jlawrence01 wrote:Unless the new TVs are lacking them, EVERY television has an "OFF" switch that allows you to choose what to watch.

I cannot think of the last time I have heard anything about her ... except on THIS board.

She's everywhere. I never watch Food Network (I don't even know what channel it is on Comcast) and still seem to 'cross paths' with her repeatedly. But yes, when I see her, I happily turn her off. Again, I don't know about Paula Deen the person. It's Paula Deen "the brand" that I can't stand.

As for touting Smithfield, (and the other more insidious ways in she's contributed to eroding the quality of life for all of us), well, we all pay the price for that. Don't understand? Start by reading Pig Perfect. There's no "OFF" switch for that.

=R=

stevez wrote:now that he's marred with a kid.

Now that right there is some good readin', intentional or not.

Hi- Paula is on her son Bobby's new cooking show, and they just did a segment on Nightline last week about her. She also promotes Smithfield Pork, and so she is getting plenty of PR right now.

It is interesting though that I posted about this on Jill Cataldo's couponing blog, and nobody has commented. There are a lot of butter lovers there.

There are still a lot of people who still love Paula, but maybe not on this board.

Thanks, Nancy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/1 ... 11087.html

Paula Deen's admission, this morning, that she had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 led many commentators to criticize the TV chef's long-running evangelism of heavy foods. In light of the uproar, it's probably not a good time for Deen to be advertising her nonchalance about the consequences of her diet. The fact that Deen chose to contribute a six-word memoir to a collection of such bon mots in the February 2012 issue of O: The Oprah Magazine isn't necessarily unfortunate... but the six words she chose really are.

How did Deen choose to describe her life?

"Might as well eat that cookie."

Not when you have diabetes, Paula!

Athena wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/paula-deen-6-word-memoir_n_1211087.html

Paula Deen's admission, this morning, that she had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2008 led many commentators to criticize the TV chef's long-running evangelism of heavy foods. In light of the uproar, it's probably not a good time for Deen to be advertising her nonchalance about the consequences of her diet. The fact that Deen chose to contribute a six-word memoir to a collection of such bon mots in the February 2012 issue of O: The Oprah Magazine isn't necessarily unfortunate... but the six words she chose really are.

How did Deen choose to describe her life?

"Might as well eat that cookie."

Not when you have diabetes, Paula!

It's awesome that she waited until she worked out an endorsement from a drug company to come out with this news.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

NFriday wrote:It will be interesting to see if Paula continues to promote Smithfield Pork.

Another major factor in my deeply negative feelings about the woman.

=R=

Perturbed by Paula's pork promotion? Perchance, why, Ronnie?

Perspective from today's NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/dinin ... ref=dining

I'd love to see one of the supposedly numerous clips of when she "promoted moderation".

Fresser wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

NFriday wrote:It will be interesting to see if Paula continues to promote Smithfield Pork.

Another major factor in my deeply negative feelings about the woman.

=R=

Perturbed by Paula's pork promotion? Perchance, why, Ronnie?

I'm not even remotely a fan of Smithfield. From what I've read and learned about them, let's just say I actively avoid their products and believe that it's sound policy to do so.

=R=

I'm not even remotely a fan of Smithfield. From what I've read and learned about them, let's just say I actively avoid their products and believe that it's sound policy to do so.
=R=

Hi Ronnie,

I agree with you here, and when I'm out shopping, I go out of my way to avoid almost anything with the above brand name...
And as a native Virginian...I cringe every time I see one of their commercials or magazine ads.

The one exception being an actual dry cured Smithfield ham, which I've read is still produced pretty close to the recipe of yesteryear. To me, it's a disgrace to every time I see a label with the name "Smithfield" on it, on anything other than a real Smithfield ham.

"Genuine Smithfield hams [are those] cut from the carcasses of peanut-fed hogs, raised in the peanut-belt of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of North Carolina, and which are cured, treated, smoked, and processed in the town of Smithfield, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

...Genuine Smithfield hams are hereby defined to be hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry salt method of cure; and, aged for a minimum period of six months; such six-month period to commence when the green pork cut is first introduced to dry salt, all such salting, processing, treating, smoking, curing, and aging to be done within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield, Virginia

The specificity of the statute ensures that the product is not pre-processed anywhere else, and only finished in Virginia, or the town of Smithfield. The locality of the curing process also ensures a uniformity in flavor, since during the curing and aging process the local environment's air quality, humidity, and the local varieties of airborne mold spores (whose enzymes are produced as a byproduct of growth on the ham's rind) produce a unique and repeatable flavor."

I enjoyed some genuine Smithfield ham in Virginia last summer. It's as good as ever to me, and I don't think it's nostalgia on my part. Again, what a shame that the modern corporate world has turned such a fine name to shit.

Evil Ronnie wrote:

I'm not even remotely a fan of Smithfield. From what I've read and learned about them, let's just say I actively avoid their products and believe that it's sound policy to do so.
=R=

Hi Ronnie,

I agree with you here, and when I'm out shopping, I go out of my way to avoid almost anything with the above brand name...
And as a native Virginian...I cringe every time I see one of their commercials or magazine ads.

The one exception being an actual dry cured Smithfield ham, which I've read is still produced pretty close to the recipe of yesteryear. To me, it's a disgrace to every time I see a label with the name "Smithfield" on it, on anything other than a real Smithfield ham.

"Genuine Smithfield hams [are those] cut from the carcasses of peanut-fed hogs, raised in the peanut-belt of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of North Carolina, and which are cured, treated, smoked, and processed in the town of Smithfield, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

...Genuine Smithfield hams are hereby defined to be hams processed, treated, smoked, aged, cured by the long-cure, dry salt method of cure; and, aged for a minimum period of six months; such six-month period to commence when the green pork cut is first introduced to dry salt, all such salting, processing, treating, smoking, curing, and aging to be done within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield, Virginia

The specificity of the statute ensures that the product is not pre-processed anywhere else, and only finished in Virginia, or the town of Smithfield. The locality of the curing process also ensures a uniformity in flavor, since during the curing and aging process the local environment's air quality, humidity, and the local varieties of airborne mold spores (whose enzymes are produced as a byproduct of growth on the ham's rind) produce a unique and repeatable flavor."

I enjoyed some genuine Smithfield ham in Virginia last summer. It's as good as ever to me, and I don't think it's nostalgia on my part. Again, what a shame that the modern corporate world has turned such a fine name to shit.

Yeah, the genuine article has, in my mind, nothing to do with the ubiquitous brand of which we speak. In fact, as you say, they've more or less turned the Smithfield name into something meaningless.

=R=

A perspective from Chowhound Food Media. I particularly liked this part:

"Perhaps our notions of health and excess are rooted in class. Deen, we assume, speaks to a down-market audience who need to be lectured about nutrition and willpower. Bourdain speaks to the well-heeled traveler for whom a foie gras hot dog is an occasional indulgence, not a moral failing."

Hi- Sorry for the late post, but a friend of mine told me this morning that Paula and her sons are going to be on the Chew at noon on channel 7 today. According to what my friend told me, Paula sais in another interview yesterday, that she was donating half of the money she is going to receive from the pharmaceutical company to charity. I hope maybe some diabetes group.

When I read the article in the NYT that somebody posted here, I discovered that apparently the diabetes medication she is currently on, runs $500 a month, and so is definitely not a first line drug for diabetes. There were a lot of negative comments about Paula on the NYT

I got the impression watching her on the Today show yesterday, that she is going to promote the fact that it is not the end of the world if you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and that you can cheat every once in a while, as long as you do it in moderation.

Did anybody watch the cooking segment they did on the Today show yesterday in the 9 o'clock hour with Paula and her two sons.? I missed that.

If Paula does it right, and shows the right way to eat on a diabetic diet, then she might actually do some good, but I am afraid that she is going to say that a l half stick of butter is ok. Apparently she has sworn off sweet tea which has 1 tablespoon of sugar per glass. What else does sweet tea have in it besides sugar and tea?

BTW- I am almost positive that Smithfield Farms was vilified in Food, inc. They are the largest pork producer in this country. Hope this helps, Nancy

On a lighter note, it's Paula Deen's Health Food Cookbook!

FRUIT SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. bag of Skittles

3 cups ranch dressing

DIRECTIONS:

Mix well. Serve room temperature.

I've never been a Paula Deen fan, though I'll admit my impressions of her are based solely on brief Today Show appearances and articles I've read about her. That said, I hope someone in the media will take it upon themselves to fact-check her statements re. her claim she's always told people to eat in moderation, etc. Since her diagnosis, I'm wondering how many times in her shows/TV live appearances (where she does control the message) she's actually made comments along those lines. I don't remember ever hearing them.

Hi- They had Paula and her two son's on the Chew for the whole hour. She said the reason that she did not come pit with this three years ago, is because she did not know much about diabetes herself, and she wanted to educate herself before she went public. Apparently a portion of the money Paula and her two son's receive from the pharmaceutical company is going to the American Diabetes Association. The pharmaceutical company is putting up a website that the ADA has endorsed, which the Deens are going to be involved in.

When asked why she was not giving all of the proceeds from her partnership with the pharmaceutical company to charity, Paula said that she needed money to pay her bills too.

Paula's son Bobby already has a new cooking show on the FN, and her other son has a cooking show, that is supposed to premiere in a few months. Apparently Paula is going to be on Dr. Oz again too.

I remember a few years ago, when Paula was on Oprah's show, preparing one of her over the top dishes, and Oprah asked her if that dish was healthy for you, and Paula said that she did not want to go there.

Paula makes you think that she has found the light, but when Dr. Oz's daughter, who is on the Chew, mentioned that she is on a 21 day cleansing diet right now, and she fixed Paula a vegan version of butternut squash soup. Paula said the soup was good, but I could tell that she had no desire to go on a cleansing diet.

Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:When I read the article in the NYT that somebody posted here, I discovered that apparently the diabetes medication she is currently on, runs $500 a month, and so is definitely not a first line drug for diabetes. There were a lot of negative comments about Paula on the NYT

A lot of new diabetics are prescribed the newest drugs like Actos and Victoza that easily run that much.

If the patient objects to his physician using that as the first drug (or to the cost), more often than not, they will be prescribed a far more affordable option. Many of the "old line" medications are very effective and are available for $4/ month.

NFriday wrote:When I read the article in the NYT that somebody posted here, I discovered that apparently the diabetes medication she is currently on, runs $500 a month, and so is definitely not a first line drug for diabetes. There were a lot of negative comments about Paula on the NYT

A lot of prescription drug prices are shockingly high if you're looking at the retail price. I'm on an asthma medication (because I'm allergic to cats, yet we've had a cat for the past 12 years) that retails for $150 per 60 doses (30 days' worth), and it is a "first-line"/"drug of choice". Before we had wood floors put in (our carpet was holding all the dander & keeping me constantly miserable), I was on a second asthma drug on top of that that costs $80 per 30 doses.

Fortunately, I've always paid much less thanks to health insurance...with the worst insurance I had in the past 7-8 years, I paid $72/month for the two drugs. With the best insurance, I paid $20 for the two. I'm currently just on the one and have mediocre insurance, and pay $40/month.

Hi- One of my sisters is an endocrinologist in New Orleans. She was formally at Tulane, where the majority of her patients could afford the meds. She now works and teaches at LSU. It is a long story about how she ended up at LSU, thanks to Katrina. University Hospital, which is one of the hospitals that she works out of, is run by the state, and most of the patients there are either on medicaid or have no insurance, and so $500 a month medication is out of the question. She also works two half days a month at a free clinic, where nobody has insurance, and she treats lots of diabetics there. She says that diabetes is rampant down there, because of the unhealthy food there. Too much cream sauce and deep fried food. Lets not forget the beignets too.

Part of the reason why health care is so expensive, is because people do not think about how much everything costs, because their insurance picks up the tab. I pay for my own health insurance, and I have a high deductible, so I would let the doctor know that I could not afford it, if she wrote a script for a $500 a month drug.

When I got put on cholesterol medication three years ago, my doctor wanted to put me on Lipitor, which was over $100 a month back then. Now it is around $80 a month, because there is one generic version out. I asked her if she could put me on simvastatin instead, which is a whole lot cheaper, and she agreed to. I get a 90 day supply of simvastatin at Sam's Club for $9.75.

I know there are some instances where you have to go on expensive medication, but in many instances there are cheap generics you can try first. Thanks, Nancy

I did not follow all the links within the story, so I can't say with 100% certainty that this is true, but here is a site showing a bunch of things Deen has fried and eaten on camera: http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2010/01/7-t ... d-and-ate/ Butter.

Hi- Here is the link for the new diabetes site that Paula was promoting on the Chew today.

http://www.diabetesinanewlight.com/

Of course the site also promotes the drug she is on. It does have some diabetic recipes on the site.

BTW- Paula Deen has been asked to appear on Dancing with the Stars. Maybe she would lose some weight while appearing on the program.

Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Part of the reason why health care is so expensive, is because people do not think about how much everything costs, because their insurance picks up the tab. I pay for my own health insurance, and I have a high deductible, so I would let the doctor know that I could not afford it, if she wrote a script for a $500 a month drug.

When I got put on cholesterol medication three years ago, my doctor wanted to put me on Lipitor, which was over $100 a month back then. Now it is around $80 a month, because there is one generic version out. I asked her if she could put me on simvastatin instead, which is a whole lot cheaper, and she agreed to. I get a 90 day supply of simvastatin at Sam's Club for $9.75.

I know there are some instances where you have to go on expensive medication, but in many instances there are cheap generics you can try first. Thanks, Nancy

A part of the fantastic This American Life episode on health care, there was a specific 16 minute segment on this issue (specifically how coupons from name-brand pharmaceutical companies distort the price signal of brand vs. generic drugs). Really interesting stuff.

-Dan

I saw Paula on the Chew yesterday too and was totally turned off by the weeping statements coming from her as in " I've always preached moderation" She waited the 3 years so she could line up some lucrative endorsements and turn this into a profit for herself. Disgusting. Didn't like her before, even less now.

This is not from the parody site I linked to earlier:

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT DESSERT
Your guests will beg for this recipe and it is so easy that I hate to give it away!
1 small jar of Nutella
1 8 ounce carton of Cool Whip (you can use any of the varieties: lite, sugar free, original, fat free)
Remove the ALL of the foil from the top of the Nutella jar. Microwave for 25 seconds. Stir warm Nutella into the Cool Whip.
**You can add a handful of slivered almonds or chopped hazelnuts to the mixture just to give the mixture a crunch. Collins and Carson like it plain right out of the bowl!!

This is the last recipe for some sort of holiday meal. The post ends with this advice:

Of course, you must have SWEET TEA with every meal as Southern as this. Tea is better sweetened while hot rather than cold.

ETA (per KennyZ below) - Not from Paula herself, but someone named Bubbles.

Josh - while your quotes above are from Paula's site, they are not from Paula herself. They are from a woman named Bubbles, who maintains a blog there. Perhaps Paula can share some blame for the silly recipe since it is her site. I blame her about as much as I blame stevez for allowing you to post this misleading information

Oooh, you are correct sir. I'll edit my original post. Hopefully Bubbles will be moderating her sweet tea and Cool Whip intake this year as well.

Fresser wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:That a smoking diabetic has been advocating this style of eating/cooking in such a zealous manner -- even to children -- really does give credence to Anthony Bourdain's claim from 2011 that "The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen." And the fact that she's been keeping her condition a secret seems to indicate that she's quite subversive, too."
=R=

This from Anthony Bourdain, the carrot-chomping, teetotalling advocate for healthy eating? Tony just likes to load up his sarcastic sniper rifle and aim at the widest target. He's skinny only by accident.

When I, like Paula, got the diabetic diagnosis from my physician, I didn't trumpet it for the world to hear and smirk at, though I personally don't write Southern cookbooks or consider butter to be a food group. No one heard me utter the word "diabetic" for six months after I was diagnosed--I called it "high blood sugar"--and the word "diabetes" itself still makes me choke. Those who know me from eGullet know I'm fastidious about my diet and exercise, but it took me about six months to accept emotionally that I have a "condition" that, if not cared for, will kill me.

Surely Paula knows that her diet was her downfall, and any talk of her inking a deal with Novartis to pimp her pancreatic function is WAY off-base. I raise my Sweet-and-Low to you, Paula, and welcome you to the oatmeal-eating clan.

So cool it, Bourdain. Hell, I'll even toast you with a Diet-Coke-and-Lime next time you're in town noshing with Ronnie.

The last time I watched Tony-- I forget if it was his new show or a rerun-- someone was handing him a high-fat goody and he said, "I'm already on [some cholesterol drug]." And then he ate the high-fat snack. Unless I was hallucinating, which is always possible. Now it may be that a good portion of the stuff he says is not exactly true but he's not a spokesperson for healthy living by any means. I like Bourdain fine except when he is excoriating people for those kinds of things. That article about fat people which was reprinted in Nasty Bits was hideous.

bibi rose wrote:The last time I watched Tony-- I forget if it was his new show or a rerun-- someone was handing him a high-fat goody and he said, "I'm already on [some cholesterol drug]." And then he ate the high-fat snack. Unless I was hallucinating, which is always possible. Now it may be that a good portion of the stuff he says is not exactly true but he's not a spokesperson for healthy living by any means. I like Bourdain fine except when he is excoriating people for those kinds of things. That article about fat people which was reprinted in Nasty Bits was hideous.

It's public (if not common) knowledge that Bourdain is a former heroin addict. It's covered in-depth in Kitchen Confidential, his autobiography from 2000 that brought him to prominence. What I've always appreciated about him is that he's very much 'what you see is what you get.' Whether one likes him or not, I think most people know exactly where he's coming from. He may be a pompous, judgmental pundit but he's not a huckster.

The Paula Deen situation seems entirely different to me. First of all, she's feeding people, not being fed, as Bourdain usually is. And like many folks who've come and gone on Food Network over the years, her on-air persona has felt, from the start, like not much more than an intensive marketing effort, primarily designed to build a brand, sell cookbooks and other products . . . and some of her endorsement deals are questionable, at best. So, when this latest development was made public, it was an emphatic pin-prick to that ever-inflating balloon. In spite of the publicly-given reasons, the delay between when she learned of her diabetes and made it public seems like nothing more than a profit-focused attempt to deceive the public just a bit longer about the perils of specifically what she espouses. That may not have been her intent but that's certainly how it's playing to a lot of observers and commenters.

Separately, I think that to cast the current Paula Deen ire as class-based, which some folks -- including Ms. Deen herself -- have done, is off the mark. To do so really glosses over salient details which separate her from a lot of others who cook from lesser means, professionals and home cooks alike. There's great distance between not liking Paula Deen and not liking Southern cuisines. And there's an ever greater distance between not liking Paula Deen and not indulging ourselves with less healthful foods. It's reasonable to argue that Paula Deen has hurt the cause of the cuisines she advocates more than she's advanced it, especially in light of recent developments.

=R=

Putting Bourdain aside, how many overweight TV chefs are there who are likely to be on cholesterol reducing drugs while they continue to promote dishes that are high in fat, contributing to cardiac disease and hypertension? If Mario Batali or Emeril revealed they were on Lipitor for the past 5 years, would they be subject to the same outrage that Paula Deen is receiving? Somehow, I think not.

I do think her waiting to reveal her disease until she had a deal with a drug company is worthy of criticism.

rickster wrote:I do think her waiting to reveal her disease until she had a deal with a drug company is worthy of criticism.

It would be kind of weird to be the spokeswoman for a drug and not reveal her disease.

Does anyone know who normally lines up product endorsements? The marketing company or her agents? Did marketing tests reveal that manufactured controversy in the news is cheaper than running ads or was that the accounting dept? Is Bourdain getting his cut?