By now Americans have had a love affair with healthy foods for a couple of decades.  They have obsessed over 100-calorie packs, low cholesterol and no added preservatives.  In the fast growing market that supports healthy lifestyles, it seems that everyone is trying to jump on the health bandwagon.  Supermarkets have organic aisles to battle Whole Foods and other specialty stores.  Fast food chains have begun challenging each other with healthier choices on their menus.  New laws have been established to force restaurant owners to display calorie counts on their signage and to ban products with trans fats in major cities.  The First Lady has even begun her own fight against childhood obesity, teaming up with primary schools to change lunch programs in order to combat the disease. However, there is one key organization that has fallen behind.  They should be the party rallying the cause because from what they sell to what they teach is all about food.  Who are they?  The Food Network.

You would expect an entire channel dedicated to food to advocate healthier eating practices.  The truth is that the Food Network makes minimal effort to encourage people to make healthier food choices.  The few steps they have made are quickly cancelled out by the gluttonous eating they promote.

For example, to have a chef like Paula Deen claim that her favorite food is butter and to frequently show her cook with it in heaping portions certainly sends viewers the wrong message.

Let’s begin with Food Network’s programs, the most popular aspect of the Food Network brand.  During the primetime hours, the lineup consists of southern chef shows “Down Home with the Neelys” and “Paula’s Home Cooking.”  These guys grill and fry everything.  Later in the evening, the audience gets to watch “The Next Food Network Star” winner Guy Fieri explore America’s unhealthy obsessions in “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”  Fieri takes us to the kitchens of such places where he moans, grunts and practically makes love to “good ‘ole fried, grilled, smothered-in-oil-and-butter” American cuisine.

On top of that, the image of these Food Network stars is far from appealing.  Deen, Fieri and the Neely’s all have an unspoken air about them that says, “Yes, I am overweight but I just like to eat and cook whatever I want…and I do!”

Of course, if these are the shows that create profits for Food Network, and these are the shows that are in demand,

Paula Deen

then it’s hard to blame them for airing the shows.  First and foremost, Food Network is a business.  In reality, advocating a healthy diet is not their professional responsibility, but it is their social responsibility.

After the recession hit, Food Network showed an interest in providing shows that helped Americans become better economical shoppers and chefs . They rolled out a sequel to Sandra Lee’s “Semi-Homemade” show with “Money-Saving Meals”.  Lee shows us how to cook cheaply by doing the supermarket price research for us.  Food Network also added “Ten Dollar Dinners” with Melissa d’Arabian and “5 Ingredient Fix” with Claire Robinson.   Robinson can give you a delectable meal with only five ingredients to keep your grocery lists short and d’Arabian can make a dinner for four people in under ten dollars.  It’s great that Food Network has realized that some of their chefs cook with ingredients and recipes that are beyond the average American’s budget, but what about shows that advocate healthy eating?

Food Network does indeed have one show that attempts to fill the void in social responsibility.  “Healthy Appetite” with Ellie Krieger shows us how to take our favorite recipes and make them with healthier ingredients.  Krieger is a licensed dietician turned Food Network chef-ebrity.  But what’s the catch?  No one even knows about poor Krieger because Food Network has given her the early Saturday morning timeslot. Let’s be realistic: no one is watching at 8:30 am.   The only way Americans follow Krieger is through Food Network’s official website.

Food Network’s website is another place where the company falls short.  On the site, you can watch videos of your favorite stars cooking, as well as find and share recipes by either Food Network stars or the magazine editors.  Browsers can comment on the recipes with questions, advice and reviews.  But the website lacks a key ingredient: calorie counts!  I wonder if they do this on purpose.  What exactly would be the calorie count on Robert Irvine’s “Kid Pleasin’ Macaroni and Cheese”?

Macaroni and cheese:

•    16-ounce package elbow macaroni

•    1/2 cup butter

•    1 cup chopped white onion

•    1/2 cup all-purpose flour

•    1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth

•    1/2 cup heavy cream

•    2 cups shredded Cheddar

•    Salt

•    White pepper

•    3 tablespoons quince jelly

Yes, half a cup of butter and half a cup of heavy cream, which surely translates into some many calories.  The kids would be pleased, but how on earth does that promote feeding our youth healthy dinners?  What is the point of changing the food in school cafeterias if the minute they get home they’re fed a recipe with half a cup of butter?  In fact, the only nutrition-conscious part of the entire site is a tab at the top titled “Healthy Eating.”  Yet, the main attraction on the site usually has a smiling Deen or Fieri along with a photo of fried chicken.

The Food Network may argue that many people can alter any recipe to cater to their individual lifestyles or needs.  However, they must take the initiative to at least recognize their role in promoting poor diets.  Most of America is still struggling to balance the active life with a healthy diet.  Taking the stairs and eating a salad during the day won’t do you any justice if a meal developed by the careless Food Network “stars” awaits you at home.

Articles, Trends