So Sunday night, I was bone tired after being in the car for the better part of the day, and was ready to hit the hay at 9:00 pm, when I saw the show “Jamie Oliver, food revolution” was coming on. Good nutrition is sort of a passion of mine. I learn new things constantly, and then incorporate them into my family’s meals. But I have to admit that some times, more often than I care to admit, my kids will eat school lunches, or the occasional fast food meal. The school lunches are usually not too bad, but because of the socioeconomic state of my area, all of the schools in my area receive free breakfast, this is where my hackles go up. They serve things like margarine on “wheat” bread, which in my mind is like serving plastic on glue; the bread is as close to being wheat as I am to being Julia Roberts. It is brown this is true, but is really just a slightly darker version of wonder bread. And margarine, well I personally think margarine is up there with crack as far as how bad for you it is. Needless to say, it is not a popular breakfast. They also serve things like cereal bars, honey nut cheerios, trix, and golden graham bars, held together by marshmallows. Wow, really, let’s just inject sugar into their veins and call it good. Don’t get me wrong, I get that our school children need the food, for many kids the breakfast and lunches they eat at school, are the closest thing to nutritious food they will eat all day, and for far too many they are the only two meals they will get in a day. So I understand that the food program is important, but really do we have to feed them crap?
This is where Jamie Oliver comes in; the premise of the show is that he goes into the schools in Huntington West Virginia to change what the kids eat into something nutritious, and stripped of chemicals and additives. If you are not familiar with Jamie, he is also known as The naked chef, I at first thought that meant he cooked naked, but he actually is passionate about whole, real food, and teaches people how easy it really is to cook that way.
My kids of course, have eaten some of the food served at their schools, despite having had breakfast at home most of the time, but because of the stripped down way we eat as a family, they will often report a chemical taste when they have eaten the school breakfasts. Now I am not a complete NAZI as far as food goes, if you read my blog you know that I love to bake, and cook, and yes sometimes it is fun to have a treat, but I do my best to make it with fresh, or at the very least whole ingredients, and personally I would rather have one of my whole wheat brownies than any mix you could buy. And they are occasional treats, not a nightly or even weekly event.
Inspired by the food revolution show, my oldest son, who was entering a drawing for Google’s “Doodle for Google” decided to scrap his original idea of making the word Google be all sorts of various art elements, and instead decided to do a commentary on the school food. He is at an age where taking your own lunch to school is tantamount to kissing your Mother in public, so he buys most every day, but he makes the healthiest choices he can at school. He has seen Super Size me twice, and it really made an impression on him, so much so that he boycotted meat for nearly a year. He is also very aware of what he puts in his body, and is constantly asking about the nutritional value of various foods we eat. Of course like any teenager, he loves food, but he does his best to make the better food choice. He told me he is concerned about going into High School next year because of the things he has heard about the food. (In my high school we got served chic filet, and had a little Debbie station, delicious yes, good for you? Not so much). The upside is, he is open to taking left overs for next year, or at the very least packing his lunch, because the High schools have microwaves so you can warm up your own food.
My youngest little boy is in his first year of preschool, and we noticed some severe behavior problems when he started school, despite my efforts of feeding him a nutritious breakfast each morning, he was eating the school breakfast (they called it their snack) the preschool food menu was even more appalling than the older grades. They were serving things like sugary cereals, chocolate/chocolate chip muffins, and flavored milk. Finally after the umpteenth note home about his behavior, I told the teachers that under no circumstances were he to eat the school “snack”. I started packing him food that I find acceptable, and guess what? His behavior improved dramatically. It is tricky sometimes to send food in because he is a super picky eater, but we have managed to come to a compromise on what he loves and what I approve of.
My middle boys will more often than not take a homemade lunch. Yes they do get the occasional treat in their lunch, but again I do my best to make the healthier choices, like whole grain pretzels, or organic chips. Whole grain tortillas, made with canola oil, organic yogurts etc...
So back to the entire reason I wrote this, I hope Jamie Oliver succeeds, he is trying to change the way we feed our precious children in this country. He knows that most of what is served in school lunchrooms across the nation is worse than many fast food chains. And much of what is served in school cafeterias, most adults wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. A few of the points he brought up in Sunday nights show made me examine some of my habits a little more closely, and there is definitely room for improvement. I went to THIS site and “signed” the petition for change in our schools.
Do I feed my kids pizza? Yes I do, but it is usually the homemade variety, with fresh ingredients. I also give them chicken nuggets and French fries, but the nuggets are coated in whole wheat, and lightly “fried” in olive oil, the French fries are baked in the oven. I will get off my soap box in just a minute, I am just a girl who is trying to feed her family the best way she can, and yes it is on a budget. And I just think good nutrition should not be a luxury few can afford. It should be accessible to all who want it.
So with all that being said, I am making a renewed effort to feed my family with the freshest ingredients possible, with as much homemade as possible. I know I have gotten lax this past year, and have bought my share of preservative laden foods; even things that I, previous to Sunday thought were “healthier” because of the companies that made them. I was really inspired by the show, and am making my own pledge to give my kids bodies the best chances they have to grow and be healthy. Of course I won’t be perfect in this, but my goal is to, more often than not, make the better choices when it comes to feeding my family.
You can find more informaiton about the show HERE
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