Remember the cookbook Lex got for Christmas? The one called Jamie's Food Revolution? I shared a few of his recipes with you back in January, and now that we've switched to DST (making it much easier to capture good food photos with natural light at dinner-time) I plan to share a few more.
Do you also remember my telling you about all the amazing things Jamie had already done in Great Britain, even before writing that cookbook? Like, setting up a training program for at risk kids in his restaurants, convincing the school system to start feeding their kids real food instead of all the processed, chemical-laden crap, and, most recently, going into homes (via this cookbook) to show homemakers that it's really not that difficult to fix quick, delicious, healthy meals for their families. He feels that if he can just teach a few people a few easy recipes, get them over their fear of cooking and feeling comfortable in their own kitchens, and then get them to "pass it on" to a few more people and have them do the same, together we could revolutionize the way the world is eating - and dying! You do know, don't you, that somehow we have managed to get so far off-track, that our kids are expected to be the first generation EVER to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents? Despite all our whiz-bang medical advances?
I sort of figured Jamie would be ready to slow down his frenetic pace after accomplishing all that, rest on his laurels a bit, start taking it easy. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Is he content with revolutionizing the way G.B. cooks and eats? Noooooooooo. Now he wants to tackle the U.S.! We got a sneak preview of what he's up to on Sunday evening, but the real show starts this Friday, on CBS I believe. Check your local listing for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. You won't wanna miss this!
Good luck to ya, Jamie m'boy. You're gonna need it!
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6 comments:
Wasn't that a fantastic and eye opening preview show. And yes he does have his work cut out if the preview was any indication of the hurdles he faces. So glad you will want to watch the new series on Friday night. Would have hated to leave my company all alone to go and watch it alone.
Big Sis
And here I was, thinking I'd have to force you to watch it with me on Friday!
My friend Paula works as the Head Start liaison for several elementary schools in her town, and this is an email she sent me after reading this post: "I have been working with our school nurse on how to approach these 2 families that have girls that have gained almost 10 pounds this year and only grown a little. They were already overweight when they started school. There are several factors to consider: how do you not offend, when the mom is overweight; how do you change cultural eating habits; how do you justify the extra cost of healthier food when they can barely make ends meet; and, how do they find the energy to work on something like healthier eating, when they are so stressed about so many things in their lives,like being evicted for rent, losing their job, kids acting up in school, etc. Food is a quick and inexpensive way to feel better. Good luck Jamie. I do not know where to begin. I suggested to the nurse that I'd see if I could find one eating habit they could change - like maybe getting rid of calories in juice and soft drinks. I do not have much hope that I can do anything to change this family's eating habits, but I will try."
Jamie does have his work cut out for him, but there are many folks here in the States that are working parallel to his goal as well. Hopefully Jamie's star power and media presence will help coalesce everyone's efforts for better food in the schools!
One teacher who is eating school lunches every day and blogging about it: http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/
His biggest stumbling block so far seems to be the U.S.D.A.'s requirements. The kids are getting pizza for breakfast & chicken nuggets and fries for lunch at school, pizza or nuggets for dinner at home, but when he served his first meal made with real food at the school, he got into trouble because the only starch he served them was brown rice. The USDA requires them to serve the kids TWO starches with every meal! (french fries count as a vegetable)
Thanks Jessica, I'm going to do that right now!
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