One Strategy for Promoting Excellence in U.S. Economy

I've come up with a modern religious strategy for helping to promote excellence in the products and services from businesses operating in the United States, and for thereby helping to promote a salutary realignment of our nation's economy in a manner that truly rewards excellence.

As a religious tradition, I plan to regularly add to and revise and update a personal list of consumer goods and services that I particularly enjoy and admire and regard as first-rate in caliber.

Some examples of prepared foods and beverages I have particularly enjoyed eating or drinking, and that I have purchased in supermarkets or ordered in restaurants or cafes in Austin, Texas, in the last approximately 10-year period:

FROM THE SUPERMARKET:

---the delicious and healthful H.E.B. Supermarkets-brand "Rio Red" Grapefruit Juice that's "Not from Concentrate," as the front of the carton states. This brand of pastueurized 100 percent grapefruit juice is made exclusively from Texas Rio Red Grapefruit, raised along the Rio Grande River Valley. By far the most delicious of all the grapefruit juices I have purchased in the supermarket. It feels good to note that this is one Texan item that appears to be best in the nation for that consumer-goods category.

--a delicious prepared Turkey Salad featuring Apricot and Almonds as major ingredients, offered for sale in the deli section of at least one supermarket in Austin, Texas, of the San Antonio-based H.E.B. Supermarkets. I find that combination very tasty, and I also know that the apricot and almonds and turkey found in that product are healthful ingredients.

--a delicious and creative "Curry Chicken," a canned-good item, that is "ready to eat." Southerners will be pleased to note that this canned-good item was produced by "Crider, Inc.," in Stillmore, Georgia---a city that I myself had never previously heard about or read about, so I plan to consult the online Wikipedia soon to learn more about Stillmore, Georgia. This curried-chicken product is so lean that it contains only 1 gram of fat per 2-ounce serving, and features zero saturated fat and zero trans fat, and only four grams of sugar per serving. One minor awkward point: the ingredient label notes that this product's ingredients include "partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil." Many American consumers these days are attempting to generally avoid purchasing commercially-processed food products that contain any partially hydrogenated oils, if at all possible.

---the delicious and healthful Cranberry and Concord Grape Juice blend from Ocean Spray that does not contain any corn syrup, and with no sugar added, either.

---the Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fiber, large whole-wheat tortillas produced commercially by La Tortilla Factory of Santa Rosa, California, and being sold retail in supermarkets. Each tortilla contains 12 grams of fiber, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of protein, 0 saturated fat, and only 1 gram of sugar

---the Kuner's of Colorado "Southwestern Jalapeno Black Beans with Lime Juice." This side dish canned-good item has very good flavor to it, and is delightfully spicy. One serving (one-half cup) of this item contains 1.5 total grams of fat, zero grams of saturated fat, and 0 grams of trans fat; 8 grams of fiber; only 2 grams of sugar; and 7 grams of protein. Sodium level is 520 mg per serving. One serving reportedly contains 15 percent of the minimum daily requirement for iron, and 6 percent of the minimum daily requirement for calcium.
This product is distributed by Kumer-Empson, a division of Faribault Foods Inc. of Faribault, Minnesota.

---Bigelow-brand "Green Tea With Mint." I am finding that when I prepare a cup of hot tea for myself using these wonderful tea bags from the Bigelow company based in Fairfield, Connecticut, the tea is not only pleasant to my palate but also relaxes and soothes my throat. This has a good calming effect on me, I find. I would like to see the package for this product quantify the antioxidant benefit from sipping this hot tea; I'm hopeful that that statistic would be very impressive.

INSIDE A RESTAURANT OR CAFE:

---the Hibiscus Tea offered at Kerbey Lane Cafe in Austin, Texas. Hibscus Tea inside Kerbey Lane Cafe is consistently delicious.

----the delicious Turkey Sausage offered as a menu item at the Java House coffeehouse near the intersection of West 12th Street and North Lamar Boulevard in central Austin.

---the Asian Chopped Chicken Salad and Pei Wei Spicy Chicken Salad offered at Pei Wei chain restaurants. I myself customarily order each of those salads without any crispy noodles or crispty wontons.

---the delicious Chicken and Shrimp Oriental Salad, and the also-delicious Hawaiian Salad, offered on the menu at Cheddar's chain restaurants.