"kid" news and stories

My three year old is in a cooking class learning to make artisanal breads.

Well, my two year old will only eat raw milk cheeses that have been smuggled into the country by our friends traveling abroad.

Oh yeah? My 7 month old will only eat sushi, foie gras and foods prepared by Ferran Adria.

It looks like having kids with gourmet palates is the newest status symbol for the "urban sophisticate." They want their kids to appreciate the finer things in life as soon as possible, so members of this food-forward group of parents - foodies, chowhounds and gourmets all - try to expose their kids to as many different foods as they can. They enroll them in kids-only cooking classes so that they can get some hands-on experience and take them to fine dining restaurants - many of which now offer smaller kid-sized portions - as well as cooking dishes from around the world at home.

Those outside of this adventurous eater movement are less enthralled with it than the parents of the children are, even if the "outsiders" are parents themselves. Not only do they feel that there is no reason to push so much so soon (even adults like mac and cheese!), but some foods like medium rare burgers and sushi seem like they might be opening children to heath risks. The biggest concern arises with restaurants, where many patrons feel that the experience is lessened when they have to sit next to a cranky child. Restaurateurs and chefs, on the other hand, don't seem to mind quite as much. "Eric Ripert, the chef at Le Bernardin, Zagat's highest-rated restaurant in New York, thinks his dress code helps keep children in line. 'They have a tie, so they are almost strangled already,' he said. 'They don't move much.'"

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Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Rollups and fruity candies are just a handful of the myriad products aimed at kids that promote their fruitiness. Not only are fruit flavors appealing, but the use of the word implies that that flavoring is natural, or at least that it has been derived from fruits. Of course, this is not necessarily the case and the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments proved it by doing a study entitled "Where's the Fruit?"

The study looked at 37 different products, all product aimed at children, where images of fruit and/or fruit ingredients were pictured on the packaging and found that half of them contained no fruit of any kind. Another 16% contained only "minimal amounts of fruit despite prominent fruit promotions on the packaging." For example, Yoplait's Strawberry Splash Go-Gurt Yogurt contained no actual fruit, nor did Berry Berry Kix.

Using a picture of fruit on a box isn't exactly false advertising, but it is misleading and the study certainly illustrates how important it is to read the ingredients and nutritional information on packaging when shopping for food if you really want to know what you're getting.

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For a long time, I assumed that only some kids and a couple of adults nostalgic for the sandwiches that they had as kids cut the crusts off their breads. I love crust, personally, but now know a number of adults who simply don't car for it on their sandwiches. They don't cut it off in neat, straight lines, but it's obvious when they abandon crusts on their plates - repeatedly - after eating. As a nod to them, and to both kids and nostalgia, here is another crust-eliminating kitchen cutter. We've already seen one gadget for those who don't like crust on their bread, but this one offers the advantage of cutting the bread into shapes, as well as removing the crust. I wouldn't mind using the heart-shaped one from time to time, especially with Valentine's Day coming up. But I'll still probably eat the crusts after I cut them off my sandwich.

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With trans fats in the spotlight most of the time, it is easy to overlook saturated fats, which have long been the nemesis of the health-conscious. They have been linked to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease and are found in butter, ghee, suet, tallow, lard, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil, dairy products (esp. high-fat ones like cream and cheese) and in meats.

One other place that saturated fats are found is in parents' diets. A study at the University of Iowa College of Medicine found that adults who live with children (just about all parents) ate more saturated fat than their childfree counterparts. The study looked at adults who lived with children under 17 and those with no children. Those living with kids ate an extra five grams of fat per day, including almost two grams of saturated fat. The extra fat came from snacks, cheese, ice cream, cakes, processed meats and bacon, high-fat and often high-calorie "convenience foods."

The problem, according to the study's lead researcher, is that parents are not influencing their children's eating habits enough and are allowing theirs to be influenced. If parents don't take the time to make dinner for their children, then they aren't going to eat a nutritious dinner themselves. To make up for this, especially when part of a very busy family, researchers recommend keeping healthier snacks (fruit, low fat milk, etc) in the house and fewer high-fat frozen/convenience foods, which will help compensate for less healthy meals.

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Have you ever seen someone using a fork, knife or another eating utensil in a way that seems incredibly awkward? Because the ability to use a knife and fork is a mark of a well-socialized individual and is a skill that is typically picked up from observing others, it is hard not to wonder they picked up such unusual habits. In Japan, some schools are wondering the same thing and want to make sure that such sloppy, untraditional habits of chopstick use are stopped before they spread any further. The Hisatagakuen Sasebo Girls' High School will be testing students on their skill with chopsticks as part of their entrance examinations. The 10-minute test will require that students "transfer beads, marbles, dice and beans from one plate to another."

Administrators say that the purpose of this test is to show respect for "the Japanese spirit" but, in light of the decline of chopstick use among Japanese children, it also seems like a rather unusual way to make sure everyone has good table manners.

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