Market research firm The Nielsen Company has released new information regarding store-brand (private-label) buyers.

While some people think that it is lower-income people with limited funds who buy store brands, it is actually middle-income families ($30,000 to $70,000) who are the primary store-brand shoppers.

Store brands also have a loyal and growing following among two-person households looking for value—a more affluent and educated shopper who realizes that there’s no appreciable difference between the branded product and the typical store brand.

Some of the study highlights show that:

• Store brands have won favor among younger households.

• The fastest-growing segment for store brands are families making $100,000-plus.

America’s Choice is the store brand of A&P.
Photo courtesy APFreshonline.com.

Those quarters and half dollars saved on store brands add up. Even if you’re not pinching pennies, they can offset extra treats—like that latte tab.

A $4.00 specialty coffee x five days a week x 50 work weeks a year = $1,000 a year in coffee expenses! So, see how much of that total you can save on store brands. Make a game of it with your friends…and then go out for a latte.

And have fun with this coffee savings calculator.

This is not your friend. Photo by Ramon
Gonzalez | SXC.

Salt also helps to disguise metallic or chemical aftertastes and provides a recognizable flavor when other ingredients fail to (the next time you bite into a potato chip or tortilla chip, consider how much of what you taste is potato or corn, versus salt).

At one time, salting was one of the only ways to preserve food. Yet salt remains a prominent ingredient in many processed foods. Even though we now know that too much salt is not healthy, some servings of processed food contain a day’s recommended salt allowance.

Salt raises blood pressure. The higher your blood pressure, the higher the risk for heart disease and stroke.

Only hypochondriacs walk around worrying that they’ll have a heart attack or a stroke. But consider all of the people you’ve known: The risk is real for many people.

These latter groups, who should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, comprises 2/3 of adults. Yet the average American consumes 4,000 mg of sodium a day—most of it hidden in processed foods.

Tips from the Mayo Clinic & THE NIBBLE To Reduce Salt In Your Diet

• Read package labels for sodium content per serving. It will be an eye-opener—some servings contain more than your daily allowance of salt. (While you’re at it, check out sugar per serving and fat per serving.) Look for low-sodium products or products without added salt. It’s never too late to develop wiser eating habits, and training your family in them is your gift to them.
• Eat more fresh foods, such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry, fish and unprocessed (cooked from scratch) grains. Processed frozen foods and other convenience foods may seem a godsend to busy people, but they’re high in salt.
• Use fresh herbs and spices to flavor your food. That’s why food tastes so good in France and Italy: more fresh herbs, less salt.
• Use a peppermill. Pre-ground pepper is pretty flavorless; fresh-cracked pepper makes a big difference. Learn to sprinkle pepper on your food instead of reaching for the salt shaker.
• Choose unsalted snacks: nuts, seeds, pretzels, raw vegetables, fruit and other salt-free snacks.

If you’re young and healthy, you may not think you have to worry about what you eat. If you’re older, it’s hard to change habits.

But don’t think of salt as a treat. Think of it as lard: It may taste good, but there are other options that taste just as good, and are much better for you. All you have to do is make the switch.

Could the Cakewich be the best thing since sliced bread?

Use the silicone Cakewich sandwich cake mold to bake a cake in the shape of a double slice of bread. Slice the “bread” into layers and make your favorite Cakewich using appropriate-flavored cream fillings, jam or ice cream.

While we can’t wait to make the PB&J pound cake shown in the photo, we also want to bake chocolate Cakewiches (“pumpernickel”) filled with “egg salad” (whipped cream or buttercream with a dice of pound cake standing in for the yellow portion of the egg); ham salad (strawberry whipped cream/buttercream with a dice of red velvet cake) and cream cheese and smoked salmon (whipped cream/buttercream with a layer of apricot jam for the smoked salmon).

We can’t wait to bake this peanut butter
poundcake! Photo courtesy WorldwideFred.com.

• Purchase the Cakewich cake mold.
• Find more of our favorite cakes, plus recipes, in our Gourmet Cakes section.

Growlers are the new “in” and green
packaging for microwbrews. Photo courtesy
SimpleSteps.org.

Thanks to the growth of craft beer, there’s a growler resurgence in the United States. You can find them at breweries and brewpubs that sell take-out beer: Take-home growlers are filled from the tap. Some homebrewers use growlers as well, as an alternative to kegs or standard bottles for carbonating and storing beer.

In the old days growlers had hinged porcelain gasket caps. Today a screw-on cap is as likely (and less expensive). A properly sealed growler will hold carbonation indefinitely, like any other sealed beer bottle.

And it’s more economical to buy beer in a growler than go through many smaller bottles. Most places that sell growlers will re-fill them for you.

Expect to see more growlers (glass jugs, not tin pails) as craft beer fans demand to take home brews on tap.

One of the newer Whole Foods Markets in our area sells a reusable growler filled with your choice of beers on tap—a constantly changing selection. When the growler is empty, bring the growler back for a refill and pay for the beer only.

In addition to being able to try fresh microwbrews that aren’t available in bottles, the idea of reusable bottles that can be refilled time after time—instead of going into landfill every time—is appealing. In fact, Whole Foods market now offers 32-ounce growlers in addition to the 64-ounce.

• Discover more about beer, our favorite beers and our Beer Glossary.

The Pink Princess Cupcakes Kit is one of a series of cupcake mixes (along with Fancy Fairy and Magical Mermaid) that provides an adult-child baking-and-bonding opportunity.

There is unusual fun in making these cupcakes: A special blend of ingredients for both the cake and the icing magically changes the batter and frosting colors from white to pink when mixed (hot pink for the cake, pale pink for the frosting). This is sure to delight young participants, and was a treat for us older folks, too.

As far as baking goes, this is a good opportunity to demonstrate to kids how to use a mixer to combine wet ingredients (supplied by you) and the dry ingredients from the kit, and turn them into yummy cupcakes. The lavender paper tote box contains enough Pink Vanilla Cupcake Mix, Pink Princess Pink Vanilla Frosting Mix and Enchanted Confetti Sprinkles to make 12 cupcakes.

At $5.95 apiece, you can also use the totes as party favors. They’re available at KidsCookingShop.com.

Throw a Pink Princess Cupcake tea party.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

In fact, the Pink Princess Cupcakes Baking Kit is part of a series of products from Barbara Beery, bestselling children’s cookbook author and founder of Batter Up Kids Cooking.

Her latest Pink Princess cookbook, The Pink Princess Cupcakes Cookbook, has creative cupcake decorating ideas with beautiful full-page color photography. You don’t have to be a pastry chef; the decoration ideas are all within the reach of the typical mom. The volume serves as a “menu options book” to let your little princess pick out exactly what she’d like to have at her party.

• Also check out the Pink Princess Cookbook and the Pink Princess Tea Parties.
• If you want additional decorating ideas, possibly for another theme party, check out Ms. Beery’s Pink Princess Cupcakes Cookbook. Each of the recipes outlines a different theme—mermaid, fairytale and s’mores to name a few—but all are suited for little princesses.
• Find more cupcake ideas in our Gourmet Cakes Section.