Did anyone watch Food Revolution last night?

angie_nrs

angie_nrs

Cathlete
It was on ABC last night. It's about time we finally get a show like this is on the air. Poor Jamie Oliver was having a hard time turning things around though. There is just so much resistence to serving healthy foods in our schools from governmental guidelines (which seem pathetic at best), lunchroom staff, money, general unawareness or ignorance of the obesity problem, etc.:rolleyes: I honestly think that the kids are getting too many choices in the lunch room. When I was in school we had 2 choices.....take it or leave it. Sometimes I chose the later and I certainly didn't starve. I didn't have a vending machine to turn to either since we didn't have them in our school.....so I went without. The only time chocolate milk was even offered was on Fridays. As a kid, I complained about it, but I had no idea that they were doing me a favor. Although, even then, the foods provided should have been much healthier than they were.

Even though not a whole lot was a shock to me, I have to admit that I was amazed when Jamie went into the classroom and the kids didn't even know what a tomato or potato was.:eek: They had no idea that french fries were made of potatoes....but definitely knew what a french fry was.:confused: This is such a sad reflection on society. I sure hope this show has some impact in turning it around for the entire nation. I know that's a tall order......but it's got to start somewhere right?

What did you all think about it?
 
I DVR'd it last night so I'm actually watching right now. The most mind-blowing part to me is that Jamie is trying to educate the adults on what's wrong with the stuff they're serving the kids (not to mention eating themselves), and they are so ignorant and stubborn to recognize that this crap is so bad for your body! The part that also got me aggravated was the radio show host getting on Jamie's case for what he said about the town's eating problems; dude, it is what it is! You can't stick your head in the sand and ignore the reality of what is going on around you. His words did sound kind of harsh but realistically he was speaking the truth.

Did they ever disclose why 2 grains were requirements for these kids' lunches? That also seemed kind of extreme.

The most heartbreaking part for me was when he took the family to the doctor and seeing how large the 6th grade boy Justin is. That is shocking to me. It's really scary to think about how unhealthy and inactive our kids are.
 
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Kinda funny how the radio host 'changed his tude' when they showed him the booming business of Super-sized caskets.:eek: Did you see how huge those suckers are??? They need a fork lift to transport them, a trailer to haul them, and require 2 cemetary plots. The funeral director explained that creamating someone that large is like buring a long, slow burning candle. I never looked at it from that point of view. Whoa!

IA Mel - the lunch ladies were almost defending the crap contained in the boxes of chicken nuggets. What's up with that??? I'm sure they couldn't pronounce most of the stuff listed there, but they were definitely OK with it. This mentality HAS to change as does the USDA recommendations that the schools have to follow for lunch menus.
 
I watched it! I think it is a fantastic program (and coming from Seacrest, I'm beyond in impressed). I was mortified by how stubborn and ignorant these adults were! They were acting as though Jamie were in there to...well, I don't know what. It was ridiculous. And I was so annoyed by the red tape the school put him through. Processed GARBAGE is fine, but if Jamie doesn't have two grains with his freshly cooked meal, it can't be served??? GIVE ME A BREAK!! It makes absolutely no freaking sense to me! Can you tell I was just a little peeved? :mad: And that lunch cook woman, she deserved a good slap!

When I was a kid, raw potatoes and onions were my favorite snacks! My mom made me my own babyfood and did not let junk food pass my lips (until I was old enough to sneak them at other's homes). And I am not the picture of health because I started making very poor choices about 10 years ago so I cannot image the life these kids are going to have.

The honest truth, though, is that until the adults are 100% convinced of healthier choices AND MAKE THEM ON THEIR OWN EVERY SINGLE DAY nothing will change for the kids. Changing school lunches is good, but when the kids still eat and learn to live on crap at home, how are they going to get much benefit?
 
Those lunch ladies were funny. "The first ingredient is chicken breast" - I had to shake my head at that. It should be the ONLY ingredient not followed up with a dozen more - geesh.

I was also surprised that these kids didn't know any of the vegetables that Jamie showed them. Now I don't expect kids to like their veggies, but dang, you can't recognize the most basic veggies you see in the supermarket? A tomato? Even kids shows teach which veggie is which. I blame the parents first for that one.
 
I thought it was great! Those lunch ladies were not playing around! ha Poor Jamie!
I hope that particular episodes wakes parents up to what is going on at home and at public schools. I will watch that show again. Go Jamie!

PS - the kids not knowing basic vegetables also tells us something about our educational system in America! SCARY!!
 
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I just watched this and was so horrified and angry I was almost speechless. I loved the look on the cook's face when they were working with raw chicken, they looked like they were working with raw sewage. But working and eating the chemicals in the frozen food seemed perfectly acceptable.

I am grateful to Jamie for taking the time out of his life to try and affect some change in our health and the lunches in our schools.
 
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I did see the preview show, which was eye opening indeed. Which I already know that the same food served in public schools is the same food served in prisons!

I saw the last 2 seconds of Jamie today on Wendy's show. (how you doin'?!)

As an aside, I made stuffed eggplant the other day and Andrew, my wonderful son (can't he be recruited/drafted to play sports at 14?) said, 'momma I can't eat this, it is too healthy and I am used to cafeteria food.' I do try to expose my children to healthy food. And hope they make the correct choices at school.
 
I hope he keeps giving up more cooking ideas too. I made the chicken nuggets this weekend since I had some chicken breast in the fridge to use up and they were delish! I typically cook lake perch in a similar manner, but never really thought to pan fry chicken nuggets since I usually bake them. It was a yummy treat!!

For anyone that didn't see the episode......You just cut your raw chicken in chunks, lightly coat with flour, pepper, and your favorite seasonings, and pan fry with olive oil until golden brown. Use a lid to gently press down on the meat and reduce splatter from the frying. I'm going to make these at our next nascar party.:)
 
Uggghh! I sure hope they improve those school lunches but I wouldn't hold my breath. I went to my kids' school for lunch a few times and what they sell as healthy just makes me shudder. Even the "salad bar" consists of mainly canned fruit and veggies.

It is so frustrating, when you pack your kids' lunches and it is remotely healthy, they are being teased because many of the kids are used to corn dogs, pizza and lunchables. :eek: And those bad eating habits are enforced by what the school lunches offer.

Both my kids like salads but they don't want to eat them at school because they don't want to be the butt of jokes. Thus, I usually stick with sandwiches.

Those of you who pack their kids lunches, what are examples of what you send to school with them?
 
I used to have that problem with my kids in elementary school, they didn't want a lunch that looked 'too' healthy - e.g. hearty, whole grain bread was a big issue. They liked the food but their friends looked at them like they were aliens for eating it.

Now my two older children are in middle school and my dd is a vegetarian and eats whatever she wants in her lunch. Some of her friends dabble in vegetarianism and they all seem aware of the need to eat healthy. She likes whole wheat pitas as her bread for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (natural pb, all fruit spred). She's not one for variety and usually likes some string cheese, apple, carrots and a sandwich. Her brother is skin and bones but prefers school lunches and gets cheese pizza most days. My point of view on him is whatever he will eat works for me. He gets plenty of good food for dinner and breakfast.

Their younger brother generally complains about the hot lunches and prefers something similar to his older sister. Interestingly he has a friend whose family is all overweight and he talks about how the boy is packing better lunches so I know they get it and talk about what's healthy and what isn't.

There is a lot going on at our schools to emphasize healthy eating. It's not 100% but it is better than what I see on this show.

What also surprised me on the show was the portion sizes for the lunches. It seemed like a HUGE lunch these kids were given. Did anyone else think that? I like the food that Jamie is making but the portions seem too big and there's too much meat served (IMO). Even if I were a meat eater, I think it's too much.
 
I haven't watched the latest episode yet. I get them on hulu and usually watch in the morning before work while having my coffee and just didn't have time this morning. I am hooked on this show! It is really sad that our nutritional savvy has gotten this pathetic!
 
I did not catch the show and sadly, no longer pack my son's lunch for school very often anymore. I obtained a f/t job at the end of january and am finding it very difficult to fit everything in so I have been having him order lunch from school which I know is bad news. Thankfully he has eaten healthy all his life at home and continues to do so...and LIKES IT! :D I am going to have to go over my schedule and find the time to prepare his lunches for school again. I'll feel so much better if I do. Perhaps I should make it a part of my evening schedule while I am cleaning up from dinner or whatever.

Thanks for posting this! It's the kick in the butt that I needed to get back on track!:)
 
I'm the Program Manager at a preschool/child care center, and we have revamped our school menu over the past year or two, I'm happy to say. We have to follow certain guidelines, as we are reimbursed by the state for a portion of the food we serve. The basic guidelines are that we serve a grain, a protein, a fruit and a vegetable. The serving sizes are also followed.

So, our old menu:

Protein: Chicken nuggets; hot dogs; fish sticks; meatballs
Grain: wheat bread or hot dog buns; white rice;
Fruit: canned peaches or pears, apples, oranges, bananas
Vegetables: canned peas, canned carrots, canned whatever with butter and salt; powdered mashed potatoes

Our new menu:

Baked chicken, roasted turkey, bean or ground turkey soft tacos, turkey sandwiches...

Whole wheat breads, pitas with hummus, couscous with fresh herbs and tomaotes, whole wheat pastas, homemade mac and cheese

Seasonal fresh or frozen fruits like mango, strawberries, melon, berries, peaches...

Seasonal fresh or frozen veggies like peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli, etc.

We now serve organic, hormone free milk. Any canned fruit (rarely served) is in light syrup. Veggies are steamed with nothing on them.

It's still not perfect, but it is so much better than it was.
 
Good for you Wendy, that sounds like a huge improvement over the processed garbage that has become a sad staple of our school systems.

To the poster who has no time for packing lunches - I make all my DS's sandwiches on Sunday, put them in ziploc bags, and freeze them. I put one in his lunch every evening and put the lunch in the frig. Works perfectly. I only have to add a piece of fresh fruit and some cookies. ( Yes, well no one is perfect..) End of story.
 
I love this show. I think that this Friday is the finale. There was a similar show on about 2 years ago call Shaq's Big Challenge. It was by basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. It was very similar except he also taught the kids how to exercise. The group of kids selected all transformed their bodies and their lives. I think they also went to D.C. in an attempt to permanently change the school lunch menus...............:)
 
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