Monday, April 5, 2010

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

Has anyone been watching this show by Jamie Oliver? He is filming in Huntington, West Virginia, currently called the unhealthiest community in the USA. Jamie did a similar “Revolution” in England and revamped the crappy food served at the schools there. It airs here on Friday night but it also runs on ABC the same night. If you live in the US you can watch full episodes at ABC.

I watched the show on Friday and it showed some of the negative feedback he is getting from the community. One bright moment was when he recruited some students from the local High School to help him figure out how to go about introducing healthier food in the school cafeteria. The nutritionist overseeing the food program at the high school, classed French Fries as a vegetable. It was funny watching her confirm repeatedly that those were the nutrition guidelines they had to follow (1¼ cup of vegetables must be served). He had prepared a stir fry of 8 different vegetables with pasta and chicken and it didn’t meet guidelines—there wasn’t enough vegetable in the meal. The hotdog and French fries served in the other food line did meet the guidelines because French fries were classed as a vegetable and there was an optional salad being served (none of the students added the salad).

At an elementary school, one food worker was sooo negative (see Episode 101). She b!tched and complained about how much more work it was to cook the food Jamie suggested. She wanted to just pop the chicken nuggets and French fries in the oven and not have to prepare any food from scratch. When he spoke with the high school students they were really inspirational. One obese young lady had us all in tears by the end of the show as she was determined to help make some changes and spoke passionately to a huge audience. We’ll see how it develops.

Jamie Oliver may be abrasive and not well liked when he speaks out. But his mantra is to help make people healthy and sometimes it takes a loud-mouth to tell it like it is and wake us up. He isn’t about getting everyone to lose weight, but to get people thinking about what goes in their mouth. He is also trying to take into consideration the cost of food. For some it is cheaper to buy food at a drive thru, than to buy fruits and vegetables. Tough audience. We’ll see if he has any success or will he be driven out of town. What did I get out of this show?
    *Cooking from scratch is a healthier way to go, those nuggets and frozen dinners are not the best way to eat.
    *French Fries are not a vegetable.
    *Kids are pretty smart and are like sponges when we teach them right.
    *We have so much and yet many of us are unhealthy.

Here are links to the show: Jamie's Food Revolution

And since I am off work today, I am surfing through the talk shows. Oprah showed a lady who had lost and gained and lost 175 pounds. Dr. Phil is talking about how we are making our kids fat. And Dr. Oz is speaking out on how DNA is responsible for how we eat and how our genes affect our weight and which foods we should eat. Maybe I'll just go for a walk. And to let everyone know, I am working on my post about raising my kids. I hope to have it posted sometime this week.

13 comments:

Darlin1 said...

Hi Sandy---I went back to February and read most of your posts---OMG!! I printed out the nurse's "Advice for us Newbies" ---everything I had been wondering about---and "The Lap-Band Golden Rules" soooo informative! I feel like my med group has been lax and uncaring. Yes they have many group meetings that you can go to ---but even they are not very informative and I feel like they are a waste of my time. Thank you for sharing LOL!!

Darlin1 said...

PS I too watched Jamie's Food Revolution---He has taken on a big job---I'm proud of him---lot's of good Karma there!

Jen said...

I have been watching it. I LOVE HIM! It breaks my heart to see what they are feeding those kids. Seeing how they didn't even know what a potato or tomato looked like was eye opening as well. I hope he can accomplish what he set out to do. I was appalled at the pizza for breakfast and that the French fries were a veggie but not the 8 fresh veggies he had put in the pasta. CRAZY.
His show reminds me of one called "You are what you eat." It's on the BBC. I need to start DVR'ing it again. It's very informative and helps keep me motivated to eat better.
Here is a link: http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/273/index.jsp

Chele said...

I couldn't read your whole post becuase I haven't watched this episode yet and I don't want to ruin it. I do LOVE this show though and I truly hope he can help solve this food crisis not just in WV but everwhere.

Jess said...

Wow, interesting! I have never heard of this show before! But it is crazy what we feed our kids and expect them to stay healthy. Hello? Crazy...
Also, I just got your comment on my crazy mad post today and you're welcome! I didn't realize so many people felt that way about it. This world is just so judgmental when it comes to that stuff. I was just curious how the bloggers felt about it.

♥ Drazil ♥ said...

I so have to catch that or DVR it. Tomorrow Dr Phil has Jillian Michaels and others on and has a Fat Debate - two days worth. I wonder if it'll be good.

Lonicera said...

It's so interesting to note that your reaction is in the main the same as it was in the UK when he did the equivalent here. The catering staff hated it, the kids were horrified to learn how 'turkey twizzlers' were really made; some approved of the new diet but on the whole AT FIRST they wanted to go back to the something-and-chips which they were used to. It took several weeks/months (? can't remember) before they started to enjoy the variety and texture of the proper food they were eating. The overall problems in the end were how to cook for a school on a big scale and keep the costs down, and how to change the attitude of the people who did the cooking and encourage them to put more effort into it. Uphill struggle. But at least he started a debate, which is still going on. I love his cookery books with very original recipes - have you seen them?
Caroline

Kristin said...

Great post. I haven't seen the show but a friend of mine is doing a year's worth of Jamie recipes on her blog. Very interesting.

THE DASH! said...

I've seen this episode and was agog. Seriously, no wonder the kids of today are struggling (and us women and men too) when you have lazy no-do-gooders like that damn cook. Ridiculous. Great post.

carla said...

Awesome post!!! I really want to watch that show. He is a great chef, I have a few of his cook books!! It is terrible what kids get fed at school and people are so ignorant and resistent to change

MIMI said...

Sorry about the post Sandy. I meant that for a boy dog it is a wimpy name, and that I didn't want him having a complex about it cause it is a girl's name. Now if he would have been a she it would have been ok.
P.S. thanks for the comments.

Girl Bandit said...

Gosh I am so behind on posts but I love what jaimie is trying to do....love or hate him..he has our best interests at heart

Ali said...

My 13 yo and I have caught most of the episodes of Jamie's show. I saw that one and was appalled that the french fries qualified as a vegetable and the actual vegetables didn't. I think it all boils down to money. Our society has become the kind that pulls stuff out of a box and calls it a meal. I admit to being guilty of doing just that myself. Since having the band and even since watching this show, I am thinking that one key way to becoming healthier IS eating from scratch. We need to get back to that.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...