Easter Radishes, Egg Mythology, and Other Things to Ponder

It's snowing lightly here this morning ... no foolin'! It's pretty typical for Montana spring; somehow our crocuses seem to survive it every year.

I learned something new this morning. While searching for Easter egg photos, I found Easter Egg Radishes, which I now plan to plant in my garden this year. Given our growing season, they should be perfect for a spectacular 4th of July salad! So, I learned something that might even get kids to "eat their vegetables." I'll bet that even some skeptical children would be tempted to try a purple radish tossed in tasty baby spinach salad!

Learning new things and being willing to let go of fondly-held myths is an important part of approaching the childhood obesity issue. As promised, I am going to take on the recent demonization of school meals in the media. However, given that many schools are on a holiday break this week, I will launch my drive to focus on School Meals That Rock next week.

In the meantime, for a recent piece that I wrote on cracking open some myths about eggs, download Eat Right Montana's April 2010 Healthy Families newsletter. As I talked with colleagues about this newsletter, it was quite interesting how many of them believe that eggs are BAD and must be AVOIDED, despite a large body of evidence to the contrary. It is hard to give up concepts that have become conventional wisdom. It is easier for many health professionals to continue to view eggs as something devilish rather than something to be deviled.

It is very hard for many well-meaning health professionals to give up the myth that making Americans "aware" of obesity will cause them to adopt healthier habits. In fact, I'm guessing that nearly all large children over the age of 5 or 6 are already all too aware that childhood obesity is something pretty awful.