"teens" news and stories

Ok, the kids pictured may be a bit too young, but you get the picture, right? That's right, Bravo wants to expand on its top rated Top Chef.

The cable television channel is planning a spinoff of Top Chef for the younger set, probably 13 to 16 year olds. Apparently the show is pretty popular with teen viewers, along with most other demographics.

The teen version of the show will focus on "teaching and testing" the kids to "see what it takes to become a junior Top Chef." The series will be eight episodes, but no word yet on when it will air.

[via The Grinder]

Coffee is hip (actually, it's been that way for several years now), and everyone is drinking it, including kids and teens. When I was a kid, we never drank coffee. It was seen as a "grown-up" thing to do, right up there with having sex, smoking cigarettes, and mortgages. But now you see kids and teens with a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts cup in their hands, and coffee shoppes are the new malt shoppes.

The Boston Globe's Beth Teitell has an interesting piece on the trend, noting how we try to cut high sugar sodas and fat-filled candy from schools but we're not really thinking about high calorie/high fat/high sugar coffee drinks. Funny how coffee was always seen as an adult thing when soda has caffeine and sugar in it too.

First there was Disney's "Champagne" for kids, and now the authorities (whoever those authorities may be) are all over Spyke. However, unlike the kiddie Champagne that was "just for pretend," Anheuser-Busch's new Spyke has real alcohol - it's a malt beverage with a 12% alcohol content.

The reason there's a stink about it? People are worried that Spyke is aimed at teens, particularly during Prom and graduation season. Not only does the drink come in flavors -- mango, lime, melon and chocolate -- but it's also infused with caffeine and energy herbs ginseng and guarana, and it comes in a tiny bottle that's easily hidden from a parent's or chaperone's watchful eye.

The authorities are worried about Ab's reckless marketing to teens, but I worry that this is just a nasty drink. I mean really, "spyking" your cocktail with a chocolate-flavored malt liquor? Gross.

Foodies, it seems, are getting younger and younger. This isn't necessarily a bad thing by any means, but it seems to have created a new market for those school-age kids who hope to "feast with friends" like their adult counterparts do. British teen Sam Stern is trying to fill part of this niche with his book, Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook. Dubbed a "young Jamie Oliver," Stern got the help of his mother to concoct relatively easy gourmet recipes aimed at teens and focused on guys, as the chapter titled "Impress the Girls" hints at. The recipes have a casual tone and are not difficult for those who already have some experience in the kitchen to do entirely on their own. Recipes run the gamut from breakfast through dessert, and include mains like Thai Green Curry and French Onion soup and sweets like meringue shells and cookies.

I have a suspicion that - foodies or not - the parents will be doing a fair amount of the cooking for these "feasts," but it's a great idea all the same.

Source

Source

Muhammad Ali is developing a line of GOAT snacks - that would be Greatest Of All Time brand, not "goat" the animal - that are reduced in fat and calories, aimed at combating youth obesity and encouraging healthy lifestyles. The now 64-year old ex-championship fighter's snacks will be found in convenience stores, providing an alternative to the high-fat snacks there. No snack will contain more than 150 calories and all will be fortified with vitamins and fiber. The products will carry sporty, fighter names like "Rumble," "Shuffle" and "Jabs" and come in flavors that include barbecued chicken, Buffalo wings, sweet corn and cole slaw, as well a sweet, fruit-based flavors. Portion sizes will be small, but they have been designed this way to fit into the current trend of "grazing" throughout the day. "The foods are intended to be eaten throughout the day, in seven 'rounds,'" said a spokesman.

Sure, it sounds like a marketing ploy, but if the snacks taste good and are healthier than regular potato chips, it doesn't really matter in the end. The snacks will launch on Ali's 65th birthday, January 17th, 2007.

Read on to see exactly how the snacks compare to potato chips:

Source