A Squash By Any Other Name Would Not Smell So Sweet

Want to get your kids to eat vegetables? Learn dastardly tricks in this posting.

A number of years ago, the Food & Drug Administration gave the California Prune Board permission to call prunes "dried plums."   

Why would the Prune board seek this approval? 

Duh! "Dried plums" sound much more appetizing than "prunes" which conjure up associations to nasty digestive problems.  Well, at least that's how I see it.

I have to admit that I admire the marketing guys who thought up this idea.  Just reposition something with a better name and, Voila, people eat the same fruit that heretofore was collecting dust on store shelves.

Good Enough for the Prune Board, Good Enough for Me

Not one to waste a good idea, I decided to try the same technique to get my kids to eat squash.

Let's face it, squash doesn't sound all that yummy either.  But kids love pumpkins and you don't need to be a marketing guy to know why. 

Pumpkins are associated with Halloween, the best kid holiday of the year. (costumes, candy parties etc)  Pumpkins also are used to make pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.  Not all kids like pumpkin pie, but I bet alot more of them like pumpkin pie than "squash pie," or prunes for that matter. 

You Dirty, Rotten Scoundrel

Dirty, rotten, scoundrel that I am, I created a plan to trick my kids into eating squash:

1. I asked them to help me plant squash seeds to get them engaged in the process.  I think if they believe these are their plants, they are more likely to eat the squash at harvest time.
2. Now for the really clever bit... I didn't tell them they were planting squash -- they were planting rare and unusual pumpkins:

• Waltham butternut pumpkin
• Delicata pumpkin
• Black Futsu pumpkin
• Boston Marrow pumpkin

I  showed them the pictures on the seed packages to reinforce the unusual nature of these pumpkins. They went for it hook, line and sinker.

Since pumpkins are really a member of the squash family, calling all squash pumpkins is a kind of half-truth.  One that I can live with anyway.

Pumpkins, a squash by any other name would not smell so sweet.

Comments

[Indoor Fountains]

I'm allergic to squash! But I don't think these little tricks could get me to eat it if I wasn't lol. Nonetheless, I am passing this on to a gf of mine who can give this a whirl

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Indoor Fountains:

Thanks for your comments. This tactic works on kids because there still young enough that you can pull the wool over their eyes. And, for the time being, I can still beat em at Scrabble :)

Please feel free to pass this post along. Id be curious to know if it works for her as well.