Snack Attack

Club chefs are helping to combat childhood obesity with kid-friendly alternatives to high-calorie, low-nutrient junk food.

by Marilyn Odesser-Torpey (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
June 2007
 

There’s no doubt that snacks in America are under serious attack. Just about every government policymaking, consumer watchdog and health care group, from Congress to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the American Academy of Pediatrics, is calling for major reforms in “junk food” advertising as part of the bigger battle to curtail childhood obesity.
According to the American Obesity Association (AOA), a little over 30 percent of American children and adolescents, ages six to nineteen, are overweight. Over half of that group would be considered obese, as determined by body mass index (BMI). Even more alarming is the fact that the number of overweight and obese youngsters has tripled over the past 20 years.

In a recent study on television advertising to children—the largest of its kind ever conducted—the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that fully half of the commercials aired on programs geared to under-12 viewers are for food. More than 30 percent of food advertising targeted to children or teens is for candy and snacks (another 28 percent is for cereal, and 10 percent is for fast food).

Some major manufacturers, including MasterFoods (maker of Milky Way, Snickers and M&M’s chocolates), Kraft Foods (Oreo cookies), McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Foods and The Hershey Company, have responded to the concerns of parents, legislators and health professionals by developing voluntary initiatives to stop advertising to young children, or to focus at least half of their advertising on promoting healthier foods and encouraging increased physical activity.

According to a 2007 State of the Snack Food Industry Report from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), 63 percent of parents are trying to help their children eat more healthfully between meals by watching snack portion sizes; 60 percent look for snacks with nutrients; 40 percent offer low-fat snacks, and 34 percent offer low-calorie snacks.
And healthier snacking is more than just kid stuff. Almost 80 percent of participants in the IRI survey said that they were trying to eat healthier overall. A majority said they were trying to eat snacks with nutritional value (66 percent) and replace high-calorie snacks with healthier options (63 percent).

But Sally Lyons Wyatt, IRI Senior Vice President, warns that “it’s extremely important not to put all of your eggs in the ‘healthy’ basket, because indulgent snacks still have a 66 percent share of consumer snack purchases.” More than 60 percent of survey respondents said they are more likely to eat what tastes good versus what is good for them.
And in recent years, consumers have broadened their snacking horizons beyond the usual chips, cookies and crackers, notes the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association. Today, the organization says, snacking is more of “a type of event” than “a type of product,” and can encompass just about “any small portion of food.”

Confusing? It certainly can be. But some club and resort chefs are more than ready and able to meet the challenge.

Squid Ink and Purple Fries
At Pure Maui, a personalized luxury vacation resort in Hawaii, Executive Chef Kyle Williams has plenty of snack options to appeal to healthy young appetites. One is a mini- quesadilla he makes with white-meat chicken; fresh salsa; a whole-wheat tortilla; and high-protein, vitamin- and mineral-fortified, low-so-dium, and cholesterol- and trans-fat-free soy cheese.

“The soy cheese tastes like regular cheese,” Williams explains. “To make this snack extra fun for kids, I get tortillas colored with roasted red bell pepper, spinach, carrot or squid ink at the health food store or section of the local supermarket.”

As a general rule, Williams chooses natural foods for snack selections that have undergone no or minimal processing—and not just for youngsters, but guests of all ages. For example, he spreads natural peanut butter (“just peanuts and some salt, no added sweeteners or oils,”) or organic almond butter on celery stalks.

Williams also significantly reduces the fat and boosts the nutritional value of fish sticks, another kid favorite, by substituting whole-wheat flour and egg substitutes for refined white flour, and whole eggs for dredging. And crushed whole-grain chips, cornflakes or whole-wheat bread crumbs supply the crunchy coating. Instead of frying the fish sticks, he quickly sautés them in extra-virgin olive oil, then bakes them until they get crispy (see recipe, pg. 29). And because these freeze very well, he notes, they can be made in large batches and kept on hand for snack attacks.

For a reduced-fat, antioxidant-rich version of French “fries,” Williams bakes purple-fleshed Hawaiian Molokai (or Okinawa or Peruvian French) sweet potatoes with a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, honey, sprinkles of coarse sea salt and, for a gourmet touch, fresh rosemary and paprika.

Kyle Williams, Executive Chef, Pure Maui

For a hiking, biking, post-scuba, snorkeling or surfing pick-me-up, he blends some low-fat, health food store-bought granola (“Be sure to read the ingredients,” he cautions) with just enough organic honey to bind it together so he can form individual bars, which he wraps in plastic. These single-serving, high-protein snacks can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, so they’re ready to be tucked into a lunch bag or backpack. He also keeps a stock of prepackaged energy bars ready.

Putters and Pistachios
At NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio, Executive Chef Mary King reports that golfers who hit the halfway house on her course are increasingly opting for trail mix or pistachios over candy, whole-grain chips instead of potato chips, and energy bars over chocolate bars. Most popular of all are the fresh, whole, seasonal fruits that King keeps waiting in bowls at her club’s snack bars.

At the halfway house, yogurt languishes on the shelf, King says. But at NCR’s pool café, with its women-with-young-children clientele, yogurt smoothies made with fresh fruit are big sellers.

Although kids still tend to favor cheese-stuffed soft pretzels for snacking, many are also happy with sliced apples, she adds. The moms also like the small domed containers of crudités (baby carrots, celery sticks, grape tomatoes and other seasonal local produce) with natural peanut butter or fat-free dressing.

At the request of female golfers who visit the halfway house, King has been experimenting for two-and-a-half years with various brands of low-fat, organic energy bars. Finally, at a recent food show, she found a pomegranate and cherry bar that earned guest raves and a place on NCR’s snack bar shelves.

Revamping the clubhouse and pool menus last season, King came up with a healthy, island-style appetizer that was a hit with members at the club’s Friday “Happy Hour.” A tropical twist on the simple sandwich, her Pineapple Stacker features a filling of low-fat cream cheese and clover honey, layered with thin slices of fresh fruit on pieces of sweet Hawaiian bread.

Cool Without the Calories
Yes, club members are requesting healthier snacks. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they choose them when they are offered, says Rob Marbs, Executive Chef at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis, Mo.

Marbs says he views the “healthy” trend as an opportunity to revamp some popular snack classic recipes, replacing fat, sugar and salt with better-for-you ingredients. And one of the most versatile of these ingredients is low-fat yogurt.
“Yogurt is packed with protein and with ‘friendly’ disease-fighting bacteria,” he explains.

In place of ice cream parfaits, Glen Echo members can now order trifles that layer fresh, seasonal fruits with plain or fruit-flavored yogurt. During the peak summer berry season, the natural sugar in the fruit eliminates the need for additional sugar, Marbs notes.

He often incorporates almonds, low-fat granola or a combination of the two into the parfaits, to add crunch and even more protein. Whipped-mousse yogurts also pair well with thin slices of fat-free angel food cake for parfait layering, while fresh strawberries whirred in a blender with yogurt makes a cold “soup” that kids eagerly consume.

Even easier—and totally natural—are the ultra-refreshing frozen grapes that Marbs serves to golfers by the cupful “on scorching St. Louis days.” He simply freezes seedless red and green grapes for about three hours until they’re solid. (“Use them within a couple of days; after that they start to lose their flavor,” he advises.)

“We sell ice cream and candy bars for people who want that, but this is a nice alternative,” he says. “Compare frozen grapes to ice cream, or even sorbet, for the health benefits, and you have a winner.”

And while most of Marbs’ snackers prefer the grapes all by themselves, for those who want to dip, he mixes a little honey into a small sauce cup of low-fat yogurt.