How fast things change. It just goes to show you the power of the Internet. I would have never guessed in a million years that my
Happy Birthday to My Happy Meal blog would create an international stir. (Pictured is my Happy Meal on its first birthday.)
In the past week, I’ve been interviewed for print [...]

Getting kids to eat vegetables is the number one health concern for parents, whether they have a picky eater or not. Vegetables by their very nature tend to be a bit bitter. So how do we convince kids that veggies are tasty?
Sometimes we get so caught up in demanding kids eat their veggies that we [...]

One of the primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce persons—biologically, socially and spiritually. A family is the most basic social unit. The family is the smallest form of government. It’s where children learn to be good citizens.
Our families are splintered because we no longer do things together as a family. Watching [...]

Food recalls are so commonplace, that we almost don’t pay attention. The FDA has recently recalled products containing a potentially salmonella-tainted ingredient. The items recalled contained hydrolyzed vegetable protein. This is a flavor enhancer, much like MSG, made by Basic Food Flavors. HVP is produced by boiling cereals or legumes (such as soy, corn, or [...]

What’s the big deal about organic food? What makes organic worth the price? What does organic produce mean, anyway?

These are questions I often get asked.
What is Organic?
As defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic foods are those grown WITHOUT the use of pesticides, petroleum- or sewage-based fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and [...]

After showing moms my year-old
Happy Meal, they want to know what they can eat out. Eating out used to be a treat. Families went out to dinner occasionally. Now people eat out several times a week. It ’s always a challenge, because restaurant food is a landmine full of sugar, bleached flours, trans fat [...]

We’d like to believe that food manufactures, or at the very least the Food and Drug Administration, are looking out for our health.
No, the only way you can be sure you are eating nutritious foods is to read and understand food labeling. The food manufacturer will do just about anything to convince you that their [...]

Cool Whip has 0g trans fat!
That’s what the label says. I’m NOT kidding.
I wanted to purchase a tub of Cool Whip for a talk I was giving on the
“10 Worst Foods of the Decade” and couldn’t find the tub variety, so I bought the aerosol can.
As you can imagine, I was more than a [...]

What is this?
Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution [...]

Do you know what percentage of food dollars is spent on processed foods, most, if not all, which have added chemicals to enhance flavor?
Kids are conditioned to these psychedelic flavors. The additives like food flavorings, 
high fructose corn syrup, MSG and salt are almost always ingredients in processed foods, especially junk foods. Salt is added [...]