Coinciding with the start of a new year, Taco Bell has launched the Drive Thru Diet and is asking Americans to make a “Frescolution”, a commitment to eating off the Fresco menu, which offers seven choices with <9 grams of fat.  These menu items aren’t new, but the rebranding is.  And it’s not always tasteful.  The ‘Frescolution’ pledge is meant to be cheeky but it effectively enforces the idea that excess weight is primarily a function of individual sloth and gluttony. Answers to the prompt “my idea of exercise involves:” include “The baker’s dozen donut carry; ten reps of snooze button pushes; the all-you-can-eat buffet marathon.”

The Drive Thru Diet is “not a weight-loss program” but it’s sold like one, using many conventions of the diet industry. Blond, dietician-in-a-suit talking about a balanced diet?  Check.  Bikini-clad success story with ‘results not typical’ disclaimer? Check. Mention of the importance of physical activity?  Check.  The LATimes does a great job dissecting the Fresco menu and Christine Dougherty’s diet success, challenging the extent to which she can really attribute her 500 calories/day reduction (to 1,250 calories/day) to thinking outside the bun.  Maintaining a significantly reduced calorie diet over two years demands more than convenience.   It takes lifestyle change.

What’s uniquely insipid about the Drive-Thru Diet is its explicit focus on the drive-thru.

There’s a new weapon in helping you make smarter choices… it’s your car. THAT’S RIGHT!! IT”S YOUR CAR!!

I understand that they are positioning these products as convenient, quick, and cheap.  Most drive-thru users are looking for convenience and, typically, lunch.  Yet the ads don’t show people using Taco Bell as a safety-net in a hectic day.  One shows someone leaving the house, getting in the car, and driving to Taco Bell to calmly order food.  In that same time, you could make a bean and cheese burrito in the comfort of your own kitchen and eat it off a real plate.  Maybe even put it down between bites to talk to a friend or family member.  And it would still be cheaper.

My boyfriend, Ben,  started cooking large batches of snooty burritos for rock climbing trips.  He made a Burrito Calculator in excel to figure out if this saves him any money.  His recipe includes organic brown rice, Cabot Hunter’s Choice cheddar, organic garlic and onion, organic red and green peppers, organic black beans/red kidney, organic spices (cumin, black pepper, cayenne, pepper flakes), olive oil, salt, flour tortillas, and a Secret Ingredient that will not be disclosed.  Cost per burrito?  $1.50.  And I can barely eat half.  (Disclaimer: his takes more time than a straight bean-cheese burrito; cooking the brown rice takes time)

If you make ‘em Taco Bell size, you’re under a dollar.  For sure”, Ben said.  “I would say, on average, for the nice sized ones that I like it’s about $1.25 to 1.30′-and that’s putting a whole thing of cheese on them. The cheese is the biggest contributor (to the cost). If I took the cheese out, it would cut the costs hugely.”

Indeed, most of the calorie savings in the Fresco items come from reductions in cheese.

Taco Bell is by no means the first fast-food chain to market lower-fat choices.  Subway has demonstrated that offering healthier options can be smart business for quick serve restaurants.  Subway has watched both profits and growth per store soar since the launch of the Jared campaign.  Subway co-brands with The Biggest Loser and sponsors  The American Heart Association’s Start! Heart Walk.  Apparently, the 2009 Zagats rated Subway as the #1 provider of “Healthy Options” among fast-food providers and the number one “Mega chain”.

Many Taco-Bell locations make for dangerous walking destinations and it’s likely that a large percentage of their customers use the drive-thru.   Still,  naming this campaign the “Drive-Thru Diet” rather than, I don’t know, Fresco Fit,  champions an eating-in-your car lifestyle that conflicts with many broader goals of healthy living.   Like, taking time to enjoy food.   The spots focus on individuals and their cars.   People aren’t shown enjoying Fresco tacos together.   The ads reinforce a lifestyle characterized by mindless eating.   Why take 10 minutes out of your day to sit down, and eat lunch from a plate, when you can be behind the wheel, tearing at wrappers with one hand, and tweeting to your friends with the other?  The most creative Tweet praise wins Fresco for a year!

So enjoy your Drive Thru Diet and, if you’re feeling a little peckish after your light and balanced dinner, get in your car and come back!  You’ll be just in time for the 4^th meal at Taco Bell.

Image from www.drivethrudiet.com

hat tip to Sabrina Lopez

If you shop at farmers’ markets you might already associate farming with the young, rosy-cheeked vendors who bag your beets and apples. By contrast, the 2007 Ag census reports (although not in these words) that America’s farm operators are primarily white men who are not getting any younger. The average American farmer is 57 years old. Farmers aged 65 and up operate 30% of all farms in the United States. Young farmers, 35 and under, operate less than 6%. (graph from USDA Agricultural Census 2007)

The ‘graying’ of farmers is not a new trend, but it’s especially pointed as baby boomers enter the over-50 group much faster than young farmers take to the soil. Economies of scale in agriculture have encouraged a shift towards big operations, which have come to concentrate land and profits.

“Lifestyle” farms, operations that need to supplement their incomes with off-farm work, comprise over one third (36%) of all farms, but nearly two thirds (65%) of all small farms. Despite a surging demand for healthier foods, farming is still a hard way to make a living.

The looming drought of farmers is troubling when you think about the future of domestic agriculture. There are serious environmental, economic, and security implications at stake. If we want to ensure the future of industrial agriculture, where large and expensive machinery reduces labor needs (often while increasing farmer debt), then the aging of America’s farmers may not seem so dire. If instead we recognize the need for a more adaptive, entrepreneurial, and diversified food system–we’re going to need some recruitment in the ag. sector. Fortunately, there are those who see a problem as an opportunity in disguise. The graying of farming in America may signal a changing of the guard and the chance to try something else.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming is an agrarian, activist, organizer, and the director of The Greenhorns, a documentary film about young farmers, and a non-profit of the same name. The project began in 2007 with a nationwide search for mentors, young farmers, and their stories. Two years, and hundreds of hours of footage later, there is a film (complete with a heavy-hitting advisory council) and, more importantly, a movement. The Greenhorns blog, “the irresistible fleet of bicycles“, gets 700 hits a day and is, in Severine’s words, “a central hub for young farmer news, land opps(opportunities), job opps, gossip and video ephemera.”

The Greenhorns is about recruitment, enlisting protofarmers to take on sustainable farming and eaters to support the fruits of that labor. The young farmers in the film exude a sense of purpose and idealism. Severine, who runs Smithereen farm on rented land in the Hudson Valley, is the first to admit that farming is hard. It demands skills and training. This is not meant as caveat, but fact.

The Greenhorns produce a Guide for Beginning Farmers with tips on how to get started in sustainable agriculture, starting at the very beginning. The guide is encouraging but doesn’t sugar-coat the realities new farmers should expect; namely, that market prices that don’t necessarily reflect the efforts of production. The Greenhorns film is a Transformer: it provokes and doubles as a vehicle–say, bicycle–for launching conversations about access to credit, to land, to training, to markets, and the policies needed to make sustainable farming happen and keep happening.

Severine is relentlessly critical, boundlessly optimistic, and ready. I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about the film, and what’s next. It’s highly abridged. I’d like to pick up themes from our conversation (e.g. edible landscaping, processing, stimulating/activating consumers) in future posts.

Who would you want to see your film?

The core audience that I’m trying to reach is potential farmers and people who may be on the edge of stepping onto the bicycle-meaning the film is mostly about the logistics of bravery and the logistics of forming a farm and forming a business and the relationships around farming and business. And figuring out that organism as a practical, economical way of feeding people. It’s about the power of a farm organism made by a couple, by a few individuals; about the farm organism as a critical unit in a future we all need.

What about those who realistically aren’t going to start farming?

I see the farmer as an analog for other local businesses and the institutionalization of personal initiative. ‘I have an intention and the farm is an institution that represents my intention.’

One of things that’s so appealing about The Greenhorns is the do-it- yourself ethos shared among those interviewed. You talk about young farmers as being “punks” and “ninjas” in their approach. There’s a subversive energy. At the same time, the Guide for Beginning Farmers talks about the need for tens of millions of new farmers in the United States. Can you talk a little bit about growing a movement with integrity to your original goals?

Right. Those numbers come from Richard Heinberg who says 50 million. Wendell Berry says 30 million. Michael Pollan says 20 million. New, young, beginning: they’re all interchangeable.

It’s the acknowledgment of the fact that the fastest growing sector is the small farm sector. (ed-The 2007 Ag Census reports that 91% of all farms are small farms). That’s revenue of less than 250, 000 dollars year; it’s the size of a small business. So for models of scaling up, I think about entrepreneurial people in really small towns. There are medium scale businesses like High Mowing Seeds; Vermont Soy and Natural Coatings and Jasper Hill Farm that are all lending money to other players in the regional food system. The way they were able to scale it up was working by a team. They all fully acknowledge the importance of collaboration.

There’s that proverbial saying ‘the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker’. Except it’s the paint maker, the seed maker, the veggie maker, the cheese maker. (laughs)

Could you talk about the balance between the need for millions of new farmers and the need for profitability?

Chose niche; grow niche. There are so many unplugged niches. Even in a town where there’s a fully functional farmer’s market, we’re now seeing so much potential for processing–preserved foods, and meats, and jerky–as ways of bringing profitability into your business.

The next level of entrepreneurs will capture the fruit to make fruit leather. They’ll value-add. It’s sequential. It’s not only the extension of one business but the evolution of food chain.

Thinking about scaling up…

Small is beautiful. Big is subsidized. And the middle is gone.

It’s pretty important to re-grow the middle-the middle class, the medium sized farms. We need agriculture that supports people going to college. There’s a more difficult sweet spot to achieve… and that’s the middle.

Take for instance my friend’s family that runs a 4^th generation apple farm/orchard in the Northeast. It employs 13 people, 1.5 million in revenue. It’s middle class, middle scale, 200 acre. They have invested in labor saving equipment that they could be amortizing with double the acreage, but too much land not to have those expensive tools. They get none of the benefits of being small and none of the benefits of being big.

The Greenhorns sell a great “Serve your country food” poster that’s “eco printed by unionized leftists in Berkeley, California”. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some conservative, anti-government types that are also into self-sufficient farming. Have you encountered any in your interviews? Do you see room for working across ‘red’ and ‘blue’ lines.

Yeah. Eggplants are purple. We’ve come across hardcore Christians that are super conservative. Joel Salatin is kind of the Godfather of sustainable agriculture and he’s really conservative, but that’s not what people are paying attention to.

We grew up in an office in Berkeley. That’s where we’re coming from as an organization. Now that Greenhorns is basically ducking under the skirts of the New Young Farmers Coalition 501 3(c) it strives to be representative of a broader range of folks.

Start where you are and work towards common values with people who are on the same team. I think it’s going to take all of us. [links to director's statement/film treatment. Being a farmer and reclaiming the food system where you live is a very political act. There are sides where the (political) spectrum disagrees, but if you’re respectful of that shared line, you can keep moving forward. We have to.

****

If you’d like to help keep the Greenhorns moving forward, check out their website. They are accepting donations to help distribute the film and grow the organization. They also sell merchandise, including posters by artist cum urban Victory Gardener, Brooke Budner.

***

Follow up from Severine about “Berkeley”: It’s no secret that in Berkeley, California the Green presses are run by old radicals. Unfortunately, in Berkeley, California the University is not as radical as legend would have it– with major funding coming from Novartis and British Petroleum supporting biotech and cellulosic ethanol research. Those are both technologies that serve to concentrate power, a more conservative tendency. So it’s complicated.

In the past three weeks, reports have pointed to the increasing rates of food insecurity and food stamp enrollment as clear signs of hardship. The stories of struggling American families personalize a growing problem and help bring it to life for New York Times readers. [Who, according to 30Rock's Jack Donaghy, need to be coddled like high-strung actresses] At the same time, these narratives overshadow what should have been a key point in the article.

We get seven paragraphs about Greg Dawson, father of five, and one about a study from the Washington University of St. Louis that found that 90% of black children will receive food stamps (i.e. live in a household receiving food stamps), at least briefly, by the time they turn 20. [Compared to 49% of all Americans, 37% of white children]. And that one paragraph is really just two sentences.

So let me say it again: the study reports that nine in ten black children are growing up in homes that not only qualify for food stamps, but also apply to receive them at some point. The study uses thirty years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to construct life tables examining the extent to which specific events occur across intervals. In homes where a parent has not completed a high school education, 97% of black children, will have received food stamps by the time they are ten. Startling as these figures are, they may be underestimates. Not everyone who is eligible for SNAP benefits enrolls. Historically, participation among those eligible for food stamps has varied greatly state by state; in 2006 participation ranged from 50% (CA) to 98% (ME). Application requires time and ample documentation, including utility bills, pay stubs, rent or mortgage receipts and other records.

Film critic A.O Scott talks more about race and poverty in America in a short column discussing
“Precious” and “The Blind Side” than Jason DeParle and Robert Gebeloff dare in a lengthy front page feature about hunger. What does that say to you? DeParle and Gebeloff make the effort of analyzing county level statistics in the name of nuance but sidestep glaring disparities in food security and poverty. There is some discussion of chronic poverty in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and Native-American regions and reservations, but the authors are much more comfortable discussing the symbolism of pot roast.

Hopefully disparities will be addressed in a different article in the series on social safety nets. In the meantime let’s hear it from the film section: “But it is nonetheless possible - and, I think, useful - to imagine these movies in dialogue with each other, taking part in a conversation on race that the American public is always supposedly eager to have, but never right now.”

And we’re not going to have it here and now either. I feel under qualified.

Instead, I”ll keep playing Backseat Editor. The article missed a great opportunity to talk about some of the spillover benefits of food stamps. To acknowledge alternate viewpoints, the authors quote a representative from the conservative Heritage Foundation: “Food stamps is quasi money”. This is presented as a criticism and, coming from the Heritage Foundation, it’s probably meant that way. But it is a statement of fact. Food stamps are designed to act like a cash transfer. Food is a basic need and one that politicians can embrace. (Even W. got behind food stamps and a SNAPpy name change with the 2008 Farm Bill). Giving financial support in the form of food is more politically salient than offering money unconditionally and it ensures that the funds go to the purchase of food. Moreover, low income households tend to spend slightly more on food when given food stamps than if given the same value in cash. The Healthy Incentives Pilot program is trying to find ways to encourage increase purchases of fruits, vegetables, and healthful foods among SNAP participants. Receiving $130 a month in food stamps, the average benefit per household member, can free up money to spend on other goods-like utilities. It’s here that the authors needed to mention that putting money into the food stamp program was identified as one of the fastest ways to pump money into the economy. Money spent in supermarkets helps pay cashier salaries; contributes to demand for farm goods etc. and, where the supplement is sufficient to free up money for other uses, SNAP benefits can increase nonfood spending too.

Studies have estimated that for every dollar spent on food stamps, $1.50 to $2.00 is generated throughout the economy. This is called a multiplier effect. In other words, increasing food stamp spending helps stimulate the economy, potentially improving the livelihoods of most Americans, not just SNAP recipients. This argument was part of the rationale behind expanding SNAP by $20 billion, or 13%.

Food Stamp “Challenges”

When it comes to politicians’ and bloggers’ attempts to follow a typical food stamp budget for a stretch of time, my feelings are mixed. On one hand I can see this as an effective awareness building campaign that asks residents and readers to reflect upon the constraints that millions of Americans face when making everyday food choices. This can build humility and empathy.

But there’s an ickiness to framing these efforts as a “challenge”. Challenge implies competition; and, yes, feeding a family nutritious meals throughout its Oliver Twist dress rehearsal is a success. As Hannah argues, these efforts demonstrate that eating on the cheap need not equate with eating crap. I couldn’t agree more. I feel uncomfortable with the implication that low-income families struggling to eat healthfully are challenge ‘losers.’ Budgeting one’s food spending to match the average SNAP allotment is not the same as being poor. Poverty is not unidimensional. Done wrong, these ‘experiments’ come across like a reality show stunt. Getting Paris Hilton to tug a cow’s teat on the Simple Life is light years from handing her the deed to the farm.

I think Rebecca Blood is sensitive to the ways that she is different from the majority of Americans that participate in SNAP. I wish she had talked more about the time it took for her to prepare her meals.

Data from the American Time Use Survey show that low-income women that work full-time spend roughly 40 minutes a day in food preparation. With some conservative groups clamoring for food stamp reform that emphasizes employment, it’s important to consider time constraints of employed SNAP participants. Food Stamp benefits are based on the Thrifty Food Plan, a set of hypothetical lowest-cost market baskets made up of 29 food categories, on which the food stamp allotment is based. According to a study by the USDA Economic Research Service, the Thrifty Food Plan recipes, which focus on scratch-cooked, nutritious meals within a SNAP budget, take at least 80 minutes a day to follow, with an average of 2.3 hours a day. There is a big gap between assumptions and realities of time-use among the working poor. This needs to change.

photo by Chris Devers

Bad news first: Bisphenol-A

BPA was in the news throughout 2008, triggering a shift away from the then ubiquitous Nalgene bottles to the now ubiquitous Sigg-style metal canisters. Bisphenol-A is back and this time it’s in our soup…and green beans…and Juicy Juice.

Nicholas Kristof and Marion Nestle both address the recent Consumer Reports story about the presence of synthetic estrogen in canned foods. Kristof’s piece summarizes key reasons we don’t want BPA in our bodies. The Consumer Reports article discusses its findings in comparison to typical dietary exposure, as defined by the FDA:

“Consumers eating just one serving of the canned vegetable soup we tested would get about double what the FDA now considers typical average dietary daily exposure.”

That we even have formulas detailing normal exposure and upper limits is an unfortunate necessity.

Consumer Reports found that similar products in alternate packaging posed either very low levels of BPA (in plastic pouches of frozen beans, or plastic soup containers) or no measurable risk (tuna pouches, juice boxes). To decrease exposure to BPA, the report also recommends reheating food in glass containers whenever possible. I wonder how all of this will influence canned food donations/pantry unloading and the diets of already vulnerable, food insecure populations.

If there is a silver lining (Get it? Contaminated can liners? Cans are metal and shiny?), it’s having yet another incentive to purchase fresh and frozen foods instead of canned. The high heat processing inherent in canning already degrades the nutrient content of many fruits and vegetables. Heating to sterilization also makes things mushy.

(More) Good News: Nutrition Claims on Foods

Kellogg’s is withdrawing the Immunity claim ["Now helps support your child's immunity”] that, critics say, is peddling Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies to H1N1 fearing parents. Kellogg’s states that it had increased the vitamin content of its cereal in advance of flu pandemic concerns and that it plans to continue this formulation even after removing the claim. The marketing tactic generated negative media attention last week (see CBS, USA Today) and a letter from San Francisco’s city attorney requesting evidence that supports the claim. Marion Nestle has a nice discussion on her blog about the wiggle-room inherent in ’structure-function’ claims for food products.

The most recent issue of The Economist has not one, but three articles addressing the regulation of health claims on foods. The European Food Standards Agency (EFSA), the European Union’s counterpart to the FDA, is critically reviewing the scientific evidence, or lack thereof, behind proposed claims. Tighter regulation of health claims on ‘functional foods’ is critical, especially since fortification often lends packaged foods a virtuous makeover, complete with an ‘eat-more’ message.

The proof of the pudding: Short piece about EFSA and FDA tightening their evaluations of nutrition claims on food labels. The authors rebuff claims that stricter standards will stifle innovation:

“Those firms making misleading claims will suffer; those prepared to invest in proper scientific studies to back up their supposed breakthroughs will benefit….Extraordinary claims, after all, require extraordinary evidence.”

What this also means is that companies with the money to invest in studies, can essentially buy their rights to claims by funding research. Independent research that leads to applicable findings will be ‘fair game’ for all parties. How consumers value these claims and use them in purchasing decisions is another issue altogether, and one that is likely to vary by consumer demographics.

Nestle: The unrepentant chocolatier
This longer piece investigates Nestle’s big investment in functional foods and a ‘wellness’ focused strategy. Nestle is looking to modify its foodstuffs to increase nutrient content, validating the purchase of these foods among the health conscious and thereby fortifying the company’s bottom line. Everyone wins!

It’s a business-heavy article that is interesting in the context of the current regulation debate. With Nestle, the largest food company in the world, putting so much stock in the future of functional foods, I find myself wondering whether they see regulation as a flash in the pan. Or is the company buoyantly confident that both science and consumers will come to embrace products like Nescafe Frappe with lutein? (That’s a hypothetical example.)

The authors wonder how this strategy fits with Nestle’s identity in Western countries. “If a company known for selling indulgence wants to reinvent itself to symbolize wellness, does that not send mixed messages to the consumer?,” the article asks.

Food, glorious food
Another short article. This one uses European regulation of omega-3 claims to discuss the tension between science and sales in the marketing of health claims. The article focuses on omega-3s claims, which largely fail to disclose whether the product has been manufactured with shorter chain alpha-linolenic fatty acids (abundant in flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts) or the more efficiently utilized, longer chain, Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA) and eicosaphentanoic (EPA) omega-3s (found in oily fish like salmon, herring, mackerel), which are markedly more expensive.

More Halloween Candy Leftovers:

(hat tip to Sabrina Lopez)

Corby Kummer on the All-Candy Diet

Leftover Halloween Candy Pie from Serious Eats/Cakespy

photos by: EraPhernalia Vintage, fooducate, Cakespy

]]> http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/11/09/bad-news-good-news-what-is-it-were-eating-again/feed/ http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/10/26/halloween-overload-or-have-i-become-a-food-nazi/ http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/10/26/halloween-overload-or-have-i-become-a-food-nazi/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:59:58 +0000 Sarah Sliwa http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/?p=397 It’s unlikely I will ever find myself napping in a glass office while my very own secretary decides what meetings and which people are worth my time. I will never suffer the internal paralysis of realizing that, in fact, I am The Man.

But I am beginning to think that I might be the Food Police.

My plan was to do a light-hearted post about overwrought Halloween recipes from magazines. I looked up Epicurious, and Martha and now I’m stuck: I can’t get past Better Homes and Gardens.

I can accept that Halloween is a costumed sugar-binge. A pagan celebration of excess. Dionysus dressed like a Slutty IRS Agent. Fine. As a kid, I mentally mapped the neighborhood based on chocolate (good), Dum-Dums (bad), and raisins (worse). [Jonathan Mandell has more to say about Halloween treats] I still hit CVS early on November 1st to buy Fun Sized packages of Kit-Kats and Milky Way Midnights on clearance. In this paragraph I am demonstrating my ability to appreciate Halloween in the spirit of “everything in moderation–even moderation”.

But do we really need “Creative Desserts from Leftover Halloween Candy“?

No one wants to root for wasting food. Uneaten candy corn just doesn’t strike me as “food” worth agonizing over. Sugar, corn syrup, carnuba wax, glaze, and coloring are pretty shelf-stable. It’s not like they’re going anywhere in the next few months.

The feature suggests that even as kids continue to feast from the depths of their pillow-sacks, we should be sculpting “Mr. Pearly Whites” bat-shaped treats out of Hostess Cupcakes, Fruit Roll-ups, and leftover Candy Corn. “Funny Frog”–Ho-Hos on top of M&Ms on top of store-bought cupcakes–(left) is the craftastic analog to the KFC Double Down.

I hate the idea that we need to find a way to get kids to eat more of their candy. This all reminds me of The Best of Betty, a Jincy Willett short story from Jenny and The Jaws of Life wherein an advice columnist gradually comes unhinged.

” Dear Betty:

It’s me again! Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do with a ten-foot length of old garden hose?

Petunia

Dear Petunia:

Do you ever just sit still? Do you ever just sit in front of a mirrior, for instance, and stare at your face? It’s none of my business but-and I say this with no snide intent, I am trying to be good, so that my teeth are literally clenched as I write this-I seriously think you should calm down. Petunia, even the Athenians threw things away. Let the garden hose be what it is, a piece of garbage. Now sit very very still and try to think of nothing but the weight of your eyelids. Come to rest. Let your muscles slip and slide. Easy does it girl, Easy. Shhhhh. ”

Except now I’m not sure which one of us is Petunia–Better Homes and Gardens, or me?

Image from: Better Homes and Gardens

In the past week not one but three people announced that they have been saving the New York Times Magazine Food Issue for me. Now that I have four copies-which comprise the entirety of the magazine display in my new apartment-a mention here seems appropriate, even if overdue.

In ‘Faster Slow Food’, Mark Bittman envisions an online grocery experience that intuits preferences and tempers impulses. This electronic bazaar would elucidate the provenance of broccoli, pair rosemary with chicken, and disable the cart when over-zealous in the frozen desserts aisle. In the article, Bittman is told that this vision is a bit “George Jetson.” Is it? The information exists. It might not be well communicated through the supply chain, but one day it could be. [Could it?] I think Mr. Bittman sees online shopping as a way to correct informational asymmetries in retail. He seems to be saying ‘There are people who would pay to know this stuff. Why don’t we let them.’ Our food system is wanting for greater transparency. But what preparation would consumers need to sift through that onslaught of information? Would those willing to chip in for traceback merely be the same individuals who pay attention to that anyway?

Although online grocery retail accounts for less than 1% of total food and beverage sales, the niche is ready to grow. According to a recent Nielsenwire post, Mark Bittman epitomizes the typical online grocery shopper: “upper-income “established” adults ($100K income per household) residing in smaller households (1-2 members) with no children. These consumers are more willing to pay the shipping fees and premium prices typically associated with online grocery shopping in exchange for the convenience and other benefits of online.” (Bittman does have two daughters, but they are adults and presumably do not count as ‘household children’).

Online grocery shoppers spend twice as much on food and beverages online as they do offline. Consumer demographics, minimum orders/free delivery incentives, and the joy of having someone else lug milk jugs and canned beans, all encourage larger baskets. Although home delivery will remain a powerful incentive, consumer demographics are likely to change.

According to nielsenwire, growth in online shopping is predicted by

“the intersection of four key mega trends:

1. Convenience-the growing need for convenience has already transformed the packaged goods industry
2. Generation Y-Gen Y shoppers are approaching grocery-buying age, and are comfortable doing so online
3. Broadband Internet-Almost two-thirds of Americans have broadband Internet access, making online grocery shopping easier and quicker
4. Customization-Digital platform allows online grocers to personalize the shopping”

Online shopping suits our screen-time addictions and our narcissism.

Moreover, people may shop differently when ordering online. A 2007 pilot study within a weight-loss trial randomized a subset of participants to receive home food delivery for groceries that they ordered and purchased themselves. Both groups experienced similar weight-loss during the 8-week program, but the online shoppers were better able to improve the nutritional quality of the home food environment. Specifically, they significantly decreased the number of high-fat foods at home. This suggests that people may stick closer to their shopping lists online than when competing with supermarket stimuli.

The authors (Amy Gorin and colleagues) speculate that the short-term nature of the study won’t capture the potential long-term benefits of having a ‘healthier’ home environment. But the short-term nature of the participants’ interest in online shopping limits such speculation; although 75% of participants reported recommending the service to someone else, few intended to continue online grocery shopping once the study ended.

Even if online shopping emerges as a means to control unplanned food purchasing, I fear this will be undermined as manufacturers grow savvy to online shoppers’ behaviors. For years, marketing researchers have been studying ’shelf-effects’ online and the relationship between relative screen placement, sequence, and shopping behavior. Virtual store layouts also matter. The more we learn about consumer behaviors online, the more tactical placement of ads and products we’ll see.

Nielsen identifies time-strapped families as a largely untapped demographic ripe for online shopping. Online shopping could not only save time, but it could also help keep on budget thanks to running tallies on in-cart items while avoiding the The Nag Factor of shopping with children. Manufacturer coupons can be redeemed online, but WIC and food stamps vouchers cannot due to PIN security issues. [Question: Does this mean we should be more worried about debit card security online?]

Consumers that replace multiple shopping trips with a large home delivery may save time and gas. Do they pass the environmental costs to the delivery trucks? Is it more emissions friendly to have a fuel inefficient truck make multiple stops on a delivery route than to have a fuel-efficient car make smaller trips to the store? Should home delivery trucks make like UPS and avoid left handed turns to save gas?

Personally, I’m too much of a control freak for PeaPod: I can’t choose tomatoes without inspecting for bruises, pick cantaloupe without sniffing the rind, or buy milk before checking the expiration date. But I have friends who swear that Fresh Direct saved their roommate relations. Home delivery eliminated fights about buying too little yogurt or the wrong brand of toilet paper and prevented anyone from having to choose between making it to the store and going out for drinks. I can click to that.

image by TransplantedVTer

Consider this the vanity driven subsection of the general pantry list extolling the virtues of canned beans and whole grains. If an item isn’t explicitly mentioned, it’s because it looks ‘meh’–even if it’s as versatile as garbanzos or polenta.

This isn’t a sophisticated design list (there are no collapsible colanders) nor is it oriented towards gourmet products. Rather, it’s meant to be the best looking of the everyday–kind of like Norma Kamali for Wal-Mart.

Sardines:

(images from amazon.com and lasirenafoods.com)

The magnificent packaging that sardines inspire makes perfect sense after considering this fact: there needs to be some reason to keep buying these stinkers. A date food they are not.

Portuguese and Spanish sardines packed in olive oil (like Gonsalves and Angelo Parodi) are considered to be the highest quality and tastiest of the widely available tinned sardines. Tomato packed sardines tend to rank lower on sardine taste-testing lists. The Norwegian King Oscar brand (not pictured) manufactures red tins featuring his majesty as well as yellow “tiny tots” tins, emblazoned with the images of dancing children, energized by a sardine smorbrod.

Flavortism aside, how awesome is the mermaid on the La Sirena can? So languid and lost in thought. Our fair lady, Chicken of the Sea, looks downright prudish in comparison.

There is another reason to stock these easy-to-store tins: the little fish are nutritional beasts. Sardines, with their daintily edible bones, are a great non-dairy source of calcium. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids and are low in mercury. They are also rich Vitamin D which, if you haven’t read, seems to be increasingly good for you. Not only is “the Sunshine vitamin” critical in calcium absorption, but it’s been associated with reduced risk of cancer, longer life expectancy, and lower rates of multiple sclerosis. New studies are starting to look at Vitamin D and athletic performance. Vitamin D and sardine breath comprise a stunning tactical offense. And it tastes great on a cracker!

Chipotle Peppers:

The smoky heat of the chilies is rivaled only by the smoldering glare of La Morena. Makes you wish Selma Hayek would come back to 30 Rock, doesn’t it?

Once you open the jar of chiles, transfer whatever you don’t use, sauce included, into a covered jar and refrigerate.

(image from: www.importedmexicanfoods.com)

Canned Tomatoes:

San Marzanos are heavy hitters in the world of canned tomatoes. While looking for pictures, I came across heated debates concerning geographic indication and requisite certification to claim “San Marzano” origin.

I’ve seen these cans (left) in the windows of kitchen design stores and in the pages of magazine spreads, but I’ll take the juicier packaging (right) any day, even if the goods are uncertified.

Roasted Red Peppers: Whichever ones you like. They are so bright that they always look good.

Pudding Mix:

My*T*Fine is a nice looking box. So fine, that friends of mine have an assemblage of empty boxes hanging on their living room wall.

Obviously, homemade, custard-based pudding is an amazing thing. But when it’s the middle of winter and I’m cooking for one and not really interested in a wholesome meal, spiked cook-and-serve pudding never lets me down. I’m partial to vanilla with a pinch of ground cardamom, pinch of orange zest, and a splash of bourbon/brandy. I like to dress up the chocolate with some finely ground espresso, an extra hit of cocoa powder, and either triple-sec or brandy. When asked what I’ve had for dinner, I lie.
(Photo by roadsidepictures)

Oats:
John McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oats. Buy the tin once at Trader Joe’s and then keep refilling it with steel cut oats from the bulk foods aisle at the supermarket, where they are usually $.99 cents/lb or less.

Maple Syrup:

It’s tin or nothing. Little syrup jars are for girly men.

(image by jessamyn)

Containers:

As nice as it is to quickly identify foods on the shelf, I’m not ready to succumb to The Container Store. There’s something off-putting in its clarity of purpose.

A small box of mason jars makes a great ’starter’ set of jars until you empty out those half finished jars of peanut butter and roasted red peppers (and remove the labels). Sure, you can go vintage and scour ebay for the Ball blue mason jars from the 1920s, but these are just as functional and easier to find. Tightly closed jars are harder for mealmoths to penetrate than cardboard boxes and plastic baggies. Dried black beans, yellow lentils, chickpeas, wheatberries, coarse cornmeal, popcorn, and pinenuts are standards on my shelves.

I like wide mouth jars with lever tops for sugar and bigger things, like whole walnuts or pecans. Flour and oils are sensitive to light exposure and should be kept in opaque containers and stored in cupboards.

(image from kfergos)

I like these small “Tripp” tins from Ikea for things like tea, brown sugar, and stuff.

(image from www.ikea.com).

Think of it this way, if you find yourself quarantined and alone with the swine flu ,and living off canned and dried goods for days, wouldn’t you want your pantry to look this good?

Full disclosure: this post is not only fluff, but it’s also self-serving. I’m moving into a new apartment this weekend and will need to restock my kitchen. Any suggestions–vain, practical, or purely delicious–are more than welcome. Are there any foods you buy because the package makes you smile?

]]> http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/10/05/my-pretty-pretty-pantry/feed/ http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/09/24/first-comes-love-then-comes-marriage-then-the-caboose-and-saddlebagsor-relationship-weight-gain-is-real/ http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/2009/09/24/first-comes-love-then-comes-marriage-then-the-caboose-and-saddlebagsor-relationship-weight-gain-is-real/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:41:31 +0000 Sarah Sliwa http://thefastertimes.com/homeec/?p=331

“I only love you ’cause you, cause you look like me”- The Ponys.

Off the lips of glib garage rockers, these coy lyrics are destined for a bar jukebox. In the pages of a scientific journal, they present Assortative Mating as an explanation for a common pattern: we tend to like people that look like us and/or act like we do. We often mirror behavior of those we like. These two statements need not be mutually exclusive.

As researchers continue to explore the many environmental factors that contribute to obesity, they are increasingly looking at the ways our peers, friends, family, and lovers influence our weight status. They look to understand which is more significant– selecting partners similar to ourselves or sharing the same environment. “Relationship weight” is more than anecdotal.

photo by TheSundaysBest

A groundbreaking study tracked the social networks of more than 12,000 people over 32 years (1971-2003) and demonstrated that interpersonal relationships have a social influence on obesity.

Among mutual friends, if one became obese the risk of obesity in the other increased by 171%. Among same-gender friendships, if a male friend became obese, the other had a 100% increase in his risk of becoming obese, but this behavior pattern didn’t hold for women. Obesity in a spouse or same-sex sibling also increased the risk of becoming obese, but was less influential than obesity in a mutual friend.

Weight gain throughout adulthood–”the middle aged spread”–is not biologically necessary but has become the norm nonetheless. The authors hypothesize that obesity in peers influences weight status through shared eating behaviors and by shifting norms about weight acceptance.

A growing area of interest is eating and exercise habits among couples. Whereas marriage is associated with lower mortality, decreased cigarette smoking, and other improved health outcomes, the relationship to weight is inconsistent.

Several studies have documented that weights of marital partners correlate at the start of marriage (evidence for assortative mating), and others have shown husbands and wives’ weights change similarly over time. Both men and women who enter marriage are more likely to become obese. Women have been shown to gain more weight upon entering marriage than men. Some studies attribute this to a decreased interest in maintaining weight for a partner once married. The role that pregnancy plays in this weight gain seems like a natural area for inquiry.

Behaviors often converge. This may not come as a surprise. Co-habitation demands melding and compromise on preferences–be they decorating aesthetics or culinary tastes. Most of us have artifacts from previous relationships, reminders of the tastes we had temporarily acquired. (I have a white cotton eyelet nightgown that I bought in my early 20s at a thrift store in Paris to accommodate my then boyfriend’s Jean-Luc Godard obsession. I too am rolling my eyes. )

Studies also show that the longer partners are married or living together, the more health behaviors they share-suggesting that a shared environment plays a greater role than ‘The Ponys’ hypothesis. This has intergenerational implications where children are involved: genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors (including socioeconomic status) all influence weight.

Most of these studies followed older, married couples. What does that mean for other relationships? For young adults? A new study ‘ Entry Into Romantic Partnership Is Associated With Obesity‘ analyzed heterosexual couples data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which tracks teens into young adulthood. On average, respondents are in their early twenties and represent white, black, Hispanic, and Asian populations.

In general, dating pairs had healthier profiles for obesity, minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and screen-time than their married and cohabitating counterparts. For women, dating had the lowest predictive odds for obesity. Being single, cohabitating and, especially, being married significantly predicted incidence of obesity in women. Married men were twice as likely to become obese as men that were dating .

Romantic pairs that lived together for more than two years were significantly more likely to consist of two obese, sedentary, and less physically active partners. Of all the relationship types (dating, single, cohabitating, and married), cohabitating pairs were most likely to feature two sedentary partners, followed by married couples.

Since the sample is primarily in its early twenties and over 65% of young adults postpone marriage past the age of 25, it is possible that married couples in this sample are different from other young adults in other (unknown) ways that may also influence obesity.

Bottom line: living with a romantic partner for two or more years was associated with inactivity, sedentary behavior, and concordant obesity. This suggests that over the course of their marriages, Marge and Lois’s body mass indexes (BMIs) would likely converge with Homer’s and Peter’s-especially given the extent of cohabitation.

The concept of apartment as an incubator for sloth and gluttony inactivity and over-eating is familiar to anyone who has weathered a cold winter. Hibernation is less depressing when there’s someone with you to cook dinner, crawl into bed, watch TV on DVD, and pretend the thermostat registers above 55 degrees.

(Simpsons Cake Toppers photo by Yocuna Tartas Decoradas)

These studies tend to under-emphasize that the home is a subset of a broader environment. Couple-reinforced behaviors are also influenced by factors outside their door-supermarket availability, time constraints and economics, neighborhood safety, broad cultural norms, and public policy to name a few.

Looking their data, scientists are not foreseeing massive Wedding Crashers campaigns. Rather, they are trying to learn how couple dynamics can be leveraged to prevent weight gain.

The Look AHEAD study was a multi-site randomized controlled trial weight loss intervention on overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes. The intervention also measured non-participant spouses, who completed food and exercise logs. The study found a “ripple effect” wherein the non-treated spouse also benefited from clinically significant weight loss. This is a relief as it suggests that positive lifestyle modifications can also spread through relationships.
In many ways, these studies quantitatively show us what we intuitively know: we tend to pick up and reinforce the habits of those we love–whether friends, family, or partners. If your names are Sid and Nancy, this is a curse, but for the rest of us, this could be a great opportunity.

photo by edwardoneill

Actually there are no aphorosims in this post: witty sayings are scarce in the food safety realm. It’s mostly fear campaigns about the “Temperature Danger Zone” (TDZ) followed by a simple mantra: Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill.

It may be tempting to dismiss food safety concerns as symptoms of a ‘sterilized’ society, guilty of conflating purity with Purell. Yet contracting a foodborne illness will teach you new things about your body–revelations you will wish had been left uncorked. These misadventures can make for a good story, but they can also be fatal, especially for the young, the elderly, and the immuno-compromised.

As consumers, some of the contaminated foods that we encounter are beyond our control, damaged at some point in a nebulous food system–via import, in processing, through polluted waterways and agricultural runoff etc. In late July, the House of Representatives passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 . If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, the legislation would expand the Food and Drug Administration’s inspection authority, enhance trace-back, and better protect the food supply for consumers. Whether H.S 2749 passes or not, we remain responsible for self-regulation.

Most cases of foodborne illness stem from faulty practices in food service operations and at home. There are ways to minimize risks beyond those to which we willingly subject ourselves-like sushi, rare meat, and most anything that inspires disclaimers on restaurant menus.

In addition to ‘Clean. Separate. Cook. Chill. ‘, there are several general rules to follow. Some are obvious. Wash your produce, even if it’s organic. What do you think ‘natural fertilizer’ means? Throw away things that smell, turn colors, grow fuzz. Avoid bulging cans. Don’t serve a cooked bird on the same platter that held it raw. Trust that tofu can go bad.

Others are more subtle. Keep an eye out for cracks in mugs and for grooves hacked into cutting boards, wooden or plastic (ugh). These nicks are hard to clean well, leaving a moist hiding den for bacteria. While lemon juice and salt may help remove food smells from cutting boards, it will not sterilize surfaces. Wash dishtowels regularly, as in, before they start to smell.

Know that bacteria are most frequently implemented in foodborne illness, as opposed to viruses or fungi, and that bacteria love pH above 4.5, protein and nutrients, moisture, and temperatures between 40 and 140 F (el Danger Zone). The pH advice is hard to follow at home. I don’t know anyone that stores litmus strips next to the toothpicks and rubber bands. Temperature and moisture, however, are important factors and easy to note.

How long is too long for leftovers in the fridge? You have a three to four day window before tossing or freezing the last of the takeout. Only reheat what you plan to eat in a sitting.

If I defrost meat in the refrigerator, do I have to cook it as soon as it thaws?
Confession: I made this question up, because I wanted the answer. If you defrost in the refrigerator, you have the most options. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services, fridge thawed ground meat and poultry can remain thawed but uncooked for 1-2 days and red meat cuts can go for 3-5 days. If needed, fridge-thawed foods can be returned to the freezer without cooking, but food texture suffers.  If you had the planning foresight to thaw your meat, you probably have the intention to cook it in time.

By contrast, if you defrost in the microwave, you should use the food right away. Cold water thawing is a mixed bag–if the package leaks, meat tissue can absorb liquid and get watery. You also have to cook it right away.

Lastly, don’t leave foods on the counter to thaw. Just don’t.

I made soup and it’s too big to fit in the fridge. Can I leave it out overnight? Won’t I just boil off any germs tomorrow when I reheat it? The fridge is your friend. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, improper cooling of large amounts of food is the leading cause of foodborne illness.

A vat of soup easily doubles as a romantic hot tub, overrun by bacterial lovers (or I guess self-lovers, given their mechanism for reproduction). You want to get that pot in the fridge within two hours of serving. If there is a lot of soup left, divide it among smaller, shallower, containers so that the liquid can cool. The idea here is to minimize the time food spends in the Danger Zone, to minimize bacterial growth. Heat treatment can help reduce and kill bacteria, but only at a rate proportional to the number present in the food. Hot food can go in the fridge right away. Just be careful with hot glass, which can shatter in the cold.

When reheating soups and sauces, bring them to a boil before serving.

What’s that pink patch on my cheese? Can I just scrape it off? The pink patches that form on cheese are foodborne yeast. According to my Essentials of Food Science Book, it’s not known to cause illness. Go ahead: scrape and snack.

What do the different dates mean? There are lots of dates made available on the foods we buy. They are voluntary and protect retailers, manufactures, and consumers alike. These dates alert us to the relative freshness of foods and spare retailers the ilk of (some of) our complaints. “I told you so” comes printed on the box. WebMD does a nice job discussing these.

“Best if used by”: This is about quality and not safety. It portends stale saltines or slimed salad greens.

“Sell by”: Last day this food can be sold as fresh. This date is determined by the manufacturer/processor and has both safety and quality implications. Dairy may be fine for a up to week after. It’s easy to spot soured milk or chunked up yogurt but other foods are harder to assess. Eggs will be okay for a few weeks (3-5) after purchase. Poultry, fish, sausage, organ meats, and ground meats should be used or frozen within one or two days, pork and beef within three to five.

“Use by/ Expiration date”: This is a deadline for recommended use, reflecting the peak of freshness determined by the manufacturer.

Are meat thermometers for newbs?
My friend Jared is a chef. By softly laying a finger to animal flesh, he can assess the degree of doneness without making a test cut. Most of us are not Jared. While many cookbooks provide practical cooking time and temperature tables per weight of different meats, most of us have never calibrated our ovens, thereby leaving us ignorant of “true” temperature. I also tend to throw away meat packaging as soon as I start prepping, so I am left to rifle through the trash or guess at weight and time. I usually go with the latter and apparently I am in the majority–only 15% of the general population regularly uses meat thermometers. But since when is the practice of the majority a good idea? Case in point: X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the top grossing movies of 2009.

Chicken and pork really should be cooked to a minimum temperature, 165 F for chicken, 150 for pork, making a case for a thermometer–especially when you have reason to distrust your equipment and/or yourself. These temperatures reflect the temperature at which the food should be consumed. Trichinosis, that pig-loving roundworm, dies around 140F, but most experts and recipes recommend 150, given the varying accuracy of meat thermometers. Since a pork roast will continue to cook after removing from the oven, you’ll see many recipes suggesting taking pork out from the oven once a thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 F.

We’ve had food on the roof all day at our cook out and I’m not sure what to do with the leftover potato salad. My girlfriend made it. It seems important that I eat it. Food left outside where it is 90 ºF or above should be eaten or refrigerated within 1 hour of cooking- or discarded. Unless your rooftop cookout is in winter and it’s below 40, the two hour rule still applies. Sorry, the salad days are over. I’d hate for your lady to be jealous of the time you’re spending with the porcelain goddess.

Lastly, if you do get sick, report it to your state health department. Given the incubation period for many bacteria and viruses, and the variety of foods we consume throughout a day, it can be difficult to match one’s illness with its culprit. The foodborne illness databases help epidemiologists track outbreaks.

Nothing like germ talk to whet my appetite. I’m off to lunch. Bon Appetit!

*****

ADDENDUM/ A BEEF RELATED ASIDE:

A single hamburger may contain meat from hundreds of animals. It’s a gross reality. I had the opportunity to speak with a Cargill representative following the large ground beef recall in 2007 (and now, another in August 2009–this time an antibiotic resident salmonella). I was hoping he’d say something along the lines of ‘ we need to understand where this came from and how we can prevent future outbreaks ’. Instead, he explained that the outbreaks demonstrated that consumers could not be trusted to follow on-the-package cooking instructions. The same thinking was applied by ConAgra following the salmonella pot pie outbreaks. I personally share Scott’s view that a burger is meant to be, at most, medium rare. If you like bloody meat, it helps to know your meat. Improve traceability and make friends; butchers can grind meat for you on site, so you know it comes from one animal and is just meat]

by les jumeaux de legume

School food programs play an important role in supporting child nutrition, especially for children who rely on the programming for several of their daily meals.

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, which includes all Federal child nutrition programs, including the School Breakfast and the National School Lunch Programs, will expire on September 30, 2009. Advocates for healthier school foods have rallied around the 2009 act, recognizing a rich opportunity in new legislation for the next five years. [Hannah Wallace recently wrote about Slow Food's Time For Lunch "Eat-in" campaign].

Although they receive less attention, the school meals that families prepare are also important. Outside of allergen-related restrictions, few districts have regulations pertaining to lunches brought from home. As anyone who has stepped into a cafeteria can attest, some home-packed lunches more closely resemble concession stands than they do meals.

Wal-Mart, Epicurious, and Whole Foods all feature healthy back-to-school lunch tips. Teaming up with “Renegade Lunch Lady Ann Cooper“, Whole Foods has launched a School Lunch Revolution campaign, complete with videos highlighting lunch options, including the price per meal. Earlier this week, The New York Times ran an article highlighting the segregation of leftovers in whimsical bento boxes. [And yes, whimsical is a civilized dig]. Wal-Mart focuses on the affordability of packing a lunch and offers “Little Johnny” going hungry or binging on junk food as grim alternatives to bringing food from home. The site also offers sage advice for packing foods.

As an unmarried, childless, quasi-adult, I have few responsibilities beyond getting myself to work, paying the bills, and trying not to disappoint the people who like me. On the days when I show up to work with coffee dripping down my shirt and a bruised banana stuffed with peanut butter for my next meal, I am humbled to know that Elizabeth Nahar has already sent her four kids to school, lunch boxes in tow.

Liz and her husband, Avi, pack more than 60 lunches each month, even with their children eating school lunch once a week. As the Program Director of Children in Balance, a childhood obesity prevention initiative at Tufts University, Liz has a vested interest in nutrition. As a mother, and a practical one at that, Liz has no interest in wasting time or food.

With the first week of school drawing to a close, I thought I’d ask Liz about her family’s lunch strategies and get her thoughts on some of the ‘back-to-school’ lunch tips that I’ve seen promoted.

Shopping List

Liz and Avi follow a basic template of always packing a fruit, a cookie, a small savory snack (e.g. pretzels, cheese crackers) and a variable main dish. Liz does not believe in offering food purely for nutritional value if its chance of being eaten is slim and is blunt in her assessment of cafeteria dining: “They often eat only half of what’s in there.”

This means that everything counts. This is also why vegetables, which historically returned untouched, won’t be sent for lunch (with the exception of baby carrots and grape tomatoes) but will be served in abundance at dinner instead.

Whole Foods offers a School Lunch Revolution shopping list as a download from its website and as a tear-away flier in its stores. Organized by food group, the list encourages including one item from each category in a lunch.

“I think it’s a good list. My kids wouldn’t eat half of the items on there for lunch, but other kids’ preferences differ, and I think it gives a lot of ideas and encourages variety,” says Liz.

I ask about which items she’d avoid.

“My kids won’t eat tuna or eggs–they smell. Nuts aren’t allowed in many of the classrooms. ”

With the exception of five lunches a week, Liz’s children eat virtually all of their other meals at home, leaving her with clear insight and input into what they are consuming. For this reason, she doesn’t question throwing in a snack she knows they’ll eat.

” You really have to know your child’s eating habits, and plan accordingly,” Liz explains. If her children started eating more meals away from home, at after-school programs or with traveling sports teams, her lunch choices would likely change.

Food Safety

Ann Cooper emphasizes children’s love of finger foods. The fruits that Liz prefers for lunches are also bite-sized. ” Strawberries, blueberries, and grapes are awesome for lunches. In the winter we do a lot of clementines: the size is right and they are easy to peel.” Even a sandwich is fundamentally a finger food.

But most kids don’t wash their hands before eating at school. With roughly 20 minutes to eat, less if you have to wait in the lunch line, going dirty is a great time saver. As someone who’s picked up a touch of salmonella, I think washing hands before handling food is a respectable goal.

Few cafeterias have handwashing stations. This emerges as a common obstacle to having recess before lunch, which introduces an urgent need for washing hands. It’s surprising how rarely the need for hand-washing stations comes up in other conversations about school lunch.

I was surprised to see melon in so many of the bento boxes and lunch tip sheets. Fresh-cut melons have been linked to numerous food poisoning cases, although not specifically from school children’s packed lunches. Porous skin, relatively high pH (6 compared to many fruit with pH ~4), and growth near the ground, make melons prone to pathogen incidence and survival.

Be sure to wash melons before cutting (to keep bacteria on the skin from getting on the flesh), and to store cut melon in refrigeration before serving. An “Ed & Bella” lunchbox may be cool, but it’s not going to keep that cold.

Liz offers another reason to be wary of melon: “It gets mushy”.

Hot and Cold

In the Nahar household, foods that are favorites at home become unpackable. Olives are too smelly. Edamame gets too hard. Tofu is gross at room temperature. Soup, once warm, is only lukewarm by lunchtime and not always appealing.

These are not rules. These are just four children’s personal preferences. Still, most kids have their own food hierarchies and whims. They need not be catered to, but they should be considered to avoid hungry children and wasted food.

What this underscores is the importance of knowing what your kids will eat, what they are eating, and what they need to be eating. Packing healthy school lunches may become boring, but it’s not impossible. And if you nurture an intense love of craft arts, last night’s dinner can be recontextualized and exalted to new aesthetic heights in compartmentalized containers.

Bento Box

“Artistry is what differentiates a bento box from a plastic container of leftovers” -The New York Times

From NY Times, image and bento box by Deborah Hamilton

“My kids would LOVE getting lunch like this, but this makes me laugh. I don’t have the time to do that.” Liz points to this slide and demonstrates; “See my kids would eat this (apple), this (cheese) and this (berries). They wouldn’t touch the rest. It’s cold.”

The bento box group on Flickr is 3,434 members strong and some of the creations are inspired, but I’m not yet ready to make lunch my primary creative outlet.

Menudo Lunchbox

While the bento box is a great way to separate items using just one container, it obscures one of the great pleasures of brining lunch from home: choosing your own lunch box.

Regardless of what you pack your lunch into, I’m curious to hear about what you cobble together for lunch–for your kids or for yourself. Any memorable or traumatic lunches?