Everyday Systems

So I recently got some of my stuff I left at my parent's house after I moved out, including my popsicle molds. I love eating popsicles, because it's so much more fun than drinking a glass of juice (I may be 18, but I'm still a kid in some ways )
Then I wondered, does it count as a snack? It would be made with real juice, so it's not really different than a glass of juice, but I wasn't sure.

Others may feel differently but popsicles are a slippery slope, IMO. Even if they are made with 100% juice they are edible (not a drink) and seen and perceived as a sweet snack and, because of that, I'd probably avoid them on N days.

I'm with She of the Recursive Name. For me, it would be an S. I know that seems a bit rigid, but my logic runs a bit like this:


If you chew it, it's food, not drink.
If it's food and it's not mealtime, it's a snack.
If it's a snack, it's an S.

For me, being quite strict has help program the habits into my hindbrain so I don't have to think about them. It might work differently for you, but I've had more years of bad habits than you have

It's sweet, it's eating between meals, it's got calories: I would call it a snack.

Agreed with the rest of the posters. I think other people have made similar examples with something like a piece of fruit as a snack. Sure, you're probably benefiting a lot more from the fruit's nutrients than doing damage from the fruit's small amount of calories. But the habit of eating in between meals is still being reinforced, and breaking that habit is one of the goals of NoS. Also like others have said, it has the potential to turn into a slippery slope.

I agree, this country has gotten to the shape it is in (put intended) by eating "healthy" snacks... Remember when we had the first Snackwell cookies, and the fat free pudding/jello cups, now the 100 calorie packs, etc. - on their own, each is probably fine.

However, they reinforce the fact that we "need" to be snacking between meals.

Barring medical conditions, we really don't.

Berry

Okay, I'll forget the popsicles for now. Can't promise anything once summer hits though, heat is really bad for me and popsicles usually make it bearable.

Aleria wrote:Okay, I'll forget the popsicles for now. Can't promise anything once summer hits though, heat is really bad for me and popsicles usually make it bearable.

I hear you about the heat. Here in Austin we regularly hit 100 degrees or higher, and "summer" lasts from April to October (sometimes even longer. We've already nearly hit 80 this month!). What about icy cold drinks?

marygrace wrote:

Aleria wrote:Okay, I'll forget the popsicles for now. Can't promise anything once summer hits though, heat is really bad for me and popsicles usually make it bearable.

I hear you about the heat. Here in Austin we regularly hit 100 degrees or higher, and "summer" lasts from April to October (sometimes even longer. We've already nearly hit 80 this month!). What about icy cold drinks?

I don't tolerate the heat well, either. I've only been in your neck of the woods once in my life. It was at the end of March/beginning of April and it was waaaay too hot for me. I was thrilled to get back to much cooler Indiana!

I have a slightly different point of view on the popsicles. You mention that they're made from real fruit juice. Are they always made from fruit juice and not pureed fruit?

I'm a nurse and this comes from my nursing background. There are full and clear liquid diets. Anything that is liquid at room temperature is allowable on a liquid diet. If a popsicle is made from fruit juice and juice is liquid at room temperature -- it would be okay. If they're made from pureed fruit -- not okay.

However, juice is pretty high in calories. I'm against the consumption of the calorie-filled beverages between meals.

So, technically I think they'd be okay, but I wouldn't have them.

wosnes wrote: I have a slightly different point of view on the popsicles. You mention that they're made from real fruit juice. Are they always made from fruit juice and not pureed fruit?

I'm a nurse and this comes from my nursing background. There are full and clear liquid diets. Anything that is liquid at room temperature is allowable on a liquid diet. If a popsicle is made from fruit juice and juice is liquid at room temperature -- it would be okay. If they're made from pureed fruit -- not okay.

Yes, always fruit juice. If I wanted pureed fruit I'd make a smoothie and have it with a meal XD. Glad to know it's technically allowed, then. A bit of calories from fruit juice doesn't bother me too much, really. Thanks for the input!

Aleria wrote:Glad to know it's technically allowed, then. A bit of calories from fruit juice doesn't bother me too much, really.

One of the beauties - and challenges - of No-S is that there's very little that falls under "technically allowed." Each person has to decide for him/herself what constitutes a sweet, a snack, etc. It varies according to individuals and their habits. One person might not even think about breath mints, because they use them occasionally to freshen breath, while another person might declare them off-limits, because they'd eat a whole package in minutes. So, it takes a level of honesty to "call" what works or doesn't for you. (Plus there are things that we WON'T give up... my morning coffee - with milk and sugar - is non-negotable._

One path is to cut the obvious sweets/snacks/seconds before looking at gray areas, then see if that will do. If it doesn't, then put things back on the table for reconsideration. It takes more thought... but the choices are more likely to last.

Personally, I would also call popsicles a snack, because I use the same metrics as Noel. However, I don't really care for popsicles much - and it sounds like you do. In your shoes, I would have them, but might declare a "glass ceiling" (limited number) of them per day.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Good luck!

I wouldn't eat a fruit juice popsicle during the week but I promise I won't be offended if you want to allow them in your implementation of No-s.

No-s is about eating habits and structures rather than "stuff." Popsicles, equivalent though they may be to permitted fruit juice on a molecular level, seem very different on the level of habit. They're solid, and they're desserty. Either aspect would be enough to confuse my sense of habit.

Reinhard