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Read my article "It All Adds Up". Click on the link below:

http://www.momblogsociety.com/page/it-all-adds-up

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Nickelodeon is honoring pro-social teens with the help of a few celebs (during the third annual Teen Nick HALO [Helping and Leading Others] Awards. Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, and Jessica Biel will each celebrate a teen who is involved... Read the rest of this post

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Food is a huge part of social culture, even for Millennials. High school and college students aren’t known for their culinary expertise, but 65% of female students and 67% of male students enjoy cooking, according to a recent Ypulse Report. More... Read the rest of this post

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Today’s post comes to us from Camilla Nord, who found some striking statistics about kids’ fast food eating habits in the wake of some recent self-imposed health-focused changes by food marketers. Despite changes for the better, kids... Read the rest of this post

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THE LINE UP II - a short playette for a short encounter
By Eleanor Tylbor


SCENE: Supermarket. 8-items-or-less line, where three people are waiting to check out items. A female with a shopping cart attempts to go through

FEMALE
Um - excuse me?

Male in front appears not to hear her so she speaks a little louder

FEMALE
Excuse me! I'd like to pass?

Male glances at her, then quickly away

FEMALE attempts to go by but is unable, due to the man blocking her

FEMALE
The aisle is wide and I'm thin, but not enough to squeeze by. If you don't mind - could you move to the side?

the other two customers gladly move against the counter to allow the shopping cart & female to pass. Male mumbles something unintelliglble, pointing to the door

FEMALE
Look - I had to pee. Okay? I parked my shopping cart outside the door and now I have to get through here to shop. So if you'll step aside...

MALE
Go out and around!

FEMALE
Pardon? You expect me to take my cart, go outside and re-enter when all you have to do is move towards the side, which will take a mere 10 seconds? Not!

the two shoppers move against the counter, again to allow the cart to pass

FEMALE
I don't believe this!

MAN STANDING AT COUNTER NEARBY
Me neither! I've been watching the guy. Misery!

FEMALE
Are you going to let me by or not?

MAN stands defiantly in middle of checkout aisle

FEMALE stands leaning on shopping cart, glaring at man who up until this point has been taking his time packing his things in bags.

FEMALE
(as MAN moves by her)
You are just too kind and what a gentleman! I'll make sure to remember your face in case you want the same courtesy.

MAN STANDING NEARBY AT COUNTER
Oh he's a real nice guy, alright!

As MALE passes, FEMALE shopper moves her shopping cart forward and somehow rolls a wheel over his foot

FEMALE
Oh no! How clumsy of me! Just one foot, though. You still have another! And now to go shop for food...

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If you’re anything like me, then when a friend asks, “Hey, do you wanna go to Taco Tuesday at that new place over by–” you interrupt with, “Whoa whoa whoa. You had me at taco.” I was flipping through one of my favorite Oxford volumes, The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink edited by renowned food historian Andrew F. Smith, and came across the entries for both Taco and Taco Bell. After reading some surprising sections aloud to fascinated colleagues, I decided I couldn’t keep these morsels to myself. “Oh please,” you might say, “I already know all there is to know about tacos!” No, my good sir/lady, I don’t think you do. So in advance, you’re welcome.     –Lauren Appelwick, Blog Editor

Tacos

In Mexico the word “taco,” which means a bite or snack, came to refer to a particular genre of edibles – a tortilla wrapped or folded around a filling [...] (The traditional Mexican taco is made with a soft, fresh corn tortilla; “hard shell” tacos, made with tortillas fried in a basket to give them a sturdy “U” shape, are a creation of Mexican restaurants in the United States.) The first known English-language taco recipes appeared in California cookbooks beginning in 1914.

[...] Until the 1960s tacos were mainly served in California and the Southwest at small roadside taco stands run by Mexican Americans. This changed when Glen Bell launched the first Mexican American fast food franchise in 1962 in Downey, California. Taco Bell had to overcome vast distrust and prejudice among many American consumers against Mexican restaurants. The new chain’s advertising emphasized that these were American restaurants that just happened to server Mexican-style food. Taco Bell assured the public that it’s tacos and other offerings were no more spicy or “foreign” than hamburgers. [...]

Taco Bell

During the early 1950s, few Americans outside California and the Southwest knew what a taco was. In the early twenty-first century Mexican American food is one of America’s fastest-growing cuisines. Although there are many reasons for this change, one was the Taco Bell fast food chain launched by Glenn Bell.

Bell operated a one-man hamburger and hot dog stand in San Bernardino, California, but he liked eating Mexican take-out food. Taco stands dotted the southern California landscape, but none offered fast food. Bell developed ways to improve the efficiency of preparing Mexican food. At the time, taco shells were made by frying soft tortillas for a few minutes. Bell invented a prefabricated hard taco shell, which did not have to be fried, thus saving time on each order. Bell also developed procedures for accelerating service.

Bell decided to test his new ideas. Bell opened a Taco Tia restaurant in 1954 in San Bernardino, California, the same year and the same city in which Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their revolutionary fast food establishment. Like the McDonald brothers, Bell quickly opened more restaurants in the surrounding area. Bell sold his interest in Taco Tia, and with new partners launched another chain, El Taco. The first outlet was opened in 1958 in Long Beach, California.

In 1962 Bell sold his share in El Taco to his partners and opened the first Taco Bell, in Downey, California. The menu consisted mainly of tacos and burritos plus beverages. This small outlet was quickly followed by eight stores in the Long

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Will Rolling Stone's interview with Justin Bieber (tarnish the pristine image of the pop idol? In the article, due out Feb 18, he disses the U.S. and gives his opinions on politics, fame, abstinence, and abortion, among other topics. After a... Read the rest of this post

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When you are feeding a family it is easy to slip into a rut. The same meals are repeated over and over again because they are easy to fix, or inexpensive, or just things you know everyone will eat. For good nutrition it is important to have variety in your meals. Don't eat the same things all the time, it becomes boring. Include meals that are new and interesting.


If your family likes tacos don't always have the same kind of tacos. If you normally use ground beef in your tacos try chicken, or fish. If your children like fried chicken there is a good chance they will like chicken cacciatore or lemon chicken. Hamburgers come in infinite varieties just look in a cookbook or watch Rachel Ray on television. I think she may just possibly be the Queen of Hamburgers.


Having variety in your meals creates interest and makes food more appealing. Don't forget the value of making food look attractive on the plate. If you have ever watched a cooking competition on the Food Network you know how much value is placed on plating. Food that looks good tastes better.


Just changing the shape of food can peak a child's interest. Instead of carrot sticks make carrot curls. Instead of serving hamburgers on hamburger buns shape the meat into long patties and serve them on hot dog buns.
 Providing a dipping sauce can make food more attractive to kids, too.


Give it a try and tell me what you think.

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Obesity is epidemic in this country and the news is full of stories about the excesses that are ruining our health and shortening the lives of our children. Before you get defensive you need to understand that as parents we are only partly responsible for the situation. Food manufacturers and restaurant owners, and yes, our government must share the blame, but we need to do something about it.

Everyday there is a news story telling us that what we were once told about a particular food is now considered incorrect and what we once thought was good for us is now thought to be bad for us. While the government is telling us obesity in children is a major problem, fast food restaurants are advertising bigger, fatter, more calorie-laden options. It is confusing for all of us. How can we keep up? What can we do about it?

I believe certain basics are true. I believe the closer our food is to its natural state the better it is for us.That doesn't mean meateaters should eat their meat raw, but if it isn't covered with cheese or creamy gravy it is probably better for you. I personally believe we eat too much meat in this country but this post isn't about that. I am not interested in changing meateaters to vegetarians. This post is about healthier eating and making changes toward better health.

I married a meat and potatoes man.  One day I decided, after a lot of reading on the subject, that we should become vegetarians. Vegetarian cookbooks that were available at the time were not encouraging. Becoming a vegetarian seemed to involve mixing and matching different kinds of protein foods to get the right combination to make up for not eating meat. After reading the cookbooks I was sure there was no way I would be able to convert my husband to a vegetarian lifestyle. I almost gave up, but I had the cookbooks so I figured I had to at least try a few recipes. I did and I was right, hubby wouldn't eat them.

Then it dawned on me! I could fix most of the dishes that we were accustomed to eating but make them vegetarian. And that is what I did. If I removed meat from a recipe I replaced it with something else  to make up for what was missing. (Portabello mushrooms have a texture similar to meat. Today the stores have many meat substitutes.)I didn't worry about complementarity but instead I concentrated on preparing good meals, that tasted good and that fit our style but without meat. Why should this matter to you? Read on...

On the road to healthier eating you have to expect a few bumps, but that shouldn't stop you. It is a retraining of our thinking and our tastebuds. If you are used to eating food that is drowning in cheese sauce it will take a while to adjust to the idea of eating food without cheese sauce, but it can be done. Make changes slowly. Perhaps you will need to slowly reduce the amount of cheese in the sauce, and reduce the quantity of sauce in a serving. Look for other healthier ways to season your food, and eat the less-healthy choices less often until you can elimate them completely. Concentrate on the foods that you like that are healthier choices.

Lightly salt foods before serving and take the salt off of the table. Make eating healthier a family project and get the kids involved. Teach them, and yourself, to read product labels. Know what unhealthy things to look for (high fructose corn syrup, all kinds of sugars, sodium quantities, che

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Image via Wikipedia

In a fast food restaurant in the city, two young women are chatting while they wait in line for their fried chicken orders. One of the women is a young mother with her daughter. The child appears to be around two or three years old. The first lady tells the mother that she has recently gotten married. While they’re talking, the child swings around a rope that is connected to a brass stand creating a maze for the customers. The little girl, bored, climbs up and down the metal stand and pulls the rope down each time she goes under it. The mother sees but says nothing.

The woman with the child responds to the other.

“I don’t want to get married. There’s not enough money in the world for me to put up with the same man every day.”

The first woman still has rice in her eyes.

“I couldn’t be happier. We’ve got a little house near the waterfront.”

A handsome man with muscles bulging through his shirt walks up to the register and places an order. The mother’s jaw drops.

“I need me a son,” She says loudly. “I got my two girls. I don’t want to get married. I can take care of my children myself.”

The newlywed, unaware that the dynamic in the restaurant has changed, tries to appeal to the mother’s common sense.

“I don’t mean to overstep, but you’ve got two children already by two different dads and…”

“You just crossed the line. No one has the right to say anything about my kids. I’m a damn good mother!”

The bride tries to explain herself.

“I only meant that it’s not easy for a single mother with two children. You’re saying that you want to have another child. What kind of sense does that make?”

The mother is insulted.

“You’re saying I’m stupid?”

“No of course not, I’m just saying that a third child will only make things more difficult. Your older daughter is what…four? This one is two, right?

“What are you trying to say?”

“Look. I don’t want to argue with you.”

“I don’t want to argue with you, either. If you say one more word, we’re through talking.”

Everyone standing on the line is silent until the man behind the counter walks over with a large plastic bag and calls a number. The mother had ordered her food after the other woman, but somehow her food is ready first. She hands her receipt to the man, snatches her bag and walks off the line without a word to her friend. As an afterthought, she looks back and calls her young daughter.

Stomping through the dining area, she approaches her older child who has been waiting at one of the tables. She nearly comes to a stop.

“Let’s go.”

The woman and her children leave the restaurant.

At the counter, the other woman breathes a sigh of relief. She exchanges her receipt for a bag of food when her number is called. She exits the restaurant. Outside she finds the woman waiting for her.

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Image via Wikipedia

In a fast food restaurant in the city, two young women are chatting while they wait in line for their fried chicken orders. One of the women is a young mother with her daughter. The child appears to be around two or three years old. The first lady tells the mother that she has recently gotten married. While they’re talking, the child swings around a rope that is connected to a brass stand creating a maze for the customers. The little girl, bored, climbs up and down the metal stand and pulls the rope down each time she goes under it. The mother sees but says nothing.

The woman with the child responds to the other.

“I don’t want to get married. There’s not enough money in the world for me to put up with the same man every day.”

The first woman still has rice in her eyes.

“I couldn’t be happier. We’ve got a little house near the waterfront.”

A handsome man with muscles bulging through his shirt walks up to the register and places an order. The mother’s jaw drops.

“I need me a son,” She says loudly. “I got my two girls. I don’t want to get married. I can take care of my children myself.”

The newlywed, unaware that the dynamic in the restaurant has changed, tries to appeal to the mother’s common sense.

“I don’t mean to overstep, but you’ve got two children already by two different dads and…”

“You just crossed the line. No one has the right to say anything about my kids. I’m a damn good mother!”

The bride tries to explain herself.

“I only meant that it’s not easy for a single mother with two children. You’re saying that you want to have another child. What kind of sense does that make?”

The mother is insulted.

“You’re saying I’m stupid?”

“No of course not, I’m just saying that a third child will only make things more difficult. Your older daughter is what…four? This one is two, right?

“What are you trying to say?”

“Look. I don’t want to argue with you.”

“I don’t want to argue with you, either. If you say one more word, we’re through talking.”

Everyone standing on the line is silent until the man behind the counter walks over with a large plastic bag and calls a number. The mother had ordered her food after the other woman, but somehow her food is ready first. She hands her receipt to the man, snatches her bag and walks off the line without a word to her friend. As an afterthought, she looks back and calls her young daughter.

Stomping through the dining area, she approaches her older child who has been waiting at one of the tables. She nearly comes to a stop.

“Let’s go.”

The woman and her children leave the restaurant.

At the counter, the other woman breathes a sigh of relief. She exchanges her receipt for a bag of food when her number is called. She exits the restaurant. Outside she finds the woman waiting for her.

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Flickr user Waffle Whiffer has uploaded oodles of fun printed matter from the 1960s through the 1980s, mostly cereal and fast food coupons and ephemera.

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