Elmo and Michelle Obama made quick friends on Sesame Street recently to give a public service announcement for parents: Eat right and exercise and your kids will, too.
This is a far, far cry from the habits that Cookie Monster used to teach us when I was watching Sesame Street religiously in the early 1970s. (Think “C is for Cookie.”) So much for early education. I suppose we also should have been wearing helmets when we rode our Big Wheels.
But I am sure those Cookie Monster cookies are made with sugar and not that scary word “high fructose corn syrup.” It has an acronym, HFCS, which means that American foodies are serious about taking down this sweet enemy.
A recent NPR report talked about the “retro” drinks that Pepsi and Mountain Dew are launching that are made with sugar instead of HFCS. This means, according to marketing terms, that these retro drinks are BETTER for you because they are not made from corn. Good to know.
Other good news from the marketing front: If your favorite snack is potato chips, but you are trying to shop local, FritoLay chips is now using potatoes from local farmers. Local to whom, it is not entirely clear. If you don’t buy that, you can’t argue that they are indeed made in the U.S.A.
It certainly is a complicated time to have a snack.
Kitchen Report 
I recently heard that the Cookie song has a new title on Sesame Street. It’s called “V is for Veggie, ” or something like that. I still think Cookie has a more alluring sound!
Ha, ha. Yes, “veggie” doesn’t really inspire one to get up off the couch and dance into the kitchen.