Archive for June, 2011

Food News Wrap: July 1

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

As we head into the holiday weekend, we’re thinking all about healthy summer eats for kids. Some of the most troubling things we’ve read this week have come out of the Childhood Obesity Conference, including the fact that the average teen sees five fast food ads per day, and the average preschooler sees more than 1000 fast food ads per year (via Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Rudd Center on Food Policy and Obesity). Time to step awayyyy from the TV.

Speaking of TV time, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released a policy statement calling for a ban on junk food advertising in kids’ programming. The AAP says that  kids’ media use may be linked to their weight, partly because sedentary activity can displace other activities that burn more calories; and because the ads for junk food and fast food increase kids’ desire for those foods. But industry associations including the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and the Grocery Manufacturers Association say that they have made strides to reduce direct food marketing to children – and claim that the AAP statement was based on outdated research.

In the meantime, PreventObesity.net and other groups are leading an effort to call on the FTC to finalize and implement proposed guidelines on marketing food to kids. If you want to contact the FTC to urge them to move the proposal forward, they’ve made it easy for you to do it here.

Here’s another whopper in the news: CBS News posted a story about a study showing that kids who eat candy are less likely to be obese than kids who don’t. So many questions, so many questions…Until we get to page 10 of the study, where (as an astute reader points out) the study was funded in part by the National Confectioners Association. Things that make you go hmmm…

OK – so what can kids eat this summer without guilt? Nutritionist Connie Evers gives us some ideas on The Truth on Health to make it easier for your kids to stay healthy. Example: When you go out, pack plenty of water, fruit, nuts and/or trail mix to take the hungry edge off so you’re not tempted to go in search of the nearest vending machine.

Looking for inspiration for a great summer snack? How about snacking on summer’s sweetest veggie treat, sweet corn? According to Fooducate, it’s a great source of thiamin, folate, fiber, vitamin C, phosphorous, manganese, and cancer-fighting phytochemicals. Tip: Our kids love it when it’s fresh cooked, but they also love it served cold the next day. Need an even sweeter treat? Try this “miraculous” chocolate/banana ice cream, with just three ingredients (cocoa powder, milk, and banana) from The Scramble on PBS Parents.

Got peanut allergies? Summer baseball fans will be glad to know that there’s a growing effort to create peanut-free sections in baseball stadiums. According to Reuters, at least half of the big-league teams will offer at least one nut-controlled game this season.

And last but not least, for your amusement we present these Patriotic Food Fails from Zagat. (Just say “no” to Rush Limbaugh Sweet Tea and Obama Sushi.) Hang on until this weekend, when we’re going to be giving you a much better patriotic treat option (of course with no food coloring).

Happy Friday to all!

Posted Under: Childhood Obesity, Government Regulations, Nutrition | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on June 30th, 2011

Fun Food: Rambutan

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

What on earth has landed on our dinner table? No, it’s not an alien invasion; it’s the beginning of rambutan season. The rambutan (also known as “hairy cherry”) is a beautiful, otherworldly tropical fruit that could scare off just about anyone who didn’t know what sweet pleasures lie beneath its bristly exterior. The taste of the soft white flesh is closest to a grape, but with rich tropical overtones.

According to Frieda’s, the specialty produce company who generously sent us a big box of rambutans, these little fruits are grown in clusters on trees in tropical climates such as Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Costa Rica. They can come in either red or yellow, with red being the more common variety.

To prepare the rambutan for eating, pry open the shell or score it with a paring knife, and then pop out the juicy white fruit. The fleshy white orb surrounds a seed that you don’t want to eat, so you can either nibble around the seed or cut it out entirely.

We think the best way to eat rambutans is to put them on the table and let everyone explore their taste and texture. But if you want to make it a little more of a special event, serve chopped and pitted rambutan on top of yogurt or ice cream for a tropical summer treat.

Even better, you can use these appealing little orbs to make a kid-friendly salad that will tempt your little ones into eating their greens:

Rockin’ Rambutan Salad

3 cups crisp romaine lettuce cut into thin strips (about one small head)

8 rambutans, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted

For the dressing:

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (about two limes’ worth)

1 tablespoon honey

Divide lettuce among four plates. Sprinkle with rambutan, almond, and sesame seeds. In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, lime juice, and honey. Drizzle over each salad plate. Serves four.

Rambutans are available at Ralphs Select and Ralphs Fresh Fare stores, or by special request from the produce manager. They are also available through August directly from Frieda’s.

Jolly Tomato’s Fun Food: Because food should be fun.

Posted Under: Just For Fun | Tags: ,
This post was written by jollytomato on June 25th, 2011

Food News Wrap: June 24

Friday, June 24th, 2011

School’s out – finally – and it’s time to think about how we are going to be nourishing our kids over the summer. Will it be a fresh, farm-picked fruits-and-veggies kind of summer? Or will it be more about the soda, chips, and fries?

We started asking ourselves this question after we saw today’s New York Times article about a healthy kids’ camp in the Bay Area where a director asserted that kids are twice as likely to gain weight over the summer as during the school year. Really? With all of the running around that they do?

Well, yes. Because for many kids if they’re not in school, sadly, they are at home watching TV and eating chips (apparently the biggest contributor to weight gain over time, according to a new study). Other more fortunate kids are at the pool, at camps, or at parties — but even at those places the most popular food choices likely include soda, juices, pizza, hot dogs, cake, ice cream, cookies, and of course more chips. And a few of the luckiest kids may get to go to local fairs or festivals, where they may encounter such abominations as fried Kool-Aid, deep-fried peanut butter or even deep-fried butter.

All of this makes us even more curious about a new report that came out in the journal Pediatrics, which found that television coverage of childhood obesity is less likely than print media to focus on the role of the food and beverage industry. So while TV news reports tend to emphasize things like diet and lifestyle changes, they are less likely to mention system-level solutions — like creating playgrounds or making sure that healthy foods are available in poor neighborhoods – or potential changes in the food and beverage industry (where many of their advertising dollars come from).

But wait - don’t go bashing the food and beverage industry just yet! We did get a little blip of good news this week when Jack in the Box announced that they would no longer be offering toys in their kids’ meals. In fact, they’re going to offer apple slices instead. A Jack in the Box spokesman tells the L.A. Times: ”Rather than promote a toy we’ve focused on the quality of products in our Kid’s Meals, like a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough, grilled or crispy chicken strips, or a hamburger…We believe that providing these kinds of options is more appealing to a parent than packaging a toy with lower-quality fare.”

Oh – and one more thing: Bon Appetit did a taste test of supermarket hot dogs, and – surprise! – One of the brands that the nutritionist ranked as “better-for-you” was also in the top three for taste. Your backyard barbecue just got a little bit happier now, didn’t it? Maybe this summer won’t be so hard on everyone’s waistlines after all. Now go forth and eat fruit, and drink plenty of water!

Happy weekend to all.

Posted Under: Childhood Obesity, Nutrition, Parenting | Tags: , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on June 24th, 2011
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