Health Food, Stealth Food

We want it to be good, but is it?

The Pyramid of Luxuries

The Bespoke - $1,000 Mobile Phone Shopping Spree

The Ultra High End - KraveJerky Power Packs

The Superpremium - Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chip

The Premium Core - Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chip

The Accessible Core - Health Food, Stealth Food

The Affordable Luxury - Grapevine North Pole Express

The Everyday Luxury - How About an Online Social?

The Bespoke

I know everyone’s waiting for the big announcement!

The winner for the June 2024 Bespoke Contest is… KIM from GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS! This is her submission for “a photo that makes you laugh”:

Congratulations! You have won the $1,000 Home Cleaning Shopping Spree! Get ready to sit back, relax, and have your house become sparkly clean.

Let’s take a look at some of the submissions that were sent in:

It looks like everyone had the same idea about what is funny to them, people in awkward scenarios. I’m face-palming at some of these submissions, just FYI.

Click on the banner to enter The Bespoke Photo Contest. Click here for the Official Contest Rules.

• Prize: $1,000 Mobile Phone Shopping Spree [ARV $1,000]

• Odds: For every 130 Ducky Tran premium member by the time of judging, I will give out one (1) Shopping Spree

• Contest Period: July 3, 2024 at 10 AM CST to July 30, 2024 at 10 PM CST

This month’s grand prize was voted on by you, the members.

Mobile phones have become a large part of our society. Its convenience, utility, and entertainment-value are so immense that nearly everyone 10+ years old have at least one. There are obviously some negatives about them; however, the positives outweigh them to a large margin, so their usage has become synonymous to clothes and shelter. This is true because I’ve seen homeless people on the streets that have mobile phones and I’ve seen people jump into lakes to retrieve a phone overboard.

Regardless of the issues, we are quite dependent on our mobile devices in our modern society. So, to keep our lucky winner(s) current and up-to-date, I will be giving out a $1,000 Mobile Phone Shopping Spree.

I didn’t put a particular product since different people may rather have Apple versus Android, or just got a new phone and don’t need another. The shopping spree allows the winner to pick items that is associated to mobile phones and as long as the total is $1,000 or less (before tax), then their prize is tailored to their current needs.

The Ultra High End

Previous Contest Winner

The winner of Issue 32 Ultra High End contest is HONG from ARLINGTON, TEXAS! Here’s her submission for “photo of something colorful”:

Congratulations HONG, you can be super fancy with your beverages by using your new Nugget Ice Maker! Check out the other submissions:

I’m glad to see the different vantage points everyone had with something colorful. This is the type of submissions I really like to see, because it just shows the variety of mindsets and lives that Ducky Tran members have.

This Week’s Contest

Click on the banner to enter The Ultra High End Photo Contest. Click here for the Official Contest Rules.

• Prize: 3 x Krave Power Packs [ARV $117]

• Odds: For every 80 Ducky Tran premium members by the time of judging, I will give out three (3) Krave Power Packs

• Contest Period: July 3, 2024 at 10 AM CST to July 9, 2024 at 10 PM CST

This week’s focus is physical wealth, specifically foods we choose to eat. I want to state that I believe we should eat healthy, but food should still taste good. I won’t eat raw carrots, but I love braised carrots. I won’t eat raw potatoes, but I love them roasted potatoes. However, I don’t mind a candied carrot or potato chips either, it’s all about balance and not over-indulging.

This week I’m giving out one of my favorite snacks, jerky. Jerky, generally, isn’t over processed but just preserved using salts and dehydration techniques. I really like how it is tasty and healthy (until I devour it all in one sitting). I’ve had many varieties of jerky but my favorite tends to be one that has a softer chew so I don’t break my teeth. I also like the spicy ones, but not everyone can handle spice. KraveJerky has a power pack that consists of 6 different flavors. The winner will be getting three (3) power packs, so 18 packs of jerky to enjoy. If you win, please share some with me. Sharing will help moderate the amount you eat.

The Superpremium

This week’s Superpremium topic is Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chip. I know what you may be thinking, “didn’t he just say healthy foods”. Yes, but life’s too short to ignore what makes you happy. May it be candy, soda, chips, or any snack foods, moderation is the key. Don’t over-indulge and keep a healthy diet so you can have a few snacks here and there. (I’m already imagining everyone elbow deep in a family-sized chip bag while reading this newsletter.)

Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chip is in my top 3 favorite chips. If you’re a fancy-pants like me, you’ll love how much umami is in these chips. I have to portion the entire bag out into one (1) chip per container before I eat or I’ll just destroy a large bag in a few minutes.

WARNING! They are addicting! They are savory, salty, umami-filled, and slightly sweet. They even come in Spicy! There’s really only one issue with it that keeps me from finishing a bag every day. They’re very expensive! A single bag cost more than some snack packs. However, I don’t blame them, the ingredients and work they put into this snack is worth every penny.

If you haven’t already, split the cost between your friends and play a game. The game is everyone eat one (1) chip, then leave it in the center and see who breaks first and takes another. Last person that can resist wins.

Jokes aside, they are delicious but moderation is the key. One (1) chip a day will make it last a month. Good luck resisting!

The Premium Core

That’s right! First, I make you drool about it, now I’ll make you work for it. I’m giving out a few bags of Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chips. First-come, first-serve.

I really enjoy these freebie Premium Core deals, because I get valuable feedback and it’s more interactive. I will try to have more in the future.

Deal #1: I’m giving out a small bag of Irvins Salted Egg Potato Chips to each member that sends an email to [email protected], in the email let me know what your favorite chip is. There will only be 9 bags available.

The Accessible Core

Health Food, Stealth Food

I am not against making alternative foods or food substitutions; however, I am against marketing it like the item they are substituting and the level of over-processing it takes to get it to resemble something else. Let me give you examples:

1. GOOD: I like sushi, so imitation crab or Krab is very common. As long as they mention it is imitation crab or Krab, I don’t really mind it. I normally eat sushi because it tastes good not because of the nutritional value since after 50+ pieces, all the nutritional value is meaningless.

2. BAD: I dislike the idea that a beet burger, which I may choose to eat because I’m on a diet, is bleeding to simulate a bleeding beef patty! I don’t like a bleeding beef patty, so why say that the bleeding is to simulate something I don’t want. Why not just do a Portobello mushroom cap burger, which is many times tastier and healthier since you’re not destroying the structure of the plant.

3. GOOD: Shirataki noodles are a good substitute for standard rice noodles or pasta. They are low calorie and low-carb, allowing for a controlled diet. I won’t say its texture is perfect, but if the health is taken in consideration, it is very good. That being said, I still prefer zucchini or squash noodles.

4. BAD: The Beyond/Impossible Burger. I don’t like speaking ill of other businesses or ideas; however, I truly believe the idea of a meat burger (made with plants) have harmful effects to the society, specifically in its marketing and processing. Using a mushroom cap, a beet slab, or even sliced cauliflower have been done before. But in each instance, they are whole vegetable/fungi that have only been mechanically cut then cooked. As for the Beyond/Impossible Burger, it is overly processed and then presented as meat, rather than a vegetable. I believe this is to hide the fact that it isn’t all vegetable/fungi. This is deceptive in nature and is no longer about the health of others but the money it can deceive from others. Plus, to ME, it doesn’t even taste good. That being said, please don’t let this stop you from eating the Impossible Burger. I specifically just don’t love the marketing, processing, and deceptive practices (and the taste).

The crazy thing is there have been studies like this, which show that there isn’t a major different in plant-based meats and animal meats when consumed in the same macronutrient quantities. As long as you get your proper nutrition, it’s not really about what you eat, but about how much you eat.

To be clear, there is no verdict to any of these allegations presented in the lawsuits; however, the claims themselves are as plain as day, and can be easily seen but simply looking at the packaging and watching the ads presented by Beyond Meats.

Since 2022, there have been a slew of lawsuits alleging that Beyond Meats and Impossible Foods are using marketing tactics to deceive consumers about the actually nutritional values of their products. This includes deceptive marketings tactic like placing words in the front that doesn’t actually translate to the required nutritional labels on the back, unfair competition and false advertising. This alone would keep me away from these companies due to the unethical nature of their operations.

Beyond the ethics of business, by eating a look-alike burger, it may save you a few calories, but are you truly happy? If so, go at it. But if no, then just get a smaller burger or share your burger with you family. You will get the nutrition you need, be happy eating it, and learn to moderate your diet.

Food is more than just nutrition, it is experiences, it is memories, it is life. Don’t let it feel like a replacement of something you yearn for, but something you’re willing to work hard for, even if you have to limit the quantity you can eat.

The Affordable Luxury

Issue 32 Community Poll Results

Here’s the results from last week:

1. Half of the members have not tried the Beyond Burger, while the other half have mixed feelings about how it tastes. You already read how I feel, I don’t mind cauliflower or mushroom burger, but meat is still my first choice.

2. About 70% are FOR imitation meats, 30% are AGAINST. I think with no reference, I would be FOR. But like I wrote above, I am AGAINST the over-processing of foods and deceptive nature of its marketing.

3. Everyone that voted was not available during August 10 for our second attempt at a BBQ Social. We will try again and find another date the fits more members’ schedule. Thank you for your votes, as that’s the only way I know what to do next!

This Week’s Community Poll

Here are this week’s poll questions:

The Everyday Luxury

(The referral program is only viewable on the email version of the newsletter.)

Again, the BBQ social is a bust. So, I was thinking, how about a remote online social? I’m think about sending something most or none of you have tried, then we’ll meet online to try it all together. Do you think this is something you would like to try? I’ll put a poll to see if this would be better or not for you.

Visit shop.duckytran.com with the weekly password: jerky