
Mussels actually contain carbohydrate. That surprised me. I had never taken that into account because it was unexpected for an animal food. While it isn't much, it is not a negligible trace amound either. People who are watching their carbohydrate intake better take heed.
That said, I think that frozen mussels are a convenient and tasty addition to a single person's diet.
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
*****
Please note that I make no health claims and no nutritional claims. There are enough alternologists and quacks on the Internet already and I have no intention of joining them.
I sincerely encourage you to talk to an actual medical doctor or registered dietitian before making any health- or nutrition-related decisions.
If I made any mistakes in this post, please *do* feel free to point them out to me.
Comments
Post a Comment