Trends for September 10, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Sept. 10, 2001 | 8:18 a.m.

Totally tasteless

And you thought June was the official wedding season.

According to Bride's magazine, 27 percent of all weddings are held in the fall.

In its October/November issue (which his newsstands in August), the magazine lists examples of the "worst wedding day etiquette offenders"/tips to avoid making a faux pas. Among them:

Sweet treat

Speaking of tasteless, one might assume that a new line of protein-packed candy, available at 7-Eleven stores, would lack flavor. It's candy, after all making it healthy can't be good.

The convenience-store chain, in conjunction with a company called Biochem Sports and Fitness Systems (doesn't that sound yummy?), developed Ultimate Protein Candy for snack-craving folks in search of something a bit healthier.

The candies ($1.49) come in three varieties chocolate pieces (think M&Ms), peanut butter cups (think Reeses) and chocolate chews (think Tootsie Rolls). The candies pack 5-10 grams of protein and 150-260 calories. All that nutrition and they actually aren't half-bad tasting. But can you still call it junk food?

Cold, hard facts

And, finally, speaking of junk food (or maybe not?), the results of a recent Tupperware poll are in. Seems 94 percent of the 1,100 adults who the plastic-wares company polled via the telephone said they purchase frozen foods sometimes, while 30 percent said they always purchase it.

Seventy percent of those polled said they pick up frozen food for dinner; 11 percent get it for lunch. Fifty-one percent of respondents said fruits and veggies are their most frequent frozen purchases (sure they are) and 46 percent said meats and poultries.

(We're hedging our bets here, folks, and guessing that it's fat-laden frozen burritos and cherry cobblers, not lima beans, that shoppers are really buying.)

Whatever the food, it's likely going to be in the freezer for a while.

Forty-four percent of people said they use guesswork to figure the "length of stay" of foods in the freezer. No wonder: Half of the people polled said their freezers are only somewhat organized (19 percent said the space is a wreck). Meanwhile 35 percent actually take the time to label "freeze dates" on containers of food.