The Healthy Eating kit for children

DESIGN FOR FOOD

by Nabila Selim HEALTHY EATING

KIT FOR CHILDREN

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By Nabila Selim

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I hereby declare that this is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any award. Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged.

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The German University in Cairo Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts Product Design Design for food Healthy eating kit for children Nabila Selim 22-0592 8th Semester

Supervision: Professor Dr. Qassim Saad Submission Date: 31st May 2014

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Abstract

Health and weight loss are very common topics nowadays. However is it the question about weight loss or about living healthy?

Egypt, the target country and the country I was born in, has many problems nowadays that vary from political ones, to social ones and among many financial ones.

Many of these problems could be fixed using product design. The aim of this research, however, is to tackle the problem of healthy eating in Egypt; as health is the key to solving so many other problems. It is interesting to observe the amount of bad and unhealthy cooking and eating habits in this country.

After a long research it was known that this study’s outcome should not cause any interference when it comes to changing eating behaviors, as there are so many limitations in cooking and eating because of tradition and generation differences.

These are hard to change except if all family members accept it. So the study then focuses on changing children’s eating behaviors.

The research methods were done with children from the ages 5 to 9 years old as the target group. Experiments, surveys and observation were held with children this age. Their results concluded that children enjoy healthy food and are more aware of it if they touch it, cook it and place it in their plates on their own. Through this conclusion a product was invented that teaches them about food types and healthy food amounts while making them experience cutting and decorating the food.

Using this method, children would be able to learn about healthy eating behavior since their childhood which would then ensure continuing their lives abiding by this behavior and live without short-term or long-term diseases.

This study was also made to highlight the fact that it is not impossible for youth and adults to learn from children.

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Table of contents

Abstract 7

Chapter - 1 1.1 Introduction 16

Chapter - 2 Literature review 2.1 Food and Design 22

2.2 Experience design and food 24 2.3 Senses 24 2.3.1 What is a sense?

24 2.3.2 The sense of touching and the sense of hearing 24 2.3.3 Tasting 25 2.3.4 Advanced senses application 26 2.4 Cooking and Eating Scenarios in Egypt 27 2.4.1 Changeable scenario for traditional cooking 27 2.4.2 Cooking “Musaqaa” 27 2.4.3 Deep frying and techniques to reduce oil in fried food 30 2.4.3.1 Deep frying now and back then 30 2.4.3.2 Falafel 32 2.4.3.3 T-FAL ACTIFRY, the deep frying replacement 32 2.4.3.4 The unintentional - tissue design 32

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2.5 The association between cooking, eating and hospitality in the Egyptian Culture 35 2.5.1 Eating at friends’ houses 35 2.5.2 “El 3arees”.. The fiancée 39 2.5.2.1 How can emotions actually influence people’s actions?

39 2.5.3 A snack or lunch?

40 2.5.4 Un-For-Give-Able eating habits: “Taghmees” 42 2.5.5 Healthy or easy? 44 2.5.6 “Falcon” roasting bags 44

2.6 New media influences on eating habits

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2.7 Indirect Food Awareness 48 2.7.1 Changing eating and cooking habits through collage making 48 2.7.2 A manipulation experiment 48 2.7.3 The Ark of taste 49

Chapter - 3 Research Methodology 3.1 Survey 52

3.2 Observation 53 3.3 Experiment 54

Chapter - 4 Applying Research Methodology 4.1 Checklist with food types (theoretical)

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4.2 Children choosing and creating their plates (practical application of checklist)

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4.3 Low and high calorie pasta experiment

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Chapter - 5 Design process 5.1 Design concept 80 5.2 Concept and shape development 80 5.2.1 Plate game 80 5.2.2 Plate game with color codes 82 5.2.3 Plate game with portion codes 82 5.2.4 Cooking station 84 5.2.5 Cooking station decreased in size 86

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5.3 Final shape 88 5.4 Final concept 90 5.5 Material 90 5.6 Interaction 92 5.6.1 Interaction with the digital touch screen 92 5.6.2 Interaction with the cutting board and plate 102 5.7 Benefits of the product 108 5.8 Future developments 108 5.9 First draft model. Material: Foam

110 5.10 Final model. Material: Acrylic 116

Chapter - 7 Conclusion

7.1 Conclusion

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Table of Figures

Figures of Chapter - 2 Literature review Figure 2.1 Cooking is a design progress 23 Figure 2.2 Musaqaa 27 Figure 2.3 Traditional cooking way of Musaqaa 28 Figure 2.4 Low calorie cooking way of Musaqaa 29 Figure 2.5 Corn and sunflower oil 31 Figure 2.6 Butter 31 Figure 2.7 Gee 31 Figure 2.8 Falafel 33 Figure 2.9 T-Fal Actifry 33 Figure 2.10 The unintentional - tissue design 33 Figure 2.11 Lunch menu at a friends house 37 Figure 2.12 Foods offered at a bazaar 41 Figure 2.13 Eating minced meat with bread using the technique of “Taghmees” 43 Figure 2.14 “Falcon” roasting bags 45 Figure 2.15 Eating salad from a salad booth in University 47

Figures of Chapter - 4 Applying research methods Figure 4.1 Food checklist 59 Figure 4.2 Served foods’ main components for checklist 61 Figure 4.3 Food checklist results (participant 1) 62 Figure 4.4 Food checklist results (participant 2) 63 Figure 4.5 Food checklist results (participant 3) 64 Figure 4.6 Foods for the children to choose from and create their plates 67 Figure 4.7 The participants creating , decorating and eating their plates 69 Figure 4.8 High and low calorie white sauce pasta 73 Figure 4.9 Smelling, touching, tasting and seeing the pasta 75

Figures Chapter - 5 Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4

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Illustration for the plate game 81 Plate and card of the plate game 83 Cooking station 85 Developed cooking station: Connected Scale, cutting area and plate. 87

Figure 5.5 Figure 5.6 Figure 5.7 Figure 5.8 Figure 5.9 Figure 5.10 Figure 5.11 Figure 5.12

3D drawing the final shape 88 Measurements of final shape 89 Final product: Healthy eating kit for kids 91 Child interacting with the digital device.

92 Child starts entering the cooked food offered in the digital device 93 Child entering the vegetables offered 94 Child entering the protein offered 95 Child skips entering the dairy foods offered ( No dairy offered that day so the child skips it) 96 Figure 5.13 Child entering the carbohydrates offered 97 Figure 5.14 Child entering the type of oil the food is cooked with. If the mothers used more she 98 will know the next time she cooks the same. Child is keen on her cooking with the required amount if it’s not.

Figure 5.15 Device sets the required healthy amount of each food type in percentage then in 99

grams to make it easier for the child to understand the numbers and weigh the food.

Figure 5.16 Digital screen turns to the scaling mode.

100 Figure 5.17 Child weighing the food items according to the required amount 101 Figure 5.18 Child freely cutting and playing with the food’s shape 102 Figure 5.19 Child freely placing and decorating the foods in the plate 103 Figure 5.20 Kit offered in many colors 104 Figure 5.21 Kit is easily rearranged for different working positions 105 Figure 5.22 Safe plastic knives offered with the kit. Place plate upside down on the cutting area 106

for storage.

Figure 5.23 Rubber belt stabilizing the plate with the rest of the kit.

107 Figure 5.24 Rubber fixers placed on top of the screen and cutting board for stability 109 Figure 5.25 Cutting foam with the measurements and making the edges round 110 Figure 5.26 Drilling and sanding the foam part for the plate 111 Figure 5.27 Softening then coloring 112 Figure 5.28 Creating the board fixers out of soft foam, coloring and gluing it 113 Figure 5.29 Creating the rubber belt out of soft foam and coloring it. Gluing a sticker as the screen 114 Figure 5.30 Final outcome of first draft model 115 Figure 5.31 Laser cutting the acrylic according to the measurements 116 Figure 5.32 Hatching the transparent surface to give the depth of the plate 117 Hatching the transparent surface of the board to show the scale number Figure 5.33 Gluing all parts together 118 Figure 5.34 Final outcome of final model 119

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1.1 Introduction

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1.1

Introduction

Nowadays food and cooking have become a very important topic. Ten years ago there were hardly any programs about healthy eating. If there were any programs in Egypt then they were mostly a cooking program or an episode within a bigger show; such as barnameg al mar2a1, some episodes also hosted a short cooking show. Today, however, there are not just more programs but actual channels only specialized in cooking and talks about healthy eating among others. Examples are the Egyptians TV channel and magazine fatafeat2 and the TV channel CBC Sofra3, which offer many recipes and TV shows by numerous chefs presenting hundreds of both healthy and unhealthy recipes. On the international level, there are many programs such as The Doctors4 and the Biggest Loser5 also encouraging healthy eating and weight loss. Moreover, food businesses for healthy eating have been developed; such as Diet house6 and Saladinia7. “Saladinia”, for example, offers only salads, healthy sandwiches and wraps, diet food and low calorie popular dishes like burgers and pastas.

As product designers we have always been told that we should consider our own country while tackling a problem or designing a product. Egypt, the country I come from, is recently going through a lot of political issues. Also corruption is visible on so many levels. When we look around we find so many physical health and social problems such as traffic, sexual harassment, pollution, noise and many others. It may sound far-fetched, but product design can actually directly or indirectly solve all of these problems.

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1 The women’s program 2 cooking channel 3 cooking channel

4 Nutrition and health program 5 Weight loss TV program 6 Restaurant in Cairo (low calorie menu) 7 Salad and healthy sandwiches booth

I personally believe that nothing would change if we are not healthy. By health I mean eating well and having the proper and right eating habits; this way preventing us from bad diseases, short or long term ones, that occur due to too much fat or re-used oil in the foods we eat, for example.

This is why this research’s aim is to solve the unhealthy eating habits of people through product design. I believe that health is one of the most essential things in a person’s life to be able to achieve anything and stay productive. Being and living healthy starts with eating healthy.

Now the question arises as to how to invent something to solve the problem of unhealthy eating habits, how to push and motivate the community to eat better. Could it be a health awareness campaign, kitchenware, a random tool or simply a different way of cooking the food?

But the aim from this research is not to enhance weight loss diet and fitness but rather to make healthy eating a long-term lifestyle in order to prevent diseases caused by unhealthy food.

From personal experience within the friends circle, youth or adults, always either diet so hard and have a too little calorie intake or they go to the extreme of unhealthy eating when they are not on a dieting program. Observing this over the years makes me more enthusiastic to work on fixing the eating behaviors which on the long run would automatically spare them the weight loss obsession that is actually risky for their health.

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1.1

Introduction

In order to reach the objectives of this research, it is important to know what exactly is out there already and can be explored in order to gain enough knowledge about the situation and thus making sure no wrong assumptions are being made to create this design.

One important aspect to be researched, for instance, is the way Egyptian women cook. It is very important to learn about the local traditions of cooking.

A lot is well known when it comes to cooking and eating behaviors in Egypt; yet taking a closer look at more detailed situations as such would open up the knowledge needed for this topic. The little knowledge people have of nutrition is also one of the main reasons for bad eating or cooking behavior.

I remember since my childhood seeing some people deep frying potatoes, for example, and then using tissue paper to absorb some of the oil in the fried food. This unintentional or maybe intentional technique has always made me curious to look at such situations more into depth and see what other solutions or behaviors exist in the Egyptian kitchen while cooking. There may also be hidden reasons why people cook or eat in a certain way.

Also I believe looking at how other people from around the world came up with product design ideas to solve the problem of unhealthy eating is highly important. These designs could then be explored, an enhanced during my research.

The new solution could be a new product such as special oil observant plate or exploring previously performed experiments that I could then enhance and develop a new solution from.

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The senses of a human being play a very big role in the application of these existing products and solutions. Therefore I was looking forward to learning more about these senses and how they function in our everyday experiences. This can be achieved by understanding how each sense works and how it can be applied in the process of coming up with a new solution to unhealthy eating to be reached by the end of this research.

It is never an easy task to change the wrong habits of people. It is often difficult to convince people to change their wrong eating habits. But there is always the possibility of a compromise and the motivation to start eating healthy by at least a few people; with the hope that others might follow on the long-run.

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2. Literature Review

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Literature Review

2.1 Food and Design Design progress --> Example : Lighting unit 1. Choose a design.

2. Collect the required material.

3. Connect and adjust all material together and come out with a final product.

Cooking progress --> Example : Vegetables with red sauce 1. Choose a recipe.

2. Collect the needed ingredients.

3. Cut and cook all the ingredients together and come out with a final dish.

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“Cooking is a design progress�

Fig 2.1 Lighting unit design progress

Vegetable plate cooking progress

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Literature Review

2.2 Experience design and food We understand happiness as the “experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with sense that one’s life is good, meaningful and worthwhile” (Lyubomirsky, 2007, pp.32). We learned to understand happiness as something that is not controlled and decided by individuals but as something destined, by luck or genetic predisposition; yet actually happiness depends not on the luck but on the actions taken by the individuals (Lyubomirsky, 2007, pp.32). Here comes the challenge of the product or industrial designer to create things that fulfill these experiences. This challenge is separated into “activity” where they get to know what a positive experience is and the “stuff” where they get to build strategies that create and mediate experiences. (Hassenzahl et al., 2013, pp.21)

2.3 The Senses 2.3.1 What is a sense?

Senses are physiological capacities of organisms which provide data to perceive with. For each sense a specific sensory system or organ is detected by the nervous system. The senses are the following: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Smell and touch, which are traditionally recognized.

2.3.2 The sense of touching and the sense of hearing The process of tasting food, stimulates in us other senses related to the sense of touching as well. For example: crunchy, ground, soft, silky, granule, viscous and greasy. During the process of chewing, one’s attention may be also drawn to realizing some other audio senses that indicate whether the food is crunchy or not.

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2.3.3 Tasting The sense of tasting lies in the tongue. There are special cells on the surface of the tongue which when stimulated by a certain food, are capable of sending four senses to the brain. The four senses are: Sweetness, acidity, saltiness and sourness. Realizing the taste of sweetness is very fast, and it reaches its peak within one second. Then it decreases until it disappears within 10 seconds. We realize the salty taste and the acidic taste very fast, too. However the realization of sweetness and acidity grows slower and lasts for a longer period. The taste of sourness is much slower and needs a longer time to be sensed, but lasts for a longer period of time even after taking away the sour food from the mouth. The mouth is also capable of realizing other significant senses, which are not related to taste in the real sense of the word: hot taste (feeling of penetration) or the taste of astringency (the mouth feeling rough and dry) .To recognize a certain food product and estimate its value, it is compulsory to taste it. During the process of tasting, the entire 5 senses are put to use: seeing, touching, hearing, tasting and smelling. The flavor of any kind of food is the product of the reaction of hundreds of elements with each other, in a complex and mostly unknown manner. (Milano., 2009/10, pp.9) If we come to relate the sense of taste to the sense of smell we will find that the mouth and the nose are connected to each other: Both senses work together on interpreting the taste of food. However, the sense of smell remains to be the most important of both. You can verify that either by tasting food while closing your nose or by trying to recognize the taste while having a severe cold.

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Literature Review

2.3.4 Advanced senses application Our senses are capable of realizing and evaluating the gradual changes in odors and taste even the small differences. In spite of that there are several other factors that may have a positive or negative effect on the effectiveness of our biological machine which are: Hereditary factors: The ability to recognize the slight differences in taste and odor is considered a hereditary matter.

The ability to concentrate: Concentration on what we do and giving it our most attention, affects greatly our senses if taste and smell.

Custom/Habit: If we smell a certain product, repeatedly and constantly, we will not be able to differentiate between its present odor and the odor we smelled at the beginning.

Physiological factor: Age, health status and daily life practices affect the vitality of both taste and smell. In spite of the presence of all previous factors, it remains a fact that the person tasting the food has to train themselves, meaning that they have to taste the different kinds of food several times and to carry out a comparison between the different products as well as prepare a rich odors’ index and be able to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each product from the gained experience. Then the person reaches a level of being able to taste after years of experience, hard work, persistence and dedication.

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2.4 Cooking and Eating Scenarios in Egypt 2.4.1 Changeable scenario for traditional cooking A scenario out of an actual experience is when a mother started cooking low calorie food with very little oil when her husband and daughter started having high cholesterol. She was inspired by the diet both her daughters were following where they could eat everything but in lower calories. So after a while the mother stopped cooking special meals for them but cooked those meals for the rest of the family.

2.4.2 Cooking “Musaqaa” Musaqaa (Fig 2.2) is a traditional Egyptian plate consisting of deep fried eggplant, potatoes and peppers cooked with red sauce.

How is Musaqaa cooked in a traditional ‘grandmother’ house?

Cut the vegetables and Eggplants, deep fry them and cook their red sauce with butter and add minced meat to it.

Fig 2.2 “Musaqaa”

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Literature Review

Preparing traditional Egyptian Musaqaa (Fig 2.3) 1. Cut the vegetables.

2. Deep fry the eggplants and the vegetables.

3. Cook red sauce out of gee, onions, tomato paste, garlic and tomatoes.

4. Mix the vegetables with the red sauce.

Fig 2.3 Traditional cooking way of Musaqaa

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Preparing low carlie Musaqaa? (Fig 2.4) 1. Cut the vegetables.

2. Grill the eggplants and the vegetables.

3. Cook red sauce out of tomatoes, onions, tomato paste and garlic with very little olive oil.

4. Place the mixed vegetables and red sauce in oven.

Fig 2.4 Low calorie cooking way of Musaqaa

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Literature Review

2.4.3 Deep frying and techniques to reduce oil in fried food 2.4.3.1 Deep frying now and back then Years ago, oil used to be used only for deep-frying of fish and falafel.

Nowadays oil is traditionally used in any dish and with huge quantity along with the huge amount of gee in the food. An example is when an Egyptian not only deep-fries the “chicken pane� with oil but also adds some gee to it to give it a better smell. This method of deep frying is done in several houses and the fact that two kinds of fats are being used just for the smell is very unhealthy. Also another reason for increase of oil usage is due to the variety offered in the market. There are so many options of oils to cook with and this made the oils the main fat type for cooking in the Egyptian kitchens. Fats used in cooking in Egyptian kitchen are Corn oil, Vegetable oil, Sunflower oil (Fig 2.5), Butter (Fig 2.6) and gee (Fig 2.7).

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Fig 2.6 Butter

Fig 2.5 Corn and Sunflower oil

Fig 2.7 Gee

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2.

Literature Review

2.4.3.2 Falafel One of the typical high calorie foods in Egypt is falafel. It is the most popular fried food by all socio-economic classes in most Middle Eastern countries. It is consumed for breakfast, dinner, or as a snack due to its availability, good taste and low price. (Al Khateeb, et al, 2013, pp.360) In the department of Nutrition and Food Technology in Jordan University of Science and Technology they evaluated the effect of short-term consumption of oil and frying oil extracted from falafel patties. The aim was to study the long-term effect of consuming falafel on rat liver gross morphology and serum liver enzymes. (Fig 2.8) 2.4.3.3 T-FAL ACTIFRY, the deep frying replacement Through research it was discovered that the only company that came up with a product to reduce fat through an outer factor without changing the food itself is T-fal. T-fal came up with the product T-FAL ACTIFRY. It is a fryer that gives the effect of deep fried potatoes but uses only two spoons of oil. Through a paddle the potato pieces are rotated and get cooked through a pulse. The output fries are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The idea is very creative and is a very good solution to the frying problem. Solutions like that are an inspiration to hunt for other solutions. But in this study a simpler and rather more manual technique is preferred. (Fig 2.9) 2.4.3.4 The “unintended” tissue design Some kitchens consider a little decrease of the oil after deep frying food. They put tissues on a plate and put the fried foods on it. The tissues’ function is to absorb some of the oil in the food.(Fig 2.10)

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Fig 2.8 Falafel

Fig 2.9 T-Fal Actifry

Fig 2.10 The unintentional - tissue design

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Literature Review

2.5 The association between cooking, eating and hospitality in the Egyptian Culture 2.5.1 Eating at friends’ houses At friend’s house it was observed what types of food are cooked, how they are cooked and how they are served.

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Literature Review

One of the lunch’s menu was as follows...(Fig 2.11)

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Meats

- Fried chicken - Chicken with Béchamel sauce - Kobeba (Syrian fried minced meat)

Carbs

- Rice - Potatoes with Cream Sauce - Macaroni with Béchamel sauce and minced meat

Vegies

- Molokheyya (fine shredded green leaves cooked with garlic, chicken soup and gee) - Kusa Béchamel (Zucchini with minced meat topped with béchamel sauce)

Salads

- Tomatoes with garlic - Peas and Carrots with mayonnaise - Green salad with vinegar and oil

Drinks

- Coca Cola - Sprite - Miranda

Fig 2.11 Lunch menu at a friends house

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Literature Review

In this menu we find out that nearly all the meats are deep fried, the carbohydrates are mixed with again minced meat and also the vegetables mixed with minced meat adding to it white heavy sauce. We cannot change the fact that these are Egyptian traditional foods. Carbohydrates like rice are cooked with margarine, although later our body digests carbs and turns them to fats. Most of the dishes included healthy ingredients, yet due to the mixture of fats like margarine, béchamel, and protein, they become very fatty and unhealthy. As a guest invited for lunch at a friend’s house, it is not only the types and amounts of food that play a role but also the way the food is offered and served. For the meat the hosts make sure the guest has more than two pieces in her/ his plate while it is fine if a guest does not eat any salad. This is nearly in every house for lunch. This is most probably due to the fact that meat is the most expensive item in the food so usually Egyptians always make sure that it is available and that the guest eats plenty of it and sometimes even more than they should . If a group wants to eat Kebab1 maybe 1 kilogram would be enough for them but usually what happens is the following: they order not just half of the portion but triple the portion to make sure they are going to get full and that “having more is better than having less”. So even if one of them is full he/she has to keep on eating to finish what he has paid for and also to have eaten “well”. When it comes to any other type of food it is not important at all to eat a lot as important as it is to have a lot of meat.

1. Meat pieces grilled on coal.

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2.5.2 “el 3arees”.. The fiancée In Egypt one will quite often come across the following situation: One is at a friend’s house and where the rest of the cousins live in the same building. After the family has both lunch and dessert they are sent a plate from the friend’s cousin to the friend’s mother with some food from their lunch meal. There are rice stuffed pigeons on the plate and the friend’s mother comments: “The pigeons are extra stuffed this time because our daughter’s fiancée was at our place for lunch today”. The food was extra stuffed and better prepared than usual because of the fiancé’s visit. This shows how the impression of a family to the family of the future husband is also based on food in the Egyptian culture and how this is very important. The friend’s mother’s reply to the offer was that she wants her daughter to get engaged as soon as possible because she is exited to make really good food and pass it around the family after the future fiancée who still does not exist comes to visit.

2.5.2.1 How can emotions actually influence people’s actions?

Emotions play tricks on human beings. If emotions did not get evoked, people would have reacted differently in many situations in their lives. Emotions tend to make people behave irresponsibly. Eating a pack of candy would make a person feel bad afterwards but still he/she would do it even though he/ she knows it will cause them harm later. Cooking for a daughter about to get married is another example of this. This means that even food, how it is eaten or cooked is related to emotions. (Deeger et al., 2012, pp.27)

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Literature Review

2.5.3 A snack or lunch?

Going to a cafeteria at a Bazaar is quite an experience in Egypt. It was not an open buffet but a plate is taken to place whatever one buys for the mealtime.

The options in the menus are quite confusing. It is hard to decide whether a dish is for breakfast, lunch or dinner: Mixed beef and chicken sandwiches, pizza, wraps, caramel and lemon tarts, cup cakes, French fries and more.

The idea behind this cafeteria is to have a snack or maybe lunch for others.

But the combination and variety of foods is shocking. Also the way people fill their plates with all options while each item of these foods completes all the components of carbohydrates, meats and fats is extraordinary. It was not an open buffet but a plate is taken to place whatever one buys for the mealtime.

A mother tells her son “Finish up your plate and that is all so that you can have lunch.� Most people consider the food at that cafeteria as a snack even though the meal is big enough to be lunch. (Fig 2.12)

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Fig 2.12 Turkish delights with cream

Rice, Turkey, rice, olives and springrolls

French fries

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Literature Review

2.5.4 Un-for-give-able eating habits: Taghmees1 Some foods are known to be eaten with bread instead of utensils. This eating technique is called “Taghmees” in Arabic. This increases the types of calories being eaten. If “sogoo”: Egyptian sausage is a minced meat type full of fat merged with potatoes (carbohydrates) then it is typically eaten with bread disregarding how much many calories this adds and how unhealthy it is. Some people also tend to eat the fat remainders in the plate with the bread that includes all flavors; yet it is like eating bread with gee. A grandmother would get up on lunch just because she discovers that there is no bread on the table. This shows how much health is disregarded in the Egyptian eating habits because the traditional social system is not willingly changed by society. (Fig 2.13)

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1 Arabic term for the action of eating food with bread instead of utensils.

Fig 2.13 Eating minced meat with bread using the technique of “Taghmees�

(On the right, fat remainders left in plate after eating, which some people eat with bread)

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Literature Review

2.5.5 Healthy or easy?

Samia Yehia, a mother who is a very good cook, has to cook for herself in an own tagine1 without any fats out of health issues. She puts the meat and vegetables in a tagine and a very little bit of oil and puts it in the oven. When asked whether she has ever considered applying this cooking technique on the whole house. She said that of course she wanted to, but when asked if it is ok to improve the health she stated that despite this cooking technique is easier and faster for her to prepare food, she added the fact that this way of cooking would feel like diet food and no one in the house would tolerate it.

2.5.6 “Falcon� roasting bags (Fig 2.14)

There is a type of bags sold in the supermarket called roasting bags.

These roasting bags are easily opened, the chicken and herbs get put in it. It is closed and put inside a water tray in the oven. After 20 minutes it is ready. This concept of cooking is very similar to cooking inside a tagine. No deep frying or grilling with a lot fat is used, but the food is placed with a table spoon of oil and gets cooked in the oven. This is a good idea for a low fat eating habit; yet it will not make any difference if the amount of fats put inside the bag is still a lot. Samia Yehia also states that she finds this method easy, simple and fast but she wouldn’t use it daily because it would be similar to low calorie diet foods.

1 clay pot

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Fig 2.14 Roasting bags

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Literature Review

2.6 Media influences on eating habits In Egypt, one can see a lot of filled plates that do not include salad and the salad bowl always stays the same after having guests. Nowadays the behavior of people eating salad in Egypt has changed. Salads have become essential in menus not just as an appetizer, but also as a main dish (also at home). Recently it has transformed into a trend and food businesses based on salads. Some male students who usually eat 2-4 sandwiches of fried chicken a day, fries, hot dogs and burgers with mayonnaise have now started eating from the salad booth recently opened at their university . (Fig 2.15) These very same students may have one day actually made fun of females students for eating salad and consider them lazy for doing so. The reason why salads have become more appealing is maybe because the salad components now include macaroni, mayonnaise and other “unhealthy� components. What also plays a big role in the awareness of people of the importance of salad and them changing their eating habits is the exposure to international cooking. Before the expansion of media and social networks people were not this aware of other cuisines. In Italy the white Alfredo sauce is simply with mushrooms and light white sauce.

But the Egyptian white Alfredo is cooked with too much fat and has to have meat or chicken. Also the white sauce is too thick (similar to BĂŠchamel).

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Fig 2.15 Eating salad from a salad booth in Univercity

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Literature Review

2.7 Indirect Food Awareness Through observation and experience of a lot coming when it comes to eating and health in the Egyptian culture the aim is to focus on how to solve wrong and unhealthy eating habits through a product that would make people aware and capable of following a healthy eating way. Before going through a newly performed research and practice it is useful to take a look at some experiments and researches performed before to get as an inspiration and guideline to move on to the next step.

2.7.1 Changing eating and cooking habits through collage making There are several models in the design literature that attempt to explain the role of emotion in product design. In a study done in Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands by Deger they planned to provide participants (focus group: working parents) who took part in the experiment simply to create a collage of ‘what makes food appealing to them in an imaginary emotionally loaded experience.’ The purpose of this experiment was to collect insights on the values and ideals that surround eating experiences and makes other food than meat attractive to the participants.

The participants were meat lovers; they provided them with magazines, colored markers, glue and blank paper. The magazines didn’t contain any material related to cooking and food itself to be able to avoid creation of concrete or stereotypical eating experiences. (Deeger et al., 2012, pp.30) Then they discussed these collages together and this encourraged them to start eating less meat and start loving other foods.

2.7.2 A manipulation experiment In a study made in Liverpool focus groups were also experimented with.

Their aim was to reduce high calorie snack food in young adults.

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The experiment consisted of the following: 1. First of all, they were presented with a social norms condition in which they saw messages about the junk food eating habits of others .

2. Seeing a message that shows the advantages of healthy eating and less junk food consumption.

3.They were asked to see a message that had nothing to do with food.

After that participants consumed a snack and their choice and amount of this snack food was examined.

The results showed that the amount of high calorie snack food consumed was less. There was no evidence that the effect of the messages relied on usual consumption of junk food. (Robinson et al., 2013, pp.4). The way they simply use messages about health that stayed in people’s consciousness is very inspirational. It implied that the solution to be developed in the study of this paper could be in the direction of raising awareness among people to avoid high calorie food. A more practical and longer experiment than the one just mentioned could make the results show even more; and not just through a 2 or 3-day effect.

2.7.3 The Ark of taste “The Ark of taste” by the “Slow food foundation for Biodiversity” is a project founded by the European Union as an online catalogue for traditional foods from many countries around the world that may disappear. Their main objective is making people rediscover these foods and start using them again to support the local economics. (Milano et al., 2009/10, pp.4) 49

3. Research Methodology

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3.

Research Methodology

3.1 Survey Definition Surveys are a method of collecting self-reported information from people about their characteristics, thoughts, feelings, perceptions, behaviors or attitudes. (Martin et al., 2012, pp.172) Selection Surveys play an important role in this research as it is important to know how many children are involved in the cooking process or are aware of food and what they are eating. The matching and choosing of words or pictures in surveys could help conclude what is needed for children. Through survey results the needed design solution would start to be more clear and thus it would be easier to determine what design concept to use.

Application A checklist was to be created with many food items and an empty check box next to each food type. The participants would take a copy of this checklist while eating a dish. They would check the food types in their meals on the check list. With another color they would check the food types on the paper that they would want to have in their meal.

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3.2 Observation Definition Observation is a fundamental research skill that requires attentive looking and systematic recording of phenomena- including people, artifacts, environments, events, behaviors and interactions. (Martin et al., 2012, pp.120) Selection Observations give a designer the chance to realize and understand things the target group would want or prefer. When a designer comes to observe a certain situation without certain requirements from the participant, the participant would feel free an would act spontaneously. The aim of this observation is to determine whether children can prepare their own menu.

This gives the researcher the change put hands on the realistic problems and situations by the participants that would lead the research to a design concept to solve this problem.

Application As a result, different food types were prepared for the same participants who filled the checklist and they were observed for the food types they choose if they had the freedom and choice to prepare their own meal.

During this process a conversation would be held between the researcher and the children to generally discuss their food preferences and choices.

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4.

Research Methodology

3.3 Experiment Definition Experiments measure the effect that an action has on a situation by demonstrating a casual relationship or determining cocnclusively that one thing is the result of another. (Martin et al., 2012, pp.82) Selection Performing an experiment has several reasons during a research.

Usually one comes up with an assumption or hypothesis that needs to be proven. As previously mentioned in the literature review, in this research the senses of humans play a big role. Through the research one hypothesis was made; that children have different a impression of food than their mothers because they are not yet fully manipulated with certain taste, smell, sight and touch of the food. An experiment would then support or not support this hypothesis. Determining whether the hypothesis is true would be the next step towards building a conclusion for a needed design.

Application The hypothesis of this research infers the only way to see how food gets perceived by the participants is by letting a participant use four senses during the experiment . A participant would be blindfolded and would be presented with high calorie and low calorie pasta plates. A participant would have to smell, touch, taste, see the food and and finally comment about which food they prefer per sense. The results of the children would be compared to those of the mother.

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Why children?

Looking back at the aim of this study it was meant to help Egyptians improve their eating behavior to be healthier. After the research process it was concluded that it is hard to tackle grown-ups since most of them are too limited about what to change in their eating behavior as they are already used to a certain look and taste of the food; or for other social reasons. That is why this study continues focusing on children aged from 5 to 9 year. Testing with this target group would then lead to certain conclusions that would help create a product that would make children enjoy eating healthy. Maybe the children would then inspire grown-ups and make those around choose healthy food as well.

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4. Applying Research Methods

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4. Applying Research Methodology

4.1 Checklist with food types (theoretical)

Developement

Preparation: Design the checklist and print copies of it for the kids. (4.1) Participants: Cousins from Alexandria, 3 children, a 7 year old boy, an 8 year old girl, and a 9 year old girl.

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Foods in meals Checklist

VEGETABLES

NAME

AGE

TYPE OF MEAL Breakfast Lunch

FRUITS

PROTEINS

CARBS

Snack Dinner

DAIRY

SWEETS

Fig 4.1 Food checklist

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4. Applying Research Methodology

Testing Procedure

1. Giving the child the checklist, a black and a red pen; then he/she is set in front of the table with her/his plate filled and can start eating. (Experiment was done for lunch).

2. Explaining to the child what to do then the child checks with the black pen all the foods on the list that exist in her/his plate. Using the red pen, the child checks the food she/he wishes to have in their meal.

3. Taking pictures of their plates during them writing.

4. Collecting the checklists.

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Fig 4.2 Served foods’ main components

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4. Applying Research Methodology

Testing outcome

1st participant Foods in meals Checklist

VEGETABLES

NAME

AGE

TYPE OF MEAL

Karim Moatazz

7

Breakfast Lunch

FRUITS

Fig 4.3 Food checklist results

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PROTEINS

CARBS

Snack Dinner

DAIRY

SWEETS

2nd participant Foods in meals Checklist

VEGETABLES

NAME

AGE

TYPE OF MEAL

Hana Moatazz

8

Breakfast Lunch

FRUITS

PROTEINS

CARBS

Snack Dinner

DAIRY

SWEETS

Fig 4.4 Food checklist results

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4. Applying Research Methodology

3rd participant Foods in meals Checklist

VEGETABLES

NAME

AGE

TYPE OF MEAL

Leila Omar

9

Breakfast Lunch

FRUITS

Fig 4.5 Food checklist results

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PROTEINS

CARBS

Snack Dinner

DAIRY

SWEETS

Conclusion

1. Children conclude certain food types to be other foods, according to their color (e.g. lettuce for the parsley in salad).

2. Meat is the most obvious food type for all of them.

3. Typical foods are disregarded (Potatoes).

4. Children noticed only the ingredients and not the cooking method. They may notice the food type from the overall look but do not notice what it consists of. (Examples: Mahhshi consists of rice and veggies like tomatoes, French fries consist of potatoes and oil. After the meat is cooked the children do not always know whether it is meat or chicken).

5. No child chooses fruits.

6. Unhealthy foods like chocolate or sausages and cold cuts were most desired.

What to change in this experiment in the future: Asking the children why they chose what they chose from the food types.

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4. Applying Research Methodology

4.2 Children choosing foods and creating their plates (practical appilication of checklist)

Developement

Preparation: Prepare only healthy food types in small plates and 3 empty plates.

Menu: Olives, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Cold cuts, eggs, Minced meat, Tuna fish, white cheese, cheese, bananas, peach, bread and honey. (Fig 4.6) Participants: Cousins from Alexandria, 3 children, a 7 year old boy, an 8 year old girl, a 9 year old girl.

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Fig 4.6 Foods for the children to choose from and create their plates

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4. Applying Research Methodology

1. Asking the kids to come for dinner in the kitchen.

Testing Procedure

2. Giving them free plates and asking them to start filling their plates with what they want from the offered foods.

3. Taking a video of them during the preparation of their plates and the eating.

4.Having a conversation with them while they are preparing and eating.

1. Decorating their plates with the food.

Testing outcome

2. Putting foods next to each other, not on top of each other as is usually expected.

3. None of the children started with bread although they would usually eat these items in a sandwich. One of them took a piece and did not eat at the end and asked “May I not eat the bread?�.

4. All children took cucumbers and tomatoes although in the theoretical part of the experiment 2 they did not eat salad along with their food.

5. Some put the sweet foods next to the salty ones and even fruits while some put it after eating up the salty food. Some asked for a different plate and some saw it as something new to eat while both foods are in one plate so they could just turn the plate and eat the sweet foods.

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Fig 4.7 The participants creating , decorating and eating their plates

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4. Applying Research Methodology

Conclusion

1. Children go for healthy food if they decorate it in their own way.

2. Children give eating vegetables a chance when they use it in their own way and not in form of a salad, for example. Different ways of eating the same food motivates them to want to try more.

3. The children accept fruits if served in front of them while none of them chose it in the checklist in the previous Experiment.

4. Unnecessarily carbohydrates could be eliminated.

5. Children do not like doughy food, they like the crunchy sound of food.

6. Children do not ask for unhealthy foods like chocolates or cold cuts if these are not offered in front of them.

What to change in this experiment in the future: Not offering healthy desserts with healthy sugars to see if the children would ask for dessert or not.

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4. Applying Research Methodology

4.3 Low and high calorie pasta experiment

Developement

Preparation: Cooking pasta with white sauce and mushrooms, one time in high calorie (Full fat milk, gee, and 4 spoons of flour) and another time in low calorie ( skimmed milk, olive oil and 2 spoons of flour ). (Fig 4.8) Participants: Cousins from Alexandria, 3 children, a 7 year old boy, an 8 year old girl, a 9 year old girl and their mothers.

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Fig 4.8 High and low calorie white sauce pasta

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4. Applying Research Methodology

Testing Procedure

1. Blindfolding the child/mother and photo shooting the procedure.

2. Asking them to smell both plates and choose the one they prefer and to state why.

3. Asking them to touch both plates and choose the one they prefer and to state why.

4. Asking them to taste both plates and choose the one they prefer and to state why.

5. Asking them to take off the ribbon and see both plates and choose the one they prefer and why.

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Fig 4.9 Smelling, touching, tasting and seing the pasta.

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4. Applying Research Methodology

Testing outcome

Children High calorie pasta

Low calorie pasta

100%

66.67%

33.33%

0% Smell

Touch

Taste

Sight

Mothers 100%

High calorie pasta

Low calorie pasta

75% 50% 25% 0% Smell

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Touch

Taste

Sight

Conclusion

1. Adults prefer the high calorie taste because they learned to love it.

2. Children like decorations in food (mushroom).

3. Children could prefer the low calorie food type.

4. Children prefer foods that are not doughy while chewing.

5. Children care more for the touch and smell of food unlike mothers who only care for the taste.

Conclusion of all 3 Experiments: New Design Concept: Children would eat healthy if they cut, prepare or cook the food themselves.

An interaction with the food before eating the food makes them passionate about it. If the foods they deal with are healthy foods then this would automatically involve them in an healthy eating behavior. This will help them get used to a healthy lifestyle just as easy as some people got used to bad eating habits as children. The design should involve interacting with healthy food like preparing and decorating it, learning about it and eating it.

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5. Design Process

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5.

Design progress

5.1 Design concept Educated children (age 5-9) learning about healthy food combinations and portions, through weighing, cutting and preparing the food and creating their own decorated plates.

5.2 Concept and shape development 5.2.1 Plate game (Fig 5.1) - Set of plates with many different graphical colored designs.

- Children place the food their mothers have cooked on these designs.

Problems: - Weak input of healthy food, because the random food the children will use and eat.

- Only eating progress without cooking or learning progress.

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Fig 5.1 Illustration for the plate game

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5.

Design progress

5.2.2 Plate game with color codes - Adding to each plate a card with color codes for each food type and its amount.

- Children read the code and add the type of food in the table; ending up with a graphical design out of food which encourages them to eat healthy.

Problems: - Adding the food amount in the cards make the learning progress routine for the children (Example: 1/2 cup tuna).

- Plate does not have separators for the food not to get merged.

- Weak involvement of the mother.

5.2.3 Plate game with amount codes (Fig 5.2) - Each color in the plate stands for a food type ( proteins, vegetables...) yet its amount is controlled by the size of colored shape, not by given amounts. (The smaller the colored space, the smaller the amount of that food type) Problems: - Design limits children’s decorative freedom in organizing the food.

- Learning progress could be stronger with application of what they learn at school.

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Fig 5.2 Plate and card of the plate game

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5.

Design progress

5.2.4 Cooking station A cutting area, partitions for the cut food and plate for putting placing the food and decorating it. (Fig 5.3) Problems: - Design would be too big and would take too much space.

- Not easily moved.

- Measuring the portions through partitions or small plates could be boring for children.

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plate

particians

cutting area

Fig 5.3 Cooking station

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5.

Design progress

5.2.5 Cooking station decreased in size.

- Adjusting food portions and combinations through a digital device with screen instead of manual food partitions.

- This device includes a scale to adjust the food portions.

- Screen is connected with the cutting area and the plate. (Fig 5.4) - Plate is foldable when closing the set. (Fig 5.4) Problems: - Does it have to be foldable?

- Plate is not separable, not practical for free moving with the plate without the rest of the station after the activity.

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cooking area

plate

digital screen

Fig 5.4 Developed cooking station: Connected Scale, cutting area and plate.

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5.

Design progress

5.3 Final shape (Fig 5.5)

Fig 5.5 3D drawing the final shape

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20

35 cm

cm

20 cm

0.7cm

20 cm 15 cm Fig 5.6 Measurements of final shape

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5.

Design progress

5.4 Final concept The final product is a set that comprises of a digital touch screen, a cutting board and a plate. The digital device provides an array of options for the child and mother to input the food they cooked. Following simple steps they are able to determine the healthiest food combinations and portions for their meal, cutting them in free shapes and forms and then decorating them in the plate; to ensure that these foods are cooked healthy, entering the amount of fat substances used for cooking is also included. This activity insures the quality of the food offered; it is a healthy way of cooking and an interactive experience between the mother and child.

5.5 Material Produced out of food grade plastic: - Safe for food.

- Easily produced in many different colors.

- Rubber fixers placed at the buttom of the screen and cutting bored so it has stability .

- Rubber belt for packaging.

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Fig 5.7 Final product: Healthy eating kit for kids

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5.

Design progress

5.6 Interaction 5.6.1 Interaction with the digital touch screen (Fig 5.8 - Fig 5.17) The interface is shown in the following pictures step by step. It displays each step and shows the easy interaction offered to the children while using the device.

Fig 5.8 Child interacting with the digital device.

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Fig 5.9 Child starts entering the cooked food offered from his mother or others, in the digital device

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.10 Child entering the vegetables offered

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Fig 5.11 Child entering the protein offered

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.12 Child skips entering the dairy foods offered ( No dairy offered that day so the chiled skips it)

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Fig 5.13 Child entering the carbohydrates offered

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.14 Child entering the type of oil the food is cooked with. If the mothers used more she will know the next time she cooks the same. Child is keen on her cooking with the required amount if it’s not.

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12 %

5 tbl. spoons

Fig 5.15 Device sets the required healthy amount of each food type in percentage then in grams to make it easier for the child to understand the numbers and weigh the food.

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.16 Digital screen turns to the scaling mode.

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Fig 5.17 Child weighing the food items according to the required amount.

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5.

Design progress

5.6.2 Interaction with the cutting board and plate.

Fig 5.18 Child freely cutting and playing with the food’s shape

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Fig 5.19 Child freely placing and decorating the foods in the plate.

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.20 Kit offered in many colors

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Fig 5.21 Kit is easily rearranged for different working positions.

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5.

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Design progress

Fig 5.22 Safe plastic knives offered with the kit. Place plate upside down on the cutting area for storage.

Fig 5.23 Rubber belt stabilizing the plate with the rest of the kit.

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5.

Design progress

5.7 Benefits of the product: - Child gets a learning, cooking and eating experience.

- Child applies his education skills in this game and learns about healthy food combinations and portions.

- Mother or other adutls involved with the child while cooking which makes the child feel he/she is not alone in eating healthy.

- It is an experience that makes children learn what they are eating as well as learn about healthy food combinations and portions and then decorate them freely.

5.8 Future developments - Weightless surface to help weighing saucy foods.

- Packaging of the kit.

- Programming the game through cooperation with a digital media engineer and designer.

- Examining the space of usability between the user and the product.

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Fig 5.24 Rubber fixers placed in the buttom of the screen and cutting board for stability .

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5.

Design progress

5.9 First draft Model. Material: Foam

Fig 5.25 Cutting foam with the measurements and making the edges round.

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Fig 5.26 Drilling and sanding the foam part for the plate.

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.27 Softening then coloring.

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Fig 5.28 Creating the board fixers out of soft foam, coloring and gluing it.

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.29 Creating the rubber belt out of soft foam and coloring it. Gluing a sticker for the screen.

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Fig 5.30 Final outcome of first draft model

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5.

Design progress

5.10 Final model. Material: Acrylic

Fig 5.31 Lasercutting the acrylic according to the measurements.

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Fig 5.32 Hatching the transparent surface to give the depth of the plate.

Hetching the transparent surface of the board to show the digital screen.

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5.

Design progress

Fig 5.33 Gluing all parts together.

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Fig 5.34 Final outcome of final model.

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6. Conclusion

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6.1

Conclusion

With the end of the research comes the question whether this is the end of the experiment or just the beginning of an ongoing project. The aim of this research was to make Egyptians start eating healthier and achieve a healthier life. Throughout a long research the conclusion was made that it is not easy to change people’s eating habits as those are influenced deeply by tradition, different generations and by social norms. The final outcome of this research is demonstrated on children from the age of 5 to 9. This outcome consists of a product that enhances and teaches educated children from 5 to 9 years old to learn to eat healthy and love it.

A lot of research has been made to reach this outcome; such as learning about the senses, how much they evolve I the eating process of a human; moreover the research led to depth in the field of experience.

The original intention of the research, learning about what causes people to behave in certain way when it comes to cooking, has been met. The research started expanding when it was discovered that the eating habits of Egyptians are related to the cooking habits; as what one cooks is usually what one eats. Going deeper into observing how Egyptian women used to cook and cook nowadays some, it was discovered that some of them have the potential to cook in low calories. This lead to a comparison between cooking methods where in the end it was concluded that social behavior also plays a big role in the choices and behavior of cooking. Most Egyptians are influenced in their cooking and eating behavior by social standards; like of making a good impression in the presence of guests. Examples are preparing a lot of varieties to give the impression that they are well off or that they are kind enough and many implications on the social background.

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This social and traditional behavior later on made more sense according to the theory of experience design, humans emotions and senses. The conclusion made here was that is impossible in some cases to change Egyptians’ eating behavior because many Egyptians cooks, especially housewives, have no choice but to cook in the same unhealthy way because of the expectations of the family members; which is again a social boundary. Yet it is never too late and there is always hope to start over.

At this point of the research it was concluded that trying to work on teaching children to eat healthy would apply the aim of this research and inspire the adults to adapt the same healthy eating behavior.

Just like some children are obsessed about tasty junk food, if they learn to eat healthy at this young age, they will crave and will be manipulated into eating healthy just as they are in many cases when it comes to junk food.

Along the research process, it was important to explore how and where to start with the children to be able to know how the design could possibly teach them and support them to love healthy food. Data was collected through checklists, observations and experiments where the awareness of food types, the preferences of foods, and the comparison of high calorie and low calorie food between child and mother was examined. The results showed that children have the tendency to like the taste of the low calorie food because they are still not manipulated with how the food should taste like. Also the research results showed that the children are not that aware of the types of food they are eating and that they would enjoy eating healthy foods if they decorate them themselves and feel the effort they have put in it.

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6.1

Conclusion

This product is a set of cooking and eating kitchenware for children. It is a healthy eating kit. It consists of a health program displayed in a digital device with a touch screen, connected to a cutting board and a plate with fine abstract separators. The children start the process with using the digital screen, where they enter the type of food that the mother has cooked. This program displays the amount that should be eaten from each food type and converts this amount into grams. This digital device then turns into a scale and a child has to keep increasing or decreasing the type of food according to the required weight. Afterwards the food is ready to be cut creatively and freely on the cutting board then it is placed in a decorative way on the plate, according to the child’s own preferences. The screen will also display the amount of fat that should be cooked with which will make the mother or the person in charge cook healthier, as the child will be kean on encourraging the mother to do as the game requires. This way the parent mother will be involved in the cooking progress and the child in the cutting and decorating process. This way a child will feel that he/she is cooking the food themselves with his/her parent and that both are participating in the game. This experience will help the child learn healthy eating through building healthy portions and healthy food combinations. Also, the parent would enjoy cooking healthy as well and might be inspired to eat healthy himself/herself. The healthy eating kit would be a success in this case.

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Working with children and designing something for them gave this research hope in fulfilling its aim. Once children learn it they would not forget it and maybe also inspire grown-ups. The target is to continue this research by experimenting with children with a sample of this product to see how well it works and interviewing a child’s parent after two months about the usability and usefulness of this product. The advantages and disadvantages of the product based on the feedback are to be collected and used to redesign or develop this product.

This way the target of this research would be reached: to serve the country through tackling an important issue such as eating and living healthy.

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References

Hassenzahl, M., Eckoldt, K., Diefenbach, S., Laschke, M., Lenz, E., & Kim, J. (2013). Designing moments of meaning and pleasure. Experience design and happiness. International Journal of Design, 7(3), 21-31.

Hack,D., Bordi,M., Hessert, S. (2006). Nutrition, sensory evaluation, and performance analysis of trans fat-free nonhydrogenated frying oils. Journal of food service. 19, p. 303-316.

Blackwell Publishing Journal of Food service Robinson, E. (2013). Reducing high calorie snack food in young adults: role for social norms and health based messages. International Journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 2012.10-73.

Gaafar, M.A. (2011). Production and Quality evaluation on low calorie cake. American Journal of Food technology. 6(9), p.827-834. Academic Journals 2011 Haley. (n.d). T-Fal Actifry Review – How This Mum Made Frying A Lot Healthier. Ready to transform. http://www.readytotransform.com.

Childs, J. L and Drake, M. (2009) Consumer perception of fat reduction in cheese. Journal of Sensory Studies, 24, 902–921. Journal compilation 2009. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Milano, S., (2009). The Ark of taste. Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, 4-26.

Eathser, P., (2009). Cooking with traditional leafy vegetables-Indigenous Plants in Tanzania’s Kitchen. Regent Estate Senior Women Group. Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, 1-51

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Martin, B., & Hanigton, B. (2012). Universal Methods of Design. United States of America, USA

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Acknowledgements

I would like to strongly and endlessly thank Prof. Dr. Qassim for his great support, motivation, creativity and patience in this research.

Very special thanks to Hanan El Sammak, who guided and helped me step by step during this process.

I would also like to thank my grandmother Anan Abdel Hamid and my aunt Samia Yehia for their support and for always being an inspiration for me in the field of food and cooking.

Many thanks to Mohamed Selim, Hayat and Rawya Selim, Tasneem Aly, Ashraf Gebriel and Amr Kandil for their effort, support and passion in this reserch.

I would like to thank Hana Short, Nada Osama, Ahmed Short, Nariman Lotfy, Sawsan and Dina El Sammak and Sayeda Ahmed for their great support during this research.

At last I would like to thank the mini people Karim Moatazz, Hana Moatazz and Leila Omar for being great participants of this research’s methodology application.

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