Think of a healthy fast food chain. Which one comes to mind?

If you chose Subway, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey by market research firm Decision Analyst, Subway is the fast food franchise consumers trust the most for nutrition information.

Subway is the leader in consumer trust with almost one-quarter (24.2%) of consumers saying they “completely trust” its nutritional claims…42% of Subway customers choose this restaurant because it “has a good selection of healthy items,” compared with only 3% of Taco Bell consumers who select this restaurant for its healthy menu.

“Subway owns the nutritional claim relative to its competition, as there is a significant gap between Subway and these other popular fast food/quick-service restaurants.” read more…

Sorry to rain on this parade folks. Subway has taken pains to portray itself as a healthy fast food, and if you look at the nutrition information on their menus and website, it is quite impressive.

Until you read the fine print. Read more…

Every day, week, and month there’s a holiday somewhere in the world.

While most holidays have religious, historical or national connotations, there’s a new category of “marketing” holidays, embellishing whatever there is to be sold. Food is no exception, and just this week, for example, the country celebrated National Sandwich Day (Nov 3). The date was chosen to honor the birthday of Sir John Montag, a.k.a Earl of Sandwich, an 18th century Englishman who requested to have his lunch meat served between 2 pieces of bread so that he may continue playing cards with his buddies. This year Sara Lee and other bread manufacturers helped “celebrate” with PR pizazz.

Here’s a (very partial) list of a few more food festivities. In no particular order:

Get the day started right on National Eggs Benedict Day (April 16). And while we’re having breakfast, wouldn’t it make sense to unite National Pancake Day (Sept 26) and National Maple Syrup Day (Dec 17)?

Beverage Day is on May 6, but behemoth Coca Cola has it’s own very special Have a Coke Day 2 days later on May 8. too bad there’s no tap water day. For parents to messy toddlers there’s Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day (Feb 11).

There’s an entire month devoted to Hamburgers (May 1-31). Not to be outdone, Pizza has several holidays, depending on the toppings; our favorite is coming up next week – National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day (Nov 12).

Venerable vegetables have lots of special days – Does Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17) drive up sales of broccoli? probably not. Do people get discount when signing up to become vegetarians on World Vegetarian Day (Oct 1)? Kick the New year off with legumes on Bean Day (Jan 6). And don’t forget America’s #1 vegetable on Potato Day (Aug 19). While the Spinach Festival(March 26) sounds interesting, the more interestingly named Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Night (Aug 8th) will have us awake in bed til the morning of August 9.

Why would anyone celebrate Poisoned Blackberries Day (Sept 29)?

The sweets have lots of partying with an entire National Dessert Month in October, a National Pumpkin Pie Day on Christmas, followed 2 days later by National Fruitcake Day (Dec 27), and in the heat of the summer a National Cheesecake Day (July 30).

Lest we forget our favorite snack on National Ice Cream Day (July 18) with gourmands looking forward to National Vanilla Ice Cream Day (July 23) celebrated less than a week later. FYI: We just celebrated National Chocolate Day last week (Oct 28).

Thank goodness February is short, as it is also National Snack Food Month. It’s followed by National Potato Chip Day (March 14) and then National Pretzel Day (April 26). Healthy snacking will have to wait till summertime with National Trail Mix Day (Aug 31).

National Soup Month comes in the dead of winter, lasting all of January. Canned Food Month (February) is followed by National Frozen Food Month in March. April gets off to a sticky-in-the-roof-of-my-mouth start with National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (Apr 2) but then continues to a more solid Garlic Day (Apr 19) mid month.

But our favorite holiday, dedicated to all the unfortunate chefs who burn toasts and can’t seem to scramble an egg, is Kitchen Klutzes of America Day (June 13). We’ll be eating out that day, thank you.

Got any more interesting holidays we should know about? Comments welcome…

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Earlier this week, KidFresh shut down its New York store. Not many people are familiar with this tiny company that has been trying to revolutionize kid cuisine for the last few years.

KidFresh launched in 2007 with the vision to become an alternative to the unhealthy meals most parents buy their kids at the supermarket. The company offered a small but healthy range of prepared meals, using fresh and organic ingredients as much as possible. Artificial preservatives and food colorings were not allowed, and instead of juice or soft drinks, only water was provided in the lunchbox line of meals.

Despite a very sleek design concept and a health conscious NYC market, it seems that the recession has taken its toll on KidFresh. The founder and CEO has said the company was weighing the possibility of opening other retail locations as it revamps its product offering and reconsiders its business model. This is PR-speak for “our business is tanking”. It’s too bad, but just goes to show us how hard the food business is.

Prepared healthy options are expensive and outside the reach of most families, who unfortunately opt for cheap convenience instead.

What to do at the supermarket:

KidFresh still continues to sell its products at selected (read: very few) Whole Foods locations across the country. Luckily for you, their products are not so difficult to “copy” and make at home. OK, maybe cutting a turkey sandwich into a hand shape isa bit hard, but their recipes are rather simple. So why not try yourself? It will take some time to prepare, but aren’t your children worth it?

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