Eat better, beautiful America.

I think food websites are some of the most beautiful websites out there, don’t you? There’s just something about food that allows for some of the most phenomenal photographs and creative web designs. Some of my personal favorites are Cheese & Burger Society, Fishful Thinking, Emerald Nuts, Chocolate & Zucchini, and Hello Sour Sally.

As you can see, most of these don’t deal with healthy items. However, I did come across a pretty nice one from General Mills called Eat Better America. On this site you can find healthy recipes, coupons, and nutrition information. Discover how to use vegetables like rhubarb and the latest healthy cooking techniques, all while enjoying beautiful food photography (and a few ads). Hope you like it as much as I did.

Taco Bell is knee deep in 35% beef.

It’s no surprise that Playnormous programmer Ramsey told me about Taco Bell’s troubles almost a whole day before it hit mainstream news.

Now Taco Bell is all over TV thanks to a class-action lawsuit filed on Friday which is calling for Taco Bell to stop using the term “beef” when advertising its products. Ground beef tested from a Taco Bell quick service restaurant revealed that the mixture contained less than 35% beef with 65% of the product being composed of water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), silicon dioxide (an anti-caking agent) and modified corn starch.

What is “ground beef” according to the FDA?

I was curious how the federal government actually defines “ground beef.” For this I looked to our friends at the FDA. Here’s what they said:

“‘Chopped Beef’ or ‘Ground Beef’ shall consist of chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without seasoning and without the addition of beef fat as such, shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders.”

This less than 30% fat rule also applies to hamburgers, beef patties, steaks, hot-dogs, bologna, etc.

On first look, it seems like Taco Bell may be up a creek without a paddle. However, Taco Bell President Greg Creed fought back today saying, “Taco Bell simmers 100 percent U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected beef in a ‘proprietary blend of seasonings and spices’ to give it a signature taste and texture. Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their ‘facts’ absolutely wrong.”

What to look for in quality beef.

Regardless of whether Taco Bell products contain beef with fillers added or filler-based beef, either way, nutrition problems come into play. For those interested in staying away from misleading beef-ish products, here’s what to look for on labels according to the USDA :

• Certified – The term “certified” implies that the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Agriculture Marketing Service have officially evaluated a meat product for class, grade, or other quality characteristics (e.g., “Certified Angus Beef”).
• Meat – Meat is a product derived from advanced meat/bone separation machinery. This machinery cannot grind, crush or pulverize bones to remove edible meat tissue and bones must emerge essentially intact. The meat produced in this manner can contain no more than 150 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams product.
• Natural – A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product) may be labeled natural. The label must explain the use of the term natural (such as – no added colorings or artificial ingredients; minimally processed.)
• No Hormones – The term “no hormones administered” may be approved for use on the label of beef products if sufficient documentation is provided to the Agency by the producer showing no hormones have been used in raising the animals.
• No Antibiotics – The terms “no antibiotics added” may be used on labels for meat or poultry products if sufficient documentation is provided by the producer to the Agency demonstrating that the animals were raised without antibiotics.

Win with Nickelodeon and Playnormous.

Our first CD-ROM ever “Playnormous: Fun For A Change Health Video Games” has been selected as a feature item in the Nickelodeon Parents Connect Back-to-School event!

On Thursday August 19, 2010 from 9 AM to 10:45 PM CST (that’s tomorrow), thousands of moms will gather together for one of Nickelodeon’s highly acclaimed Parents Connect online parties.  During the event, members get to know each other by playing games, chatting about the latest parenting topics and winning prizes.

Playnormous will be a featured partner for the annual Back-to-School Party tomorrow and will give away a Playnormous CD-ROM to one lucky participant!  You can also enter to win dozens of other amazing back-to-school prizes.

Not only that but our party is being hosted by the National PTA and actress/mom Tichina Arnold.  You probably know Tichina as the matriarch character Rochelle on the TV show Everybody Hates Chris or the Fox sitcom Martin.

Party with us!

You can join this amazing online party with Nickelodeon and Parents Connect by simply visiting their RSVP page.  It’s free to enter!  You could win a bus load of amazing free PRIZES to start you and your child off the right way this school year!  We hope to see you there!

About Parents Connect

Parents Connect is a member of the Nickelodeon media network and is designed specifically to meet the needs of parents.  To support their motto “We’re not perfect, we’re parents,” ParentsConnect.com provides moms and dads with daily tips, recipes, activities, product recommendations and other family-friendly resources alongside opportunities to socialize about raising children in all stages of life.

Take 2010…action!

They say you’re not official until you’re on YouTube.  I’m not quite sure who “they” are, but regardless, we’ve been lucky to get some pretty amazing Playnormous-related videos over the last two years.  A little press here, a little iMac contest celebration there.  Yep, all in all we’ve very pleased with our video coverage.  The only thing we’ve been missing is a place to put them all.

So, without further ado…I am pleased to announce the launch our very own Playnormous Channel on YouTube!  Take a gander (or a goose) around and let us know what you think.  Want your own Playnormous video added?  Just send us an email at info [at] playnormous [dot] com.  You could be our next Playnormous Channel star!

A movement about movement. 

Our amazing TEA (that’s the Texas Education Agency) notified me today that Wednesday May 5, 2010 is Make the Movement Day.

This is the ACTIVE Life Movement’s annual, day-long initiative to encourage the public to create and share their “Moments” of physical activity (Move), healthy eating (Fuel), and personal and environmental health (Honor) to promote healthy, ACTIVE lifestyles.

Create your own.

Hundreds of teachers, families, and kids have already pledged to make their classroom a healthy one tomorrow.  For example, one teacher in Houston, TX is going to have her class do 10-minute aerobic activities in their classroom tomorrow.  Another in Galveston, TX has pledged to have her class eat fruits and vegetables as snacks during the school day.

To join in the efforts, participate in an existing moment or create your own in the Create a Moment section.  Consider adding Playnormous to your goal!