Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I just finished watching the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It can be found here on CTV's media player.

I'm a big fan of Jamie Oliver and some of the stuff that he has done in England to help people understand and care more about their food. I'm anxious to see how he does with the North American version of this show. It seems to be a bit of a mix between meeting up with families, going to community groups, and of course helping out the school system. It really does blow my mind that kids are being fed such horrible food on a daily basis. For adults to be eating this stuff is one thing, but kids are not given a fighting chance when they are having pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries and white bread as their staple diet. This is the kind of thing that makes me so passionate about bringing food and cooking back to the house, and bringing people together around the kitchen table.

I was lucky growing up in a family where having dinner together meant something, and helping out in the kitchen was an every day occurrence, and not just for special occasions. I try every day to remember how lucky we are to live in a city and a country where we can access good healthy food, and where we have the time (and it doesn't take a lot of time) to make healthy meals every day. I'm not saying that I'm perfect, and by no means is that the case. I love going out to eat, and when I'm at the movies, you'll find me with some popcorn. Rather, it's a matter of making the right choices, and not seeing meal time as an inconvenience, but rather a time to come together and sit down for a few minutes, uninterrupted. When I was growing up, and the phone rang at dinner time, you didn't get up from the table to take the call. Whoever answered the phone took a message, because dinner time was family time (plus who wants their food to get cold!).

I guess that first episode of that show got me kind of riled up. Change is a difficult thing to provoke, and Jamie Oliver has his work cut out for him. I admit that I shed a tear or two watching it, and thinking of all those kids who are already so unhealthy at such a young age. But, at the same time there's a feeling of hope, that a real food revolution is upon us. We will move away from the fast food coma we as a nation (Canada is just as bad as the US) have been in, and start to appreciate home cooked food again.

I'm doing my part everyday, and I hope you are too!