Chocolate is one of the top 10 breakfast trends named by the Food Channel, based on its research in conjunction with Culture Waves, the International Food Futurists and Mintel International. You may think of Cocoa Puffs from your youth, but there are lot more chocolate breakfast cereals on the shelf these days, including Chocolate Cheerios, Frosted Mini Wheats and Special K. Just take a look at all these chocolate cereals from Candy Addict.
But we’re not just talking cereal, chocolate has become a bona fide adult trend too, according to the Food Channel. It was one of the breakout stars at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, which featured chocolate tea, hot chocolate on a stick, chocolate belgian waffles and pancakes, and chocolate granola. Lots more ideas are in the book dedicated to the topic: Chocolate for Breakfast by Barbara Passino.
One chocolate breakfast food that got in hot water recently is Nutella. Maybe you heard about the $3 million class-action lawsuit that Nutella-maker Ferrero agreed to settle for marketing the chocolate-hazelnut spread as a healthy breakfast for kids.
The claim was filed by California mom Athena Hohenberg who said she was deceived by the ads for Nutella that promoted the spread as a nutritious breakfast. She had been feeding her 4-year-old daughter Nutella in the morning until she learned from friends that it was “the next best thing to a candy bar,” according to court documents. Here are the words that got Italy’s Ferrero in trouble:
“[MOM]: As a mom, I’m a great believer in Nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that I use to get my kids to eat healthy foods. I spread a little on all kinds of healthy things, like multigrain toast. Every jar has wholesome, quality ingredients, like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of delicious cocoa. And Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives. It’s quick, it’s easy, and at breakfast I can use all the help I can get.
[VOICEOVER]: Nutella—breakfast never tasted this good.”
How I see it, read the label Athena. Don’t blame the advertising. Don’t let someone else decide if something is a smart choice to serve your daughter in the morning. Pick up the jar and turn it around. See that each two-tablespoon serving contains 21 grams of sugar and half the 200 calories come from fat. Yes, maybe it is similar to a candy bar. Is Nutella on whole-grain toast better than a chocolate donut? Yes. Is it better than whole-grain cereal and milk? No. Nutella is a beloved food in Europe and increasingly here in the U.S. There’s even a World Nutella Day on February 5 to celebrate the chocolate-hazelnut spread worldwide. Was it a good idea to promote the spread as a healthy breakfast food for kids? I don’t think so. But let’s leave lawsuits out of this. As Forbes wrote: Nutella case proves that stupid people can have smart lawyers.
Here’s the commercial so you can see for yourself. What do you think?
Have you seen them? To me, it seems like Veggie Straws from Sensible Portions are every where. For sure, the company is doing some clever promotions. They recently conducted a contest with NYU Tisch Film students to create a viral commercial for Veggie Straws. Here’s one of the student films…
A sensible solution to eating your vegetables? I don’t think so. Nice ad, but these veggie straws are a far cry from a real vegetable.
Sensible Portions has been reaching out to media in a big way. I agreed to accept free products to review (more about that later), and I’ve seen lots of coverage raving about the snacks. In fact, the sweet barbecue flavored Potato Straws were just honored as one of the best low-calorie snacks of 2011 by Shape magazine.
“Enjoy the smoky-sweet flavor of barbecue chips for 30% less fat. One staffer said: These are so good, I felt like I was being bad by eating them.”
Hence my problem with these so-called “healthy” snacks. For starters, why does this Shape staffer feel “bad” when eating real barbecue chips, and why does she feel like she’s getting a free pass by eating these “better-for-you” barbecue straws (or so it seems by her comment: they taste so good that they have to be bad, but they’re not, so I can eat even more?)
These Sensible Portions chips are trying so hard to be good. The package label includes a long list of boastful claims: All natural ingredients, 30% less fat than the leading potato chip, 0g trans fat, no preservatives, cholesterol-free, non-GMO and kosher oil. The Sensible Portions web site touts “next generation in healthy foods,” but I couldn’t find nutrition and ingredient information any where on the site (which was a big red flag for me). It was only until I received the product samples could I really tell what these snacks were all about. And I got to taste them.
That’s where my disappointment comes in. You would think these snacks were simply dehydrated vegetables the way the package looks and how glowing the praise has been. Not so. These fry-shaped chips really have very little to do with real vegetables. The “Garden Veggie Straws” are a puffed up, extruded mixture of potato flour, sunflower oil and corn starch with some tomato puree, spinach powder, salt, sugar and turmeric. Do they have the nutrients of vegetables? Hardly. 0% vitamin A, 0% calcium, 2% vitamin C, 2% iron, 1 g fiber. And I thought they tasted awful.
So why compare yourself to vegetables? The clever commercials are misleading. Just be a chip.
And are they really such a better chip? Heck, if I wanted a chip, I’d have a chip that tasted good. The label claims 30% less fat than the leading potato chip (7 grams in Veggie Straws vs. 10 grams in leading potato chip). But you could buy baked potato chips and only get 3 grams of fat! The Sensible Portions sweet barbecue Potato Straws contain 130 calories and 7 grams of fat per 1-oz. bag, while the same amount of barbecue Baked Lay’s contains 120 calories and 3 grams of fat. So this “30% less fat” really depends on what chip you typically buy.
To me, this is the “health halo” hard at work. Studies show that people end up eating even more of a low-fat snack because they think they’re being good. And they’re apt to enjoy it even less. When you’re eating a potato chip, you know what it is. And that tends to make people eat more in moderation. With all of these “healthy cues” on a product (even if undeserving), people tend to let their guard down. So people may end up eating twice as many of these Sensible Portion snacks because they’re so “healthy.”
Do you know about the controversial Yoplait commercial? It’s the ad that the National Eating Disorders Association fought to have taken off the air. In the commercial, a woman opens the fridge and bargains with herself over whether she can eat a slice a raspberry cheesecake: ”What if I just had a small slice? I was good today. I deserve it.” Then she talks through various scenarios in her head about jogging in place and eating celery sticks to make up for this indulgence.
Here’s the ad in case you haven’t seen it. What’s your take?
The commercial came to NEDA’s attention after the organization received numerous emails and phone calls from eating disorder sufferers. The group believes the ad’s language could easily serve as a trigger for those vulnerable to disordered eating. Lynn Grefe, president and CEO of the NEDA explains:
“This behavior in a commercial tells people with eating disorders, ‘See, it’s even on TV. It’s OK and normal for my head to go through all these mental exercises.’”
Grefe says that NEDA “applauds” Yoplait and parent company General Mills for agreeing to pull the commercial days after the group voiced concerns (although it may still be in rotation in some markets until it’s completely off the air).
“We had no idea,” Tom Forsythe, VP of Corporate Communications for General Mills, said to the Huffington Post. “The thought had never occurred to anyone, and no one raised the point. We aren’t sure that everyone saw the ad that way, but if anyone did, that was not our intent and is cause for concern. We thought it best to take it down.”
NEDA has fought what they describe as “David versus Goliath” battles against numerous companies whose ads encourage an unhealthy relationship with food. The Huffington Post features a slideshow of other advertising campaigns that NEDA says could serve as triggers for those struggling with eating disorders.
Given all the hubbub, Yoplait was “probably wise to stick a fork in” the ad, says David Gianatasio at Adweek.
Maybe not everyone sees the big deal about the commercial. There are a million ads for “diet” foods, what makes this so different? The problem is all about what experts call “restrained eating.” The character in the commercial (which Adweek says looks a lot like Sarah Palin) is having an internal dialogue that is a classic case of restrained eating — that’s where you never let yourself eat what you want or you’re always obsessing over what you eat. This is the struggle of a lot of chronic dieters who deprive themselves and then give in to their cravings and can’t stop. It’s an ongoing cycle of deprivation and out-of-control, regretted eating. The ad just got a little too psychological and seemed to validate this way of thinking.
“I don’t know what’s more stunning,” says Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. “That Yoplait actually ran this dangerous and perverse ad, or the pervasive dysfunctional thinking that it’s natural for women of all sizes to be guilt-plagued, food-fetishizing calorie-counters who “careen from Restriction Village to… Binge Town.”
Here’s what Ellyn Satter says about restrained eating:
Restrained eating increases abuse of emotional eating. In my clinical experience corroborated by the research, restrained eating exacerbates the tendency to abuse emotional eating. People who are not restrained eaters consume less, not more, under stressful conditions. Restrained eaters try to eat less and less-appealing food than they need and want and are chronically hungry. Trying not to eat in the face of hunger and food-preoccupation takes a lot of energy. Stress undermines the energy to sustain food deprivation, and the person overeats. Thus, rather than overeating in response to stress, the restrained eater disinhibits. The restrained eater still eats a lot, but the root cause is undereating rather than emotional arousal. The cycle continues: The remorseful fallen-away restrained eater redoubles her efforts to restrict and again falls prey to stress induced disinhibition.
Satter recommends the following to avoid restrained eating:
Feed yourself regularly and reliably. Have meals and snacks at predictable times, and include the food you like.
Set aside restrained eating. Trust yourself to go to the table hungry and eat until you feel satisfied. Then stop, knowing another meal or snack is coming soon and you can do it again.
Become more comfortable with your feelings. Know what you feel, including that knowing in choosing how to act. Learn to productively use food for emotional reasons.
Be clear about what eating can do for you. Eating in a focused fashion is likely to soothe or calm you and even raise your spirits a bit. It won’t resolve the problem-unless the problem is being hungry! When you feel like eating because you are bored, depressed, happy, or sociable, say to yourself, ”It is all right to eat. But first I will find out what I am feeling.”
Then eat positively, deliberately, soothingly, and cheeringly.
Guilt-Free: I know it’s probably well-meaning, but I cringe each time I see “guilt-free” on a food label, in the title of a recipe or on a restaurant menu. Sure it may be reduced fat, sugar-free or whatever, and that’s fine. But no food should evoke guilt. The same product with a little more fat or sugar shouldn’t make you feel guilty for eating it. All foods should be guilt-free. So let’s stop using this adjective, thank you very much.
Skinny: Why is skinny the new ideal? I know the term is in the title of many popular diet books (I wrote about that recently), and Skinnygirl is Bethenny Frankel’s entire platform — which scored her an amazing deal with Skinnygirl Margaritas. But I think it sends the wrong message. Maybe skinny helps sell a lot of books, and a lot of booze, but I still don’t like it.
Natural: It’s the big buzz word on package labels, and there was even a recent food fight with the FDA to determine if high fructose corn syrup really qualifies as natural. We’re arguing over technicalities and the word has lost all meaning. I think if a food wasn’t actually plucked from a tree or grown from the ground, then it shouldn’t claim to be natural. A vegetable is natural, an extruded veggie straw made from dehydrated vegetable powder isn’t — no matter what the label says.
Detox: I’m so tired of this word. Enough said.
Cleanse: It seems as though cleanse is the cousin of detox. Why has this word captured the public’s imagination? It rose to mainstream status with the Master Cleanse and became big in the world of dietary supplements, such as Jillian Michaels’ detox and cleanse diet pills (that I wrote about not so long ago). But why has a respected culinary magazine like Bon Appetit jumped on the cleanse bandwagon? I hated to see the magazine create The Food Lover’s Cleanse. Sure, they tried to put the focus on real foods and justified going down this path with the message “forget juice fasts and calorie counting…” I liked that, but why embrace the mythology of cleansing? Why elevate the terminology? Why legitimize the concept? Just don’t think we need to jump on the bandwagon to grab attention.
Any way, those are the five food/nutrition-related words I hope to see less often. What about you?
I’m just getting back from a trip to Austin, Texas, for the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference. It was my first time in Austin and I was told I had to visit the Central Market — an amazing grocery store that you’ll only find in Texas. So after my presentation was over, that’s exactly what I did. I hitched a ride with some colleagues and we drove to the original Central Market. I soon found out why this is a top tourist destination in Austin that attracts 2 million guests a year.
For starters, take a look at the chile display above. Maybe you’re only going to get this in Texas, but how wonderful to find such a wide array of dried chiles. And I love the Scoville scale that was posted above the chiles to indicate the degree of heat. There was also a salsa bar where you can buy freshly-made guacamole and a wide variety of salsas.
The produce section at the Central Market was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen better anywhere. They had everything! I was especially amazed at the variety of purple produce on display. I’m quite enamored with purple vegetables and I’ve written about these vibrant-hued vegetables several times, including In Praise of Purple Produce. Take a look at these beautiful purple baby artichokes…
Here’s purple kohlrabi…
and purple carrots.
I’ve never seen a bigger variety of fresh mushrooms.
Take a look at these giant portabellas.
Central Market is a must-stop for anyone interested in tracking trends, and I spotted several innovative products while we were there. For instance, there was an entire section of dinner kits that shoppers can take home to make quick meals — like this vegetable fried brown rice kit. All of the kits included pre-cut, pre-measured ingredients that were ready for quick assembly at home. Great idea, I think.
The bulk section featured several interesting products, including this falafel mix to easily make this Middle Eastern favorite at home.
The packaged food section included products I’ve not seen anywhere, like these flavored kale chips.
Nut butters are coming on strong as a trend, and I spotted several different varieties…
Blood orange has become a popular flavor and I spotted this Italian soda…
I was only in Austin for three days, and most of the time in the conference hotel. The Central Market was my only real side-trip — and it was well worth it. I found it especially incredible that Austin has Central Market, as well as the original Whole Foods — which is a full block long. Some nice food shopping in Austin, I must say.
We love our American food. Increasingly, we’re looking for foods produced or made in America, and we’re OK if it costs more. Nearly all Americans — 94% to be precise — say they would rather buy food produced in the U.S. than less expensive versions made in China, even if U.S. products cost twice as much, according to a Gallup Poll survey.
Country of origin is becoming more important to us — related to food safety issues and pride. In fact, when it comes to food — red, white and blue may be the new green. That’s the tagline of a campaign from the folks promoting the Made in USA brand certification program.
Food companies are increasingly leveraging this love of Americana, including the people behind the products – the farmers, the fishermen, the producers. Lay’s has been touting locally made potato chips and showcasing the farmers in 27 states across the country who grow the potatoes.
Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert says we’ll see more “produced or made in America” signage as supermarkets start to promote foods from the U.S. — like Gulf shrimp instead of shrimp from China. In fact, Lempert predicts that Big Easy seafood will be big in 2011 as we rally to support New Orleans and Gulf seafood.
Wild American Shrimp has introduced a great campaign featuring shrimpers from the Gulf and South Atlantic. The message: you’ve been tricked. The campaign says 85% of the shrimp we buy is imported: ”Your shrimp was raised in a pond then shipped overseas, you had no idea.” Their TV commercial tagline is “the shrimp you thought you were eating.” The group has also introduced a certification program for shrimp caught in American waters.
Alaska has seen its seafood grow in popularity. Research shows that 82% of consumers who see the Alaska Seafood logo would be more likely to buy it.
Restaurants are getting in on the state-branded trend too. Increasingly you’ll see menu items touting USA ingredients from a specific state or region.
I noticed that this week on vacation in Florida when I ordered a salad for lunch. The menu featured Michigan Cherry Chicken Salad with Pecans.
It’s a growing trend in restaurants, so expect to see this even more often. A survey of chefs conducted by the National Restaurant Association indicates that locally sourced meats and seafood and locally grown produce are the top two menu trends for 2011. The #10 trend on the list: farm-branded ingredients.
Mintel Menu Insights identified the most popular state-branded menu items:
1.Texas
2. New York-style
3. Southwest
4. Southern-style
5. California
6. New England
7. Cajun-style
8. Boston-style
9. Santa Fe
10. Americana
We are definitely in a superfoods era. In today’s world, it’s not enough to be nutritious, now you need to be a superfood.
What does it really mean to be a superfood? And why are foods desperately trying to defend their superfood status? How did this all get started any way?
I wonder if Dr. Steven Pratt, author of the first SuperFoods book, had any idea how much he’s changed the landscape. I don’t think he had sprirulina smoothies, meal replacements and supplements in mind when he first introduced the concept of superfoods in 2004 Did he? The book was about 14 foods that will change your life — including blueberries, beans, walnuts and spinach.
He was talking about nutrient-dense foods — a concept that’s being reinforced in the new Dietary Guideline for Americans.
These are foods that provide a high ratio of nutrients per calorie.
The new Dietary Guidelines define nutrient-dense foods as:
Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, lean meats and poultry, seafood, eggs, beans and peas, and nuts and seeds that are prepared without added solid fats, sugars, starches, and sodium.
Ok, so maybe “superfoods” sounds sexier. But that’s basically what it means. And there’s a lot more to choose from than the original 14 superfoods (Pratt added 10 more in his second book). However, I believe all fresh, whole foods belong on a superfoods list.
What I don’t think belongs are manufactured products trying to be a superfood. But there’s a whole industry that’s sprouted up trying to convince you that they’re deserving of the superfoods title — often based on how many antioxidants they contain, if they’re derived from a mysterious berry from the Amazon or the jungles of Africa, or if they’re really really green.
I’m sorry, but those are not superfoods to me.
What is a superfood is oatmeal.
But I found it a little sad that Quaker had to defend its position as a superfood. Have you seen the new ad campaign?
However, this is the era that we’re in. Of course oatmeal is a superfood, but it’s being overshadowed by pseudo superfoods. Oatmeal is deserving of the title. And I’m OK that they’re trying to tout it.
Maybe people need to be reminded that superfoods are already in your cupboard. They don’t come in a pill, don’t come in a green smoothie. They’re real, whole foods– and they don’t need to cost so much. You don’t really have to eat grass.
It was hard to miss Walmart’s big announcement last week. I’m sure you know all about it by now, but I wanted to offer up my point of view.
I tuned in to watch part of the webcast, which featured First Lady Michelle Obama who congratulated America’s biggest grocer on its commitment. You can view the webcast here or read the First Lady’s remarks. Here’s what the announcement was all about. Walmart pledged to:
Make healthier choices more affordable Including slashing the prices of fresh produce (saving consumers $1 billion/year) and eliminating a premium price for better-for-you products
Reformulate thousands of packaged foods by 2015 Reducing sodium by 25% and added sugars by 15%, eliminating all trans fats
Develop criteria for a simple front-of-package seal A consistent way to identify healthier foods
Build new stores in areas to increase accessibility of healthier foods
Helping to eliminate food deserts in urban areas
Throughout the webcast and immediately following, I noticed several cynical tweets. Soon I was reading some less than positive blog posts, including…
A few eyebrows were raised over Michelle Obama’s participation. Some people dismissed the press conference as a simple PR stunt. Others just couldn’t get past the fact that this was Walmart — an often controversial chain that has been criticized for its treatment of workers and dismissal of unions, as well as its mammoth size and impact on a community.
Whatever you think about the country’s largest retailer, this was a big deal. Sure, we can argue that this was a PR stunt, and it’s all about making money. But still, these changes can make a huge difference. Here’s what our First Lady had to say…
“…today, with this announcement, the largest corporation in America is launching a new initiative that has the potential to transform the marketplace and to help American families put healthier food on their tables every single day. This Nutrition Charter promises a real change that can have a fundamental impact in how our kids eat, you see, because when parents have the information they need about the products they buy, that puts them back in charge, so they can make good decisions for their families.
When kids are consuming these products every day, those reductions in sugar, and salt and trans-fat can really add up. When healthier options are finally affordable, that can affect every single meal a child eats, whether it’s adding fruit at breakfast, or whole wheat bread at lunch, or some more veggies on the plate at dinner. And when 140 million people a week are shopping at Walmart, then day by day, and meal by meal, all these small changes can start to make a big difference for our children’s health.”
Think about it: 140 million people a week shop at Walmart. That’s an enormous number. But it’s not just the people walking through the doors of Walmart who will benefit. The real significance is the trickle down factor. Walmart is the largest customer of practically every food company in the country. The pressure is on to reformulate or innovate — or you’re shut out of getting on the shelf at Walmart.
The real reason why this move is such a big deal is Walmart’s marketplace muscle — the power it has to ignite change throughout the food industry. Walmart is not only changing the nutritional profile of its private brand, it’s calling on all the major food manufacturers to get in line. And they’ll do it.
That’s the power of this announcement. Yes, it’s great that Walmart is reducing the price of fresh produce. We need to encourage the consumption of more whole foods. That’s really important. But we need to face the facts, families rely on packaged foods — and we shouldn’t outright condemn anything that comes in a box, bag or can. Let’s try to make these convenience items more nutritious — reduced sodium soups, cereal and yogurt with less sugar and frozen entrees void of trans fats.
We can nudge folks to eat fresh and prepare foods from scratch using whole foods. But I’m happy to know that when they stray from the perimeter of the grocery store, they’ll have more nutritious packaged options to choose from.
We can do all the educating we want, but people need healthier options to choose from, and they need the healthy options to be affordable. Why shouldn’t Michelle Obama acknowledge Walmart’s nutrition initiative. I’m glad she was part of the press conference. She recognizes that to truly change the way America eats, we need to tackle the issue from several angles.
I applaud Walmart for this commitment. The bar has been raised. That’s how positive changes happen.
If you’re not carefully reading labels, you might not realize that some brands have been injected with a salty broth. It’s an increasingly popular practice called “poultry plumping” that has a lot of people crying foul. You may not even be aware that it’s happening. Yet, about one-third of the fresh chicken in supermarket meat cases in this country has been enhanced to make the meat tastier, juicier and more tender.
Read more in my column in the January issue of Cooking Light.
You know when you’re picking up packaged deli meats that there’s been some processing involved. You expect bologna and other luncheon meats to contain higher levels of sodium — but fresh, raw chicken? The juiced up varieties can contain as much as 440 milligrams of sodium per serving, or nearly 500% higher than natural, untreated chicken. In fact, a single serving of plumped up poultry can contain as much sodium as a large order of fast food French fries.
To me, the most troubling part of this practice is the “natural” claim that you’ll find on the label of these salt water-injected birds. Poultry companies have gotten a green light from USDA to call their products “100% natural” or “all natural” even though they’ve been injected with extra salt and water. Some brands mix in a seaweed extract called carrageenan that helps to retain the added water – which can be 15 percent or more of the meat’s weight. That means if you buy a 7-pound enhanced chicken, you might get only 6 pounds of meat and end up paying a premium for 1 pound of added water.
The “natural” labeling of plumped poultry has the industry fiercely divided. The major processors who inject their poultry with salt water solutions (including Tyson and Pilgrim’s Pride) say consumers prefer it and the enhancements help keep the lean meat juicy and flavorful. They claim their products meet the “minimally processed” description that’s required for the natural label, and the injected ingredients (including the carrageenan) do not include anything artificial.
That may be true, but seaweed and salt aren’t naturally found in chicken. You don’t expect a whole food like this to be altered when you buy it.
The poultry processors on the other side of the debate say the practice is deceptive and they want to see the enhanced birds stripped of their “natural” moniker. They say the industrial needle injections and high pressure vacuum tumbling that are used to enhance the poultry should not be considered “minimally processed.”
Yet most importantly, at a time when sodium consumption has risen to the top of worrisome health issues and we may see new dietary guidelines reduce daily sodium recommendations — here’s an example when salt is being needlessly added in unexpected places.
Foster Farms, a West Coast family-owned producer, created a campaign called “Say No to Plumping” to raise awareness of the issue and promote truly natural, untreated chicken. They’re using bloated chicken mascots dubbed the Foster Imposters to mock the use of the “all natural” label on injected poultry products and urge stricter regulations so consumers know what they’re buying. Their commercials are rather amusing…
Processors are required to disclose the injections, but lettering can be small – just one-third the size of the largest letter in the product’s name. The words “100% natural” will likely be what you see first so you might not look beyond this description. During my own visits to the meat case, it wasn’t easy to quickly tell the differences between the various packages of fresh chicken – especially when the dominant visual is the fresh meat peering below the clear plastic.
To know if you’re picking up an enhanced product, you need to go beyond the bold type and look for the fine print, such as “contains up to 15% chicken broth.” You won’t always see the word “enhanced” used – simply the percentage of added salt water. You can also check the ingredient list to see if you spot chicken broth, salt and carrageenan, and, of course, look for the sodium content on the nutrition facts label. If it’s truly natural, with no injections, the sodium content won’t be higher than 70 milligrams per serving.
A group called the Truthful Labeling Coalition is trying to raise awareness of poultry plumping and change the regulations that allow these salty birds to boast about being “natural.”
Did you know about this practice before? What do you look for when you buy chicken?
A new survey suggests the trend has peaked. When asked which food trend they want to be over by 2011, 49% of Americans felt the “bacon flavored everything” is past its prime.
It was the #1 food trend that people wanted to see less of in the coming year.
Maybe someone needs to tell J & D Foods “Everything Should Taste Like Bacon” – who is pumping out tons of bacon products. Their latest is bacon-flavored soda created in partnership with Jones Soda. Mike Spear, marketing director for Jones Soda told Food Business News:
“We felt it was our duty as leaders in the premium soda category to carbonate bacon’s salty goodness.”
Oh really? The company is promoting a special offer of two bottles of the soda, a bag of bacon popcorn, bacon gravy mix and bacon lip balm. Bacon lip balm?
Yes, people love bacon…and you can find bacon salt, baconnaise, bacon ranch dressing mix and even bacon-flavored envelopes on their site. But, come on, is bacon flavored infant formula for real?
The label of Bacon Baby touts “four nutritious servings of bacon in every scoop.” Yikes!
There’s a waiting list for the stuff. Bacon Baby is described as an “infant formula with complex bacon fats and nutrients that babies need for optimal brain development and wellness.”
Please J&D Foods, don’t pretend that you’re pediatric nutrition experts!
The bacon-craze is certainly a lot of fun, but if this is real — it certainly crosses the line in my opinion. I’m not amused.
What’s the craziest bacon item you’ve seen?
UPDATE:
I’ve since discovered that the bacon flavored infant formula was an April Fool’s joke, yet the product is still on the website for $19.99. Sounds like a lot of folks thought it was real and parents were interested in buying it! Please J & D, take it off your website so people aren’t continually confused. Here’s a blog post from the company’s founders Justin and Dave that appeared last April:
It is with great sadness that we inform you that the FDA has pulled the plug on our plans to launch Bacon Baby Infant Formula. While there is certainly compelling research out there that shows that increased bacon intake among infants could lead to increased intelligence, athleticism, and (perhaps) superpowers, they wouldn’t let us put it on the package, and were kind of jerks about it to be perfectly honest.
Thank you to all of you who wrote us to tell us why your babies should receive a lifetime supply of Bacon Baby. Your stories, ultrasound pictures and desires to “raise the next Einstein or at least Stalin” were quite entertaining to us. This was all in fun and it was good to see people laugh with us instead of at us for once.
We would, however, like to apologize to members of the media who thought this was a real story. This included parenting magazines, a major news service and one very embarrassed reporter who called us asking for a comment for a childhood obesity story she was working on for a major network. We will work hard to regain your trust – and then will likely destroy that trust again next April.
Yours in bacon,
Justin & Dave, Bacontrepreneurs
So bacontrepreneurs, the joke is over. Take the product off your website. Stick with the bacon salt — that actually sounds rather good!
Thoughts, opinions, musings and discussion about nutrition, food trends, diet myths, new products and fad-free healthy eating.
About Janet Helm
I’m a writer, registered dietitian and mom of twins. My passion is translating nutrition science into intelligible words – and healthy food choices. I want to help people make sense of nutrition news. I don’t think it needs to be complicated or confusing. l believe food should be enjoyed, not feared. And I think taste and health can happily co-exist.
image courtesy of nettsu on flickr
chocolate belgian waffles by irrational_cat on flickr
chocolate pancakes by isabellacester on flickr 
chocolate breakfast cake with peanut butter cream cheese by Brown Eyed Baker on flickr
chocolaté croissant by Castle Vision Photographic on flickr
chocolate mint breakfast by onesmileahead on flickr 
image courtesy of Helen Chang on flickr
The produce section at the Central Market was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen better anywhere. They had everything! I was especially amazed at the variety of purple produce on display. I’m quite enamored with purple vegetables and I’ve written about these vibrant-hued vegetables several times, including 
Here’s purple kohlrabi…
and purple carrots.
I’ve never seen a bigger variety of fresh mushrooms.
Take a look at these giant portabellas.
Central Market is a must-stop for anyone interested in tracking trends, and I spotted several innovative products while we were there. For instance, there was an entire section of dinner kits that shoppers can take home to make quick meals — like this vegetable fried brown rice kit. All of the kits included pre-cut, pre-measured ingredients that were ready for quick assembly at home. Great idea, I think.
The packaged food section included products I’ve not seen anywhere, like these flavored kale chips.
Nut butters are coming on strong as a trend, and I spotted several different varieties…
We love our American food. Increasingly, we’re looking for foods produced or made in America, and we’re OK if it costs more. Nearly all Americans — 94% to be precise — say they would rather buy food produced in the U.S. than less expensive versions made in China, even if U.S. products cost twice as much, according to a Gallup Poll survey.
Whatever you think about the country’s largest retailer, this was a big deal. Sure, we can argue that this was a PR stunt, and it’s all about making money. But still, these changes can make a huge difference. Here’s what our First Lady had to say…
