My Exclusive Interview with Brian Wansink, PhD: Mindless Eating

Ever wonder why you eat more than you should? Believe it or not, it can be something as simple as the size of the plate that you eat off of!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Wansink, Ph.D author of Mindless Eating, who is the director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. He is a Fulbright Senior Specialist in food marketing and nutrition, and in addition to writing Mindless Eating, he is author of the books Marketing Nutrition, Asking Questions, and Consumer Panels. His award-winning  research on food has been published in the world’s top marketing, medical, and nutrition journals. It has been presented, translated, reported, and featured in television documentaries on every continent but Antarctica.

His research findings have also contributed to the introduction of smaller “100 calorie” packages (to prevent overeating), the use of taller glasses in some bars (to prevent the overpouring of alcohol), and the use of elaborate names and mouth-watering descriptions on some chain restaurant menus (to improve enjoyment of the food).

Click here for more information and to take the “Mindless Eating Quiz” !

Trip to Italy: Day 1

I’m typing today’s post from my beautiful room at the Four Seasons hotel in Florence Italy. So glad we arrived safely after a hectic day of travel.

As I promised, here are some pictures of me eating my way through the trip with my fist meal being breakfast on my United flight followed by some amazing choices at Frankfurt airport! And also take a look at who I had the privilege to travel with.

Breakfast on flight – not much to write home about. I was hungry!

I made “all gone” with it – I was hungry!

Wonderful Bavarian Pretzel

Can you tell I like it?

This was tempting but didn’t choose this.

Beautiful German bread

I think think was yogurt and fruit

I shared this whole grain bread with my fellow travelers

I ate this wonderful field greens salad all by myself – yum!

Nelda Mercer & Dawn Jackson Blatner (Flexitarian Diet)

Dawn & Lisa Lillien “Hungry Girl”

Alison who works with “Hungry Girl”

Doug Jones (from Pharamvite) & Nelda

Doug and yours truly!

Hungry Girl and I having some coffee out of an automated dispenser

Keith Ayoob (Uncle Sam Diet), Dawn & Keri Gans (ADA Spokesperson)

Brian Wansink (Mindless Eating) and Keith (who is being ‘mindful’ not to bite Brian’s hand)

My foot compared to Lisa’s. Hard to fill her shoes, though 😉

Tomorrow I have a full day of sessions. I will be exploring the culinary trends and traditions of Florence, taking a peek into the forthcoming 2010 dietary guidelines and starting to think about what might change for revisions set for 2015, hearing about dietary supplements benefiting menopause and getting to hear Brian Wansink, PhD and Lisa Lillien talk about how one becomes “satisfied” with what they eat. Should be fun!

Stay tuned to tomorrow’s update and more great pictures!

Ciao and Chow,

Dave

Ciao! I’m off to Italy

Buon Giorno!

I will be heading out in a few hours to travel to Florence, Italy. I’m traveling there to attend (and speak at) a food conference and to also experience cuisine and markets of Italy. Besides that, I will be in the presence of some of the greatest food minds in the world. How cool is that?

My plan is to send back lots of food pictures and hopefully videos of marketplaces and restaurants as I eat my way through Florence. I’ve learned a little Italian…”Molta di Fame” means “I’m starving to death”. That should come in pretty handy…

And lastly, I hope to provide you with some cool interviews of “movers and shakers” in the nutrition world: Cynthia Sass ( Flatbelly Diet), Brian Wansink, PhD (Mindless Eating), Lisa Lillien (Hungry Girl), Dawn Jackson Blatner (Flexitarian Diet) and hopefully others who are truly having a positive influence on how we eat.

Have a question for me or any of my friends above? Just ask! If I post your question, cool prizes await you when I get back. Maybe I’ll pick up something especially for you from Italy!

Ciao and Chow

Dave