Is this the kind of lunch you make for your kids?

If you’ve ever taken a look at Pinterest, the wildly popular virtual pinboard site, then you may be feeling inadequate.  On the site, people pin up photographs of things they love, from interior design ideas and recipes to holiday crafting and the coolest stuff for kids. It has rapidly become one of the top ten social networks, with 11 million hits per week according to Wikipedia.

A funny new Tumblr blog called Pinterest You Are Drunk follows just how far Pinterest pinners go.  It inspired me to start paying attention to the things on Pinterest that could make us all start feeling like bad moms and dads if we aren’t careful.

It’s easy to start feeling like a loser after spending even a few minutes on Pinterest, especially if you’re a parent.  There are some mommies and daddies out there going to incredible lengths for their kids.  Forthwith, I share a photo gallery of food preparation, artistic school lunches and recipes for children that have appeared on Pinterest that I will likely NEVER accomplish.  Would you make these things for your kids? Continue reading »

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Forget apple pie; what's more American than ketchup?

Isn’t it enough that French adults are way more sophisticated than American adults? (Have you seen how cool the French look smoking cigarettes? I mean, hello?) Now comes word that French schools are under government orders to limit ketchup in their lunchrooms to help kids “keep their cultural identity.”

If there’s anything that can be closely identified with American culture and kids, it’s ketchup. On French fries (or pommes frites, as Fancy Nancy would say). On hamburgers. On hot dogs. On chicken (which, by the way, is kind of gross). Embedded on t-shirts. Under fingernails. Ketchup is about American as, well, ketchup. I mean, zut alors — ketchup couldn’t be more American if it was what Betsy Ross used to stain the stripes in her flag.

Under the new French rule, ketchup in school cafeterias will only be permitted to be paired with certain foods, like fries, and it is banned altogether from accompanying classic French meals such as beef bourguignon and roast veal with blue cheese sauce, according to Fox News. (Bravo, by the way, to French kids, nay, all French people, for eating roast veal with blue cheese sauce — with or without ketchup.)

Continue reading »

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Unlike this girl, my daughter would not eat frosting so I made plain cakes at every birthday.

When it comes down to it, every single thing that a parent does is a judgement call, from breastfeeding to braces, and beyond. When you think something is wrong, you discourage your kids from doing it.

Eating is perhaps the one area that causes us great concern right from the start. Should I breastfeed? Should I let my kids eat cookies? How many? How often?

My firstborn had a seemingly normal appetite… Continue reading »

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10 brands started by parents, inspired by kids.

Here’s a delicious formula: channel parental frustration over a lack of healthy food options for kids into a successful business.

Babble’s food channel has a slideshow of 10 food companies started by parents that have grown into successful businesses. Most of the names are familiar, a couple are mainstays on the organic food shelves. Continue reading »

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Spaghetti tacos go gourmet.

It seems that spaghetti tacos are all the rage these days.  While parents of tv-watching tweens have long known about the spaghetti taco dish featured on the hit show iCarly, the New York Times has just discovered it.  Earlier this week, they ran a piece in which kids and parents alike sang the praises of this funky food combination.

Now we all want to know how to make spaghetti tacos.  You could go by the recipe from the iCarly show, but that’s really less a recipe than an instruction (put spaghetti in taco and eat).  Why not get a little gourmet with your spaghetti tacos? Continue reading »

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“Why are so many children picky eaters? Nancy Trigali Piho asks.

Trigali Piho blames it on the parents — or more specifically, the larger culture which assumes that kids won’t like anything other than mac and cheese and chicken nuggets.

After kids get past the age of eating baby food around their first birthday, according to Trigali Piho, “children should be eating essentially what you eat. (This is presuming your diet to be generally nutritious and healthful, and rich in variety and flavor!)”

Trigali Piho is the author of the wonderfully named book “My Two Year Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything.”

The book addresses answers many of parents’ biggest questions about food and kids. For instance, do you bribe them with dessert? Do you make them clear their plate? Do you ask them what they want for dinner? By the way, the correct answer to all of the above is “No,” but how many of make these classic mistakes? Continue reading »

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First, a disclaimer: I don’t believe in demonizing foods. I tell my kids that there are no bad foods or good foods, just foods that are better for you than others. Anything is okay in moderation, right?

That said, I don’t plan on buying my girls Uno Chicago Grill’s Kids’ Kombo with French Fries anytime soon. According to MSNBC, it is the worst kids’ meal in America, containing a whopping 79 grams of fat (11.5 g of it saturated) and adding up to 1,250 calories.

MSNBC has a helpful tip about eating out — try to avoid beige foods like fries, white bread and chicken nuggets. It’s a “marker of cheap, calorie-rich, nutritionally bankrupt foodstuffs.” Instead, make it a rule to buy meals that feature at least two colors (no, ketchup doesn’t count, nor does strawberry ice cream). Continue reading »

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