Teachable moments

June 10, 2011

Last day of school. Time for a final salute to my daughter’s terrific first-grade teacher. And to all the other teachers who realize that what kids eat — and what they know about food — matters. Poet Tea, local eats I’ve written about Ms. S before (most notably in this post) and how she just… gets [...]

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Orthorexia vs. chocolate milk:
Will the real eating disorder please stand up?

June 1, 2011

Have you heard of an eating disorder called orthorexia? Translated literally, it means “correct appetite” or “correct eating,” and it’s when people obsess over the “right” foods to the point that it controls their lives and wrecks their health. Orthorexia isn’t new, nor is it recognized as an official disorder. But it’s gotten a lot [...]

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Experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.

May 24, 2011

I should have written this post weeks ago. But you know how you keep thinking a problem will resolve in just one more day? Maybe two. Even three. So you stick it out and then a whole bunch of time passes and you’re like, huh, wha…? How has it been three weeks since I posted? [...]

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Picture this: Marketing machine

May 2, 2011

Last week, four federal agencies announced new principles governing food marketing to children. Will these voluntary principles lead to significant change? Unlikely, say Marion Nestle and Melanie Warner. (And food companies already have shown they can’t self-regulate.) But let’s hope some of it sticks. Because we really don’t need more “healthy” vending machines like this, you know? For more on why voluntary steps [...]

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A dye-free future? We decide.

April 22, 2011

In the weeks since the FDA passed the buck on artificial food dyes, there’s been a lot of talk about the studies. Studies that elicit dismissive words like “inconclusive” and “inconsistent.” Or my favorite: “urban legends.” The FDA’s advisory panel, while weighing warning labels for foods containing fake dyes, did acknowledge ill effects in some kids with behavioral problems, and called for more research. [...]

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Eggs and chocolates and dyes, oh my

April 19, 2011

Pretty in pastels. Prettier in pinot? When I wrote about natural egg dyes last spring, I’d just started blogging and I felt compelled to go on a bit about the dangers of artificial food colors. A year later, my position on petrochemical dyes is, um, well-documented. So now I’ll just focus on the fun stuff. [...]

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Spoonfed is on Facebook (woo hoo!)

April 15, 2011

Whether you’re a kid or a blog, turning 1 year old is a big deal, all hoopla and exclaiming about where the time went. So 1 year plus 1 month? That calls for something extra special. Like, say, finally creating a Spoonfed Facebook page. I let Spoonfed’s March 15 anniversary pass quietly, for no other [...]

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Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is back

April 12, 2011

The other night I watched Jamie Oliver on the “Late Show.” At one point, amid cooking, pitching his newest “Food Revolution” and tweaking David Letterman, Oliver got serious and said (to paraphrase): With what we know about food and health, we ought to be doing better by our kids. Anything less is a crime. Lots of [...]

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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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Picture this: Dressed to shill

March 29, 2011

Let’s set aside my love affair with real maple syrup* and concentrate instead on the fact that Pinnacle Foods, which makes Mrs. Butterworth’s, is trying to turn its bottles into toys by having kids download “up to 60 playful accessories” for its new “spring collection.” From the press release: “Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup debuts three newly outfitted [...]

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