Headlines about the dangers of “ultra-processed” foods – a category that includes Doritos and Twinkies but also protein bars, plant-based milks, and maybe your favorite yogurt or sandwich bread – are suddenly everywhere. But what makes a food ultra-processed, and what’s driving the concern about their role in the diets of both children and adults? On this episode of Pressure Cooker, Jane and Liz break it all down with Dr. Chris Van Tulleken, a professor at University College London and the author of the 2023 bestseller Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food. Why are today’s foods so highly processed, and how is that impacting our health? Should the sale of ultra-processed foods be more strictly regulated? Tune in to find out!

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It's Mother's Day. And like a lot of other moms, we're rebelling against the ideals of the "good mother." So we're bringing back a Pressure Cooker classic. In this episode, Jane and Liz challenge the idea that society’s ills can be solved by each of us spending more time in the kitchen, sing the praises of convenience food, and talk to the authors of the 2019 book Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems, and What We Can Do About It. We close out the show by sharing the dinner shortcuts we love.

As promised, here are Pressure Cooker’s picks for time-savers you can feel good about.

Heat and Eat

• Talia Di Napoli Frozen Pizza: Crust that tastes like a wood-burning pizza joint and sauce that tastes like sunshine. Available retail and online; $13 to $15 per pizza.
• Trader Joe’s Cheese and Green Chili Tamale: Made for the microwave and not too spicy for the kids. $3.79 for two.
• Trader Joe’s Black Bean and Jack Cheese Burrito: The antithesis of the sad desk lunch burrito. Perfect from the toaster oven and big enough for two small kids. $3.99
• Jaju Pierogis: The Polish know kids. Dough + potatoes and cheese is a hit. Add some raw veg and you’re done. $10 for 12.

Pasta Sauce

• Rao’s Marinara Sauce: Yes, it’s cheaper to make your own but this is better and fast. Look for it at Costco or Aldi for a price break, from 5.99 for 24 ounces.
• Good and Gather Organic Marinara Sauce, Target’s affordable no-sugar option, $2.79 for 24 ounces.

Dump & Stir

• OmSom: Think of these packets as authentically spiced flavor bombs, allowing you to make restaurant-quality Asian dishes in 15 minutes, Available online or retail; three packets (six servings) for $12.
• Maya Kaimal: There are a zillion simmer sauces but Maya Kaimal’s are the OG. Most kids will dig the mild creamy Butter Masala. $5.
• Haven’s Kitchen: Great flavors in resealable squeezy pouches. We love the golden turmeric tahini and the chimichurri. $6.99 per 5-ounce pouch.

Rice, Noodles, Dumplings

• Birdsye Frozen Rice: The fastest way to get a healthy grain on the table. $2.50 per 10-ounce bag.
• Momofuku Ramen: An upgrade on the dorm-room fave with air-dried noodles and a tasty spice packet. 5-pack starting at $12.
• MìLà (formerly Xio Chi Jie) Pork Soup Dumplings: As good as a restaurant. Seriously! And so fun for kids. $40 for 50 dumplings.
• Trader Joe’s Pork and Ginger Soup Dumplings: Affordable and delicious is possible. $6 for $3.79.

What are your faves? Let us know @pressurecook_fm

Sales and distribution by Lemonada Media

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Digital food marketing is ubiquitous. But what do teens and tweens see on their devices. And are the kids alright? In Part 2 of our deep-dive into food marketing, a Pressure Cooker investigation takes listeners deep inside some of the most closely guarded spaces in American life today– teenagers phones – and proposes strategies to stop the scroll.

Further Resources:

• Food Marketing Literacy 1 (from University of Calgary)
• Food Marketing Literacy 2 (from University of Calgary)
• FTC: Protecting Kids from Stealth Marketing
• Common Sense Media: How Teens Can Resist Advertising and Be Smart Consumers

National Association for Media Literacy Education:

• Equipping Kids with the Skills to Thrive Online
• Guidelines for Tweens
• Guidelines for Teens

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A generation ago, food marketing to kids was found mostly in two places: Saturday morning cartoons and the cereal aisle. No more. Children are now targeted throughout the grocery store, on billboards, product placements and, most dangerously, on digital media. Jane and Liz talk to Jennifer Harris of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and Charlene Elliott of the University of Calgary to understand how the problem has exploded, in particular for tweens and teens, who are now believed to be even more vulnerable to advertising messages than young children.

Further Resources:

• More than a Nuisance: Implications of Food Marketing for Public Health Efforts to Curb Childhood Obesity (Annual Review of Public Health)
• Food marketing to teenagers: Examining the power and platforms of food and beverage marketing in Canada (Appetite)
• Tracking teen food marketing: Participatory research to examine persuasive power and platforms of exposure (Appetite)

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Half of all parents of young children say they have at least one picky eater in their household: a state of affairs that strikes many moms and dads stuck serving up the same half dozen foods on repeat as highly unnatural. With the help of Jennifer Traig, the author of Act Natural: A Cultural History of Misadventures in Parenting, Jane and Liz explore when, and why, picky eating emerged as a common trait among children – and what you can do to stop it.

#pickyeating #feedingkids #parenting

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Christina Tosi is the chef and creative force behind Milk Bar: a dessert brand that she launched in 2008 in Manhattan’s East Village, and has grown to include almost a dozen shops, a brisk mail order business, and a line of cookies, ice creams, and other treats for sale at grocery stores nationwide. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, and the host of the Netflix show Bake Squad, Christina is also a mom of two. In this episode, Jane and Liz talk with Christina about all things Milk Bar, motherhood, and what it means to strike a healthy balance when it comes to sweets.

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We spend a lot of time thinking about the stress of feeding kids. But what keeps YOU, our listeners, up at night? This week, Jane and Liz answer questions from the Pressure Cooker mailbag: Does 10 minutes at the table “count” as family dinner? Is Costco really cheaper? (Here’s a really useful article we discuss on the show which compares Costco vs Stop & Shop.) What on earth do you feed a kid who hates sandwiches? And more…

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Dan Pashman is host of the insanely popular podcast, The Sporkful, inventor of a primo pasta shape, cascatelli, and author of a new cookbook, Anything’s Pastable, a book that makes a persuasive case for eating pasta for dinner every night of the week. And as if that isn’t enough to tune in, Dan’s also a dad of two who has successfully found ways to weave the pleasures of food into family life.

Interested in his new cookbook, you can pre-order at the link above. The Sporkful is also running a fascinating five-part series on the making of the cookbook. Find it here.

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