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When all the tasting was said and done and over 80 items graced my palate, myself and a panel of 4 other judges scored foods on behalf of the Canadian Liver Foundation.
The LIVERight awards are meant to acknowledge food producers for their efforts in bringing foods to the market that are healthy, convenient, and tasty. The connection being that liver health is directly affected by obesity and overweight and that a liver diseased by fat looks exactly the same as that diseased by alcohol. Children in our culture are showing up with fatty livers that look like an alcoholic liver.
Look, the liver gets no respect but it does more for your quality of life than your heart. Look after your liver.
The event was, you know, was an event so I don’t feel compelled to talk about that, it’s the process that interests me. The difference between how adults and kids assess food is a metaphor for how adults and kids experience life. My fellow adult judges were all cerebral and analytical. The texture this and the nutrients that. The expectations were high and the personalities higher as we all jockeyed for input always ending with, “hey, you score, your way, I’ll score mine.”
For instance, for me, the nutrient value was paramount, I would put up with a bit of a different taste or texture if it meant that the nutritive value was higher. I wouldn’t compromise taste, mind you but it wasn’t enough to sway me. Others were more concerned about taste, their backgrounds being strictly in the chef vein, their tastebuds being their ruler.
In the end, some good products won, some great products won, in a couple of categories, I felt that the best products did not win and the reasons muddy.
Now, the kids tasting was all about impulse, their cerebral side left for math lesson. Twenty four Grade 3’s tasted 9 products and scored them using the same scale as the adults. But, kids, they are completely swayed by what they know and what they expect. The tasted everything with an open heart and were ready for the next. Keep in mind that none of the products were sugary treats, this being a disqualifying ingredient. All were healthy and ranged from straight up Salba seeds (and you already know how much I support Salba!) that some of the kids asked for seconds on and some found unable to swallow, to a squiggly fruit chew which looked like candy.
I was wildly surprised that they did not go for the licorice looking candy thingy that, while it was not sweetened with added sugar, was made from fruit juice and would cause a blood sugar spike nonetheless. It had the most “Halloween-y” treatness of all the entries and I in my discouraged, adult perspective thought was going to win.The winner, though, was a frozen Yogurt Snack bar made by YoPRO Treats inc. and the kids went wild for them. They tasted to me like a fudgesicle with whey powder stirred in which could be an acceptable treat given my decision to choose healthy over fantastic. But, I was surprised that the kids were so keenly gobbling them up at the end of an hour of other snacks! It proved to me only that kids like frozen things on sticks. I am not even sure that they care what is in those frozen things on sticks. Frozen things on sticks symbolize fun and summer and treats. If they have yogurt and protein in them, well, so much the better. Both parent and child do alright on this one, finally, good work YoPRO!
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Few kids get to know where their food comes from. We grow up in our urban world of supermarkets and drive thru windows. I am not sure I would take my youngster to an abattoir but given the chance to visit a dairy farm and an organic field of greens, I jumped!