I don't have any children, but I like to think that I'd be a good mom if I did. I'd read to them, try to get them interested in many different areas, and most of all teach them about food. Of course I'd want to try and raise sophisticated eaters, but I'd also teach them about eating healthily.

There are lots of ways to go about doing that, but I think that healthy eating websites would be a good tool to have in the bag. As I don't have any kids, I have no idea what's out there, but this website was brought to my attention recently. Playnormous is an online community for parents and kids to learn about healthy eating. There are games and animations, as well as a blog in which the posts talk about basic web lingo.

I looked around Playnormous and played the Food Fury game. I have to say, the site is really cute, and, even though it's for kids, I had fun playing the game. If you have kids, check it out. It may be a fun way to help teach your kids to eat well.

In my regular life in Philadelphia, I do all my own cooking. I've been living with a roommate for the last few years, but we have never gotten in the habit of sharing the task of cooking or mealtime. On occasion I'll have dinner with friends and we'll share in the cooking, but when it comes to breakfast and lunch, I am always on my own.

One of the joys of being at my parents' house for the holidays is the fact that the cooking gets shared. Last night my mom and I made a pot of chicken soup together and it was wonderful to share in the chopping, stirring and clean up together. This morning I was sitting at the dining room table when I heard my dad rustling around in the kitchen, opening the fridge, getting out a pan and breaking some eggs. He popped his head around the doorway, looked at me and said, "Scrambled eggs with cheese?"

I nodded emphatically and within a couple of minutes the plate you see above had appeared in front me. I took a bite and sighed in happiness as the taste of the tender eggs and sharp cheese moved across my tongue. Then I said, "I think eggs just taste better when someone else makes them for you!"

What are the foods that just taste better to you when someone else makes them for you? Is there some comfort food from childhood that one of your parents still makes for you? Have you taken to making that same food item for your own kids?

Clever piece by John Burgess over at The Boston Globe. It's about the cooking he has done for his kids over the years and what he expects them to make for him this Father's Day (it's this Sunday, if you forgot).

Burgess describes what he has learned all these years of cooking for his children. It all comes down to maintaining perspective (no "food scolds"), no cooking "from the heart," and that texture trumps taste.

The "traffic-light" nutrition labels unveiled by the British Food Standards agency may not be popular with the food manufacturers and supermarkets, who are uncomfortable with the black and white (or red, yellow/orange and green) separation of "good" and "bad" foods, but consumers love them. The labeling system uses the three traffic light colors to distinguish between high, medium and low levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in food. The labels are very simple in design and it is easy to tell at a glance what the nutritional profile of a food is.

Out of all the supporters the system, parents are some of the biggest fans. Almost 80% of all parents would prefer if food manufacturers used the "traffic light" labels. They take very little time to read and, unlike the more detailed labels that use the Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) system, no "real world" translation of the information presented is necessary. On top of that, even small children can get the hang of the color-coded system very quickly, which helps to teach them about nutrition, as well as to make taking them along to the store much easier.

The Boston Globe has a new interactive feature at their site, where they take a look inside the refrigerators of several local residents. They take a look into the fridges of college students, couples, and couples with several kids. There's also a fridge used by three adults that live together.

I think this is a great idea, though I don't think the Globe went far enough with it (and the fridge used by the single person isn't used by a single person at all, it's used by roommates). But the feature just seems to be a shot of the fridge, then buttons you roll over to see certain items. So we see beer and fat free cheese and meals, but I'm not sure what we're supposed to get out of it besides that, and it gets kinda boring.

Though I gotta say I really want that giant fridge owned by the family in Waban. Mine is 15 years old and falling apart. If you're wondering what's in mine, it's mostly Diet Coke, Perdue chicken, and Dove dark chocolate.

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.

This Halloween, parents across the country might try to limit their kids' intake of candy from their Halloween haul, forcing them to limit themselves to one or two pieces a day. But does this teach children the wrong lesson about food? Some experts say that it does. This practice raises up the candies above the level of normal foods and they become something special, something coveted, something to sneak pieces of and hide the evidence. Such habits can set a precedence that will last for the rest of kids' lives and lead to problems with compulsive eating in the future.

Instead of making candy into this exotic and much-desired item, some parents let their kids eat as much candy as they want on holidays like Halloween. They eat fairly balanced meals the rest of the time, but on those few special occasions the kids can go all-out if they want to. This teaches kids to regulate their own intake (especially if they accidentally eat themselves sick once) because they know that indulgence isn't something to constantly be sought out. The kids aren't focused for the whole day on that one piece they will be permitted after dinner and are much less likely to binge eat when they actually do have free-access to treats.

All the campaigns to encourage people to eat healthier are having an impact on mothers, but not necessarily in the way that you might expect. Instead of giving up fried foods or other things deemed to be unhealthy completely, some mums are not changing what they feed their kids - they're just lying about it. A new survey, which was sponsored by the British Potato Council, found that as many as 93% of mothers lie from time to time about what they feed their kids, and they mostly spin the tales to their own mothers and other relatives, since they make up the group that is most likely to criticize parenting choices.

The most commonly made claim is that the kids are not allowed to eat fried foods, followed by telling people that their children "eat mostly fresh food at home." Other untruths include assertions that the kids are only allowed candy at weekends, are never fed frozen food and get all the required servings of fruits and veggies every day.

Some are confused as to what foods are healthy, or simply give up due to lack of time or energy, opting for a TV dinner instead of frozen fish sticks with some fresh veggies. Fortunately, the kids aren't as confused as the parents, so it is possible that the "little white lies" won't be necessary any more. The study also showed that 58% of kids would question their parents about whether given foods were healthy or not, demonstrating that they are becoming more aware of healthy eating issues at a young age and will hopefully want to make better food choices as a result.

The controversial energy drink, Cocaine, has been banned by 7-Eleven convenience stores, after the company received numerous complaints from parents about the drink. The drug-like effects promised to teens by a drink named after a drug crossed the line with them, especially considering that the beverage is marketed to teens. A spokeswoman said "the product's name promotes an image which we didn't want to be associated with." And 7-Eleven isn't the only company that feels this way. Many other stores in Chicago and New York have pulled the drink from shelves.

Representatives from the drink company said that "the company wasn't glorifying an illegal drug" - even though it seems that way to just about everyone. They also say that Cocaine will be available through Amazon soon, so teens in areas that don't sell it can get their fix that way.

What would you do if your child were punished because you did not pack a lunch that met the schools' guidelines?

In Kent, England, a 10-year old boy was made to leave the lunchroom and eat outside under supervision because his lunch contained "one more snack than allowed". At Lunsford Primary School, a lunch is only permitted to contain two snacks (the type and quantity of other food items was not specified) and young Ryan Stupples's lunch had cheese biscuits, a cake and a fromage frais yogurt. We can assume that the school felt that the contents of Ryan's lunch would have a negative impact on the eating habits of the other children, or else they would not have sent him outside to eat. "Ryan said he...felt upset and frightened and feared he was 'going to be suspended'."

The school defended the decision to remove the child from the lunchroom, stating that they had given the father a warning about packing appropriate lunches.

This might be interesting for those with foodies-in-training, as their options can be fairly limited when they're not really up to un-mushed foods yet. The Mercury News has a great guide with tips and tricks for cooking your own baby foods, all of which are useful in helping to select the most nutritious foods and prepare them safely. In general:

• Brightly colored produce, both fruits and vegetables usually pack more nutrients. They are more flavorful, so sugar should be unnecessary.
• Steaming is the quickest and easiest way to cook the vegetables quickly. Puree them in a food processor once they are tender; there is no need to cook them to death.
• Be vigilant about keeping surfaces clean while preparing the baby food, since babies are more sensitive to bacteria
• Refrigerate or freeze foods after cooking and cooling to room temperature without letting them sit out.
• Offer foods multiple times, but start with small batches in case it doesn't turn out to be a favorite.

One of the most interesting suggestions is to freeze the foods in ice cube trays for single-serving sizes after preparing them in large batches. Once frozen, you can defrost a cube or two as needed, and the cubes can be easily stored in a large plastic bag.

Irritated by Jamie Oliver's sometimes preachy stance against junk foods and desire to keep kids eating healthy, some Yorkshire mothers are getting revenge - by "smuggling pies, burgers and fizzy drinks to their kids, as well as their children's friends, at a school." The foods are handed off through the fence at the school boundary.

A better, more logical way to get "revenge" would be to feed the children healthy foods, proving that neither mother needs Jamie's apparently unwanted help and advice to keep their kids fit and healthy. But the mothers seem to feel that trying to make their kids, who are about 11 years old, fatter, is the best course of action.

Hopefully the kids will figure out that this isn't necessarily in their best interest, since the mothers don't seem to be taking that into consideration.

As the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. The same sentiment holds true for kids, who can be quite stubborn where food is concerned. At home, parents can monitor what their child is - and is not - eating to make sure they learn to make healthy choices. Now that the school year has started, however, ensuring that the kids get a healthy lunch can be harder.

One thing you can do is, as we have mentioned before, get your child involved in preparing the lunch. S/he can pick out the fruits and snacks that look the tastiest from the healthy foods you have available (aiming for fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein most of the time, of course). If it is hard to get your child going in the morning, however, you might not have time for this bonding activity. So, other tips include:

To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Starbucks is serving drinks from cups bearing their original logo for the month of September. The logo (top right) shows the Starbucks mermaid in full, complete with split tails and bare chest, unlike the more streamlined version that is usually seen in their stores.

BloggingBaby mentioned that a Seattle area school saw some problems with the more detailed logo. The principle or an elementary school in Kent, Washington has asked teachers to make sure that the logo on their coffee cups is completely covered up if they bring it into school. A spokeswoman said that the principle "thought that it could be distracting for students."

Some students, like one 12-year old, said that students would definitely talk about the logo if they noticed it and said that the rule was a good idea. Parents in the area largely thought it was unnecessary, especially considering the very small size of the logo on the cups, and commenters at BloggingBaby felt the same way. Schools, they felt, have bigger problems to worry about than an inch high drawing on a coffee cup that isn't particularly scandalous.

After watching the pancake video a few too many times, I couldn't resist mixing up a batch of my favorite pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes are light, fluffy and perfect for add-ins. You can stir in almost anything to make your pancakes a little more interesting. In the summer, blueberries (pictured) are a natural choice, as are any other fresh berries. Diced bananas and shredded coconut are also popular picks. The kid in you may want to relieve childhood memories by adding chocolate chips to the batter, though by using chopped bittersweet chocolate, expensive chocolate, you can make them a little more grown up.

Speaking of kids, making pancakes in the morning is a great way to bond with your children and get them interested in cooking. Just set out little bowls with plenty of good things to add in to the pancake batter and let them make their own selections while you supervise the griddle. Banana chocolate chip? Raspberry coconut? Orange cinnamon?

Sounds good to me.