Archive for July, 2011

Food News Wrap: July 29

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Let’s start with the heavy hitters: McDonald’s made a big splash this week when it announced a nutrition overhaul of its much-criticized Happy Meal. They will downsize the French fry portions and put a fruit or veggie in every Happy Meal. This was the talk of nutrition-watchers all the way up to the White House, where Michelle Obama responded to the move: “I’ve always said that everyone has a role to play in making America healthier, and these are positive steps toward the goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity.”

But not everyone is impressed. Marion Nestle, for example, says that these changes are “tiny baby steps” that are more about the company looking good than actually improving nutrition. And Michelle Simon points out that the real question is not how many apple slices kids get, but whether McDonald’s should be allowed to market to children at all. To read more about marketing to kids, see this story from the Media Awareness Network (hat tip: Andy Bellatti).

Curiously, this week a study came out with findings that eating commercially-made food can lead children to take in more calories than if they had eaten similar meals at home. Researchers from UNC Chapel Hill found that children are consuming 179 more daily calories now than they were in the late 1970s — and that the increase is driven mostly by food eaten outside the house. So – think hard before you go through that drive-through.

Elsewhere in the news this week:

Feeding Relationships: Are you setting up your child’s relationship with food in a way that’s going to backfire? Check out Just the Right Byte’s story on parent feeding practices to see if you’re perhaps doing too much pressuring or prompting.

Not Trash, Dinner: Did you just throw away those tomato leaves? Those broccoli stems? Or those orange rinds? From the New York Times: Food remnants that we think of as trash can still have some mighty tasty dinnertime uses – and that’s especially true in the summertime when there’s so much fresh produce around.

Dinner With Kids: Hosting a dinner party with kids in the mix? Never fear, Simple Mom has a whole list of tips to make it easy to host a family-friendly good time. With luck it’ll be one of those late-evening summer parties where the kids exhaust themselves playing outside.

Kids’ Menu: How about instead of offering hot dogs and french fries on the kids’ menu, your favorite restaurant had a make-your-own taco bar with all organic fixings? In the Fredericksburg, VA area, Doctor Yum has partnered with local restaurants to improve kids’ offerings (and you can be part of the program too).

Child Hunger: Please don’t forget that there are still plenty of kids (and their parents) going hungry this summer. Here’s one story about the toll that hunger is taking on kids and their families in Philadelphia. And remember, there are plenty of organizations and food banks that can use your help.

Last but not least, we’ve seen some great kid-friendly summer recipes this week. Check out these Coconut Quinoa Pancakes from One Hungry Mama, Smoothie Breakfast Popsicles from Family Spice, and this BLT Pizza from Savoring the Thyme.

Happy weekend to all!

Posted Under: Childhood Obesity, Nutrition | Tags: , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on July 29th, 2011

Grill Crazy

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Who wants to turn on the oven in the summertime? Summer days are meant for grilling, and summer vegetables are the perfect for the grill. If it’s too hot to even contemplate being outside during the day, you can grill these vegetables in the morning or in the cooler night temperatures. Plus the vegetables taste great hot, cold, or even at room temperature, so you have tons of wiggle room about when you cook it versus when you finally serve it.

To make this platter we prepared the following vegetables:

Carrots, baby broccoli, and asparagus: Peel or trim ends as necessary, steam for 3 to 4 minutes or until barely tender, lightly coat with extra-virgin olive oil, and grill over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Zucchini, onions, and mushrooms: Peel or trim ends as necessary, cut into slices 1/2 inch thick (no need to slice the mushrooms), toss in a bowl with 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. balsamic vinegar, toss to coat, then grill over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Eggplant: Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, place into colander, coat generously with kosher salt, and then place something heavy (a plate or bowl) on top of the slices. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours (this should drain out any bitter juices). Rinse, pat dry, then coat with olive oil and balsamic vinegar as above, then grill over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Bell peppers: Place whole pepper directly on the grill, then grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the skin is black and charred. Remove the peppers, place them in a bowl and cover with plastic, and let them sit for 15 minutes. Then core, remove the seeds, peel off the blackened skin, and slice.

When the vegetables are finished, arrange them on the platter, drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil on top, and garnish with black kalamata olives.

Happy grilling!

Posted Under: Just For Fun | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on July 24th, 2011

Food News Wrap: July 22

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

We keep saying it, and we’re still going to keep saying it: Watch what your kids are watching on TV, because it’s hard to say who else is watching out for them. Exhibit A: Coming up at the same time period as proposed new federal guidelines, food manufacturers have drafted their own nutrition guidelines for marketing to kids. Critics like Bettina Elias-Siegel at The Lunch Tray are calling these industry guidelines inadequate (products that can still be marketed to kids under these nutrition guidelines include Trix, Lucky Charms, etc.). The New York Times gives the example of Goldfish crackers – proposed federal guidelines say they contain too much fat, salt, and white flour; while the food makers say they belong on a healthful list. For some background and a good round-up, see Michelle Simon’s story in Food Safety News. Bottom line: You always need to watch out for your kids – perhaps more vigilantly than before.

Mass. Limits: In other nutrition news, Massachusetts has become the first state to enact nutrition guidelines for “competitive” foods, as reported by Fooducate. Those are the foods that are not part of the federally subsidized lunch or breakfast program; they’re sold in vending machines, a la carte, or at sports events and fundraising activities. So…no soda or cotton candy at basketball games? This is going to be interesting to watch.

Bagel Before Cookie?: We love this piece by Dr. Dina Rose, who writes about the parent who says to his kid, “You have to finish your bagel before you can have a cookie.” As she points out, bagels are pretty far down on the nutrition scale (white flour) and you could eat a piece of Entenmann’s chocolate fudge cake for half the calories and the same amount of fiber. Message: Don’t get trapped into classifying foods as “main course” foods when they’re mostly empty calories.

Parents’ Role: Want some more sobering food-for-thought? Lisa Leake from “100 Days of Real Food” points out that the reason kids eat junk/processed food (Goldfish, Pirate Booty) is because their parents give it to them. A no-brainer, right? But it’s good to be reminded that if we give them healthy, good-tasting stuff, they’ll eat that instead.

OK, it’s summertime; our brains are starting to hurt from all of this thinking. Let’s wrap it up with a few easy lists:

Top 12 Kid-Friendly Raw Superfoods (from Healthy Child Healthy World)

Top 5 Nutrition Myths for Kids (from Chicago Parent)

Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Kid Busy in the Kitchen This Summer (from Jolly Tomato)

And last but not least, please remember those kids who are hungry this summer – there’s plenty you can do to help.

Happy weekend to all!

Posted Under: Childhood Obesity, Government Regulations, Nutrition | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
This post was written by jollytomato on July 22nd, 2011
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