From the category archives:

Teachable

Food in school, camp and all those places kids gather

No fooling:
Girl Scouts are green and the FDA is making us blue

April 1, 2011

I really shouldn’t post on April Fools’ Day, since the interwebs go a little nuts today. But it’s been a colorful week, so I’m ignoring the date and carrying on. Which brings me to the news that the FDA, after two days of hearings, has decided to do exactly nothing about artificial colors in our [...]

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Food-dye news every skeptic should read

March 27, 2011

Regular Spoonfed readers know that artificial colors infuriate me like no other food additive. They’re useless except to mask overprocessing and missing nutrients. They’ve been linked time and again to both behavioral and health issues. Food manufacturers use them solely to trick and manipulate. There’s not one legitimate reason to allow them in our food supply. So I hope [...]

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Reclaiming of the green (and tell the FDA “no dyes”)

March 21, 2011

In a different mood, I might appreciate the irony of such a blatant food-dye holiday falling two weeks before the FDA is set to examine the connection between artificial food colors and children’s behavior. A holiday where people don’t just buy synthetically altered food, but deliberately tint it bright green themselves (a nifty American spin that no doubt [...]

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Sweet on maple sugaring

March 2, 2011

Fake maple syrup bums me out. And not only because it rarely contains real maple. (Most brands are a mix of high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives and artificial flavors.) It’s because maple syrup is perfect just the way it is. Naturally sweet, it also retains trace vitamins and minerals, even antioxidants. It’s still a sugar, so let’s [...]

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It’s not just a cookie

February 19, 2011

When I wrote a post last month questioning Girl Scout cookies, I didn’t know what to expect. People get touchy about American icons.  Or they get afflicted with “it’s just a cookie” syndrome. But I plowed in anyway. No pain, no gain and all that. And wow. Talk about hitting a nerve. But in a good way. A really good [...]

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Picture this: Heartfelt

February 14, 2011

Another candy holiday upon us. But who says it has to be all about the sugar and chemicals? My daughter’s class this year made hearts from juice pouches and recycled felt, then sold them to schoolmates, teachers and parents to raise money for a membership in Nature Abounds. And today they’re celebrating with strawberries, apples, [...]

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School food with legs: FoodCorps recruiting now

February 11, 2011

Who doesn’t want better school food? (Well, besides these people?) If there’s one food topic that gets heads nodding, it’s that most school kids are being fed government-subsidized junk under the guise of “nutrition.” It’s why we’ve seen such a swell of activism, both grassroots and mainstream. But too often there’s a missing piece. We can’t just give kids better [...]

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The color of trouble

January 22, 2011

Before I started Spoonfed, I began collecting “kid food” advertisements with the intention of skewering them on a regular basis. But as those torn pages piled up, I realized they were all the same. Different products, different gimmicks: Lunchables give kids brain power! Pop-Tarts are the cornerstone of a balanced breakfast! McDonald’s is healthy for hipster moms and [...]

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Let’s talk Girl Scout cookies

January 7, 2011

I was talking to a friend this past fall about Brownies. The Girl Scout kind. Her daughter had just joined a troop, and, remembering how much I’d loved camping and earning badges as a Girl Scout myself, I asked for details, thinking my daughter might like to join, too. I’d kind of forgotten about the cookies. Years ago, [...]

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Five ways my daughter’s teacher rocks food IQ

December 7, 2010

School and food is such a loaded, wearying combination that it’s easy to miss the small things that boost our kids’ food literacy every day. So, in the spirit of giving thanks and honoring allies on the front lines, I present five ways my daughter’s first-grade teacher rocks her classroom’s food IQ: 1. She read Rosemary [...]

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