And the World Tastes Good 'Cause the Ogre Thinks It Should

If Shrek can get kids to eat onions, then maybe he can get them to do just about anything.

Anyone who dismisses the food industry's power to influence kids' minds and palates should take a look at today's Wall Street Journal and a Yale study on the influence of licensed characters on kids' taste, published online last week in the journal Pediatrics.

 In a page 1 story of the Wall Street Journal, an industry group marketing Vidalia onions said sales of the root veggie jumped after it enlisted children's character Shrek as a "spokesman" of sorts. The big, green ogre adorns bags of onions, and Vidalia displays in some stores include a big stand-up cutout of the cranky but lovable character.

The article quotes more than one person attributing sales to the Shrek campaign's influence. One mother interviewed for the story said her child pitched a fit until she bought Shrek-marketed onions at the supermarket and he gobbled them up at home even though he never eats vegetables. I'd rather have that powerful influence on my side than working against me.

A few days ago, when I picked up my school-age son from a day at camp, he whined at me to take him to McDonald's. After all, my dinners don't taste as good. My meals come with a side of broccoli or corn, not Transformers, "Ice Age" personalities or -- GASP! -- "Star Wars" characters. I have a stubborn streak and can't be worn down too easily, but some moms and dads may crumble under such assaults as "You don't love me!" and "Happy Meals taste better."

As a matter of fact, regardless of cooking quality (Me: "PLEASE, just take one bite of the lemon pancetta potato salad. What do you mean you don't want to taste the chicken larb with napa salad? Do you think any other kid you know gets to eat this stuff?" My son: "Can I be any other kid I know?"), there's good evidence that kids really like a food better if it's promoted by a popular pitchman... or pitch-ogre or pitch-girl, such as Dora.

Researchers at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity gave 4- to 6-year-old children pairs of identical food items in packages with and without a sticker of one of three cartoon characters (Shrek, Dora the Explorer and Scooby Doo). The children were asked to taste both identical food items (eg. graham crackers in a package without a cartoon character and graham crackers in a package with a cartoon character), and to say which tasted better and which they would rather have for a snack.

The researchers, in their report published online June 21, said that the kids "significantly" preferred the character-stickered snacks over the identical non-character snacks.

They concluded that marketing that uses licensed characters, even those geared to older children, can substantially influence young children's taste preferences and choice of snacks, especially for energy-dense, nutrient poor foods. They said the findings suggest that this type of marketing of junk food should be restricted.

The study, which examined the choices of just 40 children from a small geographic area, isn't the last word obviously. But I find it to be compelling.

Defenders of such marketing say parents, of course, bear the ultimate responsibility for guiding kids' choices. That is true. I can, and usually do, say "no" to my children when they want to eat fast food or other foods that contain more fat and salt than I think is healthful.

But that is NOT the point. The point is whether it is ethical to use sophisticated psychological methods to influence children, who aren't even old enough to understand or legally consent to other matters involving their health, including psychological treatment, on their own. I don't think that some marketing Pied Piper should even attempt in the first place to lure minors toward questionable health choices.

And industry leaders who say they market specifically their "healthful" options to kids are simply being disingenuous. They know that they are building loyalty not to a healthful lifestyle but to their brand. If you asked a typical consumer, after years of marketing, to quickly tell the first thing they think of when you say "Burger King" or "McDonald's" or "Wendy's," are they going to reply, "apple wedges" and "baked potato"?

I have a confession. I like some McDonald's stuff. I eat at the chain's restaurants when I travel, and sometimes I love a hot packet of fries or Filet-O-Fish. But I'm old enough to understand the company's pitches to me, as well as the consequences of choosing its food, and hopefully I'm able to make those decisions judiciously -- meaning I don't eat big combo meals and I save those fatty fries for occasional splurges. Plus I try to avoid going when the kids are with me, which means I make even fewer trips to Micky D's than I used to.

There are other splurges (all legal, of course). But that's between me and the doughnut shop.
As for the cheesy appeals to my children, well, I know how to keep my wallet shut. Unless, of course, Shrek wants to shill collards and bok choy.

You may also like: The Center for Science in the Public Interest Threatens to Sue McDonald's Over Happy Meals Toys

Burger King Picks New Agency for Children and Family Ad Campaigns.

Cue the Cukes

I can't believe it's been a couple of months. We got sick after the week of birthdays and other doctors' and school district appointments that couldn't wait -- I was burned out. Then came the Disney vacation, then the recovery from vacation and getting kids who are home from school to occupy themselves with something other than a glowing, mind-melting TV screen.

But I promise I'll do better and offer the recipes soon for the cakes (they are sort of Frankenrecipes, so I have to pull them together to present them in a readable way).

Meanwhile, we've spent the past couple of weeks eating more healthful foods -- grilled chicken breast (satay style), small low-fat sirloin burgers and brats. Well, the brats aren't that healthful. But our overall diet is.

But my favorite dishes lately have been not the meats, but the sides -- peanut noodles, cellophane noodles, little quick carrot pickles and cucumber salad.

The cucumber salad is truly amazing. The cool freshness of the cukes accented by the zesty Southeast Asian-inspired dressing doesn't just taste great to me. My three children, all LOVE it, including one very picky nearly 3 year old who used to be fed via tube. I had made a batch after breakfast one day, and he came trotting into the kitchen for a bite, then back to his toys in the family room, then back for a bite ... His twin sister wouldn't leave my side and kept taking one after another. Within half an hour, the bowl was empty and I had to rethink our veggies for that night's dinner.

Tangy Cucumber Salad 2.0

INGREDIENTS
1 large seedless cucumber or 4 mini seedless cucumbers (about 14 to 16 ounces)

finely grated zest of half lime
juice from half lime (I get about 1/8 cup lime juice)
1 rounded tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or canola oil)
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (optional)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sriracha (hot chili) sauce

garnish (to sprinkle over salad when serving): 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted chopped peanuts or black sesame seeds or chiffonaded thai basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice small cucumbers into coins or ovals (about 1/4 inch thick) or cut large cucumber in half lengthwise, then across into 1/4 inch thick half-moon pieces. Place slices in a colander over a bowl to drain 1/2 hour to 2 hours.

2. Combine remaining ingredients for dressing. Just before serving, toss cucumber with some of the dressing to coat slices. Don't dump all of the dressing at once. It can be a little strong for some people, and you can always add more if you want.

3. Sprinkle with preferred garnish, and eat immediately.

NOTE:
This salad does not keep well after the dressing is combined with the cucumbers. If preparing ahead of time, keep dressing and sliced cucumber in separate containers.

This recipe's success REQUIRES the fish sauce and some sort of chili sauce. I like Three Crabs brand fish sauce and Huy Fong sriracha, which I get at my local Asian grocer, but some supermarkets in my area do sell some sort of fish sauce and chili sauce in the Asian section of the international foods aisle. Those are the ingredients that MAKE the dressing. And put down the bottled lime juice -- step away from the little green plastic bottle.

This dish was inspired by another cucumber salad I used to make, which itself is an adaptation of a Sweet, Tart, and Spicy Shrimp and Cucumber Salad from Epicurious. It's a tad simpler, and uses less fish sauce for those who are intimidated by its rich flavor. But I recommend going for the version with more flavor, unless you REALLY are sensitive to the taste of fish sauce. Three Crabs brand is already pretty mild.

Cucumber Salad 1.0

INGREDIENTS
1 large seedless cucumber or 4 mini seedless cucumbers (about 14 to 16 ounces)

finely grated zest of half lime
juice from half lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil (or canola oil)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce

 DIRECTIONS -- Same as for the other cucumber salad, minus the extra ingredients.

Stick a Fork in Me

I'm done, finally, with a week full of birthdays. And don't comment about the less-than-tidy look of the cakes or the photography.

I love baking, but the past week, with celebrations for my dear hubby and the three kids (yes, they all conspired to be born the same week), has kept me busy trying to stuff into my already crammed schedule two variations of Jean George's chocolate lava cakes, an improvised hazelnut torte (I love the French buttercream frosting flavored with espresso and hazelnut praline), flourless chocolate almond torte with chocolate mousse filling and a chocolate chocolate chip cookie cake. I also did a Key lime tart with macadamia crust just because the Key ingredient was on sale for a little more than a dollar a bag. Forget about fitting into my jeans.

For me, spoiled by the patisseries of Paris and Aix-en-Provence and a couple decent bakeries in New York City, the results were good, although I think I still need some practice to get exactly what I want. (Too bad I'll have to eat the continuing experiments and leftover Valrhona feves myself -- hee hee.)

For the birthday man, boy, little boy and little girl, the results were spectacular -- and that's all I need to make me happy.

For now, here are a few rushed pictures of the desserts that I had to throw together (it's not as though I have nothing to do with my day but cook and bake). So please excuse the amateur photos and look of the desserts. But they tasted very good, so I'll post recipes soon. I somehow missed pictures of the lava cakes -- gee, I'll have to make some more -- just for the pictures, of course.

You may also like: Chocolate Surprise Madeleines and Pear-Almond Tart with recipes.

Wrap Sheets

Slate's Green Lantern columnist wraps her head around the question of whether packaging leftovers in aluminum foil or plastic wrap is better for the environment. The takeaway is, it depends.

Farm-to-Table vs. Farms-to-Test Tube-to-Factory-to ...
At Huffington Post, Steve Ettlinger describes two meals -- one based on economies of huge scale and scientifically based processing at Archer Daniels Midland's R&D headquarters in Dacatur, IL, and another based on the farm-to-table ethos at Bacaro restaurant, in Champaign, IL -- in A Tale of Two (Extremely Different) Meals.

Cooks in the War on Obesity

Looks like the health chuckwagon driven by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (and before him by Alice Waters) is becoming somewhat of a bandwagon with other television cooks along for the ride, including Rachael Ray and Paula Deen (who has never batted a preturnaturally long-lashed eye at bacon, butter or shortening).  If these divas of dining, together with Oliver, help people eat better, then who cares if it's the latest trend -- again.

The problem is that they're fighting another trend -- even more persistent -- the constant increase in rates of obesity, which has some of its roots before birth and during early infancy, when new mothers are pushed to obsess about weight gain, writes Dr. Ayala Laufer-Cahana.

You may also like: Weight Watchers is about to launch a campaign featuring actress and singer Jennifer Hudson.

"Lazy" Gadget a Longtime Workhorse
 Bettijane Levine delves into the history of the lazy Susan, a gadget that dates at least to the 18th Century, in  the Los Angeles Times' L.A. Home blog.

Ham and pineapple fried rice

Ham, ham, everywhere, and yet another bite (make that numerous bites) to eat.

What do you do with two adults and enough Easter ham for eight? Besides having ham and eggs; or ham, cheese and egg muffin sandwiches; ham omelettes; grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, or ham salad (or deviled ham) sandwiches, one of my favorite ways to use leftover ham is to make pineapple fried rice.

First I take the enormous hunk of leftover ham, cut some into pieces, some into slices, then divide the pieces into piles that are enough for a batch of fried rice (or omelettes or whatever), and bag the piles. I also bag the slices in quantities that are the right amount for a meal for my hubby, me and the three kids. Whatever I don't plan to use right away can go into the freezer for the next month. That way, we aren't eating ham for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next three days.

(You might also like: Homemade Tofu and Sweet and Sour Chops.)
Please jump for recipe.

Planting time?

In spite of my black thumb (just killed a rosemary plant this week), I may try growing some of my own horseradish. According to writer Anne Raver, horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) seems hardy enough.