food

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of all children and adolescents are considered to be overweight or obese. One way the CDC recommends preventing and addressing the problem is for healthy eating to become a part of every child's life. And healthy eating begins with reading food labels. There are many potential advantages to teaching children how to read food labels, including that it helps to encourage portion control and will help them find the information they need to make healthier food choices.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness).

The FDA advises that if consumers have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in their home that they throw them away. Cooking the dough is not recommended because consumers might get the bacteria on their hands and on other cooking surfaces.

Just this Saturday, my partner and I took the boy to our favorite breakfast place. We decided to order a dish that contained pesto and mushrooms. We had been given the okay by our ped to try mushrooms, and I figured pesto was rather innocuous, right? It contains basil, cheese, garlic, and olive oil. He has had all those things. As I gave him a mouthful, I thought back to the one time I made homemade pesto...about 20 years ago. It contains pinenuts. What the hell was I thinking?

Okay, I want to start this post by stating that the person about whom I am writing was very sweet and I am sure meant absolutely no harm. However...

About two to three times weekly, I take my 14-month-old son for a morning stroll down to Peet's Coffee. I find Peet's to be much better than Starbucks, but I shall leave that topic for another discussion. Anyway, the stroll is about one mile in each direction, and it gives us some time outside before his morning nap. Generally, I take some fruit and a yogurt for him, and I order a muffin and a dry cap. This morning was no different.