Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit

My very first word was cookie - raisin cookie to be exact. Family legend goes, it came out something like, "raymee cook cook." The details are trivial. The moral of this story is that shortly after I left the womb, I discovered my first true love: carbs.

As I grew older, my meal of choice became quite obvious: the basket of bread. Who needs to order at all when the best part of a meal comes at the very beginning, for free?

And so it was, for 24 years, that I lived the life of a glutinous gluten monster - until that fateful day. After about two years of terrible stomach issues and running from doctor to doctor, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. That's the no-carbs-for-the-rest-of-your-life disease (or at least not the good carbs).
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Starbucks will offer a new plus-sized iced drink beginning this week.

The "Trenta" will be 31 ounces - one ounce shy of a quart - and available for iced coffee, Tazo shaken iced tea and iced tea lemonade.

Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) is rolling out the Trenta in 14 states in the South and Southwest beginning Tuesday. In early May, the Trenta will be sold in all U.S. Starbucks stores, the company said

The Trenta-sized drinks will cost 50 cents more than its current tallest drink, the 24-ounce "Venti Iced," according to Starbucks. The tallest hot drink is the 20-ounce "Venti."

Read Starbucks super-sizes some drinks

5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

With a brand spanking new personality spotlighted every day, you very well could've missed your favorite silver-haired French chef or wine-rapping captain, which is why we've compiled an inveritable smörgåsbord of some particularly notable ones for you to feast on for the first time or come back to for second helpings.
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I am not down with O.P.C.

As a 15 year resident of New York City, I have seen some serious mess bubble up on the subway. I've witnessed self-soiling stockbrokers and a drag queen in the throes of a heroin nod eating a pink Hostess Sno Ball that had been rolling along the car's grime-caked floor. I have stood near the splash zones of all manner of bodily fluid exchanges and oh hells's bells - the endless, unclad 'nads.

So what in the name of all that is holy would drive a person to think the subway is a dandy place to gobble down a chicken dinner?
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Sink your teeth into today's hot stories from around the globe.

• Starbucks unveils the new 31 oz. "Trenta" size cup, better known as "if-you-need-this-much-coffee-you-might-want-to-trying-sleeping-more" size.  - Daily Mail

• How to eat in grand old Paree. - Chicago Tribune

• John Kessler tells Atlanta restaurants to start brining their A-game, with sound advice for any restaurateur. - Atlanta Journal Constitution

• Iraq: a country divided in chicken. - NPR

• When life hands you lemons - or in this case, massive flooding - turn a canoe trip through McDonald's into a Disney World-esque experience.– Gawker

• McDonald's puts on its fancy pants in the name of fashion. - The Cool Hunter

Fugu, live octopus, akee, and swiftlet saliva - does the culinary thrill trump the potential for your death?

(There's also the taboo factor over eating something still alive, but apparently only a small percentage of you agrees with us that it just ain't cool.)

Previously – Poll: Food taboos

A brand of candy bars labeled as "Toxic Waste" have proven to be just that: toxic.

Candy Dynamics, operating out of Carmel, Indiana, has issued a voluntary recall of all flavors of its Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars. The products were imported from Pakistan and started being distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders in 2007.

The recall was announced after tests showed the cherry flavor bars contained above normal levels of lead. The California Department of Public Health found the candy bars contained 0.24 parts per million - the FDA's limit is 0.1 ppm.

According the FDA, the following UPC codes have been identified in the recall:
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

The December holidays are behind us, but so long as temperatures are dipping into single digits anywhere in the US, we're happy to keep taking our tipples on the warmed-up side. January 17 is National Hot Buttered Rum Day, and we humbly suggest celebrating with the recipe above, scanned from our 1941 edition of W.C. Whitfield's drink mixing masterpiece 'Here's How'.

Not in a rum state of mind, but still hot 'n' bothered over the notion of a steamy beverage? Pop some butter in your whiskey toddy. We surely won't tell.

What's on TV?
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Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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