2 July 2013 - Invisible Wholegrains?!

I was in the supermarket yesterday when I heard an advertisement for Maggi's new Invisible Wholegrain 2 minute noodles over the supermarkets loudspeaker. I couldn't believe it when I heard the tagline selected for this new product. In regard to the inclusion of  the healthy wholegrains in the product they had this to say -

"You'll know it's there, but your kids won't!"

This line was spoken cheerfully in the voice of whom we are made to assume is a Mother proud of the  accomplishment of sneaking something healthier into her child's diet and getting away with it by disguising it as the crap that is regular 2 minute noodles.

Needless to say I stopped still for a minute in the supermarket at this and had to restrain myself from pulling all of Maggi's noodle products off the shelf and stamping on them in a rage.

What Maggi has so tactfully implied is that healthier foods must be incorporated into a children's diet in secret; for the truth carries the risk that the child will declare the food as yucky, refuse to eat it and throw it in their parents face.

Why Maggi? Why would we encourage the need to hide the wholegrains from our children?

What kind of a health ignorant generation are you suggesting we raise Maggi?!

I think that children should be taught about and learn to celebrate healthy, natural and unprocessed foods. When I worked in childcare I kept an audience of up to 24 pre-schoolers captivated by the simple process of preparing some fresh pineapple. Children whose Mothers had assured me they hated all fruit were in awe of the textures, smell and taste of the pineapple. "I love pineapple" some cheerfully declared. I asked them to share this new-found love with their sceptical families.

When we show enthusiasm and excitement over something in front of our children, they tend to share in that attitude too. We should consider it a duty to guide our children towards excitement and enthusiasm about healthy eating. The goal should be for our children to demand the presence of wholegrains in their noodles, not to successfully sneak them past them.

I'm sick of fruit being disguised as lollies, of water being flavoured with cordial, of vegetables being hidden in a pasta sauce.And then we question how 1 in every 4 Australians have ended up obese. How the number one risk factor in this country contributing towards the burden of disease is poor nutrition.

I think it's easy to see how when a company like Maggi believes that children despising any food associated with being healthy is a fact common enough for them to advertise based on their ability to disguise it?

"With healthy whole grains that you'll know are there, but your kids won't!"

How are they going to know what to eat for their health when they're adults!? I don't think Maggi thought this one through very well and I do intend to be a pain and write to them about it.

Maybe being on holidays from uni has given me too much spare time on my hands.