Why do snacks have to have "guilt" associated with it???

So here's this article from USA Today about "Baby carrots take on junk food with hip marketing campaign." This article basically is saying that carrot growers are launching a marketing campaign to try to create "news" for baby carrots the same way junk food producers have been hyping their products. Sounds like a great idea, right? I think it's a great idea!..Why?:

• Your using the same approach with kids to make the baby carrots fun
• Your using fun packaging to get the kids thinking "fun + carrots = good"
• The carrot industry is learning to "if you can't beat them, join them" regarding the marketing campaign is concerned.

What troubles me, however, is the comment at the end of the article, which like anything else, is the last impression you have when reading this article:

Consultant Kate Newlin says she wants to like the idea. She loves the fact that carrots are the color of Cheetos and make the crunch of Doritos. But she says she is not quite buying the premise of carrots mimicking junk food. "The guilt is missing," says Newlin, author of Passion Brands. "I don't think Frito-Lay will be trembling."

An "expert on this subject" is saying, "you need to have "guilt" to market junk food." And the whole point of this article is that the baby carrot growers are "using the marketing strategy" of the junk food producers by making carrots fun and approachable for kids. And as parents, "whatever you have to do to get your kids to eat their vegetables" is what goes through the minds almost every day. And if it doesn't cost too much or make that much of a difference, parents are looking for any angle to get more fruits and vegetables into their children's diets. I know, my nephew refuses to eat carrots, but if you make it fun and exciting, he miraculously changes his stance and tries it. We need to make food fun for kids and I applaud the baby carrot producers for making this attempt.

Only time will tell if it works. But lets take the "spirit" of the baby carrot producers and "make food fun for kids" so they try the foods. Of course, the best quality foods are always best, but I guarantee you, organic carrots at a farmer's market taste a whole lot better than packaged "carrots" (no offense baby carrot producers!). The reason is because it's fresh and its grown to be a "carrot" instead of a mass-producing commodity. So here's what I suggest - take your children (yourself, while you're at it!), and go to the farmer's market and look for some carrots. Talk to the farmer and ask them to tell you about their carrots and taste them. You'll love the crunch; after a while, you'll love the sweetness; and then your body will thank you because the vitamins will make it strong and try to shed some fat for you from the fiber you're giving it. And that's just eating them raw!...Here are some ideas for getting more carrots into your diet and even having your kids try them too:

• Apple-Carrot Sauce (Stewed apples and shredded carrots, add a cinnamon stick, add lemon juice, agave, and some water; slowly stew the mixture until very soft, to bring out the natural sugars in both the apples and carrots; then put them in a blender and now you have apple-carrot sauce!)
• Roasted Carrots with balsamic vinegar (cut your carrots into bite size pieces, then boil some water and then place the carrot pieces in until they are fork tender; strain them and then allow the heat to steam themselves dry; place them in a bowl, 2 pinches each of salt & pepper, olive oil to coat, fresh rosemary or thyme or oregano, drizzle balsamic vinegar; roast in 400-degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes - the sugars in the carrots will get sweet, the balsamic vinegar will get sweet; the herbs will create an aroma that will make everything wonderful)
• Carrot and Zucchini salad (using a vegetable peeler, peel around the cores of 2 medium carrots and 1 medium zucchini - discard the cores, add a handful of arugula, some dried cranberries, blue or feta cheese (or pitted olives if you don't like cheese), juice of one lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Pinch of salt and pepper, toss with your hands, and voila!)
• And of course, Carrot cake - Jameson Style:

Citrus Olive Oil Carrot Cakes

Serves 6 to 8 @ 3 oz portions

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup light olive oil
• 1 cup light agave nectar
• zest and juice of 2 medium oranges
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Harvey's Sherry or Grand Marnier

1. Preheat your oven to 400-degrees. Spray your muffin mold / cupcake mold with non-stick spray.
2. Mix your dry ingredients and make sure to whisk any lumps. Mix spices thoroughly in flour mixture. Set Aside
3. In a small bowl, zest and juice the two oranges. Grate you carrots and put into orange juice/zest mixture. Set aside
4. In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil and with a whisk, mix the agave, vanilla extract and sherry.
5. Slowly add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the liquid and mix until just incorporated (do not over mix). Add 1/3 of the orange-carrot mixture and lightly mix. Repeat flour / orange-carrot mixture until everything is mixed together.
6. Spoon / Piping Bag / Pour batter into your molds and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the tops are golden and a crust is starting to form. Using a toothpick, poke the center - if it comes out clean, remove from the oven. If the toothpick comes out moist, turn off the oven and leave the cakes inside with the oven door closed for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the toothpick method comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool slightly before you take them out of the molds. You want the cakes to cool and set otherwise, you could break the cakes while removing them from the molds.
8. Allow the cakes to cool on a baking rack.
   

Add some spice in your life...Creatively Make Something Your Own

So as far as cooking is concerned, it's not about how well someone can follow a recipe, it' really how well you use the recipe as a guide to make the dish reflect who you are and what you want to express to other people...this concept is common throughout the creative art world - you take a technique and then add your personal touch...you mix and match the best of what you like from a couple of different dances and turn the mix into your own unique dance style...you combine different types of music - classical and techno for example - come up with your own brand of music...the same rings true in cooking...as my mother used to say, you use "a recipe" as a guide and then you add your own personal touches to make it your own...so here's an example:

From my cookbook, "Mediterranean Food of the Sun", the "Bananas with Lime and Cardamom Sauce" recipe calls for limes, butter, a strange foreign sugar...and since I'm a health conscious kind of guy, I replace the butter for Almond Oil, the strange foreign sugar with Palm Sugar that helps keep your blood sugar levels low, and continue to use limes or lemons...But here's where I put my spin on it: I add cinnamon to the mix to also aid in lowering blood sugar levels and a another layer of flavor, and then I want to add another fruit to the mix, so I diced some pears to add contrast in flavors and textures with the bananas, and then for another layer of contrast, as Emeril Legasse puts it, "I kicked it up a notch" by adding a dash of cayenne pepper which leaves a very mild heat on your palette that makes you want to crave for some vanilla gelato!!!!...

And what do you have???...a completely different dish from the cookbook that is similar but now is completely my own because i used the recipe as a guide and put my own personal creative touches to express who I am and what I want to impart on whomever I'm going to serve it to...

So here's my recipe as adapted from the cookbook I am using for you to try and enjoy:

"Be Great, Bananas with Lemon and Cardamom Sauce

• 6 small bananas - sliced lengthwise and in halved (now you have 24 pieces)
• 1 Pear - cored and diced into 1/4" pieces
  
• 4 Tbsp of Almond Oil Extract
• 1 tsp cardamom-powder
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup flaked/ slivered almonds
• Half a Large lemon, to zest and one 6-inch peel for garnish
• 1/4 cup Palm Sugar or Low GI sugar substitute
• 2 Tbsp Dark Rum

-In a saute pan, add half the almond oil and bananas and saute until golden brown. Make sure you leave them alone to allow the sugars in the bananas to carmelize and give you a crust...As Tyler Florence says, color means flavor...Add half the cinnamon and distribute evenly throughout the bananas. Once golden, remove and place in a heatproof dish.

-Use the same pan and add the remaining Almond oil and almonds and cardamom until almonds are golden-pay attention because the almonds will brown fast and will burn on you if you're not watching them.

-Once their brown, add the palm sugar and lemon juice and lemon zest and allow the sugar to carmelize...reduce the heat, and add remaining cinnamon and cayenne pepper and continue to stir to incorporate.

-Take the pan off the stove and add the rum (you must do this to avoid uncontrolled flame outs), continue to stir...add the diced pears and cooked bananas and turn off the heat and fold the fruit into the sauce, careful not to break the bananas.

-Return all of the mixture to the heatproof dish...take the lemon peel, and twist and garnish...serve with vanilla ice cream/ gelato.

this should serve 6 people

Be Great, One Meal at a Time!

Do you know you have the FREEDOM to choose what you eat and drink???

I am doing detailed research into diabetic and renal disease diets...if you thought going on a diet to lose weight was hard, that's a "walk in the park" compared to what you have to do if you have diabetes or kidney disease...what's my point???...once you have a diet-dependant disease, what you "should" do to be healthy now becomes "mandatory and restricted"...think about that for a bit...you HAVE to eat healthy and you HAVE less to choose from...

I have a diet dependent disease called GOUT...many Filipinos have this disease and with medications, it can be controlled...however, we cannot over indulge in the foods and drinks that we love, otherwise, our joints get inflamed and the pain that follows lasts for at least 5 days or more and is one of the most excruciating arthritic pains (at least that's how it works for me)...but for every lapse in judgment when I decide to have a Japanese beer because it will go great with sashimi; every time I decide to have one more glass of wine to have with my meal; every time I decide to indulge in Texas-style BBQ, my body will remind me what happens when I do not eat in moderation...and the rest of life (Friends, family, sports, music, etc.) outside of great eating and drinking is put on hold because my body is out of commission...so in some respects, my GOUT is a painful reminder of what happens when I don't eat a balanced lifestyle between great health and flavorful enjoyment...and striking a balance; "isn't that the point to being on a diet???"...to eat a certain way to allow ourselves to change our bodies, maintain our bodies, or sustain our bodies...but when the CHOICE to implement a diet is taken away from you and is then replaced with a MANDATE (follow this or suffer the consequences), you start to question yourself and you then realize, you want to have the ability to CHOOSE for yourself...again, let me spell this out for you: do you want the ability to CHOOSE the dietary lifestyle you want to do the things you want or do you want this FREEDOM taken away from you and then live a RESTRICTED dietary lifestyle???....think about this concept....the FREEDOM to CHOOSE the dietary lifestyle you WANT???...

I want to wrap this up on a positive note...WE ALL HAVE THIS FREEDOM TO CHOOSE UNTIL WE DECIDE TO GIVE IT AWAY!...if you don't know what healthy eating means, go look it up...if you want to know what a "restrictive lifestyle" means, go ask someone who has a diet-dependent disease...if you want to eat healthy, but want "flavorful enjoyment", go look up a Mediterranean Diet and what the people of the Mediterranean have been eating since the beginning of time...combine that with daily exercise, outdoor activities, and group activities, the Mediterranean peoples are probably the most liveliest people on the planet...I will learn more about the Mediterranean Diet and Cuisines I will be as "lively" as they are through healthy foods and flavorings that have stood the test of time...in my opinion, Healthy Food + Enjoyable Flavor = a GREAT DIETARY LIFESTYLE...go realize YOUR greatness and keep your FREEDOM to choose the foods and drinks you want with responsible portions...and when you're done eating GREAT and drinking GREAT, you can then proceed to enjoy a GREAT LIFE!...

Be GREAT, One Meal at a Time!....