Jan 5, 2011

A Lesson on Hummus and Foodie Terms That Make Me Cringe

I've always know that hummus is made from mashed chickpeas + seasonings. I had been going crazy seeing recipes like "edamame hummus," "white bean hummus," and "black bean hummus," that had no actual chickpeas in the recipes. My friends, that is a dip. The word hummus is both Arabic and Hebrew for chickpeas, so why on earth would something with a base of another legume, be called hummus? It's just not right. Last night when I made my Sweet Potato Hummuses, I thought it was safe to call them hummus being that the base was chickpeas with the addition of sweet potato + other seasonings. This really isn't correct either, and I'm not afraid to admit that. Maybe I'm being too pedantic about the subject, but I'd much rather own up to my mistake and use food terminology correctly. 

Then I got to thinking about other annoying foodie terms. This kept me up last night too, so that makes 2 nights in a row that I have not slept well because my brain is in overdrive thinking about food. Some might call me an insomniac, others might call me manic depressive, but I'd like to think I just really love food. And I have really bad a.d.d. Someone medicate me, please?


Baby Talk
  • Yummers, yummo, or any other variation of yum. Unless you are under the age of 10, you need to stop it.
  • Sammy and sammich. The word sandwich has an n in it, not an m. So why would you put two in there? Take out your pacifier.
  • Foodbaby. The actual thought of giving birth to food is actually something we do on the toilet. Do not talk about human babies like that! That's disgusting.
  • Cuppycake. People actually say this.
Unnecessary Abbreviations
  • Brekkie, for breakfast. Are you that tired you can't say the whole word before you eat it?
  • Resto, for restaurant. Sounds more like a rest stop to me, and I sure as heck don't want to eat there.
  • EVOO. It's olive oil. "E-V-O-O" has the same amount of syllables as "ol-ive-oi-l" so stop being lazy, Rachel Ray.
  • Ressy/Rezzie, for restaurant. Admittedly, Amanda and I have used this in a conversation.
Onomatopoeia
  • Om, nom, nom. Where did this come from, Sesame Street?
  • Meh.
Sexy time
  • Foodgasm. Not possible to my knowledge. If so, call me.
  • "This food is orgasmic." Again, if you can produce orgasm-inducing foods, call me.
The Redundant
  • Cheese quesadilla.
  • Chai tea.
  • Au jus sauce.
  • Shrimp scampi.
  • Pizza pie.
The Self-Congratulatory Menu Items
  • "Housemade"
  • "Artisan"
  • "Gourmet"
The #1 Worst
  • EXPRESSO instead of ESPRESSO
  • OH
  • MY
  • GOD
  • STOP



Question: What food-related words/phrases do you find most aggravating? Or noises? How about gum smacking or loud chewing? ;)


Favor: The Charleston City Paper is taking votes for their annual “Best of Charleston” list featuring people, restaurants, and all things related to Charleston. I have received several emails and tweets from friends who have voted Hungry Meets Healthy for “Best Local Interest Blog.” If you have a spare few minutes, I would GREATLY appreciate your vote here: Best of Charleston.


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

72 comments:

  1. Hahaha! Love this post- hilarious. I don't say yummo, but I do say delish. Don't hate ;)

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  2. It drives me insane when Giada insists upon saying everything Italian in an Italian accent. A few days ago she was making something and I couldn't even figure out what it was without looking at the information because she was faking such a thick accent. I understand her family is from Italy, but I doubt she even sounds like what it would be said like it Italy. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to vent about that.

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  3. I keep seeing "nom nom nom" on people's facebook statuses and it drives me nuts. I just picture a nasty person stuffing their face with crumbs flying everywhere. Ew. I am guilty of saying expresso. Luckily I rarely get coffee so the word doesn't pop out too often!

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  4. lol I love you. I HATE when people use the babytalk phrases - except foodbaby because there really are times when I eat so much, I feel as though I may explode!

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  5. HA! Too funny! I HATE the "expresso" thing as well... along with many other things on your list! Also, your food processor injury in the previous post had me laughing out loud- mostly because I could see me doing the same thing to myself!

    Diggin' your site with your recipes. :)

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  6. You are so funny, Christina :) That picture of you makes me giggle every time I scroll up and see it.

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  7. I TOTALLY agree with Meghan!! I have always fussed at Giada on TV when she does that!

    I also hate when people say "yummers." Totally agree with you on these!

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  8. this post is awesome with the perfect picture to match. I'm so in agreement that i've evern considered one of my own posts!! nom nom nom needs to die a slow death. foodgasm weirds me out to know end. and yummers, yummo or HOLY YUM are in that order, cringe inducing.

    "cooked to perfection" also bugs me lately. I've been guilty of using it in the past but try to steer clear. it gets overused and there is no doubt a better way to describe how something is cooked.

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  9. I have a few abbrevs I use :) but I cannot stand "Holy Yum", "Meh" or "Bleh" or "Blech" (What is that?!) and I do agree, "foodbaby" is SICK.

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  10. Yummo? really?! And yeah, the food baby one totally just grossed me out.

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  11. haha, nice!! I'll admit I've said a few of those but I agree with you on most, especially "Brekkie". I guess since people say "lunchy" or "din-din" people thought breakfast was feeling left out or something.

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  12. I've never heard most of these but I guess if I did I would be as annoyed as you are. Expresso is so wrong and I've actually seen people spell it this way.

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  13. This post is awesome. I think I read everyone and was like yep...i hate that...i hate that too. I would say my biggest hate is nom nom nom. It drives me insane when people say that.

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  14. THANK YOU !!! ;) this is awesome, and earlier I totally forgot to add foodbaby. ew.

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  15. Hahahah "Foodgasm. Not possible to my knowledge. If so, call me."

    BEST LINE EVER.

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  16. I need to know how much body pump I need to do exactly, to get arms like that.

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  17. You are the funniest blogger I know. LOVED this post. Also love that you told people to stop saying foodgasm... so annoying!

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  18. Hahaha, I totally say yum and foodbaby (darn, I thought I had made that one up). I agree on foodgasm though, what IS that?

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  19. Hahahahaha. I died at the part about foodbaby.

    This may be unrelated but I find it so annoying when bloggers refer to their salad as a "salad beast." Okay, so you are eating a salad for lunch. Who cares how big it is. That always gets under my skin for some reason, ha!

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  20. It doesn't matter whether sweet potato hummus is food PC or not...I just checked out the recipes, and they look wonderful! I think my food processor may be getting busy this weekend. :-)

    THANK YOU for this post! There are lots of foodie terms that I find aggravating, so it's nice to know that I'm not being a Scrooge! Baby talk and combination words like yummilicious and yum-tastic get to me, but foodbaby is definitely at the top of the list! After reading your comments about that term, I doubt anyone will be using it again! Haha

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  21. Haha oops, I'm guilty of saying "brekkie", but that's because I grew up with my mom saying it a lot. Don't even get me started on my mom's annoying phrases! :P

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  22. Confession: I've been saying EVOO forever as a abbreviation for extra virgin olive oil because that's what I use. I only just realized that said abbreviation comes from Rachael Ray- which I don't even watch!! I have no idea how that slipped into my lexicon haha. My apologies. Though I may continue to use it, just because it's easier to type...and I would never, ever say it out loud.

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  23. lol! U hating on the foodie language! lol! Love ya girl! It doesnt really bother me, but nothing does anyways, I just roll with it all!

    Love the pic of you, you look so fierce! Muah! xoxo

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  24. This is HILARIOUS. I agree with most, but I still like to say "nom." :)

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  25. I think that all things stemming from Rachael Ray annoy me, she's just too peppy and gets overly excited about silly things. Yum-o is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard and worse than Rachael saying it is that some of my friends have started saying it. Please. Stop. Now.

    I'm in agreement with all of your foodie terms pet peeves!

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  26. I love this post!! hilarious! most annoying? there are two specific people i have in mind when it comes to annoying food habits. both friends do this incredibly dramatic, opened-mouth, loud smacking when they are tasting something. i want to scream just thinking about it. "close your mouth!! nobody cares to watch you decide if you like the taste or not!"

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  27. Haha! I think I might be guilty of using *yum* I have three kids though so sometimes it just comes out.

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  28. The Expresso/Espresso drives me up a wall! But I am known to use 'nom' on the internet. Saying it outloud just sounds weird though...

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  29. another annoyance with Rachael Ray is that she adds a superfluous letter into her name...that "a" is not necessary!!

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  30. nom nom nom is pretty bad... but lol i'm totally guilty of using yummmm.

    sammy and foodgasm are def the absolute most annoying offenders in my opinion. sammy?? stop!!!

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  31. "Brekkie" - guilty.
    "Meh" - VERY guilty.

    This is too funny though.

    EVOO particularly drives me up the wall.

    As does Rachel Ray's "Stoup". Is it soup or stew? Pick one damn it! I fucking hate that word.

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  32. I could not possibly agree with this post more. These things drive me CRAZY.

    You are not five, stop talking like it!

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  33. Love this! So true! How about massive soup slurping! Out for whatever reason when someone unscrews there drink,gulps, then screws the top back on-drives me nuts!

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  34. I see you love Rachel Ray as much as I do. Seriously, I could not agree with you more on ALL of this! I also hate when people refer to meat things for vegetarian foods...like eggplant caviar (um no, caviar is actually fish eggs) or faux chicken wings (again, not a wing)...needless to say, I love this post!

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  35. My husband CONSTANTLY says "brefast". Seriously? It has the same amount of syllables if you say it correctly. I guess the "a" and "k" throw him off. Haha. :)

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  36. Hahaha! I have to admit I have definitely been guilty of a few of these...

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  37. Technically Extra Virgin Olive Oil has 7 syllables and EVOO has 4. But yes, I still hate that term

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  38. to Anonymous: i wasn't comparing "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" to "EVOO." i was comparing "EVOO" to simply saying "olive oil" because it is the same amount of syllables and you don't sound like an idiot.

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  39. I'd say that I agree with everything else, but using "brekkie" instead of "breakfast" is commonplace in Australia and England. I lived in Australia in 2004/2005 and it's used in place of "breakfast" by most people on a regular basis.

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  40. haha YES!!! this food-term topic definitely needed discussing!! I HATE the term FoodBaby!!! ick!
    thanks for the lesson on hummus!
    I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you!
    xoxo!

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  41. Ahhhh I agree with you on nearly EVERY one of those!! So annoying! Cuppycake?! Seriously!?
    Trying to think of what annoys me the most- LOUD gum chewers- HATE it...or people that lick their fingers. Ew. That makes me cringe just thinking about it.
    & voted for ya :)

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  42. Love this! I completely agree - EXPRESSO is so annoying!! It's espresso, peeps.

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  43. you forgot how every post is just "EPIC!" hehe. I love all this. I'm sure I've said something along this sorts in my blog at some point. And I did just post a HUMMUS recipe that involves nut butter and yes, CHICKPEAS!
    Cheers,
    LC

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  44. I HATE FOODBABY!! It makes me want to vom everytime I hear it. I also hate "nom nom nom", it disgusts me. I def say "ressies" instead of "reservations" and "brek" or "brekki" sometimes...but you know I love to abrev.

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  45. I seriously laughed out loud a bajillion times while reading this and cooking a bean burrito. I'm not a foodie by any means, but all of these words do annoy me occassionally depending on my hormonal balances at the time I'm reading them! Most of the time, though, I just recognize it as the blogger's personality shining through and I don't really mind.

    Foodgasm, though, is one I could definitely do without. Sounds/images associated with the last four letters of that word unwillingly spring into my mind whenever I read it and I find it uncomfortable and weird. Very weird.

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  46. I hate foodbaby. It makes me want to barf. haha. Loved this post!

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  47. YOU NAILED THEM ALL!!!! I had no idea what evo stood for ha....now I know and I am really bugged ha! You are hilarious! Cuppycake and nom nom make me physically angry!

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  48. Thanks you for addressing this. I am so tired of hearing people use the words "nom" and EVOO. Yuck.

    But there are some words you mentioned that I've found quite typical in countries besides the US, and I think Americans have taken them on. Like sammy is used in New Zealand, brekkie in the UK, and resto in Quebec and parts of Europe.

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  49. Nice use of the word pedantic! To dovetail (WTF does THAT mean anyway) off your words that make you cringe...I can't stand when people shorten some words and end up sounding like a 5 year old Valley Girl. Ex: Totes for totally and adorbs for adorable. I, too, hate the term foodgasm and have thought the term foodbaby refers mre to excriment than being overly stuffed with food. We can all thank Juno for that one.

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  50. oh i am so guilty of using sammie - i really do need to stop with that! i really hate the resto one!

    haha i love your hummus vent though - its so true! you need some chickpeas!!

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  51. OK. This post legit made me laugh out loud. For real. Thank you.

    E-V-O-O, hahah, that does annoy me. Rachel Ray does that all the time.

    "That is a dip my friend" --I am only guilty of that with my sweet potato hummus. I had it (being called that) at a restaurant, talked the chef into telling me how it was made and made it. There were no chick peas, only sweet potato and tahini. Tragic. I totally see where you're coming from.

    Random...I am consumed by all thoughts of food 24/7 right now. I never was before. This baby is turning me into a major foodie, lol.

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  52. I really relate to what you said---I don't get how talking like a preschooler makes anyone want to follow what a person says!

    Probably EVOO is my biggest annoyance, but sammie is right up there!

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  53. Haha!! Many of those are Rachel Ray terms! I used to love her, but now she kinda drives me crazy! Foodgasm...lol! I really don't like that one either.

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  54. The coffee addict in me can't stand expresso, not espresso.

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  55. I've never seen your blog before, but this is a great post! I TOTALLY agree about the babytalk, with "nom nom nom" leading my list of gripes. Right behind it are naners and maters. AHHHHHHH!

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  56. I have to admit to SAMMY (not really anymore), but cuppycake? It's a CUPCAKE. Haha ;)

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  57. Baby, you had me at pedantic. :) The nom nom nom thing makes me CRAZY! I just picture Cookie Monster in my head. Revolting.

    I can not stand loud chewers. I also can't stand people who give running commentary on a meal. Like all of a sudden we're all judges on Top Chef or Gordon Ramsay or something.

    I also can't stand people who are super-substituters. I want this without that, but with this instead. Know what? If you want to eat healthy, don't go to an Italian restaurant! Once you've stripped the cheese and sauce, it's freaking noodles! Go home and heat up a Lean Cuisine if you're so worried about it.

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  58. "sghetti"

    "easy peasy"

    "sweet taters" (oops I've used that one!)

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  59. Ha, I think Rachael Ray is totally to blame for a number of those food term annoyances. I don't like the phrase "hand-blended milkshake" that I sometimes see advertised.... I realize what they're trying to get at but I'm pretty sure it's the blender that's doing the blending. And totally agree on the artisan/homemade/gourmet, those words really have no higher-status meaning anymore, WAY overused.

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  60. Great post... it actually made me crave hummus!
    I wanted to say thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting... I am now following and I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
    All the best,
    Kim

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  61. Hysterical! I am laughing audibly at work! Bad. Expresso is really bad. Open mouth chewers are nasty. My mother's friend calls breakfast breftas . What the ??? LOL Thanks for making me laugh.
    xo
    Mindy

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  62. HAHAHA! Girl, you freaking crack me up! Keep up the great work gorgeous :)

    Well I am off to have an Expresso and a cuppycake now....Lol, J/K!!

    I understand what you are saying and I do get a little crazy when I hear the yummers.

    xxoo

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  63. I HATE the food baby term!! EWW seriously! Thank you from the bottom of my heart lol Not considering myself a foodie, I would never have the balls to say all that. So THANK YOU!! It's not cute at all! :)

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  64. I'm proud of my SAMMY usage, and I think I say holy hannah, not holy yum-ever-but everything else on there is particularly annoying. I actually don't really like a lot of how people write. I'm picky. Be honored I love yours!

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  65. Oh, I am so relieved! I seriously thought I was the only human being on the planet that found the foodie speak so annoying! Yummo is the worst to me. I love reading blogs, but I do not want to be spoken to like I am a moron. You can tell me something was delicious without resorting to baby talk. Thank you for sharing.

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  66. So funny, I love this post.

    I hate foods that advertise themselves as being "all natural." That means absolutely nothing, but it tricks people into thinking it's healthier or better for the environment. So not true! False advertising.

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  67. Haha, there are definitely *some* blogs worse than others about way over-doing cutesy terms. Seriously, if I don't know what's being spoken about, it's gone too far!

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  68. I love this post. It made me think of when I first started dating my boyfriend. He would always say the food was "yummy." It made my skin crawl every time I heard it. Then one day his mother came over and said the same thing, "yummy" this and "yummy" that. ARG!

    Eventually I said something to him and I can't remember the last time he actually said that. This post made me giggle about how he use to say that.

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  69. Oh my gosh. This post is insanely accurate and I am in love with this post. You are my favorite blogger. The end. :)

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  70. I am totally with you on the hummus thing...and pretty much everything else.

    Do people really say "resto" for restaurant?

    More importantly....why have I never read your blog before?

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  71. Oh no, I think I use a lot of these, and now I am realizing I may be very obnoxious to others. Sigh. But you are pretty darn funny :)

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