To Melissa G., the Recessionary Grocery Shopper: The Official Kid-Will-Eat-It Guidelines

Oct 1, 2009 by Anna Migeon

Dear Melissa G.,

Congratulations! You have been named “ground zero for the new austerity” by one of our food industry giants, according to an article I just read in Advertising Age.  Industrial edibles manufacturers, scrambling to keep their profits up while consumers like you look for ways to spend less, are taking a hard look at you, the average grocery shopper, and how you think and behave.  Melissa, you represent today’s Every Mom:  the very picture of the grocery-shopping parent. You are the bull’s eye of the target for processed food manufacturers in this economic downturn.

It’s quite an honor, and a responsibility, a sacred destiny even, Every Mom. The wellbeing of the American child is in your hands.

While Campbell Soup was analyzing your habits and attitudes…

Two simple ways to make foods you're already feeding your kids more nutritious

Sep 22, 2009 by Anna Migeon

Do you ever wonder how recipes and food processes were first developed? Take pickling, for example. Did one prehistoric day someone discover a stray cucumber that had fallen unperceived months before into some casual vat of brine or vinegar and say, “Say, this thing has been in here since the last harvest was brought in! It actually smells good! It seems crispy! Say, this tastes good!” Or what?

How did people first discover how to make dough rise? Or how to make cheese and some of the more surprising variations thereof? And how about those real-life dramas we’ll never hear about how early peoples figured out what was poisonous or not?

Fictionalized accounts of these accidental or ingenious food discoveries would fascinate me. Maybe that’s where my buried fictional talent lies: the untold imagined stories…

Your Child’s Diet and How to Prevent Osteoporosis

Jul 7, 2009 by Anna Migeon

My 23-year-old niece was recently diagnosed with a severe vitamin D deficiency. The doctor told her he was afraid she would end up with osteoporosis at 40. She has had thyroid problems and apparently it’s related.

This diagnosis set the women in my mom’s family talking. Our family is under the shadow of a history of osteoporosis. It’s a big concern.  I’ve long wondered how I can best protect my daughter as well as myself.

So my niece is now taking a lot of vitamin D (which increases calcium absorption).  Several in our family, including me and my daughter, started taking some, too.  That seems like a band-aid to me, though, not a true…

Perfect Little Shrimp Omelet

Jun 16, 2009 by Anna Migeon

An excellent recipe, this little omelet has everything to recommend it: speed, ease, flavor and nutritional value, plus easy on the budget.  It even looked somewhat impressive and elegant. It was a big hit with my family, though their opinions were based on flavor alone.

I liked knowing I’d served a pretty optimal meal, health-wise, with remarkably little time, effort or expense, and without anyone feeling the least bit deprived.  Shrimp is one of the highest protein foods available, and the eggs and fresh vegetables combined to make a meal with all fresh, primal foods—no compromises, nothing processed at all, unless you count the oil. Even the eggs were above average; I’m lucky to get real farm eggs from a friend.

Shrimp Avocado Omelet

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