MNN - Mother Nature Network

"iCarly" is a kids show that most parents enjoy watching, too. Smartly written with likeable characters and a talented cast, it's no wonder that kids try to emulate what they see on the show. In the show, the main character Carly (played by Miranda Cosgrove) and her friend Sam have a popular weekly show on the Internet called "iCarly."

The show has spawned lots of imitations — real kids creating their own Internet shows. Now, it's also spawned a kid food craze. Carly is raised by her free-spirited older brother on the show, and he creates all sorts of fun foods, including spaghetti tacos.

 

If you go to the show's website, you’ll find Carly’s recipe for spaghetti tacos:

 

Get taco shells.

Get spaghetti (with meat sauce).

Get a BIG spoon.

Use the BIG spoon to put spaghetti into taco shells.

Eat.

Burp.

 

Yes, it's as easy as you thought. The craze is so widespread that The New York Times featured the Mexican/Italian hybrid kid favorite in a recent Dining & Wine piece. Kids by the thousands have been asking their parents to make them spaghetti tacos, and they've quickly become the "it" food at slumber parties. Variations on the original "stuff spaghetti in a taco shell" have emerged. I've tracked down a few that add a healthier touch or two to the version that Carly and her friends eat on the show.

 

If you have kids that are asking for spaghetti tacos, you can probably figure out how to make them a little healthier yourself. Make your own spaghetti sauce using organic ingredients and perhaps do one of those deceptive tricks like putting shredded carrots or zucchini in the sauce. Use whole-wheat pasta. Top the tacos off with tomatoes and lettuce.

 

What ideas do you have to make this latest kid food craze a little healthier?