The first is a CBC article on food consumption as it relates to portion size. The study found that people eating smaller portion sizes were likely to eat more food than those eating bigger portions when it comes to snacking. The most fascinating idea in this study, though, is the psychology behind the eating choices. When faced with little temptations, people were more likely to give in, more often, and to a greater degree. Those faced with the choice of a large temptation were more likely to limit their complicity or completely resist the temptation. The real question for me is worth long term study: Do those "small snackers" eventually turn into "big snackers"? That is, if you keep giving in to little temptations, will you eventually be more susceptible to large temptations?
The second study looked at Kraft Dinner (Mac and Cheese for the uninitiated), and its perception by varied socio-economic groups. Interestingly, rich people think KD is an acceptable meal - tasty, filing, nutritious - to be donated to a food bank. The poor disagree. It is not tasty if it is all you can afford. Not to mention that the good taste often comes from the butter and milk added, which are not available to most poor families! Most organizations say that the best thing to do if you are planning to give to the food bank is to give money, or to give these items:
- Pasta Sauce
- Juice (1 litre)
- Canned Tomatos
- Baby Formula with Iron
- Pasta
- Canned Fish
- Peanut Butter
- Baby Food (jars)
- Canned Soup
- Canned Beans in Tomato Sauce
- Canned Meat
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Vegetables
- Rice
- Processed Cheese (jar)
