Foods

I reached a (nonpregnant) lifetime high of 162 pounds following the birth of my first daughter. The diagnosis of gallstones during my second pregnancy and the thought of undergoing surgery was the initial motivation that has, since the birth of my second daughter, changed my life and lifestyle. The most dramatic and life-altering change is the complete removal of fast foods from my diet. When I am forced to go, my only choice is a salad with low-fat dressing. I found out that fat made me fat, and when I kicked the fat habit, I lost weight very quickly and kept it off. The only exercise routine I have is taking care of two beautiful girls.

Whole Foods Market Inc. reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that fell below analysts' estimates. Net income declined for the ninth consecutive quarter to $32.3 million, or 20 cents a share, from $39.1 million, or 28 cents, a year earlier, the Austin, Texas, company said. Excluding legal costs, Whole Foods earned 25 cents a share, exceeding the 17-cent average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose to $2.47 billion from $2.46 billion. The operator of 278 stores projected profit of 71 cents to 76 cents, including legal costs, for the year ending September.

Kellogg Co. unveiled a line of foods touted as reducing the bad cholesterol that leads to heart disease, expanding beyond its core cereals. Ensemble, Kellogg's name for the so-called functional foods, will be in stores in the Midwest by March and available nationally by next fall. The line includes frozen entrees and muffins, bread, dry pasta, baked potato crisps and cookies.

The Orange County district attorney's office Monday filed a complaint against a Santa Ana-based sandwich vendor for selling "potentially hazardous food" from which at least six persons allegedly became ill last summer. The action, which names Lori's Kitchen and its owners, Eric, Jeff and Charlene Johnson, all of Costa Mesa, seeks damages for selling certain foods which were kept at temperatures above the 45 degrees mandated by state law. Deputy Dist. Atty.

It has become fashionable in recent weeks to say things like "Let's not overreact on the question of the dangers of pesticides and additives in foods." William Plested's column "Ruined by a Diet of Neurosis" (Op-Ed Page, April 3) is the latest entry to this chorus. He's got it all wrong. It is high time we became concerned, and in a serious, sustained way. We really are poisoning our environment and our bodies with an enormous array of substances, no one of which is fatal, but all of which collectively constitute a very serious--and probably carcinogenic--assault.

In the busy aisles, where the common Italian squash rubs skin with the rare bitter melon and alluring malanga roots tease the prosaic Romaine lettuce, North County yuppies also mingle with the Third World. But exotic produce for the dinner tables of America's newest immigrants and natural foods for the upwardly mobile are not the only attractions at the Farmers Bazaar, downtown San Diego's produce emporium.

"I feel energized," remarked one of my New Age friends, digging into her bowlful of vegan hot pot at Gourmet Vegetarian. "You're experiencing synchronicity," said another in our group with a nod, obviously delighted with the fresh flavors. Vegans, I should mention, are very systematic vegetarians who avoid not only meat but all animal-derived foods, such as eggs and dairy products.

The San Clemente chapter of the Boy Scouts of America has set up a food collection center to help feed the county's hungry during the holiday season. The collection site, operated in collaboration with the Long Beach-based EPAC Development Corp., is at the sales office of the Villagio II housing development in Rancho San Clemente, at 616 Via Espiritu. The donation center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Dec. 24.

If it isn't stocked at the local supermarket, don't despair. Somewhere in Orange County, with its growing ethnic population, there's a neighborhood grocery that carries the gustatory delights most people sample only on trips to exotic places.

How to Take 20 Pounds Off Your Man: A Lifesaving Guide for the Man You Love, by Suzy Kalter (Pocket: $3.95 paperback, 207 pp.) Do you nag your mate and point out that he's pigging out when he overeats during Super Bowl Sunday? During a recent interview about her book, author Suzy Kalter had a few words of advice for wives on how to handle a Super Bowl-watching mate whose arm is an extension of the refrigerator.