The LuLac Edition #5, 602, March 15th, 2026

 

FOOD-TASTIC NEWS

AGING AND EATING

            I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been out with family or friends my age and how we did comparisons of what we ate 50 years ago as opposed to now. As you age your diet changes in the quantity and quality realm.

With 124.4 million U.S. adults aged 50 and older in 2025, and 63 million of them over age 65, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, responding to the needs and preferences of this health- and wellness-focused demographic segment is a smart strategy.

Nearly eight in 10 adults aged 50-plus believe certain foods, beverages, and ingredients can provide healthy aging benefits and that a diet that is healthy overall is the best path to greater longevity, according to HealthFocus. More than one-third of those aged 65-plus now choose foods and drinks specifically for their healthy aging benefits—a number that has jumped 8 points in recent years, HealthFocus reports.

Sweetened with stevia, Ocean Spray ZERO Sugar Juice Drink is available in two flavors, the brand’s traditional Cranberry flavor and Mixed Berry, a new addition to the portfolio. This week  Gerritty's and Price Chopper have the juice on sale for $2.99 at Gerritty's and 2 for $7.00 at Price Chopper. 

Food products that deliver benefits related to heart health, strong bones, weight management, general healthy aging, blood sugar levels, satiety, specific medical reasons (i.e., colds or urinary tract infections), energy, healthy joints, and immunity are important to those aged 65-plus, according to HealthFocus.

Older consumers are significantly more likely than younger adults to be focused on reducing fat, adding fiber, cutting back on animal products, and adding whole grains to their diets. Their number one priority continues to be reducing sugar, which 57% say has become more important to them in the past year, according to HealthFocus. OREO Double Stuf Zero Sugar Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, which launched in January, and Ocean Spray ZERO Sugar Cranberry Juice Drink will be right on target for some health-minded seniors.  The Zero sugar in the cranberry juice has to me, no taste difference. But I think the Zero sugar Oreos have to be tasting like the original cookies or else they won’t sell. Boomers like their sweets and evidence of that is Snack Wells of the 90s that just didn’t make it.

Generally, those aged 65-plus are less interested in specific ingredients and nutrients than their younger counterparts. However, they are more interested than consumers overall in whole grains, fiber, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, and protein. They are significantly less interested in more niche ingredients like matcha, and botanicals. Those aged 65-plus are most concerned about retaining mental sharpness and their normal level of activity as they age, per HealthFocus. Thus, ingredients and formulations that support cognitive function and muscle mass will emerge as priorities for older adults.(IFT.org, LuLac, Health Focus)

 

EATING IRISH

From the LuLac kitchen 

The most popular St. Patrick's Day food in the US is corned beef and cabbage. It is a slow-simmered dish of brined beef brisket cooked with green cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. The flavors are salty, savory, and deeply comforting.

Here is the twist though: corned beef and cabbage is not really an Irish dish. It was created by Irish immigrants in America in the 1800s. Back in Ireland, the traditional version of this meal was bacon and cabbage, made with a lean pork loin boiled until tender and served with a simple parsley sauce. When Irish immigrants arrived in America and found pork too expensive, they switched to corned beef from local kosher butchers, and the tradition stuck. We enjoy the dish at least twice a year on the weekend of parades and observances.

So what do people in Ireland actually eat on St. Patrick's Day?

In Ireland, March 17th is more likely to feature slow-cooked stews made with beef or lamb, fluffy soda bread, and hearty sides like colcannon. Colcannon is Ireland's most beloved side dish, and it has been on Irish tables for hundreds of years. It is mashed potatoes mixed with buttered cabbage or kale, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of butter. Some versions add scallions, leeks, or cream for extra richness.

Spring lamb is also popular since it comes into season right around this time of year.

 

 

 

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 601 March 14th, 2026

 

CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLTON

THE QUIET

MARATHON MAN

Charles Carroll  known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III,  was an American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic signatory of the Declaration and the longest surviving, dying 56 years after its signing.

A Founding Father of the United States, Carroll was known contemporaneously as the "First Citizen" of the American colonies, a consequence of signing articles in the Maryland Gazette with that pen name. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Confederation Congress. Carroll later served as the first United States Senator for Maryland. Of all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Carroll was one of the wealthiest and most formally educated. A product of his 17-year Jesuit education in France, Carroll spoke five languages fluently.

Though barred from holding office in Maryland because of his religion, Carroll emerged as a leader of the state's movement for independence. He was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention and was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776. He was part of an unsuccessful diplomatic mission, which also included Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Chase, that Congress sent to Quebec in hopes of winning the support of French Canadians.

Carroll was not initially interested in politics, and in any event Catholics had been barred from holding office in Maryland since the 1704 act seeking "to prevent the growth of Popery in this Province". But as the dispute between Great Britain and her American colonies intensified in the early 1770s, Carroll became a powerful voice for independence. In 1772, he engaged in a debate, conducted through anonymous newspaper letters, maintaining the right of the colonies to control their own taxation. Writing in the Maryland Gazette under the pseudonym "First Citizen," he also criticized the royal governor's proclamation that increased special fees paid by colonists to state officials and Protestant clergy. Opposing Carroll in these written debates, using the name "Antillon", was Daniel Dulany the Younger, a noted lawyer and Loyalist politician. In these debates, Carroll argued that the government of Maryland had long been the monopoly of four families, the Ogles, the Taskers, the Bladens and the Dulanys, with Dulany taking the contrary view.   Eventually word spread of the true identity of the two combatants, and Carroll's fame and notoriety began to grow. Dulany soon resorted to highly personal ad hominem attacks on "First Citizen", and Carroll responded, in statesmanlike fashion, with considerable restraint, arguing that when "Antillon" engaged in "virulent invective and illiberal abuse, we may fairly presume, that arguments are either wanting, or that ignorance or incapacity know not how to apply them". Following these written debates, Carroll became a leading opponent of British rule and served on various committees of correspondence.

In the early 1770s, Carroll appears to have embraced the idea that only war could break the impasse with Great Britain. According to legend, Carroll and Samuel Chase (who would also later sign the Declaration of Independence on Maryland's behalf) had the following exchange:

Chase: "We have the better of our opponents; we have completely written them down."

Carroll: "And do you think that writing will settle the question between us?"

Chase: "To be sure, what else can we resort to?"

Carroll: "The bayonet. Our arguments will only raise the feelings of the people to that pitch when open war will be looked to as the arbiter of the dispute."

Continental Congress

Beginning with his election to Maryland's committee of correspondence in 1774, Carroll represented the colony in most of the pre-revolutionary groups. He became a member of Annapolis' first committee of safety, known as the "Annapolis Committee of Correspondence and Council Safety" in 1775.  Carroll was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention, which functioned as Maryland's revolutionary government before the Declaration of Independence. In early 1776, the Congress sent him on a four-man diplomatic mission to the Province of Quebec, in order to seek assistance from French Canadians in the coming confrontation with Great Britain. Carroll was an excellent choice for such a mission, being fluent in French and a Catholic and therefore well suited to negotiations with the French-speaking Catholics of Quebec.He was joined in the commission by Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and his cousin John Carroll. The commission did not accomplish its mission.

Carroll was elected as a Maryland representative the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and remained a delegate until 1778. He arrived at the 2nd Continental Congress too late to vote in favor of the Declaration of Independence but was present to sign the official document that survives today. 

He signed the document in Philadelphia on August 2, 1776. After both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, Carroll became the last living signatory of the Declaration of Independence. His signature reads "Charles Carroll of Carrollton" to distinguish him from his father, "Charles Carroll of Annapolis," who was still living at that time, and several other Charles Carrolls in Maryland, such as Charles Carroll, Barrister, and his son Charles Carroll Jr., also known as "Charles Carroll of Homewood." He is usually referred to this way by historians. At the time, he was the richest man in America and had much to lose by identifying himself on the document. Throughout his term in the Second Continental Congress, he served on the board of war. Carroll also gave considerable financial support to the American Revolutionary War.

Carroll served in the Maryland Senate from 1781 to 1800. He was elected as one of Maryland's inaugural representatives in the United States Senate but resigned his seat in 1792 after Maryland passed a law barring individuals from simultaneously serving in both state and federal office. 

After retiring from public service, he helped establish the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by purchasing $40,000 of state-backed securities and serving on its first board of directors.

Carroll retired from public life in 1801. After Thomas Jefferson became president, he had great anxiety about political activity and was not sympathetic to the War of 1812. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815. Carroll came out of retirement to help create the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827.

In May 1832, he was asked to appear at the first Democratic Party Convention but did not attend on account of poor health.Carroll died on November 14, 1832, at age 95, in Baltimore, at the Caton home.

He holds the distinction of being the oldest-lived Founding Father. He had outlived four of the first five U.S. presidents. His funeral took place at the Baltimore Cathedral (now known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Carroll was buried in his Doughoregan Manor Chapel at Ellicott City, Maryland after a national day of mourning. (wikipedia, LuLac)

 

 

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 600, March 14th, 2026

 

LULAC

@ 5600

Today we observe the 5600^th edition of LuLac. Once more thanks to our readers, critics, lovers, haters and all those in between. Politics and Pop culture read by 2, 613, 319 visits as we close in on twenty years. 

The LuLac Edition #5, 599, March 13th, 2026

 

13

QUESTIONS

Our 13 Questions logo.

 

1. What are your thoughts on Trump’s war?

I think he’s crazy. I really think he has a God complex. The middle east has been a thorn to every President since Carter. For thousands of years the middle east has been a powder keg. My fear is that Trump is being led by te nose by Netanyahu and doing each other’s dirty work.

My second fear is that Trump and his people are woefully unprepared for this.  They don’t seem to have a defining strategy.

My worst fear is that Trump is letting Ukraine die on he vine while he goes into a war that could have been avoided. Kerry and Obama made a deal. It was undone by Trump. The stupid prick shit his own pants (intellectually speaking here) and doesn’t realize it.

 

2. Top down yet?

Nope way too early. The air is still cold.

 

3. Watching the World Baseball Classic?

Dropping in on it. It’s like watching multiple all-star games. Love it.

 

4. Were you glad when Kristi Noem got her ass fired?

God yes. A totally unqualified twit.

 

5. Do your glasses usually match your outfit? If so, how many pair do you have?

Yes and five.

 

6. What are your thoughts on Pete Hegsmith’s running bills for lobsters for his buddies?

Typical hypocritical GOP double standard. While they cut SNAP and food for kids, they live high on the hog. Plus the people who struggle to jeep food on the table, well I know some of them are MAGAs, and I find it astounding they still stand with this administration.

 

7. Why can’t people see that Trump is lying?

I can’t answer that question but I’m glad that even the best media supporters of him are calling him out. I love the fact that media stations on the radio end a Trump bull hit story with….”yet there is no evidence available to support the President’s claim!”

 

8. Do you think Governor Shapiro will get any blowback from his original advocation of AI centers in the state?

I’m sure the GOP attack machine will twist it to accommodate their agenda but he has made a pivot on this. You’ll see a slow down on the enthusiasm in this matter.

 

9. Did you see the cost of orange juice?

I don’t drink much anymore but yes the cost is getting prohibitive. I try to look for sales on cranberry juice but that is tougher to find.

 

10.            Wow! Lisa Baker has a primary challenge. What do you make of that?

Senator Baker is in 20^th Senatorial and her opponent is Tyler Meyers. 

It’s interesting that the 117^th House district’s Jamie Walsh is aligning himself with this guy. If I were her, I’d have a big fundraiser for Walsh’s primary opponent Bill Jones. Plus the guy seems to be more MAGA than traditional and why would voters trade her seniority for this guy.

 

11.            How is the search for a new rag top going?

Slowly.

 

12.            Is the Trump war a distraction from the Epstein Files?

Surely, I think that’s secondary. What is more concerning is that the man has no business running a war. He has no clue as to the long term ramifications of what this can do to the country.

 

13.            Hey it’s been a while. With all the strife, war and hate, can we get a banana break?

Yes indeed!