(Progress or Propaganda) Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

[sratiug]

"Healthy" varies depending on who you ask. I am a firm believer in there being no "bad foods" so much as there are bad ingredients, and terrible portions. If you don't eat any carbs, you are really going to have trouble keeping exceedingly active over time. I'm not entirely sure how much I'd be able to jog or swim without any carbs at all in my diet. Probably not very much. Fresh pasta is delicious stuff, and it isn't "bad for you" if you really eat a serving size. As a hint, when you make pasta with a tomato-based sauce, the veggies should outnumber the pasta, at least in my opinion. Most people eat 2-3 servings of pasta at a sitting, and I've seen some working their way towards five.

My point with the section you quoted was that making it yourself is not that difficult, more healthy, and tastes way better.

Butter and flour aren't "good for you," either, nor is most cheese. I'm not advocating changing over to a diet of macaroni & cheese (even homemade). I'm just bewildered that people have such a hard time making even the most basic things for themselves.

Perhaps a better example would be soup. People chime and echo that "soup is good for you." Is it? Most canned soup is pretty awful stuff. Even the "low sodium" and "low fat" soups are a mess. Now, take some good chicken broth/stock, some fresh vegetables, a bit of leftover grilled or roast chicken, some fresh herbs and spices... and suddenly it's pretty good stuff.

I'm not a health nut, by the way, and neither are most of the people that live to be old and active. I just like wholesome, fresh foods and find it crazy that other people would choose processed stuff over fresh.

I am trying to be more healthy. I still eat carbs. I used to run a lot and plan to get back started doing that. Butter, as I understand, is quite healthy while margarine is poison. Since fats have twice the calories as carbs I don't think I'd have any problem running without carbs, though I know fat won't burn as fast. But when I run a lot running doesn't even get me breathing hard so I don't see it making much difference.

Omega 6 and 3 oils are important too. Brian Peskin's books recommend a ratio of 2 to 1 (iirc or is it 3) parent omega 6 to parent omega 3. But I think you need a lot more saturated fats than unsaturated. Here's a link to another source that recommends butter.
http://www.westonaprice.org/Principles-of-Healthy-Diets.html

 

[reillym]

That's exactly how I saw it (except it's not FDA but USDA). The USDA standards promote use of heavily subsidized foods. TWO breads?

One thing that stuck out to me was how much food gets wasted. The school my kids go to has a garden. The kids are involved in raising, harvesting and processing the food so that it can be used in the cafeteria. Most of the food in the cafeteria is made from scratch-- even the pizza. After the kids eat the uneaten food is separated out, sent to VT Compost Co, fed to chickens, composted and returned to the school to fertilize the garden.

The kids are a lot more connected to their food that way.

I thought Jamie approached the whole thing wrong. He should have made pizza and chicken nuggets from scratch the first day. The fact that he didn't come in under budget bothered me, too. It's hard to plan for the amount of waste there is in a cafeteria but that should have been top priority for him.

Agreed. I find it disturbing that so many people here are attacking Jaime as some socialist, British, "what's next, government mandated carrot juice", wackjob.

We have a huge problem of fat people here in America, and he's trying to help. If you don't like it, be quiet. He's not harming anybody. Our food sucks, and our kids are dying. If that's okay with you, so be it. It's not with me.

As for the food, I agree it should have been approached differently. The kids have been indoctrinated into eating crap. He needs to take baby steps - they aren't going to eat salad and cabbage... they don't even know what it is!

 

[TCE]

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (color dyes), Monosodium Glutamate (a.k.a. "Spices," Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Yeast Extract, and others), Hydrogenated Oils, Antibiotics, and Growth Hormones.

Remove those from the food supply and virtually everyone would be healthier.

 

[mkopp27]

Divided on this one...

I, for one, am actually enjoying the show. As a mother of two, one of whom is (sadly) already in the public education system, I'm very concerned with a- how my tax dollars are being spent in said "educational" institution, and b- what is going into my child's mouth when I'm not the one supplying the meal. [Sidenote: My daughter (the one in school) is in her father's care, and we have discussed the potential of her attending homeschool since his wife doesn't work, but unfortunately that is not a possibility just yet. Had to throw that out there for all of you about to tell me to homeschool my kids.] I try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible; I stay active and eat as well as I can afford, which does NOT include regular trips to my local drive-thrus. My hope is that I serve as an example to my children, and that they make the best choices based on my example. That being said, I acknowledge that other peoples' choices are just that: THEIR choices. It isn't up to me (or Jamie Oliver, for that matter) to tell adults what they should/should not be eating. HOWEVER.... when it comes to children, they are limited to what is served in school and at home. Essentially, when we make poor choices for ourselves, WE are making poor choices FOR them as well. I am firmly of the mind that good habits start young. If we educate our kids to make the better choices, they will (hopefully) grow up making those better choices. I applaud Jamie Oliver for what he has done for the school lunch system in England, and I hope that it is as great a success here in America as it was there. I know many will disagree with me on this, but Jamie (IMHO) isn't trying to PUSH his views on the town so much as he's trying to help them. If they don't want his help, and they go back to their old habits when he leaves, that's their choice and it's on them when they start having health problems. It's up to the town to want to make better lifestyle choices; no one can force them to comply. [Additional sidenote: the school food guidelines followed in this country are set down by the USDA, which is why it is primarily grain-based, and why french fries are counted as a vegetable... doesn't that raise anyone's eyebrows???]

 

[Krugerrand]

I, for one, am actually enjoying the show. As a mother of two, one of whom is (sadly) already in the public education system, I'm very concerned with a- how my tax dollars are being spent in said "educational" institution, and b- what is going into my child's mouth when I'm not the one supplying the meal. [Sidenote: My daughter (the one in school) is in her father's care, and we have discussed the potential of her attending homeschool since his wife doesn't work, but unfortunately that is not a possibility just yet. Had to throw that out there for all of you about to tell me to homeschool my kids.] I try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible; I stay active and eat as well as I can afford, which does NOT include regular trips to my local drive-thrus. My hope is that I serve as an example to my children, and that they make the best choices based on my example. That being said, I acknowledge that other peoples' choices are just that: THEIR choices. It isn't up to me (or Jamie Oliver, for that matter) to tell adults what they should/should not be eating. HOWEVER.... when it comes to children, they are limited to what is served in school and at home. Essentially, when we make poor choices for ourselves, WE are making poor choices FOR them as well. I am firmly of the mind that good habits start young. If we educate our kids to make the better choices, they will (hopefully) grow up making those better choices. I applaud Jamie Oliver for what he has done for the school lunch system in England, and I hope that it is as great a success here in America as it was there. I know many will disagree with me on this, but Jamie (IMHO) isn't trying to PUSH his views on the town so much as he's trying to help them. If they don't want his help, and they go back to their old habits when he leaves, that's their choice and it's on them when they start having health problems. It's up to the town to want to make better lifestyle choices; no one can force them to comply. [Additional sidenote: the school food guidelines followed in this country are set down by the USDA, which is why it is primarily grain-based, and why french fries are counted as a vegetable... doesn't that raise anyone's eyebrows???]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[GreenLP]

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (color dyes), Monosodium Glutamate (a.k.a. "Spices," Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Yeast Extract, and others), Hydrogenated Oils, Antibiotics, and Growth Hormones.

Remove those from the food supply and virtually everyone would be healthier.

I agree with this too, but on a voluntary basis.

I don't eat/drink these poisons.