The following is a post written by contributor Andy Bellatti, MS, RD. ***** When it comes to resources – whether they be human, financial, or technological – the food industry is stocked with a mighty arsenal. Big Food’s spending power is most often evidenced by its multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. A few examples: McDonald’s spent $115 million in 2010 just to market Happy Meals General Mills spent $73.7 million advertising…
This morning I walked out to the kitchen to find a dozen long-stemmed red roses and a dark chocolate bar with sea salt waiting for me. As Jeff put his arms around me, he whispered romance into my ear. “You should be able to eat this chocolate bar, I researched the company and they clean the lines thoroughly then throw the first two batches out to make sure the chocolate…
I’ve been following Lindsay (aka The Lean Green Bean) for a few years now, and she never fails to inspire. Lately I’ve been especially smitten with her weekly food prep posts. I begged Lindsay to teach us how to become food prep masters, and she agreed (yay!). I can’t wait to get started! *** As a dietitian, I’m often asked for advice about how to live a healthier lifestyle. Many…
I don’t know about you, but all the talk about New Year’s resolutions sometimes makes me want to stick my head in the sand and wait for it all to pass. I think the reason for that is I tend to go overboard on the whole thing. I dream big dreams, make grand plans and then a few weeks later I feel like a failure. So this year, I’m going…
In past columns, I’ve reviewed how food politics influence federal nutrition guidelines and programs like “Let’s Move!” and “Drink Up!”. Alas, politics reaches far and wide, even throughout academia and research. The food industry is well aware of increased scrutiny from nutrition and public health advocates, and it’s cooked up one ingenious way to minimize criticism of its products: sponsored research. As food politics guru Dr. Marion Nestle wrote on…
On March 6, 2010 my friend Mary emailed me a recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup. She sent it to a bunch of our friends from college who had been asking her for recipe ideas because we were, well, awful in the kitchen. While most of us were still learning how to make boxed mac and cheese without burning the house down, Mary was hosting cocktail parties with fancy finger foods…
Lately I’ve heard quite a bit of scoffing when it comes to gluten-free labeling. This usually takes place around foods that are inherently gluten-free like dried beans, nuts and coffee. Usually the comment is something like, “Why is there a gluten-free label on here? Coffee has always been gluten-free! They’re just trying to cash in on the fad.” Maybe. But as someone who suffers from celiac disease and is incredibly…