Food on Shared Bits

Short Bits 2026

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-29

01 - Check the Ingredient List When Purchasing Baked Goods in the Whole Foods Market Bakery (2026-02-06)

Image courtesy of Arturs Budkevic at Pixabay

If you buy baked goods made by Whole Foods Market bakery, you should check the ingredient list. About a year or two ago, I began to notice that Whole Foods Market bakery began using a GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredient in their cupcakes and in one of their pies. I was dumbfounded…Whole Foods Market, who prides themselves for selling organic food, using a GMO ingredient?! A few months ago, I noticed that they are now also using a GMO ingredient in their cookies. As a result, I choose not to purchase the products.

Creamy Chili Lime Dip, Salad Dressing, or Baked Potato Topping

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-01

01. - Introduction

I was watching YouTube videos about two years ago and a suggested video caught my eye; oven roasted chili lime garbanzo beans. I decided I wanted to try the recipe, so I purchased a can of garbanzo beans from Wegmans and chili lime seasoning from Trader Joe’s .

I didn’t think much of the recipe and it definitely wasn’t better than popcorn in my opinion. I also didn’t like the chili lime seasoning I purchased from Trader Joe’s. The chili lime seasoning from Trader Joe’s was very bland. Any chili seasoning should have a little bit of a kick to it in my opinion.

Short Bits 2025

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2025-10-19

01 - Use Honey to Help You Sleep (2025-04-06)

Image courtesy of Sage Ross , CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

I have seen manuka honey at Whole Foods Market for years when shopping there, but I thought it was very expensive. A former dental hygienist tried to get me interested in manuka honey a few years ago, but once again I thought it was too expensive, even if it was beneficial for your health.

Sauteed Mushrooms & Onion

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Updated 2026-09-11

1 - Introduction

In the past whenever I used onion in a recipe, I usually didn’t use the whole onion. I would wrap the leftover onion in plastic wrap twice, place it in a plastic food storage container, and then place the container in the refrigerator. The storage technique helps to prevent the transfer of onion odor in the refrigerator. I would tell my wife that there was leftover onion in the refrigerator and that she could use it if she wanted. However, I usually had to end up throwing the onion away, which I hated because that was food going to waste. However, I couldn’t think of a way to use the leftover onion.

Gluten Free Oat Bread

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-16

1 - Introduction

Just over three years ago, I watched a video on the Fy Nyth YouTube channel. In the video, Ariel McGlothin mentioned a gluten free oat bread recipe that she planned to do a video of in the future.

At the time, I was buying Canyon Bakehouse Mountain White gluten free bread from Walmart . The bread was just okay, the loaves were very small, and the bread was quite pricey; $5.99 per loaf and that was three years ago.

Short Bits 2024

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-18

Image courtesy of FAI

01 - Dalton Thomas Resigns from Frontier Alliance International (2024-02-19)

Updated on 2025-08-18

I was getting ready to contribute to the Five Dollar Monthly Giving Campaign at Frontier Alliance International (FAI) in the early morning of Feb 08. A banner at the top of the organization’s site stated that Dalton Thomas, the founder and president, had resigned .

I loved Dalton Thomas. He was the best teacher of the Bible I’ve ever encountered. I was dumbfounded when I read the details about his resignation. I’m very saddened, hurt, and confused about what Dalton did. How could he continue to falsely represent himself as a man of God and hold the leadership position that he held at FAI while having an adulterous relationship?

Japanese Seasoned Loose Meat Hamburger

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Updated 2026-09-11

1 - Introduction

In March 2022, I was reminiscing about a dish I had one time when I was in Tokyo, Japan. I was in the military at the time stationed at a base about an hour train ride from Tokyo, but I don’t remember why I was in Tokyo.

I got off at a train stop and I began walking around. I was hungry and I saw a restaurant with a caricature of a steaming bowl. The smell eminating from the restaurant was delightful, so I decided to go in. The restaurant served what I ended up calling Japanese beef bowl; thinly sliced beef in some kind of flavorful sauce over a bed of rice and topped with a fried egg. The dish was delicious.

Five Ingredient Lower Oxalate Trail Mix

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-01

01 - Introduction

In January 2023, I suffered the third kidney stone of my life and less than 4 years after my second kidney stone . I had to give up eating a number of snack foods which were high in oxalate content .

I began eating dried, sliced cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts as a snack, mixing one dried fruit with one of the seeds or walnuts. I also use the same dried fruit, seeds, and walnuts in another recipe that I make (future blog post). Thinking about the other recipe, I came up with an easy-to-make trail mix recipe in May 2023 that is healthy, tasty, and low in oxalate content.

Short Bits 2023

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-18

01 - Discovered Two New Cereals (2023-03-08)

In early February, I went shopping at Whole Foods Market and I decided to check out the cereal aisle to see if there were any new cereal offerings.

I began experiencing symptoms of my third kidney stone in January, so I had decided to start a low oxalate diet . Some of the cereals I had been eating have ingredients that are high in oxalates according to the Oxalate Counts Android app (no longer available); e.g. amaranth, buckwheat flour, chocolate, cornmeal, peanut butter, and quinoa. Therefore, I desired to replace the cereals containing high oxalate ingredients with cereals that have lower or no oxalate ingredients.

Creamy BBQ Dip, Salad Dressing, or Baked Potato Topping

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-01

Introduction

In the past, I used hummus and sometimes oil-based salad dressings as a dip for carrot and celery sticks, but I kind of got tired of both options. I also desired to use a yogurt-based salad dressing versus an oil-based salad dressing when I ate a salad. I saw yogurt-based salad dressings in the produce section at a local Wegmans , but the salad dressings contained preservatives.

Early in 2020, I decided to research yogurt-based vegetable dip recipes on the Internet. I found a number of yogurt-based dip recipes, two of which I began using as a vegetable dip and also as a salad dressing:

Acorn Squash and Rice Bowl

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-16

Introduction

I began eating squash and rice again in 2019 in an effort to eat healthy, but cheaply. I was purchasing frozen cubed butternut squash, but it was tough even after heating in the microwave, making it difficult to mash.

My wife makes a kabocha squash soup, which brought back memories of my first assignment to Japan when I was a member of the U.S. Air Force . I attended a local Japanese church and after service, I would go to a local restaurant or grocery store, purchase something to eat for lunch, and then go back to the church to eat. Sometimes I would buy cooked rice with some kind of black seed sprinkled on top and what was probably steamed/boiled/baked kabocha squash, which I enjoyed.

Short Bits 2021

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-18

1 - Burned Three Times on Amazon Purchases (2021-02-08)

Image courtesy of Peter Ziegler at Pixabay

I’ve been burned three times within a four month period on purchases I’ve made on Amazon. The first incident occurred in September 2020. I purchased a 3-pack of Champion boxer style underwear. I didn’t notice that they were size medium and I usually wear a size large. The underwear were sold by a third party vendor in New York city.

My First Experience with Oat Beverage...Pleasantly Surprised

Sun, 07 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-11

My interest in milk alternatives was piqued after watching a video on the Torin by the Ocean YouTube channel about two years ago. I wasn’t interested in replacing milk with a milk alternative, but I thought I might be able to save some money by buying less milk. At that time I was buying organic lactose free milk which has become quite expensive. I made it a point to check out the milk alternative offerings the next few times I went grocery shopping.

Short Bits 2019

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-14

1. Cleaner Method of Measuring Honey for Recipes (2019-04-11)

I recently tried a recipe that I’ve had for some time that called for the use of oil and honey among other ingredients. I didn’t plan it, but I measured the oil first and then used the same measuring cup to measure the honey. All but a very small amount of honey slid right out of the measuring cup.

Loaded Baked Potato: My Version

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-04

When I was younger, I enjoyed going out to dinner with my parents and siblings at Ponderosa Steakhouse for steak, baked potato, and salad. I always liked to put sour cream on my baked potato.

As a working adult, I began eating a baked potato for lunch. However, I learned that using plain yogurt as a replacement for sour cream was a healthier option. I began mixing in a cup of plain yogurt with the baked potato and then commenced to eat the whole thing, skin and all.