Sauce tempts kids to eat more greens

You always knew that dressing up greens was the way to get finicky kids to eat healthy. Now a study quantifies just how much it helps. A study has found that offering 2.5 ounces of ranch dressing as a dip sauce increases broccoli consumption by 80 percent among children. Ranch dressing is a mix of buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, minced green onion, garlic powder, and other seasonings. "Children with a sensitivity to bitterness may avoid certain vegetables, but offering a low-fat dip could make it easier for those foods to become an accepted part of children's diet," said Jennifer Orlet Fisher of Temple University, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reports. The researchers, led by Fisher, surveyed 152 pre-school kids at the Head Start programme who were served broccoli at snack time over a seven-week period, according to a Temple statement. "We know that children can learn to like vegetables if they are offered frequently, without prodding and prompting," said Fisher, director of Temple University's Family Eating Lab. Dislike of the bitterness in some foods may stem from the TAS2R38 gene, which influences how we perceive bitter tastes.