"Kids love fatty, sugary, salty things," he said. "If an appreciation for other foods isn't developed as they're growing up, they're destined to have those become a mainstay of their diet. Try to use different spices, take them to ethnic restaurants or take them shopping and buy something new that they haven't eaten before, like Basmati rice. As they grow older, they will have a broader appreciation for foods."

Small changes in how you serve food dramatically improves people's appreciation of it, Wansink said. For instance, identical brownies were rated "excellent" when they served to tasters on a china plate, and "OK but nothing special" when served on a napkin.

Wansink said his wife, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, used to simply say, "Here's an appetizer" when she cooked at dinner parties. "Now she comes up with some nice descriptive name for it, and people say, 'Wow! That's really good!' Presentation really does make a difference."

Wansink's own tastes run the gamut from fast food to fancy haute cuisine to ethnic foods such as Chinese braised duck tongue. And he proudly admits that he and his wife buy candy, chips and soda pop — it's just kept in the basement so it's not a constant temptation.

"This book is not about dietary extremism — just the opposite," he said. "It's about re-engineering your food life so that it is enjoyable and mindful."

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E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com