Perhaps you haven't noticed it because you are a victim of the phenomenon. You called up your girlfriends on your cotton candy pink cel phone adorned with sparkly cupcake-shaped charms, went out to get frozen yogurt topped with Cap'n Crunch cereal, and sat around talking about the "cuuuuuuutest" Hello Kitty makeup bag at Sephora and gossiping about "boys"...just like all the other junior high girls.

But wait. You're 35.

I was just reading an article about a new book called Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-Up, in which author Christopher Noxon says very plainly, "'People all over are refusing to act their age." Basically, grown-ups are going through a period of regression back to their childhoods. Though his book talks about the trend from a broad perspective, I couldn't help but think how very true this trend is in food. I mean, how else do you explain a craze for cupcakes, those tiny treats that we ate as children in our homeroom birthday parties? What about the recent throwback to "retro" foods that many of us associate with growing up in mom's kitchen like macaroni and cheese, and meatloaf?

Are we regressing as a society? I know I am. Are you one of these grownups who still lives with his/her parents, postpones marriage, watches cartoons, all the while eating Hello Kitty Pop-tarts, dipping your dinosaur (chicken) nuggets in ketchup and having a Twinkie for desert? If so, what other "rejuvenile" foods are you eating?

No, I don't have a baby yet, but I will admit that in high school, I used to eat baby food because they were easy to carry to cheerleading practice, and seemed healthier than the normal non-baby snacks.

Gerber has announced a new line of baby foods called Recetas Latinas, fruits, vegetables, dinner, and desserts in Latin flavors. While the fruit and vegetable flavors like mango, manzana (apple) and calabacita (zucchini) sound no more Latin than except for having a Spanish name, the dinners come in flavors like Jamon y Salsa de Papaya (Ham with Papaya Salsa) and Carne Asada.

Now if only Gerber would do an Asian line...pureed unagi sushi as baby food!

With a new little niece around, I am becoming more and more aware of what little babies and toddlers eat. Cheerios and goldfish crackers always seem to the be the snack of choice, and dinner-time foods are always finger-foods like chicken nuggets and peas. However, kiddies around the world don't eat the same way. Heck, growing up in a Korean household, I'm quite sure I was wrapping up little balls of rice in nori and spilling soy sauce all over myself. If you've ever wondered what a two-year-old in South Africa is eating, check out this list:

• Japanese toddlers may not be eating sushi, but they do lunch on egg-flavored rice with broiled fish or seafood and miso soup with tofu. It's no wonder that Japan has the longest average lifespan, with the types of foods that are introduced into the diets as such a young age.
• In South Africa, kiddies eat toast thats been spread with a touch of Marmite, a concentrated yeast spread that is a by-product of the beer brewing process.
• If it's Marmite in South Africa, it's Vegemite in Australia, spread on Ryvita crackers
• Danish and Swedish kids eat meatballs and lots of other meat and potatoes. Sweden has the world's highest consumption of ketchup, which kids put on to disguise anything that looks healthy.
• In India, children eat khidchi, a spicy rice and lentils porridge.
• They even list kids in Korea! Korean kids eat lots of kimchi, which is probably how they build up such a tasty tolerance for spicy foods. They also eat gim-bahp and bibimbahp.

 

Are your kids already requesting a trip to Disney World for their summer vacation, or maybe you haven't decided where to go for some rest and relaxation this year? There is no reason not to factor food into the equation and if you're looking for something really fun, the Disney Pop Century Resort in Florida may be just the ticket. Not only can you relive just about every trend of your childhood at the brightly colored complex, but the food is just as exciting as the architecture. Retro-chic classic comfort foods, like fried chicken and mashed potatoes are served in a TV tray, and tye-dyed colors swirl through timeless favorites like cheesecake and fluffernutter sandwiches. All the food is served in a casual, food court-style setting, which makes it perfect for families with small children, offering something for everyone.

Because so many parents cannot resist the convenience of boxed macaroni and cheese when it comes to feeding their kids, there will probably always be a market for it. Some of the options are just not appetizing, with clumps of cheez-powder and either crunchy or gummy noodles. But because it is a marketable product, not to mention a popular comfort food, more companies are releasing tastier versions of boxed mac and cheese and Real Simple sat down to taste a few in this month's issue. Their top three versions were Whole Kids Organic White Cheddar Cheese , Annie's Homegrown Creamy Deluxe Shells & Real Aged Wisconsin Cheddar and Back to Nature Crazy Bugs. Tasters liked the "authentic cheese flavor" of the Whole Kids brand. Annie's brand came with a packet of cheese sauce instead of a powder. The Crazy Bugs pasta is shaped like bugs (it doesn't include real bugs) and has a slightly sweet cheese. The magazine had kids taste the contenders, as well as adults, to get their feedback and all the kids loved these versions of macaroni and cheese. All three of the taste test winners are available at stores like Whole Foods, but may be available in your local grocery store, too.

When I first laid eyes on a Sloppy Joe, I was about 5. I had no idea what it was and my parents had certainly never tried to serve one to me. A Sloppy Joe is essentially ground meat cooked in a skillet with a tomato based sauce and tastes more like a chopped up hamburger drowning in ketchup than the pasta-topping meat sauce it is related to. In fact, I'm fairly certain that the first one I ever had was simply ground meat in ketchup - a combination likely to win the heart of any 5-year-old. Another big selling point was the fact that it made for messy eating, hence the name.