Our Halloween morning conversation:
Baby A: "Mom, will you make me some oatmeal?"
Me: "Sure. I'll do it in just a moment."
A, feeling emboldened: "Okay. Can I have some Chick-fil-A?"
Me: "Uh, no."
A: "Okay, how about some ice cream?"
Happy Halloween
October 31, 2006
All But the Biscuits: KFC will greatly reduce trans-fats
October 30, 2006
The anti-trans-fats ball keeps rolling. On Monday KFC joined Wendy's and other chains by announcing it would significantly reduce trans fats in its foods
As the AP reports, just an hour before New York City held a public hearing to discuss banning trans fats there, KFC dropped a bombshell. After two years of secret R&D and taste-tests, the company announced all 5,500 U.S. KFC restaurants will switch to low-linolenic soybean oil, a zero trans-fat cooking oil, by April 2007.
Apparently a handful of restaurants have already switched oils, in a test to see whether customers would complain or notice a difference. It didn't happen, KFC says.
This transition affects the chain's most popular items—Original Recipe and Extra Crispy fried chicken—in addition to fried menu selections such as Crispy Strips, Wings, Boneless Wings, Buffalo and Crispy Snacker Sandwiches, Popcorn Chicken, Twisters, and Potato Wedges.
But, biscuits will still contain some trans-fats. KFC says it couldn't change those oils without affecting taste or texture.
My take? This move, and the way it was announced, took a lot of nerve—the good kind. See, the national and state restaurant associations insist that switching to healthier oils is too much of a burden on restaurant operators. And those groups are like 800-pound gorillas in the restaurant industry. They're education and certification sources, lobbyists, megaphones.
The NY Restaurant Association was prepared to protest vehemently against the trans-fat ban at the
public hearing. KFC totally stole their thunder with its trans-fat announcement. And the "no compromise" comment? That was a dagger.
KFC, Wendy's, Pat & Oscar's, and other chains that are testing trans-fat-free oils (Cheesecake Factory is rumored) are showing that, indeed, huge organizations can change for the better, to be closer to what consumers and parents want. It can be done—and we parents will appreciate it.
You'll probably agree that fried foods are something we all should consider an indulgence, even when they're trans-fat-free. Kids might love chicken nuggets, but they just don't need them very often. (Baby A gets them about one-tenth of the times she asks for them.) But when you're going to have a treat, or when you and your kids simply need to eat right now, it's good to know fried things are getting a smidge less bad-for-you.
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Don't miss the latter part of that AP story, where the reporter goes into the agricultural effects of these corporate moves and the increased demand for low-linolenic soybean oil. Of course, we're talking "agri-business" more than agriculture. One example:
Monsanto spokesman Chris Horner said he expected the farmland devoted to the company's new seed to triple next year to 1.5 million acres, up from 500,000 acres this year and 100,000 in 2005.
Good stuff. Stay tuned for more—I'm sure more quick-serve companies are racing to keep pace with these changes.
About the biscuits? As a Southern woman, I can tell you biscuits have to be made with solid fats. If it's not lard, then it's Crisco. And they're gooooooooood.
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One Chic Mama a Mama Again!
October 26, 2006
Going off-topic for a moment to send congratulations to Mary Michele, founder of parenting/style blog One Chic Mama and the amazing designer behind Mary-Michele Apparel and Design. She and her husband just welcomed their second child, a 9 pound 4 ounce baby boy.
No doubt he'll be a great playmate one day to his big sister, who's three and a half and whom Baby A adores.
Here's betting Dylan will be one well-dressed little boy. And speaking of great styles, if you haven't visited Michele's sites, give them a tour now. You'll be impressed.
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No, Thanks
October 25, 2006
This is just plain wrong. A drink called Cocaine? Aimed at the teen and young adult markets?
Not funny.
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Not Dead-End by a Long Shot
October 24, 2006
Yesterday I got to speak with Shirlene Lopez, who last week was named president of Del Taco, the California-based quick-serve Mexican chain.
Get this: Lopez has been with the company for 27 years. At age 14, she started mopping floors and cleaning tables at her local Del Taco. Those were the only tasks state law would allow her to perform at that age. She moved on through cashier, company operations, marketing, human resources—you name it, she's done it for Del Taco. (Well, except for accounting, she said.)
And today? She's president of a company that's preparing to expand nationwide.
So to all those parents worried that their Quicksies' lowly restaurant job won't lead anywhere: Here's a good example of just where that job might lead.
Talking with Lopez made me think back on my early jobs. Lifeguard: great work environment, low pay, no future. Law clerk: horrible. I put thousands of canceled checks in numerical order. No joke. It wasn't until my internship/work study job at Duke Magazine that I found some direction. And here I am.
How about you? Which early jobs most influenced what you do today?
And can any of you top Lopez for longevity with a company?
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An Online Food Advisor
October 23, 2006
Just a brief thought for this evening. Try taking this questionnaire. It's a short quiz that shows how many of the world's healthiest foods you're taking in each day, personalized for your age, gender, and the region where you live.
Then think about how many of those powerful ingredients are available on quick-serve menus. The meats are, for sure. But greens? Fruits? Nuts? Avocadoes? Only recently have those foods found their way onto quick-serve menus, and then not in large quantities. It's progress, though.
I guess that's the challenge we face.
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Coupons from Panera, El Pollo Loco
October 19, 2006
Two family-related offers to note:
El Pollo Loco is giving a $5 reward card to every guest who purchases a family meal through January 7. Guests can redeem the reward card on their next visit to El Pollo Loco for $5 toward the purchase of a family meal.
The chain's family meals come in several sizes: eight, ten, or twelve pieces of natural, citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken.
Meanwhile, Panera Bread is offering families a free salad when they purchase one of the chain's new Crispani handcrafted pizzas at dinnertime. Download the coupon here and redeem it from October 22 through October 25.
Panera's offer coincides with national Take Back Your Time Day, which is trying, in part, to encourage families to dine together. Right now, Panera is looking to build traffic during its dinner daypart. So, in addition to providing a destination for families to gather, Panera is launching a new website with expert podcasts, research, tips on crafting family dinner rituals, suggestions for starting a community movement, mealtime conversation
starters, dinner recipes, and advice for parents and communities interested in getting their families back to the dinner table.
Good deals—get 'em while they last!
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Wendy's Creates Nutrition Info Resource for Parents
Breaking news... Wendy's announces the creation of Mom RD, a nutrition information resource for parents.
This program is similar to the moms advisory panels started at KFC and McDonald's earlier this year. But Mom RD appears to take that notion one step further, acutally giving parents a tool that connects them directly with registered nutrition advisors.
Here's the official release from the company. See what you think!
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DUBLIN, Ohio– October 19, 2006 – Busy parents constantly seek reliable information and practical tips on how best to feed their families. That’s why Wendy’s® has paired with the American Dietetic Association (ADA) to create Mom-RD – a program that connects parents directly with registered dietitians (RDs), respected food and nutrition experts who are certified by the ADA – for information and advice on family nutrition.
To develop the program, Wendy’s commissioned a national survey* of 500 moms to determine their top family nutrition challenges and questions. Overall, nearly half of moms say nutrition information seems to change from day to day, and 30 percent find the conflicting advice confusing. Because moms make most family nutrition decisions, they want to feel confident they are making smart choices in the foods they feed their families.
Wendy’s latest step in supporting families includes a new Web site. The site offers free information on family nutrition from three registered dietitians who are moms: Rachel Brandeis, MS, RD; Heidi McIndoo, MS, RD; and Victoria Shanta Retelny, RD, LD. Their personal and professional experience enables them to provide real-life insights and tips that range from how to please picky eaters to how to eat well on-the-go.
“Mom-RD.com breaks down nutrition information in ways that are easy to understand,” says McIndoo. “As a parent, I consider the site a valuable tool that can help moms gain confidence in choosing fresh, quality food in restaurants and at home.”
Mom-RD.com also features interactive elements such as weekly polls where parents can see what other parents are dealing with (“Do your kids ask you to buy unhealthy foods that they’ve tried and “loved” at friends’ houses?”) and an “Ask Mom-RD” section where parents can submit questions and get responses from the three RD experts. Short feature articles written by RDs also educate parents on how best to address such issues as how to deal with what kids might be eating on their own at school, or how to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Other Nutrition News at Wendy’s
Wendy’s commits to making it easy for anyone to make food choices at its restaurants that meet personal needs. In addition to the Mom-RD program, Wendy’s is unveiling nutrition posters in its stores this month. The posters, displayed for easy reference, feature details on nutritional and allergen content of menu items. The information also is available here.
In addition, Wendy’s bags and food cartons will include messages about reduced trans fatty acid (TFA) levels in its French fries and chicken items. When it switched to zero-grams TFA cooking oil in August (the first major quick-service restaurant to do so), Wendy’s was able to cut TFA across its menu by 95 percent
Earlier this year, Wendy’s introduced its Frescata line of deli sandwiches on fresh-baked, artisan bread. The Company also rolled out new entrée salads and expanded its popular combo choices program, providing customers with seven different side options when ordering a combo meal. In addition, Kids’ Meal choices now include both turkey and ham sandwiches, as well as mandarin oranges and low-fat yogurt with granola as side options. Milk can be substituted for soft drinks at no extra charge.
* Survey conducted in July 2006, by Braun Research. Sample: 501 moms under age 50 with kids between ages 2 and 12. Margin of error is =/- 4.4 percentage points.
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One Impressive Quicksie
What are Quicksies, you ask? It's what I'm calling the Quick Serve Kids—our kids who are growing up in the age of the chain restaurant. Because we're raising Quicksies, it's our job to help them learn to make smart decisions in this age of readily available, not always good-for-ya food. That's what Quick Serve Kids is all about.
I spotted a notable Quicksie in the news.
Check out how this eighth-grade girl found E. coli last year in bagged spinach.
In her experiement, which she designed for the science fair, she also found a correlation between the iron content of the greens and the amount of bacteria growing on the leaves. Pretty cool.
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A. Will Eat Anything With Chopsticks
October 18, 2006
Tip: Try carrying a set of chopsticks with you when you need your young child to focus on eating. Yesterday I took her to lunch at a Vietnamese noodle house—and it worked!
It seems my child will eat anything if it's delivered to her mouth by chopsticks. Twice now she's eaten mountains of chicken, broccoli, and other veggies—things she usually takes only a few bites of—when I've fed them to her with chopsticks. She thinks it's so cool. I'm going to stow a set in my bag for those restaurant situations when we need her to be quiet and pay attention to the meal.
Last night, in fact, she asked me to switch places with her so she could finish my noodle bowl with chicken, broccoli, and orange peppers. I'd had enough, so I agreed. Wonder if she actually thought I was cool with finishing her meal, which you can see in the foreground of this video?
(I'm in the market for a new camera...sorry for the darkness and pixelation.)
Of course, she can't really use the sticks, so she eventually gives up and uses her fingers. Which is fine by me if it means I get to eat in peace. Mama Fu's, Pei Wei, Panda Express—plus mom and pop noodle houses—here we come!
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Disney Will Serve Healthier Stuff
October 16, 2006
Check it out: Disney announced today it will will begin serving more nutritionally balanced meals at its domestic theme parks and will sign movie and other endorsement deals only with restaurants that limit fat and sugar in menu items.
Disney said it will elminate trans fats from meals at domestic parks by the end of next year. Neither will trans fats be included in licensed and promotional products by 2008, Disney said.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said the decision came in response to comments from parents about the eating habits of their children.
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I Miss Spinach
October 15, 2006
We've eaten out so many times lately that, even though it was Saturday night, we wanted to stay in. Our restaurant habits have been getting expensive (in total contradicton to this post, I know), and, besides, we were missing our family table.
So I went to the grocery store, and a look at the produce aisle had me craving one of my new favorite veggie dishes: peel, cube, and slowly cook butternut squash (or sweet potatoes) in a heavy pan in olive oil and butter for about twenty minues. Near the end, when the squash is soft and starting to carmelize, add a few cups of fresh spinach and a little salt and pepper. Saute, serve, say yummm.
Alas, there was still no spinach to be found. Not at Fresh Market, not at Whole Foods, not at Harris Teeter. Not on any of the local self-serve salad bars. And not at any of the local quick-serve restaurants, either.
Pre-washed, bagged produce, like the recalled spinach, has been crucial to the quick-serve industry's ability to offer fresher, more nutritious choices like salads—and lettuce and tomato slices for your burgers that aren't rubbery or some strange shade of yellow. I can't emphasize how important that packaging process is for fast food. Without it, the labor costs are just too great to offer fresh produce within the quick-serve business structure.
Which means it's all the more important that the growers and packagers get it right.
A friend's brush with death first taught me about this scary strain of E. coli. She fell ill with the classic symptoms of E. coli poisoning, yet she never, ever ate red meat—thought to be source of E. coli. The
emergency rooms of two of the finest U.S. teaching hospitals (UNC and Duke) sent her home with antibiotics and advice to drink lots of fluids. Even though she was in her mid-twenties and very healthy, she developed TTP, a syndrome in which, basically, your red blood cells explode and clog your organs, including your kidneys, lungs, and, oh, your brain. It's the kind of food poisoning that kills, causes strokes, or just necessitates lifetime dialysis and eventual kidney transplants—if you're lucky.
All of her friends, also in our mid- to late twenties, were so scared for her. After two weeks of intense treament in the hospital, she turned the corner. Today she's perfectly healthy, married, and the mother of two small kids.
Weeks after her release, the authorities (the CDC, I suppose) traced the source to produce. Alfalfa sprouts, I think it was, on a sandwich from one of the "healthier" options at a local mall. I haven't eaten alfalfa sprouts since.*
So—I want spinach back, but I want it to be safe. And I want quick-serve companies to be confident in continuing to develop menu items around fresh produce.
In the wake of Foleygate and that bizarre plane crash in New York, it seems there's little space for spinach crop news. I've spotted a few follow-ups:
E. coli Exposes Weaknesses: The FDA has repeatedly told the entire industry to get the problem under control, but FDA does not have inspection or safety programs for produce like the Agriculture Department has for meat and poultry.
Faulty Warning System: A warning system meant to alert food companies in the event of a food poisoning outbreak failed one-third of the time in a recent government test.
Inpsection and Prevention: Woody Johnson, vice president of Growers Express LLC, which packages greens under brands such as Green Giant Fresh, told the AP, "No matter how isolated the strain, this has raised the bar for everyone in the industry in terms of inspection and prevention," he said. "We need to do whatever we have to do to restore consumers' confidence."
Worried Farmers: Now farmers are very concerned for the success of their winter spinach crops. Understandably so. Maybe Baby A and I will venture out to the farmer's market this afternoon to see if any farmers are bringing in spinach.
I, for one, can't wait to see spinach back on the shelves and salad bars of America. At Whole Foods, I overheard a produce stocker telling another customer the company would put spinach on the shelves again "when customer demand indicated it would sell."
I'm ready to buy! But, I'll probably saute spinach and other veggies for a good while. No fresh salads for a bit, until I hear more about improvements in the packaging and testing processes. How about you?
* Thanks, ECP, for letting me recount your story.
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Uh, Those Burgers Were, Like, For Somone Else. And Stuff.
October 11, 2006
Three workers at a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico, were arrested after two police officers discovered the hamburgers they ordered were sprinkled with marijuana.
Serious me: Good thing those burgers weren't served to little kids.
Non-serious me: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
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Eating Out: The New Eating In
October 09, 2006
A story on today's newswire states something The Wonderful Husband and I have known for a while:
Oftentimes it's less expensive to eat out than to cook at home.
That's especially true when two bags' worth of groceries at Whole Foods costs, what, $40 minimum? During weeks when we cook a lot, I'll pop into Whole Foods or The Fresh Market two or three times—that's about $80, at least—and make a trip to the state farmer's market near our house. That's usually another $15 or so. Antiobiotic-free meats and dairy are expensive, but it's what we try to buy.
Now, the exception here might be frozen entrees. They're filling and relatively cheap, but usually pretty yuck on the healthy meter. 
Not that I don't like a little Stouffer's Grandma's Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bake on a chilly fall evening. Mmmmmmm, that's what I'm talkin' about. But my point is you can feed a family for $6, maybe $8 if you make a salad, too.
On the other hand, we can run up the street and quickly get exquisite chicken Marsala or sushi or even just grilled chicken salads for $15 and below. Plus, the immense portion sizes at restaurants today make it easy for two adults—and even a toddler—to share one main course. Dinner accomplished, no dishes, no shopping time.
Are you finding that the economics of eating out often beat the costs of the home-cooked family dinner? Please comment and let me know.
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What We Can Learn from Fattened Geese
October 05, 2006
I enjoyed—and learned a few things—from this interview on Salon with chef/world-traveler/writer/televsion star Anthony Bourdain.
Bourdain talks about the fallacies around foie gras and the feeding techniques used to produce it. He comes on strongly against legislation that outlaws entire classes of foods or ingredients—something the quick-serve industry is generally against, too.
I find his arguments pretty compelling, but at times I have trouble deciding where to draw that line. Yes, liberal ol' me. I think parents, teachers, institutions, guardians, the whole village has a lot more to teach my child than a law keeping her from running across certain foods.
On one hand, it seems disclosure could help people make the kinds of decisions such laws are meant to make on our behalf. For one thing, I'm glad trans fats levels are on nutrition labels now, so I can moderate my purchases. But then, it's annoying to go around in places like California where warning notices are EVERYwhere: "Warning: This could make you INSTANTLY, HORRIFICALLY ill! Warning: This could disable you for LIFE!" They're not that bad, but the ubiquity is flat-out annoying.
And before anyone fills my comments area with protests against foie gras, let me state that I wouldn't eat it—although I do respect its place in traditional and gastronomic culture. Me, I don't eat any organ meats, or any dark-meat fowl, or really any meat that looks like its origin. (Anthony Bourdain would probably make fun of me about that, but that's all right.) I love a lot of vegetarian dishes, but couldn't go completely veggie myself.
After all, I get to be picky about meats as long as I don't order anyone else to be picky about them. Right?
Comment and let me know your take on the debates over outlawing foie gras, trans fats, and other hot-button foodie issues. After all, the same arguments could be used to outlaw fast food. Where do we draw the line? At what point does concern for public health become invasion of privacy? And to what degree could legislation help keep kids healthier?
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I Get Left Holding the Bag
October 03, 2006
Yesterday afternoon Baby A. and I made a emergency potty-training stop into Starbucks. (For her, not me. Just to be clear.) Out of guilt I bought a cookie on the way out.
We sat on a park bench to share the cookie. Baby A. took the bag, removed the cookie, and handed the bag back to me.
Me: "All right, let's stop here and share some cookie."
A. : "Okay, here, Mommy. I'll hold the cookie, and you can hold the bag."
Question for readers: When you take your kids into restaurants just to use their bathroom, do you buy something as a "potty fee"?
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"My Kids' Friends are Breaking our Bank"
Filed this one away for future reference: What to do when your kids' friends have gone along for a few too many free rides?
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Because Cold Bagels Are Foul
October 02, 2006
Oh, wait, I'll still have to eat cold bagels at my down-South Starbucks. The company today launches new warm food offerings—but only in the New York metro area.
The initiative will provide customers with the option to have their current favorite pastry heated or toast a bagel. Starbucks is also rolling out four new warm breakfast sandwiches it says are made from premium ingredients.
The lineup of breakfast sandwiches will be available all day long and includes:
• Peppered bacon, egg, and natural, aged cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin (pictured above)
• Sausage, egg, and natural, aged cheddar cheese on a toasted English muffin
• Reduced-fat sandwich with turkey bacon, cholesterol-free egg, and reduced-fat white cheddar cheese on a toasted whole wheat English muffin
• Virginia-style ham, egg, and fontina cheese on a toasted potato bagel.
Starbucks will also offer two lunch sandwiches that can be served warm or cold, including the Tomato Mozzarella Basil and Chicken Cheddar Club sandwiches. And for an afternoon or evening snack, customers can choose Starbucks warm toffee almond bar or heated chocolate chip cookies.
The new breakfast sandwiches and the ability to warm pastry products and lunch sandwiches will be offered at more than 200 Starbucks locations throughout the New York metro area. The Company plans to have the majority of its New York metro area stores offering the warm food options by the summer of 2007.
Wonder when the trend will go nationwide? Truly, McDonald's has to be worried about this development.
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Baby A Says...
October 01, 2006
You know when your kid says something so funny or cute that you decide maybe—just maybe—you'll let them live in your house a while longer? This in spite of their, say, horrid two-year-old tantrums and waking three times a night?
I've decided to start recording a few of those moments here. For starters, this morning, The Wonderful Husband (TWH) got dressed and walked into the kitchen where Baby A was eating breakfast. A said, a propos of nothing,
"Daddy, you look like a circus man."
I think TWH was a little surprised by how hard I laughed. He might even have taken it a bit personally.