Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" — Get on Board!

[PampChefJoy]

I caught his new show "Food Revolution" on Hulu last night. WOW! It made my husband stop and think too about the junk we're putting in our bodies.

So I was checking out Jamie's website and came across this: http://www.jamieathome.com/join-the-gang/join-us-in-march.html

I didn't know he had a direct sales division... I wonder if any of our UK consultants here can chime in about his company and the "competition"....?

Gotta admit, some of that stuff is waaaaay cute!

 

[smspamperedchef]

they are kind of cute. I think our products look better though, but I do like their glasses and cutlery. I wish we carried that in our line!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I :love:LOVE:love: Jamie Oliver - and I was cheering him on watching Food Revolution! Can't wait for Friday night to watch the "real" premiere of the show. Everything he says regarding food makes sense. I wish he could come to the school cafeterias around here = although, I've already decided my son won't be eating hot lunch at his school (he's in K this year, so comes home for lunch now). I've been reading the lunch menus, and they are very similar to what Jamie discovered in WV.

 

[esavvymom]

LOL...I just saw the clip on the ABC site, and that's hilarious! Can't wait to sit down and watch the rest.... "this should piss you off!" *hehe* I bet he ticked those little old ladies off in that school.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

LOL...I just saw the clip on the ABC site, and that's hilarious! Can't wait to sit down and watch the rest.... "this should piss you off!" *hehe* I bet he ticked those little old ladies off in that school.

They made him cry.:cry:

 

[crystalscookingnow]

They were so mean and horrible about it. But really - his revolution is such a fantastic idea. I would love to have him come to our schools too. The food in the school system is so gross. And here, we can't even take in homemade treats or anything like that for the class.

We are getting away from processed foods here at our home. Sadly, most of the kids won't touch the other foods because they don't know that it can & does taste better than the stuff that lasts forever.

The other part of school lunch that really makes me angry is how 80% goes into the garbage. But - that's a whole other topic.... :grr:

 

[tys1031]

Yeah, I saw that Sunday.......I went to college in Huntington. I just think it is horrible that people don't realize what they are doing to their kids.....it's one thing to feed yourself junk, but don't do it to your kids! I wanted to cry watching that family who were all overweight...espcially the son who said he was tired of being picked on at school because he's overweight.

 

[esavvymom]

Ok...WOW. I just watched the episode. Unbelievable. Why did they even let him into their town if they were going to behave that way?! They gave him nothing to work with except negativity and hassle. I felt so bad for him at the end. Funny thing is- I would bet a lot of it is that many of them don't even know who he is. If it was Bob or Jillian, or Rachael Ray who strolled into town, they'd roll out the red carpet and welcome them with open arms. The town (that radio DJ) acted like JAMIE was saying they were the unhealthiest town in America. Uh...duh? And did they really trust the media was reporting truth or just TWISTING it? That one lady even said "negativity sells"...yet they were ready to run him out on a rail on day 3. I think he'd be better served going one family or small group at a time or to a town that would really want the help. Fighting the school bureaucracy will be impossible- especially since they give him only 1 week to plan and serve and implement- alone.My kids watched the last half of it with me, and my oldest was even fired up a bit. They then proceeded to help me make dinner- I had them make their own fresh salads, and they watched as a I made HOMEMADE Chicken Nuggets (from our 29-min. vol I book).

 

[ChefBeckyD]

They were so mean and horrible about it. But really - his revolution is such a fantastic idea. I would love to have him come to our schools too. The food in the school system is so gross. And here, we can't even take in homemade treats or anything like that for the class.

We are getting away from processed foods here at our home. Sadly, most of the kids won't touch the other foods because they don't know that it can & does taste better than the stuff that lasts forever.

The other part of school lunch that really makes me angry is how 80% goes into the garbage. But - that's a whole other topic.... :grr:

Crystal - we can't take in homemade treats either. DS is in K-garten, and the parents are responsible for the daily snack. When it's DS's turn, I've sent in cheese sticks, applesauce cups, etc...but the other parents send in Oreos (that was his snack today), bags of chips, etc....how sad is that?

Yeah, I saw that Sunday.......I went to college in Huntington. I just think it is horrible that people don't realize what they are doing to their kids.....it's one thing to feed yourself junk, but don't do it to your kids! I wanted to cry watching that family who were all overweight...espcially the son who said he was tired of being picked on at school because he's overweight.

I wanted to cry too, when I saw that. So sad.

Ok...WOW. I just watched the episode. Unbelievable.

Why did they even let him into their town if they were going to behave that way?! They gave him nothing to work with except negativity and hassle. I felt so bad for him at the end.

Funny thing is- I would bet a lot of it is that many of them don't even know who he is. If it was Bob or Jillian, or Rachael Ray who strolled into town, they'd roll out the red carpet and welcome them with open arms. The town (that radio DJ) acted like JAMIE was saying they were the unhealthiest town in America. Uh...duh? And did they really trust the media was reporting truth or just TWISTING it? That one lady even said "negativity sells"...yet they were ready to run him out on a rail on day 3.

I think he'd be better served going one family or small group at a time or to a town that would really want the help. Fighting the school bureaucracy will be impossible- especially since they give him only 1 week to plan and serve and implement- alone.

My kids watched the last half of it with me, and my oldest was even fired up a bit. They then proceeded to help me make dinner- I had them make their own fresh salads, and they watched as a I made HOMEMADE Chicken Nuggets (from our 29-min. vol I book).

We LOVE those Chicken Nuggets! DS likes to help me make them - I let him do the crushing.

It will be interesting to watch Friday night, to see if he's able to make any headway with the lunch ladies. I wanted to wipe the smirk off the one's face when she was gloating over the fact that he didn't have 2 breads in his meal plan.

 

[tys1031]

Ok...WOW. I just watched the episode. Unbelievable.

Why did they even let him into their town if they were going to behave that way?! They gave him nothing to work with except negativity and hassle. I felt so bad for him at the end.

Funny thing is- I would bet a lot of it is that many of them don't even know who he is. If it was Bob or Jillian, or Rachael Ray who strolled into town, they'd roll out the red carpet and welcome them with open arms. The town (that radio DJ) acted like JAMIE was saying they were the unhealthiest town in America. Uh...duh? And did they really trust the media was reporting truth or just TWISTING it? That one lady even said "negativity sells"...yet they were ready to run him out on a rail on day 3.

The sad thing is that they wouldn't have welcomed Bob and Jillian....they would have treated them the same way!!! It's more about their "who are you to tell me" attitude than who Jamie is. It's cultural.....

 

[susanr613]

On a more encouraging note - high school students in Chicago helped pass a ban on daily nachos and sugary breakfast pastries. The Chicago Public Schools will now be offering nachos and sugary breakfast pastries once a week as a treat. Way to go!

 

[chefsteph07]

School lunches are a JOKE. On my daughter's menu, there are "breadsticks" (main dish), egg rolls, hot dogs, pb and j, etc. Oh, and ALL for only $3! :yuck:

If you think that's bad, the school breakfasts are even worse, pop tarts, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, etc.

My daughter buys MAYBE once a month...this month she's buying for either Sals steak or turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and milk. THAT is a four star meal around there!

Oh, and I just heard that McD's is thinking about taking toys out of the Happy Meals becuse THE TOYS are what's making the kids fat. Um, how about, don't take your kids to McD's 4 times a week because you are too LAZY to cook!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

School lunches are a JOKE. On my daughter's menu, there are "breadsticks" (main dish), egg rolls, hot dogs, pb and j, etc. Oh, and ALL for only $3! :yuck:

If you think that's bad, the school breakfasts are even worse, pop tarts, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, etc.

My daughter buys MAYBE once a month...this month she's buying for either Sals steak or turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and milk. THAT is a four star meal around there!

Oh, and I just heard that McD's is thinking about taking toys out of the Happy Meals becuse THE TOYS are what's making the kids fat. Um, how about, don't take your kids to McD's 4 times a week because you are too LAZY to cook!

Sounds like the lunch menu here. You have your choice of cheesy breadsticks or chicken nuggets.


I'm so proud of my little guy. When he goes to McD's (which is a very occasional treat) his favorite things to eat are the apple dippers, and the yogurt parfaits. To him, those are TREATS....because he doesn't get sugary yogurt at home, (I buy Greek plain, or Cascade Fresh sweetened w/ only fruit) and at home peanut or almond butter is what is used for dipping apples. He hates french fries, and he rarely eats meat, so McD's doesn't have a hold over him! Whew! I'm not going to let the school lunches get to him either.

 

[chefsteph07]

That's great Becky!
And I agree, my daughter likes the apples, and I get her the chicken snack wrap, I hope that's better than a cheeseburger! And, she has not gotten a Happy Meal for a long time, she's 6, so she kinda asks for it occasionally, but I explain to her that I don't like the meals that come w/ it, you can buy those toys w/o getting a meal, so I will do that once in a while.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

That's great Becky!
And I agree, my daughter likes the apples, and I get her the chicken snack wrap, I hope that's better than a cheeseburger! And, she has not gotten a Happy Meal for a long time, she's 6, so she kinda asks for it occasionally, but I explain to her that I don't like the meals that come w/ it, you can buy those toys w/o getting a meal, so I will do that once in a while.

I'm not so good. I buy the Happy Meal, eat the hamburger, and give him the apples.

I also buy the snack wraps...except that now they have the Mac Wraps...and that's a way for me to indulge in my guilty pleasure of a Big Mac, w/o getting a huge one. (Hello, my name is Becky, and I've loved Big Macs since I was 12 yrs old.)

 

[chefsteph07]

The Mac Wraps totally crack me up!
Are they any good??

 

[esavvymom]

When did they start serving Breakfasts at school?? Wouldn't it make more sense to just not make the kids go to school SO EARLY and let them have breakfast at home? Might save the school some money too- they always seem to be really short in the budgets. Off -topic, I know...but that sort of surprised me. (My kids aren't in public school, can you tell? ).

 

[chefsteph07]

Some of the lower income schools in my area have been serving for a long time, my district just started a year or so ago, but they may as well have not started with all the poor choices that are offered. I mean, really, a POP TART?
I'm sure it's not even warm!

 

[esavvymom]

That's right..I vaguely recall seeing something about that in one of the nearby counties in my area...they had talked about the breakfast program for many of the kids because they wouldn't have gotten breakfast otherwise or not enough.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

The Mac Wraps totally crack me up!
Are they any good??

I'm probably not the best person to ask...since every so often I get a craving for a Big Mac. For me, they satisfy the craving - so I think they're good!

 

[PampChefJoy]

Here is ours: Breakfast ($1.25) EGUSD - Students - Menus
and lunch ($2.25) EGUSD - Students - MenusMy workplace's United Way campaign 2 years ago was partnered with the local food bank and the head guy there said their worst "at risk" period was summertime when the kids are out of school and they don't get the subsidized breakfast and lunch that they do when school is in. They would go all day until dinnertime, hungry. So sad to think about.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

That's right..I vaguely recall seeing something about that in one of the nearby counties in my area...they had talked about the breakfast program for many of the kids because they wouldn't have gotten breakfast otherwise or not enough.

Around here, they started offering just for the lower income kids first (those who qualified for discounted or free lunch) but found that those kids didn't like being singled out for breakfast, so now, breakfast is open to everyone. It's all processed crap, though.

 

[chefsteph07]

Turkey Pancake wrap for breakfast????? :yuck:
LOL
The rest of it looked halfway decent. I will post my schools tomorrow. You won't be so impressed!

 

[baychef]

I have been a School Food Service Director for 22 years. Right now I do not have time to go over the entire points but here is my brief overview.

We are given 15 minutes to offer students with 800 to 900 students breakfast. These kids have to go from one end of the school to the other, go through the breakfast line, then sit down, ingest their food and get to class. We have to have a cashier and to serve a hot breakfast would involve bringing in 2 more people for 15 minutes at $10 an hour. No one would do this!!

They (administration, faculty and transportation) do not want breakfast on the bus. They (same people except delete transportation and add custodial) do not want kids to eat in the classroom (this varies by district)

I too love what Jamie Oliver's message is, but I do have a problem with him not knowing what is required of us to serve, in what time limits and with the limited funds we have to work with. Work with our government funding (love Mrs. Obama's funding proposal because we can purchase the food and labor needed to produce less fast food meals)

He does not understand that most school districts school food services are a separate budget, many have been in the red but with the help of getting more funds via vending machines (I do not have these) we are able to pay people a fair wage (certainly not a good one) and able to pay for foods with just a smidgen of better quality.

We have never used a deep fat fryer, we have served fresh or canned fruit for 20 years now. We do not add salt in our recipes...just a touch to potatoes so they have SOME taste. We have served 1% or less fat milk for over 10 years now. We serve only 100% juice. Our ala carte items are limited only to the Middle and High School kids. (I hope to eliminate alter them to less sugar and fat...then eventually eliminated them period). We use whole wheat hot dog buns, whole wheat hamburger buns, whole wheart bread and whole wheat dinner rolls.

I do have a problem with fundraisers with candy, cookie dough, candy grams, bake sales, etc. These are the same people that are critical of school meals. We try our very best folks, but honestly, if the children did not come through the doors, the Board of Education would fire me and hire someone who would get them back. The most frustrating thing about my job...I do not care what B.S. any Board of Education person tells you...it boils down to MONEY! Can they feed the students without having to chip in from the general fund. There are creative accountants out there to "blend" expenses in general funds to make food services look like they are in the black. My boss is an "above the table" person...we have lost lots of money over the last 5 years because we refuse to put in the chips, ice cream, sugared "power" drinks, etc. vending machines.

Work WITH you school food service people. We are used to people being mean and insulting but we want the same things you want for your children!!! Quit flinging the insults and partner with us for the good of all children.

AND....make sure your kids do not eat anything while out of school that you do not expect them to eat in school....no fast food. They need to get a consistent message if we are to succeed in teaching out children how to eat properly for their best health.

 

[baychef]

Around here, they started offering just for the lower income kids first (those who qualified for discounted or free lunch) but found that those kids didn't like being singled out for breakfast, so now, breakfast is open to everyone. It's all processed crap, though.

This is illegal to single out children of lower income households. Not only is it degrading to the kids, but it identifies the entire household to the community. Now teachers, secretaries, etc....everyone knows who the "poor" kids are.

We receive more money for students on free or reduced meals. We lose money when students who pay full price eat breakfast (and sometimes lunch). The milk and juice are not processed however, many of the rest of the meal is. I would love to offer fresh fruit, but then I would have to have them put back the juice...cost prohibits me from giving them more than the required "fruit component" for breakfast.

Folks, please also go onto to the USDA child nutrition website. It may not help but learning about what tremendous limitations we are up against my help to understand. We do not purposely go out and look for the most God awful junk to feed your children. There are unrealistic time limits, nutritions standards, financial limitations, stero types to over come. And then try to package that perfect meal up so all of the students actually take it and eat it!

Thanks for listening!

 

[chefsteph07]

Ann, thank you for your great insight from being on the inside! I know that I for one do not blame the food service workers for the poor menu choices....in fact, that never even crossed my mind.
I do wonder what else could be provided though with the amt of money that IS spent. I mean, seriously, my daughter's menu is disgusting. That's not your fault, who makes those decisions?
Is the food different from region to region?
I didn't watch the beginning of Jamie's show, but the gist I got from it was he wasn't really targeting just the schools, but trying to teach the kids and parents how to eat better all around? Wasn't that city listed as the fattest or unhealthiest in the country?
I am going to tape tomorrow night's episode so I can watch the whole thing.

 

[esavvymom]

So after having watched the show (last episode for the current season I think aired tonight?) - what did you think about how things turned out? (If you missed them, they are online at abc.com under the Show FOOD REVOLUTION.)I thought it very interesting how the schools who've been able to successfully implement the new menus, how much they liked it (even Alice *hehe*), how the parents were reacting- both at the "boot camp", but also the ones sending the 'rebellious bag lunches' (lol - that's what my DH and I figured it was. The parents not liking their little whipper-snappers coming home and telling mommy and daddy that THEY were eating junk). It's not surprising, both from Ann's post above, but also what was in tonight's episode that so much stems from what the government forces down the system- the almighty dollar. The almighty dollar that is making our kids unhealthy, and then they are entering the same health-care system that the government is blaming our woes of the country and the insurance, etc on. Hmmm.....makes you think! If the government wants to help, then start with the food they force onto the kids plates! That trickles upstream to the health of these kids and so much more. Lots to think about really.On a sidebar sort of, I did follow one of the links over to his website.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/get-cooking
I found a few interesting downloads...one of which I was thinking about starting a thread on here for- and will do so under a separate heading. But some tips on Kitchen Tools, some recipes, some recipes for the KIDS (maybe Kids-in-Kitchen concept).

 

[tys1031]

Bobbi,

I am so mad I missed the last episode! I never really thought about what you said about the "cause and effect" of the government-forced school menus and the outrageous healthcare issues in this country. That is a GREAT observation!

My husband works in the school system in GA and he agreed with you about it being the government's fault about the food the kids eat as well as the quality of the education. They care more about "saving a dollar" than our children. I am SO considering private school for my son. I thought about home-schooling with a private teacher, but I fell like he needs the interaction with other children, so I am SERIOUSLY leaning towards private. I am SO SICK of the beaurocracy in our governments....federal on down to our local cities!

 

[legacypc46]

I have been a School Food Service Director for 22 years. Right now I do not have time to go over the entire points but here is my brief overview.

Ann, thank you for sharing!

 

[baychef]

Great posts! The federal government helps us out. The states support zero to very little...1/4 of a penny reimbursement for a full priced breakfast?

I disagree about the government being involved in school meals. We need more from them, not less. Not just money either. Jamie's ideas are good...I just have a problem with his handling of the school meals. TV cameras are fine in the kitchen, but I think he tried to make them look like asses. You can say she did it herself but I think it is a poor department head to let her staff take that kind of embarassment The department head that MAKES THE MENUS and develops the recipes (NOT the kitchen staff).

Jamie along with our First Lady, Mrs. Obama's are on the right track. Right now the Child Nutrition regulations are up for some major changes. No school food service manager or director I have spoken to is against this but we need more government support. Folks, I have recommended to our Board of Education to raise school meal prices several times over the last 8 or 9 years. (from 85 cents a lunch to $1.75 or $2.00; high school is the highest). Parents do not like this at all and I understand. It adds up especially when you have more than one child. This is why we need government support. To do what is done now let alone what Jamie proposes is expensive. Honestly, can you go to a restaurant, get an 8 oz. low fat milk, 1/2 cup of canned or fresh piece of fruit, an entree and a 1/2 cup vegetable for $1.75 for your child? We are not a restaurant, but we pay more benefits than a restaurant (these are community residents) and I can atest that our sanitation standards are carried through much better than 95% of the restaurants.

We also need the government to be in on the regulations. Yes, they make a regulation long before it is easy for us to impliment but if they were not there you would have much more junk food. The parents would not pay the price to cover a nutritious meal and the kids would graviate towards the cheaper junk food. We would need to sell it to make ends meet for the kids who did eat lunch.

Here are a few things that bug me in school. I will have a principal be critical of the sugary cereals at breakfast but then turn around and have the following fund raisers...bake sales DURING lunch (even if they are sold after the lunch meal...kids are charging lunch to buy more bake sale foods) if they have bake sales...make sure the foods donated are nutritious. A gourmet cookie dough sale that netted $45,000. Rewards of a free ice cream, a pizza party with soda, candy grams and Gertrude Hawk candy sales.

The food at consession stands at sporting events, dances, etc.? Plus finally, it is not all about food. It is about physical activity. Some kids are very active in many sports. Not everyone is, however. Let's face it, there are many parents out there that are not good parents and therefore do not interact with their children encouraging physical activity (unless you consider dodging a slap physical activity) These ARE some of the sad realities.

Reducing obesity in children reaches FAR beyond school meals. What we are doing now is MUCH more than what Jamie depicts. And consider that we feed them 18% of the meals they eat all year.
Ok...time to leap off the soap box.

 

[baychef]

Here is ours: Breakfast ($1.25) EGUSD - Students - Menus
and lunch ($2.25) EGUSD - Students - Menus

My workplace's United Way campaign 2 years ago was partnered with the local food bank and the head guy there said their worst "at risk" period was summertime when the kids are out of school and they don't get the subsidized breakfast and lunch that they do when school is in. They would go all day until dinnertime, hungry. So sad to think about.

Very true!! Across the nation there is the Summer Meal Program open to ALL children up to 18 years of age. Your neice or nephew could be visiting from another country and still take advantage of this meal as long as they are under 18. It is FREE!

 

[mumtofourgirls]

So I was checking out Jamie's website and came across this: http://www.jamieathome.com/join-the-gang/join-us-in-march.html

I didn't know he had a direct sales division... I wonder if any of our UK consultants here can chime in about his company and the "competition"....?

Hi there, I'm a consultant in the UK - yes, the Jamie at Home parties are our competitor - but they are slightly different to P Chef shows. Some of my friends have been to one and they run like this:
A video of Jamie making the recipe is shown. The consultant makes the dish at home and brings it along. A dvd of Jamie making the recipe is shown, and then everyone tries it. I much prefer the try before you buy aspect of our product. They have a lot of stock issues too - lots of items sold out.
We are definitely with the best company!!!