I hate taxes as much as the next dad, but taxes are sometimes good. They raise prices and change behavior, such as smoking. And often, legislators best efforts to tie taxes to consumer education (anti-smoking campaigns) or health effects (cancer research) are reversed when new legislatures need the cash to fund other pet projects (remember when lotteries were only to be used to fund education?) Often too, they are regressive, affecting poor people disproportionately. Price elasticity is real however, and anything that gets people off the sugar drink habit has to be good. People are still free to drink a Coke now and then, but are de-motivated to drink Coke for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is sometimes the case.

PARIS — France’s top constitutional body on Wednesday approved a new tax on sugary drinks that aims to fight obesity while giving a boost to state coffers.

The Constitutional Council approved the new soda tax, announced in August as part of the government’s fight against obesity and within the framework of a broader austerity programme, after it was passed in parliament last week.

The tax, which works out to one euro cent per can of drink, is expected to bring in 120 million euros ($156 million) in state revenues.

[From AFP: France approves soda tax]

Disagree? Let me know!

The good people at Sweet Sally’s send us cookies from time to time. This is just a big “thanks” to them for keeping us fat and happy while we sit at the computer all day. We listed them in top food gifts to send for father’s day, and that could go for the holidays for anyone a long way from home cooking.

For Thanksgiving and beyond, they just sent us their Pumpkin Scones and a Pumpkin-cranberry strudel, both of which are very tasty and perfect to send to someone who lives far away, but are thinking about during the holidays. The scones are very good, and what you’d expect out of a scone. The strudel is also very tasty, but is a heavier dessert that’s better complemented with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.

GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.

You’ve got to love the iGrill for iPhone. It has such a silly name, you’d expect it to be sold on Saturday Night Live. However, the jokes about i- things are passé. We are now into an era where stuff can be made that adds value simply by harnessing the power of the iPhone as computer in your pocket. The iGrill is one of those products that would have been a joke a few years ago, but is now a very powerful device for the serious griller.

I love this video starring Chris Allen, one of the inventors of iGrill. He’s so earnest and truly cares about making sure this product fits your needs. If you can’t get to the video, the principle of iGrill is easy. It’s basically a meat thermometer connected to a Bluetooth relay box that sends a signal to you anywhere in a 200 ft. radius. The app on the iPhone does the rest.

Let’s talk about the iGrill hardware first. The iGrill comes in a white or black box, a bit larger than a set of playing cards. There are headphone like jacks on two sides to accept thermometer probes. The front of the iGrill is very clean with an on/off button and a + and – button for setting the temperature alarm. The iGrill functions as a meat thermometer even if you don’t use the Bluetooth and iPhone app connectivity. The box takes four AA batteries (included).
The fun for techie grilling dads who like to show off their gadget prowess comes with the iGrill apps and Bluetooth connectivity. There are two iPhone apps. One has a black icon and is very basic, focusing on temperature alone. The other, shown as a white icon, has the temperature monitoring, but includes a lot more information, including tips, recipes and cooking guidelines. At some point, I would imagine the simpler app will go away, but it may be more straightforward for some users. Both make monitoring food temperature easy.   
Here are some observations from our first cooking experience. Watching the temperature gauge while cooking a few steaks was a fascinating process. We watched the temp move slowly and then really jump in the last few seconds and had to react fast when the steaks were done. It seemed like the iGrill suggested leaving the steaks in about a minute longer than I would usually have done, but the steaks came out perfectly medium rare. I’m glad I didn’t have to sprint from 200 feet away to rescue them when they hit the magic point however.
Between our first and second attempt, I migrated to the new iPhone 4s and had to pair the new iGrill (migrating phones requires re-entering a ton of data I found, including car Bluetooth codes and many app passwords). This is where I ran into some problems. The iGrill is only meant to be paired with one device at a time, so the site covers that issue in many videos. The iGrill requires you to reset the device’s Bluetooth settings if you switch phones or want to use the iPad.
If you read my Griffin Beacon review, you’ll know that I’m no stranger to Bluetooth connectivity issues. They can be a challenge and the iGrill put me through my paces. However, iGrill customer service is the most responsive product service I’ve ever seen. They answer email questions literally within minutes and with a few ideas on their part –the trick finally was to take the batteries out for 15 seconds — I was able to re-sync the iGrill with the new iPhone. Customer service was equally responsive when I found I had gotten a bad thermometer probe. They sent one out immediately, without even knowing that I was writing a review.
The iGrill is a fun toy for grillers and I will be taking it out, especially for thicker pieces of meat with longer grilling times. The iGrill would also make a great thermometer for candy and chocolate makers, though tests have not yet been done to see if the probes could withstand that exposure.
Expect more from the maker, iDevices, a Hartford-based company. They invented this product themselves, but are in business to help other inventors bring iPhonef-friendly hardware devices successfully to market. This is a fun first entry for them and you have to cheer on inventor Chris Allen, featured in all the videos, for his homespun charm and interest in making every iGrill chef a happy iGrill user.

GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.

After four years of discussion and recommendations, the rules went into effect this week. The French government has banned ketchup in all schools and colleges, as a way to promote healthful eating. The decision was likely made easier because the French would prefer you don’t put ketchup on your croissant with ham.

I’m sure most Americans will say, “Oh those French…” But food habits start early and putting sugar (yes, ketchup is tomatoes plus corn syrup) on your food just teaches you to eat that way. It doesn’t help parents when schools serve cookies and juice boxes when they aren’t at home.

Ketchup banned in French cafeterias?

I find I still have a lot to learn about how to grill. I’m still living in a world where you throw the burgers on, wait till they look dark with black stripes and then throw some cheese on. Now, I’m doing steaks and pork chops and have a bigger fear that I’ll ruin a $10 piece of meat because of my ignorance. Meat and grills all seem to be very temperamental and many are in the ranks of grillers who live with ancient apparatus because they know where all the grill hot and cold spots are.

Image via Wikipedia

What I do know how to do is follow a recipe. I volunteered to try out a new one using raisins the other day. Seems the California Raisin Board is promoting the use of raisins as a natural sweetener and sticking them in a sauce seems like a natural idea. I ran out and bought all the ingredients including tomatillos, raisins, and a can of chipotle chiles “in adobo” (whatever that is), as well as four nice pork chops for a surprise Friday night treat for my hard-working wife.

Unfortunately, when I got home, a brewing work crisis called me away from the kitchen. Our babysitter had just brought the kids home, so I thought I’d enlist her to quickly put the BBQ sauce recipe together before she left. Ten minutes later she told me she was leaving and that the sauce was done and on the counter. Success! Now, all I had to do was prep some asparagus, some pasta, and a salad and the meal was done.

This is where our simple grilling story takes a hot and shocking twist. As I rummaged around the kitchen for other ingredients, I noted that I found no evidence of two of the key sauce ingredients. The raisin bag was gone and so was the can of chiles. To my horror, I found the empty raisin bag AND the empty can of chiles in the trash. She had used a full pound of raisins instead of a 1 1/2 cups, but worse, had used the one whole can of chiles rather than “1-2 chiles” as the recipe required. My daughter and I tasted the sauce and both felt like those cartoon characters who go all red with smoke coming out their ears. It was inedible, at least for us softies.

Emergency situations require for emergency measures. I packed the kids up and ran them to the store and we bought all the ingredients over again. However, instead of opening a new can of chiles, I just used a proportionate amount of our babysitter-made hot sauce, which still gave the recipe plenty of kick without burning our lips off.

This is a good recipe for BBQ lovers. It is spicy and you can dial it up or down by adding more or fewer chipotles. It has lime for a little tang and the raisins give it sweetness without using molasses or plain sugar. It’s sweet without being sugary, a taste I don’t like in a lot of store bought sauces. Click here to find the raisin-based chipotle barbecue sauce.

Here are my top opinions on barbecuing with this sauce:

1. Brown the pork chops a bit before slathering on the sauces. A few minutes on each side will do it and then keep on brushing the sauce on. Grill each side after putting on sauce. Don’t serve with ungrilled sauce on one side as I did.

2. Make sure to reserve some sauce that isn’t used as marinade to put on the cooked meat.

3. The raisin board wants you to use raisins rather than molasses or corn syrup, which many recipes use. Raisins have fiber, potassium, and anti-oxidants, which are good for you, and even 1/4 cup of raisins is considered a full serving of fruit for a child. However, a sugar is a sugar is a sugar whether it comes from an apple or a bag. At least with raisins, you get some other good stuff along with your sugar. It’s hard to tell if you really are able to even get a 1/4 cup serving on one pork chop, without really drowning the thing in sauce, but be my guest! It will make it tangy.

3. The next time I make this sauce, I’ll skip the added BBQ sauce and put some extra raisins, tomatoes and secret spices (clove, cinnamon, garlic, tamarind) in instead. You’ve already put a lot of good stuff in this sauce; why ruin it by pouring an industrial concoction into it. You certainly don’t need to add “smoke flavor” since you’re putting it on the grill!

Bacteria on the floor attaches to food on contact, so forget all you’ve ever heard about eating something off the floor.

Image via Wikipedia

In a New York Times Q+A column, they quote Dr. Roy M. Gulick, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medical College, who said, “Eating dropped food poses a risk for ingestion of bacteria and subsequent gastrointestinal disease, and the time the food sits on the floor does not change the risk.”

It’s hard to resist the temptation of a quick grab when it’s the last donut in the box, or a favorite piece of chocolate, but a 2006 study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology showed that there was no difference in the amount of bacteria picked up between 0, 5, 30 or even 60 seconds. Even on different surfaces including wood and tile, time had no effect on transfer of bacteria.

Since even 10 salmonella bacteria can create a bad case of what is often called “stomach flu” or gastroenteritis, it’s safer to move the fallen item directly into the garbage rather than feed it to small children.

Related articles

• Q & A: The 5-Second Rule (nytimes.com)

Watch what you eat if you want to have kids. Here is the first study, albeit with rats, to show a link between a dad’s obesity, and the insulin and glucose metabolism of his daughter.

Australian researchers fed some male rats a high-fat diet and kept others on a healthy diet. Both groups of rats mated with females, all of whom ate a healthy diet. Then the researchers studied the resulting female pups.

The pups born to overweight fathers were smaller than those with healthy fathers. When they grew up, the daughters of overweight fathers had the same amount of fat, muscle mass, triglycerides and leptin as daughters of healthy fathers. But there were differences – the rats whose dads ate the high-fat chow had impaired glucose tolerance and insulin secretion. The problems started earlier than for rats with healthy dads, and they got worse over time.

[From What a dad eats can affect his daughter's health, researchers say - Los Angeles Times]

While there have been studies that show this to be true for moms, here is another link to the importance of dads in the picture.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group,  is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to require warning labels on foods that are known choking hazards, and to evaluate and monitor food for safety. The Academy says that food should be subject to monitoring in the same way as toys.

Children under 4 are particularly at risk because their airways are small and also because they are just developing their eating abilities. While front teeth grown in around 6 to 7 months, molars don’t come in until around 15 months. Young babies can bite off the end of a hotdog, but then can not chew it, creating a choking hazard. This also creates a situation where a parent may not be aware of the danger since the baby has successfully done some part of the chewing.

Parents should take CPR and emergency training so they can handle infant choking incidents, but this new initiative is a good step to reminding parents of food dangers. For example 2/3 of hot dogs sold have warnings on the labels, alerting food preparers to swallowing dangers.

Some child-safety advocates even suggest that foods that present a choking hazard be taken off the market. Others are marketing products such as the Guard Dog, that puts big slits in the side of a hot dog to make it less of a choking risk.

While initiatives like this may seem like governmental overreach to some, try telling that to someone who has lost a child to a choking incident. Warning labels seem like a small price ot pay to make sure parents are more aware of choking hazards, especially on foods, unlike hot dogs, that may be more risky.

Be a good example. If you’re having chips, it’s hard to have much moral authority. Plus, kids eventually model parents’ behavior.

Stick them in soup. Soups hide a multitude of sins.

Slather them in butter, or stir fry.

Let ‘em dip. Some kids like hummus, others like chip dip. You’ll have to decide how much bad stuff you’ll let them put on for the veggie benefit.

Serve them raw. Serve lots at once and let them decide which to eat. If you make it a practice to set out vegetables 10 minutes before you give in to their demands to have other snacks, you may be surprised how much gets eaten.

Get them involved in growing vegetables. Kids will eat a lot of things if they are involved in the preparation. That goes for cooking

Roast until crispy. Adults prefer them this way. It’s not your kids’ fault if you oversteam, boil, or microwave their vegetables. Kale, for example, is a treat kids love if tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. This trick works for broccoli, asparagus, and tomatoes as well. Check the web for more specifics since with some you have to turn the temp up to 400 plus.

Cover them in cheese. Hide cauliflower or sweet potatoes in mac ‘n cheese.

Have patience. And don’t demonize vegetables as something you have to eat to get to the good stuff. Most kids eventually start eating vegetables. The trick is to make sure they get enough before they start asking for them on their own.

If you’re like a lot of families, you’re cutting back on processed meats (lunch meats, salami, and even bacon) in favor of more fruits and vegetables. However, you still have to make sure kids (and you!) get the protein they need.

If you choose carefully, you can find vegetables, grains, and beans that have a lot of protein. Consider the following choices:

Broccoli — 4 grams in 1 cup

Brown Rice — 5 grams in 1 cup

Refried beans — 7 grams in ½ cup

Soymilk — 7 grams in 1 cup

Peas — 8 grams in 1 cup

Tofu — 11 grams in 5 oz

Oat Bran — 16 grams in 1 cup

Lentils — 18 grams in 1 cup

Chickpeas — 18 grams in 1 cup

And compare with 28g of protein in a 4 oz burger (quarter-pounder) and 30g of protein in a 3.5 oz. chicken breast. Of course, both of these choices have a lot more fat.

So, cut back on the meat if you can, but replace it with foods, especially beans and legumes, that are also high in protein.