K-Cup Conundrum

Though the appearance and taste is comparable (relative to flavor) the difference is in the design and materials.

Two years ago, for my birthday, my wife bought a Keurig single cup coffee maker for our kitchen. As someone who would often make a whole pot of coffee before work only to leave much of it behind to waste, it was a great purchase. Conscientious about material waste, we would collect the used k-cups and separate the "parts" for recycling every week or so (with grounds going into our table top composter for later addition to the larger outdoor one).

Shortly after the expiration of the patent on k-cups expired, our local (now regional) mega-lo shopping mart, Wegmans, started offering their own brand of store brand k-cups. (Much like national chain Trader Joe's, more and more frequently Wegmans is stocking store shelves with store brands of popular products rather than those with a higher level--and presumably higher price--of national name recognition brands.) Because they are priced lower than the national brand, they, like other store brand alternatives, are a potentially attractive purchase. Even better, when it comes to taste, the quality is very comparable to the more expensive brew. This is, of course, a good thing.

The downside comes when one is attempting to recycle the k-cups. As I cannot envision myself becoming a K-cup creative crafter, this is an important part of my purchasing process.



Wegmans brand Decaf k-cups.

Issues of taste aside (I am by no means a coffee connoisseur, so if there is a discernible difference in taste between Wegmans and Keurig's coffees, it is lost on me), the differences in packaging are only slightly visible to the eye, but moreso to the touch. The texture of the top gives away the truth that Wegmans uses a plastic top as opposed to Keurig's foil one. The cups themselves seem to be of similar design and composition.

Keurig brand Donut House k-cups.

Keurig addresses possible concerns around the environmental impact of their k-cups under the "" page of their website:

The manufacturing requirements of the K-Cup® pack currently make recycling difficult. The K-Cup® pack is made up of three main elements: the cup itself, a filter and an aluminum foil top. The pack's components prevent oxygen, light and moisture from degrading the coffee. Without the barrier the packaging materials provide, we could not maintain quality or freshness. However, we are actively working to meet the challenge of creating a pack that reduces environmental impact and continues to deliver an extraordinary cup of coffee.

Despite the challenge of matching the convenience of k-cup coffees with the desire to produce a product that is recyclable, Kuerig's product is at least relatively easy to disassemble for recycling purposes.

Wegmans k-cup post-mortem.

The plastic(?) top is difficult to remove without cutting with scissors. There are fibrous connective material that makes pulling it off easily very difficult. The small filter inside the cup also seems t be made of some sort of plastic mesh. This is also very challenging to neatly (and quickly remove) without cutting. Additionally, the glue used to adhere the filter to the edges is very strong.

Keurig k-cup post-mortem.

Two distinguishing features of the Keurig design are the small paper filter glued around the edges of the cup and the aluminum foil lid covers the top of the K-Cup. These are clearly composed of different material than those produces and sold by Wegmans and it is these different elements that the most significant difference is present. While the taste of the coffees may be similar, the ease with which one can disassemble the components for recycling is not.

While the foil top and paper filter are fairly easy to separate from the plastic cup, those plastic elements of the Wegmans k-cup are not. This occurred to me when I tried to prepare the stack of Wegmans k-cups I had set aside and realized that what had been, at best, a ten minute activity with Keurig's product became a much more arduous task that after 20+ minutes I had honestly lost the patience to follow-though on. Additionally, in Monroe County, New York, where we live, the aluminum foil tops are recyclable. The guidelines around the same potential for the plastic covers is not so clear on the county's website.

Since the Keurig coffee maker is here to stay in our household, in an effort to save time, frustration, as well as to remain as recycle-friendly as possible, we have continued to spend the extra money to get those cups that are more easily recyclable rather than the less expensive and cheaper Wegmans brand.

Sources:
Are K-Cups Recyclable? by Heath Robert, Demand Media.
Wegmans, Kodak and K-Cups by Rachel Barnhart, The Rochesterian.

Taste Test: Pineberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe banana
1 6 oz. can of pineapple juice
1/2 cup vanilla non-fat yogurt
1 cup frozen raspberries, partially thawed

Thought the smoothie to the right may look exactly like the one I made yesterday, it is actually from a different recipe and includes some alternate ingredients. While the texture was consistent with yesterday's Runner's Delight Smoothie, the Dole Pineberry Smoothie has, as its name suggests, a six ounce can of pineapple juice, as well as employing vanilla yogurt rather than milk.

One thing I had not considered, mostly I suppose because the information as not available with the online recipe, is the total calorie count for the Runner's Delight. The Dole Pineberry, however, was clipped from a newspaper by my wife, so it had much more nutritional information with it. As you can see from the image to the left, the he recipe makes 2 servings, each containing 180 calories.

The glass pictured above is actually a 2 serving glass which I prepared and drank following the 6.6 mile run I completed just minutes prior. Also, I erred in purchasing regular vanilla yogurt rather than non-fat. This drink served as both my breakfast and recovery drink, so the total calories was not a concern for me.

I greatly enjoyed the flavor and consistency of the Pineberry Smoothie. The pineapple juice was not overpowering but added a pleasant citrus aspect to the taste. I also did not anticipate enjoying the including of vanilla yogurt (something I've never tried on its own), but my anti-yogurt bias was wrestled into submission by the overall flavor of the smoothie. I'll be making this one again!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Taste Test: Runner's Delight Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 small banana (fresh or frozen)
1 cup milk
2 tbsp orange juice concentrate

Just one more dance I'm a little late to is the homemade smoothie craze, which I came to when searching for suitable post-run recovery drinks. For the past week or so I have been recovering from my runs with a Slim Fast Optima Shake, and while remarkable satisfying (and tasty, too) I want to continue to expand my horizons.

Smoothies are ridiculously easy to make, as evidenced by the fact that I can make them! While making my own definitely qualifies as "expanding my horizons," this first smoothie is pretty tame and contain none of the "weirder" (like whey) ingredients more serious runners/athletes employ. Perhaps, the desire to include more adventurous ingredients will come in time...

The first smoothie recipe (pictured to the right) I made (just this morning following an eight mile run), was found online at Divine Caroline. Pretty simple really, and one which probably could have been figured out through experimentation--something I will now do using this as a basis. This standard smoothie was very easy to make, and delicious too, probably not too dissimilar to the smoothies one can buy at McFastfood--though I have no personal basis for that idea.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Taste Test: Morningstar Hickory BBQ Riblets

Surprisingly, these actually do look very much like the "example"
on the box; the taste however...
I went to the supermarket yesterday to pick up a few things and to attempt to find a way to satiate my desire for the texture of meat, something I have not eaten (in addition to fowl, seafood or other animals) in nearly four months.

While my previous efforts have been marginally successful, I continue to enjoy trying new brands and "molds" (let's be honest, most of these "different" foods all seem to consist of pretty much the same soy or grain ingredients just with varying molds--you know, pick a shape: nuggest, pattie, riblet...)

So, while I purchased the artificial-food-item-in question last evening, I waited until after work today to give it a shot. This afternoon's sampler was the Morningstar Hickory BBQ Riblet. As one can easily see in comparing the live-action shot at the top of the post with the packaging, the end product (after four minutes in the microwave) looks almost exactly like as the box promises it will. Unfortunately, they taste very much like they do when they first come out of the box...

Looks good, right?
The "Hickory" sauce is tasty, but the riblets themselves are rather unsavory... in fact, they taste pretty much like very other Morningstar burger I have samples in the past. So, in the final analysis, I will likely choke down the second riblet, I doubt I will be returning for "thirds."

And the vegetarian journey continues... now for some garbanzo beans with light dressing--a much more satisfying snack!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Taste Test: Boca Breakfast Links

If they look like sausage links, does it necessarily
mean that they should taste like them, too?
I have been very steady in maintaining a meatless diet for more than 30 days now, and though I have found a groove of sorts, I continue to try different "fake foods," or analogs, in an effort to satiate my occasional desire for the chewy, consistency of meat. This holy grail of healthy eaten has proven to be an elusive prize. This this morning's "shot in the dark" is BOCA Meatless Breakfast Links, a popular soy meat-alternative.

Though requiring less flavor-coverage than the previously sampled Yves Veggie Cuisine "meatless ham," the overall taste of the product definitely benefited from a helpful side of catsup. The overall flavor was not poor (and I've learned it is unfair to compare it one way or another to my recollection of any previously consumed "real" sausages), and I found that the texture was similar enough that it was almost pleasant to eat.

If an important aspect of "eat-ability" is a food item's visual presentation, then the BOCA links also score points for looking (as you can see from the image above) exactly like a traditional sausage link. All-in-all, the overall experience was slightly-above satisfactory and I look forward to the possibility of a meatless breakfast sandwich in the future.

Embrace your invincible summer!

Taste Test: Guayaki Yerba Mate

While shopping yesterday I came across a bottle of "yerba mate" in the organic/health food section of the store. A species of holly (family Aquifoliaceae) native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, eastern Paraguay and southern Brazil, yerba mate appears on the surface to be a tea of sorts, the primary difference being in its preparation (hot rather than boiling water).

Either way, the product for sale on the shelf was in neither a "hot" nor "boiled" state, but was as close as I could come to the real thing... at least in a supermarket in upstate New York.

After having read mention of it in some books (including The Kind Diet--as an alternative to a traditional cup of coffee) set in South America, I thought I would pick up a bottle (again, being aware that it is likely not the same thing described in the books) and give it a try. Though I had hoped for a "true" sample, the beverage I purchased did contain a sweetener (in the form of "organic evaporated cane juice").

In the end, after refrigerating the bottle for a day, I took advantage of the Guayaki Yerba Mate as a post-run drink this morning after returning home. Given the circumstance, I found it very refreshing, though just a little sweet for my tastes. despite this, it was a good chaser for my vitamins and whole grain English muffin with peanut butter post-run feast.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!