From the monthly archives:

June 2009

Now G-Free Diet Gets a P for Plagiarism: Elisabeth Hasselbeck Sued Over Originality Of Gluten-Free Book

by Janet on June 23, 2009

gdietI’ve said before that I’m not a fan of Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s book, “The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide. ” In case you missed my earlier post, I’m troubled by how she promotes a gluten-free diet for everyone (not just for those who have celiac disease).  Plus, she didn’t even get all her facts right.

Now she’s been accused of plagiarism.  Susan Hassett, author of a self-published book called “Living With Celiac Disease,” filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that Hasselbeck lifted “word for word” content from her book.

As described in this letter from her lawyer, Hassett sent Hasselbeck a personal note and a copy of her book as a courtesy after The View co-host mentioned last year that she had celiac.  Hassett said Hasselbeck never responded.

Hassett told the Associated Press that The G-Free Diet “slavishly reproduces”  lists and passages from her own work and includes inaccuracies about celiac disease that can be “misleading and dangerous” for people with the illness. 

Not sure it can get any worse.  The book has been widely condemned by the celiac community and now this.   Will be interesting to see how this unfolds.  It’s certainly not the first time there’s been a public food fight over plagiarism.  Remember Jessica Seinfeld and the Sneaky Chef?    Why, oh why, are celebrities the new food and nutrition experts?

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , , , ,

{ 8 comments }

The ‘Naturally Sourced’ Food Trend

by Janet on June 22, 2009

label-100-natural_3002“Naturally sourced” is a hot trend and companies are quick to tout this attribute on product labels.  “Natural” is now the leading claim on new products, according to the Mintel Global New Products Database, which indicates that the claim was included on 23 percent of foods and beverages launched last year.

The recent Institute of Food Technologists meeting in Anaheim, California, featured a ton of  examples.  Take a look at this IFT trend tour that showcases the array of  naturally sourced products on display.

Included in this video is black garlic, which is one of the emerging flavors and foods that Dana McCauley writes about in the Topline Trends section of her food blog.  Dana is a wonderful food trend tracker and I encourage you to check out her site (“a recipe writer’s diary”).  Black garlic was also hailed as an “it” ingredient by The Washington Post:   “In relatively short order, black garlic has morphed from obscure dietary supplement to trendy top-chef ingredient.”

black-garlic1

Black garlic even has its own web site Black garlic, where you can learn more about this product, find recipes and order it online.

It does appear that black garlic is poised to be the next naturally sourced super food.  So what is it?  Black garlic is made by using a patented, month-long heat-curing process that boosts the antioxidants and natural compounds in raw garlic that have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer.   The fermentation also creates a softer, chewy texture and a slightly sweet, licorice taste. Forms of fermented garlic have long been eaten for health reasons in Korea and Japan.  In fact, black foods overall are a hot trend in Asia  – a topic I wrote about previously for the Chicago Tribune.

So it seems…natural is the big buzzword and black is the new black.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , , , , , ,

{ 5 comments }

Recessionary Cooks

by Janet on June 20, 2009

043008_onedishinapanIt’s been called the year of the home cook.   Increasingly, families are foregoing restaurant fare and staying at home for meals.  In fact, in-home cooking is fast approaching a 25-year high, according to the NPD Group.  But things have changed.  Home cooking looks different than it did during the past two recessions when prepared meals and frozen entrees ruled. This time around families are more likely to cook from scratch, according to Information Resources Inc.’s Competing in a Transforming Economy webinar. The IRI data indicates that 53% of consumers are cooking from scratch more frequently — sending sales of sauces, spice blends, marinades and seasonings soaring.  

Elizabeth Sloan reviews these trends in this month’s Food Tcchnology.  She says consumers are attempting to prepare restaurant-style foods at home and are looking to these prepared sauces and seasonings to build maximum flavor flexibility into their family meal routines. As consumers turn to one-dish meals, casseroles, woks and crock pots to stretch less-expensive cuts of meat, Sloan predicts that we’ll see more sauces and seasoning mixes tailored to specific preparation methods and appliances. With an increase in “cooking enthusiasts” in this country, look for finishing, hot drizzling and high-end dessert and spirit/wine-based sauces to get more attention, she said.  Other ”saucy” trends:

  • Bread dipping sauces (other than oils), appetizer sauces,especially for fish/shellfish, and healthier versions of classic continental sauces such as Bordelaise
  • Local artisan and varietal sauces, and sauces designed by celebrity chefs or high-end restaurants
  • Upgraded soups for cooking, such as chanterelle or porcini mushroom cooking sauce

In an effort to sample the world of foodservice flavors at home, consumers are redefining convenience food, looking for products that assist with flavors (e.g., marinating sauces or rubs), according to the Hartman Group’s Reimagining Convenience Food report.  Sloan writes that U.S. consumers are most likely to  look for American regional flavors in their sauces and marinades, but expect sauces coupled to international regional cuisines, such as Brazilian churrasco sauces and Argentinean chimichurri sauces to be the next wave.

soaked_slathered_seasonedThis summer, now that grilling season is in full swing, expect to see a greater demand for grill-specific marinades, sauces and rubs.  The variety of ready-made grilling sauces is exploding, but I tend to make my own.  My favorite new guide is the book just released by my good friend Elizabeth Karmel called Soaked, Slathered and Seasoned:  A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill.  I encourage you to check it out this summer.  It includes 400 creative recipes for marinades, brines, barbecue sauces, glazes, mops, salsas, dipping sauces, pestos and tapenades for foods on the grill.  It truly opened my eyes to the possibilities of a sauce.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , , , ,

{ 0 comments }

Simplicity Sells in Tough Economic Times

by Janet on June 11, 2009

In this bad economy, we’ve gone back to basics.  And when it comes to food, simple is in.  I’ve frequently written about the trend of simplicity, including Simplicity is the New Sophistication and Putting the “No” in Innovation.

Well, it seems my posts on simplicity caught the eye of ABC News.  I was interviewed on this topic and here’s the segment that aired (which was distributed to ABC affiliates across the country and is posted on ABCnews.com). 

Hope you’ll check it out.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 3 comments }

Top Food and Beverage Trends for 2009

by Janet on June 8, 2009

If you’re a regular reader, then you know I’m a bit trend obsessed.  I love to track food trends and learn about new products.  I often write about the ways the recession impacts our eating habits and how marketers are leveraging various trends. Everyone has a different spin on what’s hot, and what trends have “stickiness” [or those that will be around for awhile].  Here’s a compilation of top food and beverage trends from ORC Guideline, a New York-based research company.mac-and-cheese-closeup

  • Looking for comfort.  The trend of comfort foods has gotten a lot of play lately.  These soothing foods (macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes) are also typically inexpensive to purchase and prepare.  So expect to see these items on more menus and a spike in sales of pasta, beans and chicken.  Breakfast is often considered to be the most comforting meal, so restaurants will respond by making it available throughout the day. 
  • Organic sales slow.  People’s priorities have changed because of economic hardships, so green living may no longer be top of mind for shoppers. Organic foods are being squeezed out of many budgets, although this deep freeze will likely thaw as the economy improves.
  • Keeping it local.  A National Restaurant Association survey of chefs identified locally grown produce as the top food trend.  Expect to see an increase in local farm names on menus, as restaurants attempt to convey the fresh, inherently good nature of their food.
  • Getting it from the garden. A convergence of factors including the economy, food safety, the local food movement and patriotism is driving the explosive growth in home vegetable gardens. Last year, vegetable seeds outsold flowers for the first time in recent memory and they are predicted to do the same again this year. 
  • I’m the chef.  More people will be cooking and eating at home to save money.  While some will stick to convenience foods, others will be motivated to increase their culinary expertise by visiting recipe web sites, watching TV cooking shows and taking cooking classes.   It’s predicted that this will be the year of the home cook. ethnic-food2
  • The ethnic experience. Even though consumers are expected to engage in less international travel, they’ll still have a taste for the exotic.  They will be enhancing their comfort foods with international elements such as bold spices and ethnic side dishes.  Mintel predicts that the hot flavors will be cactus, chimichurri, peri-peri, masala and lavender.
  • Green = savings.  Consumers are expected to cut back on their purchase of green products overall due to the extra expense involved, but they will still try to become more eco-conscious in the kitchen — largely motivated by the cost savings that “green” practices can generate, such as using energy-efficient appliances.

Click here to take a look at The Food Channel’s list of the top ten food trends for 2009.   At the beginning of the year, I wrote about the top nutrition trends for 2009 in the Chicago Tribune. Looking back, not sure how “sticky” some of the trends are really going to be at the end of the year.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 7 comments }

Retro Marketing and Flashback Branding

by Janet on June 5, 2009

pepsi-throwback2When it comes to food marketing, it seems that old is the new “new.”   

As the recession continues, food and beverage companies are attempting to evoke memories of childhood — when times were safer, more secure.  Experts are calling the technique “Childhood Memory Elicitation” and examples of this retro marketing are suddenly everywhere.

Familiar logos or products that take you back to a time when things were simpler are comforting and can trigger that emotional connection that marketers are striving for. During these stressful times, a link to the past is often very effective.  So instead of “new and improved,” the new sales cry is “achingly familiar and reassuringly consistent.”

One of the latest examples is Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback — dubbed as refreshingly retro.  These limited-time only soft drinks are made with a retro recipe that uses “natural sugar”  instead of high fructose corn syrup.  That’s fine, but they’re nutritionally equivalent. So this is no free pass to guzzle like you’re in high school.  And the “natural sugar” in the throwback sodas is just plain old cane and beet sugar. So don’t confuse “natural” with “healthy.”

Pepsi’s current campaign called “Refresh Everything” brings the nostalgia craze to life on TV with a blending of old and new images.  Even the revamped minimalist logo seems to evoke the glory years of the iconic cola.   

 

General Mills got into the vintage game by recreating some classic cereal boxes for a limited promotion at Target.   Perhaps you saw these retro boxes popping general-mills-retro1up on store shelves –  Wheaties, Trix, Kix,  Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios and Golden Grahams.

Beyond the bowl, you can enjoy these childhood favorites by wearing a retro cereal T-shirt.

It seems the nostalgia craze is not just limited to food.  Entrepreneur magazine reports that signs of the retro trend are everywhere.  Bowling alleys are glam again, roller rinks are attracting a new generation, and even drive-in movie theaters have halted their long slide toward oblivion.  Even in these high-tech times, board games seem to be enjoying a resurgence.  Research by The Intelligence Group, a New York City-based market research firm, found that 14- to 34-year olds known as “trendsetters” prefer board games to video games by a margin of 60 to 40 percent.  That’s why a company called Winning Moves re-introduced  ’50s favorites Parcheesi and Careers — complete with their original packaging.

As I said in my earlier post about the simplicity trend, sometimes what’s old is really new again.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: ,

{ 1 comment }

More Praise for Chickpeas

by Janet on June 2, 2009

I was pleased to learn that my hummus recipe won a “Healthy Meal With Kid Appeal Award” from the Meal Make Over Moms’ Kitchen, a great blog by two fellow dietitians Janice Bissex and Liz Weiss.  Check out their article, which features some additional cooking notes, including tips for using dried chickpeas.

rancho-gordo-chickpeas

Yes, dried chickpeas are great.  And I received some comments after my initial post “Ode to the Chickpea”  about the benefits of used dried instead of canned chickpeas.  I agree.  But you can’t always find dried chickpeas in all supermarkets — often in the Hispanic and Middle Eastern sections if they’re available.  Plus, I think many of the brands of canned chickpeas are good products, particularly Goya and Bush’s.  Simply drain and rinse to help wash away some of the sodium.

But I recently received a bag of dried Rancho Gordo chickpeas from a friend and I can’t wait to use them.  I think I’m going to try the chickpea salad from Orangette, a beautifully simple 5-ingredient recipe. If you saw my earlier post then you know about my devotion to this humble legume.  Looks like Eat Real shares my passion for chickpeas.  Check out this great article for a bit of history, nutrition and tips for cooking with chickpeas.

Photo:  Rancho Gordo
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , ,

{ 1 comment }