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  • Aubri Wilson, left, munches a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich...

    Aubri Wilson, left, munches a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich resembling piano keys while brother Austin scarfs lower-sodium, lower-fat pizza at Bean Sprouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County in Santa Ana.

  • Creative plating – including veggie “bugs” and a turkey sandwich...

    Creative plating – including veggie “bugs” and a turkey sandwich “flower” – is part of the Whoopsie Daisy's appeal to kids.

  • Studies show that kids are more willing to eat healthier...

    Studies show that kids are more willing to eat healthier foods like Bean Sprouts' Crocamole when the presentation is fun.

  • This Do-Re-For-Me ($5) with sunflower butter and organic jam is...

    This Do-Re-For-Me ($5) with sunflower butter and organic jam is served at Bean Spouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County.

  • Bean Spouts Cafe offers these veggie critters with celery legs...

    Bean Spouts Cafe offers these veggie critters with celery legs at Discovery Cube Orange County.

  • Nicole Wilson of Laguna Niguel, from left, was set to...

    Nicole Wilson of Laguna Niguel, from left, was set to go home and prepare a healthy lunch for her children Austin, 5, and Aubri, 6. She changed plans after she spotted Bean Sprouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County. The counters are low and kid friendly.

  • The idea is to make items such as water or...

    The idea is to make items such as water or milk the default option with children's meals. Milk and water are front and center at Bean Sprouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County.

  • Keri Marshall, with Kendall, left, and Bradley, says she was...

    Keri Marshall, with Kendall, left, and Bradley, says she was surprised to see choices she liked for her kids at Bean Sprouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County.

  • Ethan Alvarado, 3, is hanging on for lower-fat cheese at...

    Ethan Alvarado, 3, is hanging on for lower-fat cheese at Bean Sprouts Cafe at Discovery Cube Orange County, while his parents order.

  • Water cups dominate a table as dozens of youngsters from...

    Water cups dominate a table as dozens of youngsters from I Heart Daycare eat their lunch at Discovery Cube Orange County.

  • Nik Barge of Chicago keeps his 20-month-old son Ben flying...

    Nik Barge of Chicago keeps his 20-month-old son Ben flying high while waiting for his vegetable sandwich. The youngster choose the cheese pizza, popular among children, at Discovery Cube Orange County in Santa Ana. As the name "Bean Sprouts" suggests, it offers healthy alternatives. The Orange-based eatery replaced Taco Bell.

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Courtney Perkes

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 9/22/09 - blogger.mugs  - Photo by Leonard Ortiz, The Orange County Register - New mug shots of Orange County Register bloggers.

Take a serving of psychology and mix with fruits and vegetables. That’s one recipe that has been successful for improving kids’ meals at restaurants.

Research shows that children are more likely to eat healthy foods when they have fun names or are presented creatively. That’s the approach at Orange-based Bean Sprouts Cafe, which last year replaced Taco Bell at the Discovery Cube Orange County in Santa Ana.

A low counter there allows kids to select from a visual menu that includes a flower-shaped roasted turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, and an avocado hummus dip with raw carrots and zucchini shaped like a crocodile.

“It’s nice for us not to have to bring their lunch and it’s nice for them to choose their own lunch and try something new,” said Keri Marshall, 31, of Irvine, who on a recent visit ordered sandwiches for her daughters. “I’m into healthy eating habits for myself and I feel it’s good for them to learn healthy eating habits now.”

Other research shows that because most consumers accept the status quo, changing default menu options to fruit rather than fries, or milk instead of soda, can improve nutrition without taking away choice. At Disney parks, where soda and fries are available upon request, 60 percent of families order kids’ meals with the healthy default.

“A lot of families stuck with the defaults, and Disney was able to improve the nutritional quality without inhibiting parents’ choice,” said Jessica Almy, an attorney overseeing nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C. “This is a concept we’ve seen working elsewhere. McDonald’s got rid of soda as the default beverage with the Happy Meal and it turns out a lot of families stick with the milk or juice.”

When McDonald’s revamped the Happy Meal four years ago by shrinking the portion of fries and adding fruit, the fast-food chain estimated that move alone would eliminate about 49 billion calories from American kids’ diets each year. With 17 percent of American children classified as obese, even small changes can add up.

BUILT OUT OF FRUSTRATION

Bean Sprouts, at the Discovery Cube, grew out of co-founder Shannon Seip’s frustration with kids’ meals. The eatery is also at the Discovery Cube in Los Angeles as well as other museums.

“We took all the challenges in dining out with children and tried to create solutions,” Seip said. “The kids’ meals seemed to be relegated to this little box on the back of the menu with chicken tenders, maybe a hamburger, a hot dog, and mac and cheese. Even at a ‘healthier’ place you’d still see the same things.”

Hunger pangs would normally have sent Nicole Wilson and her children home from a visit to the museum so they could eat a nutritious lunch. But on a recent trip, the colorful cafe caught Wilson’s eye.

Her 6-year-old daughter chose a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich cut to look like the keys of a piano, while her 5-year-old son ordered a cheese pizza with lower-sodium sauce and lower-fat cheese.

“This is great,” said Wilson, 37, of Laguna Niguel. “We can stay for longer. Now we’re not in a rush to get home and they will have a little more energy after eating.”

HEALTHIER DISNEY FARE

Walt Disney Co. unveiled its healthy changes in 2006 at its theme parks in Anaheim and Orlando, Fla. The parks replaced the kids meals’ french fries and soft drink with fruit or vegetables and a choice of milk, water or 100 percent juice.

A study published this year analyzed parkgoers’ choices at 145 Disney World restaurants and found that guests accepted 48 percent of healthy default sides and 66 percent of default beverages. The default choices reduced calories by 21 percent, fat by 44 percent and sodium by 43 percent.

The study did not include the Disney parks in Anaheim, but officials there said the results are similar. Michele Gendreau, director of food and beverage, said visiting Disney is an indulgent choice, but the healthy defaults give parents flexibility in ordering.

“You can tell when the families eat like this at home,” Gendreau said. “It’s a nonissue when they get here. Then the treat becomes the churro or the frozen banana later in the day.”

SWITCH COMES WITH RISK

The study authors note that changing default options can be highly effective at changing behavior without restricting freedom of choice.

For instance, in nations where organ donation is standard unless people opt out, the participation rate is vastly higher than in the U.S., where donors must opt in.

But tweaking familiar favorites without alienating customers also carries some risk, something Kraft took into account before its stealth roll-out this year of a healthier version of boxed macaroni and cheese.

When Kraft decided to remove artificial flavors, dyes and preservatives, the company said it “quietly started selling the new recipe in our old boxes” to see if consumers would notice a difference in taste. After concluding that they didn’t, last month Kraft debuted new boxes highlighting the changes and introduced the hashtag #didntnotice.

“Luckily for us, America proved that there’s nothing to worry about – because for the past three months they’ve been buying, eating and loving Kraft Macaroni & Cheese the same as they always have,” the company says on its website.

Contact the writer: cperkes@ocregister.com or 714-796-3686