Courtesy of DivineCaroline
Marketers often have to come up with creative ways to gain a competitive advantage and sell T.S.O.C.—the same old crap. This requires repackaging common ingredients and giving them new (and newly trademarked) names and identities. Are they insulting our intelligence with their duplicity or does this type of marketing really work? If you’ve purchased the following products, you may have to side with the latter.

Bifidus Regularis and Bifidus Immunis
Probiotics are the new the cure-all craze. If you believe some food labels, they can solve everything from bad digestion to acne to obesity to a bad attitude. To help further their health claims, the marketing team at Dannon, which makes Activia, took things a step further. Banking on the power of suggestion, they came up with new names for two strains of bacteria found in their yogurt: bifidus regularis, which supposedly helps regulate your digestive system and L. casei immunitas, which, you guessed it, supposedly strengthens your immune system. Probiotics may have some benefits, but most yogurts contain them—the reason why there is a class action lawsuit accusing Dannon of a false advertising campaign promoting the benefits of their yogurt over others. The suit charges that the claims merely convince consumers to pay more. But how else would the marketing team get paid?

Certs—with Retsyn®
With all the fuss Certs made about its fabulously unique ingredient—Retsyn—which none of the other lowly breath mints contain, one would assume it was damn worth it. But alas, a few investigative clicks yields an ingredient list for Retsyn that is less spectacular and more mundane: copper gluconate (the green specks), hydrogenated cottonseed oil, and flavoring. There is no such chemical as Retsyn—it’s a mere conglomerate of every day ingredients.

Scope—with T25®
Scope is the only mouthwash that contains T25 breath fresheners. What, exactly, does this mean? The ambiguous letter/number ingredient would make one assume that it’s a highly sophisticated chemical that rids you of your lingering halitosis for good. But, reading the ingredient list reveals that T25 is a piece of made-up marketing—there is no new compound, merely a trademarked blend of breath fresheners. A bit like pushing the peas around on the plate to make it seem like something new has happened.

Quadratein™—sounds serious, huh?
It’s not hard to figure out why the makers of Snickers Marathon Bar named their proprietary blend of non-proprietary ingredients “Quadratein.” The word calls to mind those big leg muscles needed to run 26.2 miles, or the protein building blocks of those muscles. However, there is nothing unique about their trademarked compound—it’s simply a mix of protein found in milk and soy, mixed with some peanut flour—nothin’ new there. Their real marketing “genius,” however, came with the introduction of the oxymoronic “low-carb” marathon bar—a true feat of duplicity. Has anyone at Snicker’s ever run a marathon? You need those carbs.

PC-SPES
PC-SPES is an herbal supplement that many men are familiar with—it supposedly reduces the chances of getting prostate cancer. Advertised as a pure herbal blend, it and another supplement, SPES, were later found to be laced with prescription drugs—including estrogens, painkillers, and blood thinners. Similarly, some sexual performance-enhancing “herbal” remedies like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25, actually contain dangerous levels of erectile dysfunction prescription drugs in them; others have been found to contain testosterone and estradiols. The FDA doesn’t monitor herbal supplements so it makes the marketing easy—put anything you want in there!

Taurine
Taurine isn’t a made up ingredient—it is actually found in nature—but every claim about its ability to make you strong like a bull is basically bunk. The non-necessary amino acid is widely found in the human body; dietary sources include fish and meat. Red Bull seized the idea that taurine—from the Latin taurus, meaning bull—can somehow increase energy; other energy drinks have followed suit and added it to their products. Most likely, any energy that these beverages impart is from caffeine. It’s unclear how much of the taurine in dietary sources reaches the brain and recent research indicates it acts more like a sedative—not a stimulant—when it’s there.  

Pinnothin
I’ve yet to see this on a food label, but coming soon, Pinnothin, as you might’ve guessed, will be marketed as a weight loss aid/supplement/or nutraceutical. The evidence for its ability to help people eat less, like most claims from big food companies, comes from a small industry-sponsored study that came up with industry positive results. Taken thirty minutes before a meal, it reduced food intake by 9 percent (not statistically significant, so it could have occurred by chance). But what exactly is this miraculous new chemical or compound? Pine nut oil.

Green Tea Everything
Green tea is as old as dirt, but drink companies just recently realized how to make the ancient liquid trendy (usually by putting it in a mint-green, Asian-inspired package and adding high fructose corn syrup or the words “low carb” to the front). By extracting the good stuff, green tea drinks claim to burn calories (as in the Enviga drink), or antioxidant the hell out of your entire body, or boost immune system, or … do whatever it takes so you will buy their product rather than just brew a cup of tea.  
Given the competitive nature of product marketing, there is no doubt we will continue to be assaulted with an endless stream of “new,” or newly discovered, ingredients designed to make old products seem healthier, better, or sexier. The question is: do we buy it?

Provided by DivineCaroline.com, a website where well-informed women like you can read and contribute stories, reviews, and forums. Please visit our vibrant community soon.

By Aviva Goldfarb, Founder, The Scramble

Sautéed Mini Chicken Burgers
Prep + Cook = 30 minutes
6 servings

Our kids gobbled up these delicious patties suggested by our friend, Mark Spindel.  They’re so versatile—the basic recipe is delicious, or you can give them an Indian flavor by adding curry powder or an Asian flavor by adding a little ginger and soy or teriyaki sauce.  Serve them with honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and/or ketchup for dipping, and oven-roasted potatoes on the side.

2 lbs. ground chicken
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic (2 – 3 cloves)
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, minced (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh
1/2 tsp. dried basil or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped basil
1/2 lemon, juice only (2 Tbsp.)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/8 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and/or ketchup, for serving

(If you are making the potatoes, start them first.)  In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the chicken, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil and lemon juice. Season it with salt and pepper. 

Put the bread crumbs on a small shallow dish.  Form the mixture into about 15 small, thin patties, about 2 inches in diameter.  Press the patties into the bread crumbs to coat each side and set them aside on a plate.  (At this point you can refrigerate them for up to 24 hours or proceed with the recipe.) 

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Cook the patties until they are browned on each side and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes total.  If they are cooking too fast on the outside, reduce the heat and cover the pan for a few minutes.  Serve them hot with your favorite condiments. 

Scramble Flavor Booster: Add 1 tsp. curry powder or 1/4 tsp. ginger powder and 1 Tbsp. soy or teriyaki sauce to the burgers and/or serve them with spicy barbecue sauce or spicy mustard.   

Side Dish suggestion:  To make oven-roasted potatoes, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Dice 3-4 white or baking potatoes into 3/4-inch pieces and toss them with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. dried oregano or rosemary (optional), and black pepper and salt to taste.  Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake them for about 30 minutes total, turning them once or twice, until they are crispy brown. 

Tip:  I prefer the taste of flat leaf Italian parsley, but you can use flat leaf or curly leaf parsley interchangeably in most recipes. 

Nutritional Information per serving (% based upon daily values):
Calories 230, Total Fat 4.5g, 7%, Saturated Fat 1g, 5%, Cholesterol 90mg, 30%, Sodium 170mg, 7%, Total Carbohydrate 8g, 3% Dietary Fiber 1g, 4% Sugar 1g, Protein 36g

Nutritional Information per serving (with 3/4 cup oven-roasted potatoes) (% based upon daily values): Calories 354, Total Fat 9.5g, 14%, Saturated Fat 2g, 8%, Cholesterol 90mg, 30%, Sodium 332mg, 13%, Total Carbohydrate 27g, 9% Dietary Fiber 3g, 12% Sugar 2g, Protein 38g

By Heather Cabot, The Well Mom
For Well Moms on the go, even those who eat home-cooked meals most of the time, eating out is part of the regular routine.   In my family, it’s usually on the weekends that we grab a meal or two in a restaurant with the kids.  It’s fast. There are no dishes to wash. And the little ones have a good time.  The problem is that while I’m sitting there ordering a grilled chicken salad sans dressing for myself, many times I’m at a loss for what to order for my toddlers.  If it was up to them, I am sure that fries, ketchup and chocolate ice cream would suffice.  Now a new book coming out later this month, Eat This Not That! for Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block! may offer Well Moms like us some guidance on making better choices.

Co-authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding created a report card for 43 national chain restaurants.  Over the course of a year, they compared children’s entrees and calculated calories, fat (trans- and saturated), and sodium, as well as the average number of calories per children’s serving.  6 popular spots received failing grades, while others scored extra points for offering healthy vegetable and fruit side dishes and beverage alternatives to sugary soda. Some of the restaurants were also docked points for refusing to release nutritional information to customers. 

A lot of the information can also help us parents make smarter choices for ourselves, too. Men’s Health editor Zinczenko is the author of the amazing Abs Diet for Women (which I highly recommend) -  so I was really psyched to find out about this latest project.

Here’s an excerpt from the EAT THIS, NOT THAT! For Kids Restaurant Report Card:

A
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A excels in every category we tested for. With a slew of low-calorie sandwiches, the country’s “healthiest” chicken nugget, a variety of solid sides like fresh fruit and soup that can be substituted into any meal, and nutritional brochures readily available for perusing at each location, Chick-fil-A earns the award for America’s Healthiest Chain Restaurant (for kids, for the adults who drive them there, plus anybody else wise enough to make it their fast food choice).

Your Survival Strategy: Even the smartest kid in the class can still fail a test, so be on your toes at all times, even at Chik-fil-A. Limit salads with ranch or Caesar dressings, any sandwich with bacon, and make milkshakes a special treat, not an everyday beverage.

   
A-
Subway
A menu based on lean protein and vegetables is always going to score well in our book. With more than half a dozen sandwiches under 300 calories, plus a slew of soups and healthy sides to boot, Subway can satisfy even the pickiest eater without breaking the caloric bank.

But, despite what Jared may want you to believe, Subway is not nutritionally infallible: Those rosy calorie counts posted on the menu boards include neither cheese nor mayo (add 160 calories per 6-inch sub) and some of the toasted subs, like the Meatball Marinara, contain hefty doses of calories, saturated fat, and sodium.

Your Survival Strategy: Cornell researchers have discovered a “health halo” at Subway, which refers to the tendency to reward yourself or your kid with chips, cookies, and large soft drinks because the entrée is healthy. Avoid the halo, and all will be well.

   
B+
Boston Market
With more than a dozen healthy vegetable sides and lean meats like turkey and roast sirloin on the menu, the low-cal, high-nutrient possibilities at Boston Market are endless. But with nearly a dozen calorie-packed sides and fatty meats like dark meat chicken and meat loaf (which contains an unfathomable 55 ingredients!), it’s almost as easy to construct a lousy meal.

Your Survival Strategy: There are three simple steps to nutritional salvation: 1) Start with turkey, sirloin, or rotisserie chicken. 2) Add two noncreamy, nonstarchy vegetable sides. 3) Ignore all special items, such as pot pie and nearly all of the sandwiches.

   
B
McDonald’s
Though not blessed with an abundance of healthy options, Mickey D’s isn’t burdened with any major calorie bombs, either. Kid standards like McNuggets and cheeseburgers are both in the acceptable 300-calorie range.

Your Survival Strategy: Apple Dippers and 2% milk with a small entrée makes for a pretty decent meal-on-the-go. McDonald’s quintessential Happy Meal® makes this possible — just beware the usual French fries and soda pitfalls. Adults should go for a Quarter Pounder without cheese.

   
C+
Domino’s
Domino’s suffers the same pitfalls of any other pizza purveyor: too much cheese, bread, and greasy toppings. If you don’t order carefully, your child’s pizza might come laden with more than 350 calories per slice. To its credit, Domino’s does keep the trans fat out of the pizza, and it also offers the lowest-calorie thin crust option out there.

Your Survival Strategy: Stick with the Crunchy Thin Crust pizzas sans sausage and pepperoni. If your must order meat, ask for ham. And whenever possible, try to sneak on a vegetable or two per pie.

   
C
Burger King
BK has only four legitimate kids’ entrées on the menu, and none of them — French Toast Sticks, hamburger, mac and cheese, chicken tenders — are particularly healthy. And while the recent addition of Apple Fries provides a much-needed healthy side alternative for kids, the menu is still sullied with trans fats. BK pledged to follow in the wake of nearly every other chain restaurant and remove trans fats from the menu by the end of 2008, but so far, we’ve seen little action. In fact, a large order of Hash Browns has an outrageous 13 grams of the heart-threatening fat, and even an order of Cini-minis will add 4.5 grams of trans fats to your kid’s breakfast.  

Your Survival Strategy: Adults can sign on for the Whopper Junior and a Garden Salad, and escape with only 365 calories. The best kids’ meal? A 4-piece Chicken Tenders®, applesauce or Apple Fries, and water or milk. Beyond that, there is little hope of escaping unscathed.

D
Chipotle
We applaud Chipotle’s commitment to high-quality produce and fresh meats, but even the most pristine ingredients can’t limit the damage wrought by the massive portion sizes the chain serves up. The lack of options for kids means young eaters are forced to tussle with one of Chipotle’s behemoth burritos or taco platters, which can easily top 1,000 calories. Don’t think you’ll escape by ordering up a salad, either—even a leafy bowl at Chipotle can knock out more than half a day’s worth of calories.

Your Survival Strategy: Stick to the crispy tacos or burrito bowls, or saw a burrito in thirds.

F
Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, T.G.I. Friday’s
These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains that don’t provide nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years of communication with their representatives, we still hear the same old excuses: it’s too pricey, it’s too time-consuming, it’s impossible to do accurately because their food is so fresh. Our response is simple: If every other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can’t they? Recent New York legislation requiring these restaurants to run calorie counts on their menus gave diners a glimpse of what these establishments are hiding: At Friday’s, no fewer than nine sandwiches and ten appetizers topple the 1000-calorie barrier; at IHOP, the “healthiest” entrée-size salad has a staggering 1050 calories; and at Outback, even a simple order of salmon will wipe out 75% of your day’s caloric allotment.   

Your Survival Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their products. Ask them why they refuse to tell us the truth!

**For a comprehensive A-to-F breakdown on 30 other chain restaurants -plus the best and worst meals at each, check out the complete at EAT THIS,NOT THAT! For Kids Restaurant Report Card eatthis.com/restaurants.