Off Topic- Did anyone watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show last night?

[JJLaw08 4]

I just had to tell about this awesome show I saw last night called Jamie Oliver's food Revolution. Jamie is a chef from Britain, and he has come to Huntington, WV (so called the fattest city in the world) to try to help the schools feed the children healthy food not the processed crap that almost EVERY school in America feeds their children. One part of the show, Jamie went in to a class to see if the children knew the names of common veggies. They didn't even know what a potato or Tomato was.

I thought it was a great show, and it really opened my eyes to what food I eat.

[Manda87 3]

Are you serious that they didn't know what a potato or a Tomato is? I'm only 22 years old and I knew what a tomato was when I was like 4 years old. I used to eat them like apples.

[JJLaw08 4]

Yep, they were like 1st graders I think. It comes on ABC if anyone wants to look it up. It's a pretty neat show.

[patsal 1]

I thought it was really good as well. Anyone who knows anything about sound nutrition knows that school lunches are the worse things out there. I don't care how healthy they say they are! Friday, the HS I teach at had motzarella cheese sticks (you got 5) a medicine cup of Tomato sauce, canned green Beans, and a "salad" which is a quarter cup of iceburg lettuce and nothing else as well as your choice of milk and some strawberies that were in a frozen cup and all runny--looked like ice cream topping and it was loaded with high fructose corn syrup--strawberries was the fifth ingredient. One of the girls at work bought school lunch for a few weeks straight, and she put on over 10 pounds, the weight came off when she stopped eating the unhealthy foods. Everything is processed.

OP wasn't the chicken nugget experiment gross? I could not believe how under educated the children in that school were--sorry basic use of a dull knife and fork as well as not knowing what veggies were. I about fell off my chair when the head cook said the kids could only eat with spoons because they were too young to use other utensils. My kids were eating with dull knives and forks by the time they were three. The principal was a bit out of touch as well.

Edited March 28, 2010 by patsal
spelling

[JJLaw08 4]

Those "cooks" were so rude to him, and they didn't see anything wrong with what they were feeding the children. I guess the "cooks" were mad that they actually had to cook instead of sticking everything in the oven or whatever.

I know that experiment was gross. I can't believe those kids would still eat that after watching it be made.

I guess it does start with the parents, but our GOVERNMENT should know that what they are regulating in the schools is not doing nothing but hurting the children.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Jessica4Bama

[patsal 1]

They sure seemed put off by having to cook real food that had nutritional value.

I'm pretty sure the gov't guidelines are created by many lobbiests for certain areas of the food industry. Such a shame especially when so many children are at or below the poverty level in many public schools and are relying on school Breakfast and lunch to sustain them. Those meals could be a way of teaching sound nutriton, it is a shame they are not.

Edited March 28, 2010 by patsal

[2911plans 16]

I saw the show and was thankful that someone is concerned enough to try and make a difference. I am an elementary school teacher. I hate what our kids are served for lunch. It is a neverchanging menu.

Monday: chicken nuggets

Tuesday: taco boat

Wednesday: chili mac

Thursday: pizza

Friday: cheeseburgers

The veggies are canned and dumped into a large pan to heat. The kids throw 90% of the veggies in the trash.

There are days when I do not have time to make my lunch, but I refuse to eat anything my school serves. I always keep Protein powder on hand for days like that.

I hope the show picks up a huge following. We really need to change our eating habits.

The "chicken nugget" experiment was unbelievable.

[RavenClaw779 2]

I called my husband in to see the family at the hospital. He couldn't believe the little girl was four!

Considering the amount of money we pay in school taxes and now with a first lady taking up the cause of childhood obesity you'd think this would be a no-brainer. I have to wonder if there's any tie-in with the lower socio-economic level in Huntington. It would be interesting to see the lunch offerings in private schools around the US. Just clicked on the link to our local elementary school's menu...everyday they have a choice of fruit or fruit juice, and cold Cereal for Breakfast with revolving choices of pop tarts, doughnut holes,muffins, french toast sticks or breakfast pizza. Lunch - what a surprise...chicken nuggets, Peanut Butter & fluff,mac & cheese with a pretzel, pizza...only occasionally do they service veggies or yogurt. Jeez - I don't even have kids, but I wouldn't feed this crap to my five-year-old niece!

What was really sad was the attitude of the disk jockey and the bitchy(and obese) kitchen staff.

[suzyq indy 0]

After watching that tv show and reviewing my children's lunch menu, I have decided to stop allowing them to buy their lunch.

Since starting this journey for myself (& my family) to eat healthier, I do not want to "sabatoge" my efforts by allowing them to buy "crap" for lunch on a daily basis.

I really hope that this show "opens" the eyes of our schools and government and that changes are made.

[pickles123 0]

This is an excellent program, I highly recommend it.

Not learning to use a knife and fork is awful also.

[Jachut 487]

I love Jamie, he's very popular here in Australia. His style of cooking really appeals to me too - rustic stuff that you chuck in your weber (kettle BBQ) and serve up on a big platter to your friends and family. His food Revolution would be an eye opener for many!

To be honest, the move Supersize Me didnt put me off letting my kids have the occasional McDonalds so much - what I nearly barfed my dinner up over was the muck that serves for food in American schools! I was awestruck by the orange floppy pizza! We dont have school canteens like that here, you bring your own lunch or you have a "lunch order" where the canteen puts it together and brings it to the classroom where the kids eat. thank god my kids school has a healthy food policy and they cant buy anything like pizza, coke and other softdrinks are banned in our schools and we dont have vending machines in them either.

However - it hasnt done much good. Australia is one of the fattest nations on earth, just like the US, and our kids are getting fatter and fatter each year. If they dont get that stuff at school, they just buy it elsewhere, even kids who have a healthy family diet like mine do.

I dont like pizza much at all but I'm glad Australian pizza doesnt have orange cheese, and the slice stays horizontal when you hold it to bite, lol!

Lack of exercise is as much of a problem I think.

[lamber2299 0]

If you are interested, go to Jamie's food Revolution USA | Campaign for healthy eating | Jamie Oliver to sign Jamie Oliver's food petition. There is also a blog written by an teacher who is eating school lunch every day for a year. It's very interesting.

Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project

[vlp1968 83]

I really enjoyed the show- hope it catches on and some real changes are made. The usda guidlines are just ridiculous. No wonder we have a nation full of obese children. I am a former teacher and was always horrified at the lunches. I wasn't banded yet and have to admit to eating them once in a while. I agree that it means the cooks have to actually cook. Also maybe some more money needs to be put towards providing healthy lunches for children.

[Spartan 4]

I am very supportive of what he is trying to do, and I hope that it has an impact.

The garbage that they serve our kids in school is disgusting.

A couple of years ago, when My son was in high School, he forgot the HEALTHY lunch that he made for himself every day. He would not even TOUCH anything they served in the cafeteria and the vending machines were all full of garbage - candy, soda, etc.

So, he left campus to walk to the supermarket on the corner to pick up something GOOD to eat. On the way BACK to the school (He was carrying a bag of Apples and Bananas) he was arrested by LAPD for truancy, and given a ticket that ultimately cost him $700.

Something really needs to change.

[john47 0]

This program caused a revolution when he did a version here in the UK. It had such a effect that the Prime Minister was forced to meet him at downing street to talk his ideas and demands through.

It just grew and grew and politians from all political parties we forced to jump on board and back his demands.

School meals were completely changed throughout the UK. Out went the high fat processed garbage and it came healthy meal replacments.

Now there has since been a back-lash, some kids used to burger, pizza and fries refused to stay for meals and their reck-less parents blamed the schools for not providing what the kids want.

Generally though it has been a great success. I hope it has the same effect in the US.