Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has announced the launch of the first-ever Food Revolution Day on May 19 around the world, aiming to promote healthy eating and curb the rising obesity epidemic.
Families, communities, schools and workplaces are encouraged to host dinner parties and create local events that help people reconnect with the food they’re eating and move away from fast and processed foods.
To help families incorporate principles of Food Revolution Day, the Jamie Oliver Foundation has created a 30-point toolkit. Here’s a selection of ideas:
-Get the whole family into the kitchen and learn to cook together
-Cook using fresh ingredients
-Cook around what the family likes to eat, but give favorite meals healthy makeovers
We take our children to McDonalds because we don’t have time to fix them or ourselves dinner sometimes. Maybe this will help rethink why we should! One mother told me that after her son saw it on Food Revolution , he threw his Wendy’s nuggets in the dog bowl. My thinking was….GREAT. But then I thought…..do they not love their dog anymore??????
The following comes from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution………..
Get the picture!!
Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it.
Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.
There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.
But, hey, at least it tastes good, right?
High five, America!
*smack*
In this test on Food Revolution, he fails to convince the kids that what he is making is horrible and disgusting. They end up wanting it because they are hungry? Could it be that they are wanting it because they have grown up on processed nuggets? Not sure? But as a parent I think this will change your mind about where you take your children to eat. I saw him do this same experiment in England when I lived there and I can tell you the kids chose the good stuff over the junk nuggets.
GLADSTONE, MO—Oakhill Day School, a Private Independent School in the Northland, has had its own “Food Revolution” since Fall 2007, with a school garden, recycling and composting program, physical education 5 times a day and has been the pilot school for the Farm to School Lunch Program with Bistro Kids.
“As the country is focusing more on child obesity and sustaining our earth, Oakhill is taking pride in the fact that we have been leaders in the Kansas City area with our programs,” said Suzanne McCanles, Head of School. “The Food Revolution should be happening across America and starting in our schools- with our kids.”
The students at Oakhill planted in the school garden in early April, and will be one of its local organic farmers for the lunch and cooking program. The students are growing different kinds of lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions and beets from seeds. The school is watering the garden from recycled rain water that is stored in rain barrels near the garden.
The students understand why it is necessary to recycle the everyday materials that are used. Some of Oakhill’s middle school students are part of the Green Team, taking recyclable materials out to the recycle bins located on the school’s campus. They, also, empty the compost into the bins where it will become fertilizer for the school garden.
Every student at Oakhill gets an hour of physical activity every day they attend school. The students attend Physical Education daily, running through obstacle courses, circuit training, and learning team sports and about healthy lifestyles. They also have outside recess time.
This summer, Oakhill will continue to grow its partnership with Bistro Kids through the Community Supported Agriculture Program. Families will be able to purchase farm fresh products through the program for $20 and pick them up at the school. Each week the program will highlight different foods for 30% off of the retail price and receive a farm newsletter, Fun Food Facts and Recipes, produce selection and storage tips, retail savings sheets, reusable shopping bags, a student cookbook and more. CSA encourages families to eat organic, hormone free and locally grown- just as the Farm to School lunch program does.
For more information about Oakhill Day School, please call Leah Schembri at (816) 436-6228 or visit www.oakhilldayschool.org.
