Let's Celebrate Fruits and Veggies - Not "Celebrities"!
I'm happy for her success and I can't argue (too much) with her mission (more on her methods later), but I have to admit that when I saw Jerry Seinfeld's wife on Oprah peddling her cookbook on sneaking fruits and vegetables into kid-friendly foods, I had to shake my head. It's another example of a celebrity-type person getting the big book deal and getting on all the top shows. This is a book I've seen done before, to some degree, by registered dietitians. They might not have had the snappy title nor the celebrity tie-in, but by golly, they've been making seemingly normal recipes with butternut squash and pureed spinach.
I'm not surprised her book is selling like gangbusters because that's just the way this business works (publishing and media). The media LOVES having celebrities on their shows and publishers love selling books. Perhaps at the root of all of this is our (Joe Public's) fascination with "celebrity." Are we more likely to "tune in" when we hear about a celebrity's book?
All I can tell you is registered dietitians have been trying to get on some of these shows for years. We're just trying to get the word out about the books and cookbooks that we feel passionately about, that we've spent years researching and writing. But a famous comedian's wife writes one book and she gets the golden call. Jerry Seinfeld was quoted in a New York Times article: "Let's be realistic - my wife isn't in this for the money or the publicity." Ah Jerry, but my guess is the publisher is. And I don't blame them really; they are in the business of selling books after all, just as television shows are in the business of bringing in the most viewers.
But when it comes to the topic of "deception" or "celebration" regarding produce - whether it's better to hide produce in your child's food or teach them to embrace the zucchini and celebrate the apple...I guess I fall more on the latter side. I'm not against adding vegetables to favorite foods; I just add it in small chunks so you can still recognize it as broccoli, for example.
If you make a habit of hiding the butternut squash and the spinach, your children are still going to look at those two items when they see them and scream, "Yyyyuuuck!" Perhaps at the end of the day, you haven't taught them to love healthful foods; you've just taught them that they can be deceived.
Related Topics: <Technorati Tags: cookbooks, fruits, vegetables, children, healthy diet, celebrity
I'm not surprised her book is selling like gangbusters because that's just the way this business works (publishing and media). The media LOVES having celebrities on their shows and publishers love selling books. Perhaps at the root of all of this is our (Joe Public's) fascination with "celebrity." Are we more likely to "tune in" when we hear about a celebrity's book?
All I can tell you is registered dietitians have been trying to get on some of these shows for years. We're just trying to get the word out about the books and cookbooks that we feel passionately about, that we've spent years researching and writing. But a famous comedian's wife writes one book and she gets the golden call. Jerry Seinfeld was quoted in a New York Times article: "Let's be realistic - my wife isn't in this for the money or the publicity." Ah Jerry, but my guess is the publisher is. And I don't blame them really; they are in the business of selling books after all, just as television shows are in the business of bringing in the most viewers.
Photo Credit: Jim Champion
If you make a habit of hiding the butternut squash and the spinach, your children are still going to look at those two items when they see them and scream, "Yyyyuuuck!" Perhaps at the end of the day, you haven't taught them to love healthful foods; you've just taught them that they can be deceived.
Related Topics: <Technorati Tags: cookbooks, fruits, vegetables, children, healthy diet, celebrity
