From the category archives:

Mindful

Food, health and behavior

My kind of carnival: Healthy kids. No fried dough.

July 21, 2010 Eco

A new Spoonfed post is coming very soon. (So much for stockpiling posts before vacation.) In the meantime, I’m participating in a new monthly blog carnival sponsored by Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit that is all about protecting kids from chemicals where they live, play and learn (food included). This month’s theme, “Splendor in the Grass,” explores [...]

1 comment read the full post >>

Clean food and dirty kids

June 30, 2010 Eco

There came a moment during strawberry-picking last week when the 6-year-olds decided they’d had enough. While the grown-ups continued busily picking a flat apiece, my daughter and her friend snuck off to the shade for a drink and a snack. Then the girls plopped themselves in the dirt and set to work, drawing roads and concocting [...]

29 comments read the full post >>

Pesticide, organic and other dirty words

May 20, 2010 Brainy

“Organic” was an early word in my now 6-year-old’s vocabulary. (She pronounced it “ga-nan-ic.” Tell me that’s not adorable.) It’s also one of the first words she learned to spell, which is why we have progressively more readable versions written on random bits of paper and newsprint. So when we go grocery shopping, Tess takes pride in pointing [...]

17 comments read the full post >>

“Food Inc.”: Family viewing?

April 21, 2010 Brainy

In honor of Earth Day, PBS is showing the movie “Food Inc.” tonight. So I’m pulling out a review I wrote for one of my columns last spring. Are you planning to watch? Or recording it to watch later with your kids? (See our plans below.) You’ll never look at food the same way again. I promise. [...]

27 comments read the full post >>

Let’s ban the phrase “picky eater”

April 13, 2010 Brainy

It goes like this: Kids are picky eaters. They won’t eat food that’s green, brown or good for them. They are strong-willed little creatures who cannot be swayed. We must give up, give in, and feed them nothing but juice, crackers and white-bread sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Sigh. Is anyone else as tired of the term [...]

44 comments read the full post >>

Color me annoyed

April 9, 2010 Consumeristic

I’m working with my daughter’s school on a project about local food, so Wednesday I stopped in for a little show-and-tell about the sort of food that grows in New York vs. elsewhere. (Apples and grapes, natch. Pineapples and mangoes, nada.) I’ll admit I had visions of doing my own Jamie Oliver-style Q&A, complete with a dramatic reveal and confused kids. But thankfully my 5- [...]

19 comments read the full post >>

Dyeing to know: Easter egg science lesson

April 2, 2010 Bureaucratic

Of all the food additives and ingredients that make me sweat, food coloring is the worst. Because, you see, it’s all about looks. Food manufacturers don’t claim that artificial colors improve the “integrity of food and beverage products,” as they do with high-fructose corn syrup. (Seriously. Read this.) They don’t claim that fake colors help [...]

12 comments read the full post >>

Talking ’bout a revolution (again)

March 26, 2010 Brainy

Tonight’s the official start of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” and I’ll be sitting riveted just like I was Sunday night during the sneak preview. The show has been getting a lot of buzz since then. Good, bad, defensive. I weighed in on the critics in a post earlier this week, and the commentary* has continued all [...]

15 comments read the full post >>

Talking ’bout a revolution

March 21, 2010 Brainy

Why Jamie Oliver’s new show matters (even if you’re not a food snob) “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” series premieres on ABC with a sneak preview tonight*, and already the criticism has begun. To wit: Jamie Oliver is a food snob. He’s a rich food snob. And, did you know, he’s British? Who the hell cares? [...]

9 comments read the full post >>

The Smoothie Hypothesis

March 17, 2010 Mindful

Today I showed up at school without a smoothie. There was, however, a shamrock cookie. It did not go well. Some background: For the last two months, I’ve been bringing homemade fruit smoothies* for Tess when I pick her up from school. She started full-day kindergarten last fall, and though she brings a hearty snack and lunch each day, [...]

16 comments read the full post >>

← Previous Entries