Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

I love love love Jamie Oliver! I have been saying this constantly for a few days now, if you missed his new show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution premiered tonight on ABC.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is not a diet plan but instead a guide to healthy eating and healthy living. It is more than just cutting down the calories. He never mentions the word “diet” during his show, and this is just one of the things I love about it. It is about getting back to the basics, being more aware, eating fresh, healthy food, and getting rid of all the processed sh*t we eat and feed our children.
(I have also become obsessed with “Food Inc” and if you missed the Oprah episode on Food Inc, Chipolte and Food Rules~ it is a MUST see!)
Jamie’s show, which started tonight, (there was a sneak preview the other night & I was instantly sucked in! Matt and I watched the 2 hour premiere again tonight) is exploring the eating habits of Americans. Jamie has traveled to one of the least healthy cities in the United States, Huntington, West Virginia. It is not only watching Huntington though, it is our entire country, the way certain people eat and just the health of Americans is enough to make you sick. There are so many people who are getting diabetes and heart disease and causing it themselves! We are killing ourselves and even worse, Jamie shows how American eating habits are killing our children.
Jamie starts at an Elementary school and talked to the cooks, five women who have been working at the school for awhile and surprise surprise are resisting the change.
(ahhh… what I would have done to be working on this show, especially the editing is brilliant! To show the attitude and resistance of the people that Jamie comes across, you really couldn’t write this stuff better!)
Jamie first created some friction when he asked when they start “peeling the potatoes” for the mashed potatoes; the women looked at him like he was insane. Jamie then complained about the instant mashed potatoes (“potato pearls” they were called and it was just gross to watch them being made! Little balls that you had to stir quickly or they will thicken like cement) He told the other chefs that they were not mashed potatoes as he read off the ingredients. “It tastes like starchy stuff with nuts in it” EWWW!!! I don’t want Brody to ever know what “potato pearls” taste like!
“This is about life and death”, Jamie explains. “I am going to start with this one family; grassroots and let it grow and grow and grow, and that is how you start a revolution. Real people, real change.”
It is about LIFE and DEATH. It is that simple. People are putting crap in their bodies and then wondering why they are having so many health issues. They take a pill and go through a drive-thru instead of changing the root of the problem: the food they are choosing.
It is disgusting and we all need to change. I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite, I know I do not eat “perfectly” and I am, besides being 7 months pregnant, overweight. I think the issue though is being aware and making good choices. I have consciously thought about this more then ever since I had Brody. I have this little person who I am 100% in control of what he puts in his body. I am not only making choices for myself, but choices for him that will affect his entire life. I think this starts from the day they are born and especially from the time they are 4-6 months and you are feeding them their first foods. You are starting and sculpting their tastes. You are in control. Children aren’t picky eaters, parents create picky eaters.
(And know, I am saying this to a certain extent, I have written a few blogs before on B’s eating habits, children’s eating habits, and what to feed children. Brody doesn’t eat a ton of meat or protein, but in this case you can adjust and make other suggestions. I try to start him off at every meal with either fruits or vegetables, get the vitamins in. I still offer him whatever type of meat/protein I am eating to see. I won’t just accept, “oh, he doesn’t like that” for good, he is little and his tastes vary week to week.)
Americans need more fruits and vegetables in their diet. Jamie visited one family and discovered that they weren’t consuming the right foods. Pizza, corndogs, French fries, (this was even tough to watch, just gross) the list went on. Jamie started piling up all the food they ate in a week onto their kitchen table. This was enough to make you sick. Not to mention the entire table was brown fried crap. Jamie points this out to the Mom: NO colors, NO fruits, NO vegetables! It finally starts to sink into to her that she is killing her family by the food she is eating and feeding them. I was actually impressed by this family, because although they were eating horribly and every single one of them was overweight (even their 4 year old daughter) they WANT to change! They are listening to Jamie and open to trying his recipes and really following what he tells them (even when he made then burry their deep fryer in the backyard!) This was much more then most of the people Jamie had been coming in contact with.
I am extremely excited about this show and Jamie’s entire Revolution! Please tune in if you haven’t already… Friday nights on ABC. Also, check out the websites below and sign Jamie’s petition to help our children get better food in schools!

Jamie’s Message:
I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!

You live in an amazing country full of inspirational people and you have the power to change things. With your help, we can get better food into homes, schools and communities all over America and give your kids a better future.

To be heard and make a change, Jamie needs ONE MILLION people to sign his petition in 6 weeks: Please follow this link (it takes 2 seconds) and sign this petition to help our children to hopefully have better, healthier foods in their schools!!

Jamie wants to take his petition to the White House after Food Revolution airs, to show The President and First Lady how many people across the country really care about this and ask for their support.

If you are a parent, or even know of any children who are in school or will be at some point, there is no excuse to not want the best for them!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

www.jamieoliver.com

http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

http://twitter.com/jamie_oliver

If you follow me on Twitter you know I have become a little obsessed with this and I have been tweeting about Jamie & about “Food Inc” for awhile. If you don’t follow me, but are interested:
www.twitter.com/ashleykanoff
www.twitter.com/brodysmom20
www.twitter.com/MomSpaceMag