Today I am continuing in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution series by watching the second episode of season one. Last month, Jamie came to Huntington, West Virginia to make a difference in the nutrition of the citizens and in the school food programs. This week he is continuing his efforts.
The second episode opened with the radio station talking about Jamie and how his presence is not welcome. Jamie actually had to go into the radio station to talk about the local new paper column that took many of his quotes out of context and painted him in a wrong light. The local townsfolk were not happy and thought that he was calling them stupid and disgusting but Jamie did his best to clear the slate by explaining that the "hairs on his arms standing up" was because he is in the right place at the right time. He is proud that in a short amount of time, he has done a lot. But he realizes that it is going to take more time to get Rod (the radio show host on his side.
Jamie brings some of the kids from the local elementary school children into his local kitchen to show them some of the worst products that go into their processed foods. Jamie wanted to see if kids will eat foods they like if they know they are made from really disgusting ingredients. (He does say that the chicken nuggets he is using for an example are not made this way in the States, but just wanted to use an extreme example.) His goal is to get these kids to really care about what is going into their body.
First shows the kids the nice cuts of a chicken, the good and health parts. Then when he gets down to the bones and bloodier parts of the chicken, he tells the kids how the remaining parts are used to make their processed foods. He cuts of the bones, skin, and bloody parts and puts them into a food processor. Then he puts in into a strainer and has the "meat" squeeze out. He forms them into patties right in front of their eyes and asks, "who would still eat this?" All of the children raised their hands. For the first time since he started doing this experiment with children, Jamie's experiment failed. These children have been so brainwashed, that even though they know something is disgusting and bad for them, they will still eat it if it is in this friendly little shape of a chicken nugget.
In Jamie's second day back in the cafeteria, Jamie's food is the only one to be served for the day. He shows up in a pea pod costume. His thought was to get them excited about what they were going to be eating. Jamie thinks it is important for the teachers to talk to kids about what they are going to be eating. Especially to get them knowing what they should be eating and what is good for them, but he doesn't expect them to dress up or anything. Just to do something to make kids more knowledgeable about their foods. For their meal, Jamie makes them a tuna pasta bake with seven vegetables and a tomato sauce, mixed with salad and a homemade bread. Unfortunately, the kids did not like the meal again! He really needs to make something happen in order to make a change and stay in the school system.
So he goes into a classroom to see if they knew what food looked like fresh. The kids had NO idea. They didn't know where their food came from. The kids did not even know what a POTATO or a TOMATO looked like. But when he brought out the processed food they knew exactly what they were! The pizza, the chicken nuggets, the burgers. The knew all of them but had no idea how they were being made.
Jamie then went back to the Edward's family to see how they have been doing with making the fresh food. The father, who wasn't there the last time, seems happy about it. Jamie can't decide if they actually did what they were supposed to… When he asked what the daughter's favorite meal of the week was, she said pizza. He is just a little suspicious of the family.
Jamie took the Edwards family to the doctors to have them talk about their health and be a little enlightened as to where they are health wise. Jamie is a little appalled that many families in this country do not go and get their health checked regularly. This is our lives we are talking about!! When the son began his check up, the doctor informed the family that it was very likely the son, Justin would develop diabetes if he doesn't have it already. So the doctor went ahead and tested him for diabetes. The doctor came back with the results saying he does not have diabetes yet. BUT it is very important for them to do something about it now. If they don't, he could develop diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, and a shortening of his lifespan by a good 30 years. Tim, the father, went and told his son the news and promised to get him on a plan to loose weight and get healthy again. The important thing is that the whole family has to do it together. Jamie is also going to continue to work with him one-on-one.
Jamie realized that his chicken nugget making experiment did not work and that he would need to supersize his demonstration to make any kind of impact. So he convinced the principal to gather all the children and parents to have a big presentation to show them all about the food their kids are eating. He has the children hold a tarp and pours the drinks and the foods onto it; including chocolate milk, sloppy joes, French fries, and nachos - all the foods that would be consumed in one lunch. Then Jamie brings in a truck full of fat. The amount consumed in one year. Jamie asks the parents for their support, to realize what is going on in schools around the United States and to cause a change. The parents vow to help him make a difference.
When Jamie went back into the classroom that he tested on vegetables, he found that the teacher took it upon herself to help with the education of these children on foods and how they are used to make our meals. The children had been studying and knew what all the foods were!! The teacher, Mrs. Blake had seen the problem and worked to fix it.
Jamie next brings Justin into his kitchen to help teach him how to cook. He first talks to him about confidence in his walking as an indirect way to build his self confidence. He teaches him how to chop veggies and how cooking can be fun. Jamie thinks that it is important to teach kids how to cook. Jamie is going to work with Justin for the next couple months to help mentor him, to teach him how to cook and how to take care of himself.
For his final test in the elementary school, Jamie needs to get permission to come back for the next week. He wants to change this school in order to create a movement to change all the schools in Huntington. While cooking in the kitchen, Jamie overhears the cooks talking to the principal about the new utensils the kids will be required to have: a fork and a knife. Jamie is aghast. How could children from the ages of 4 to 10 not be taught how to use a fork and knife… only their fingers and a spoon. While the cooks are put off by the idea of giving kids forks and knives, the principal has the final word and tells them to offer the utensils to the children. When the principal and the teachers walk around a coach the kids on how to use their utensils and to eat their foods, it had a large impact. Jamie thought to bring in some stickers that the kids get when they try their meal. Rhonda and the superintendant are going to allow Jamie to stay in the kitchen for a few more weeks.
Exercise: Today is a day of rest. Enjoy your day off and spend the extra hour of your day relaxing or doing a bit of stretching.
Eat: Today I went out to eat with Aaron and his dad. We went to a sushi restaurant and I got a delicious dinner of Teriyaki Salmon. So today I want to encourage you to eat some salmon. Salmon is low in both calories and saturated fat while being high in protein. They are also full of the essential fatty acid Omega-3. So make salmon one of your meals this week and reap the benefits of the omega-3s and protein! OH! And since it is the beginning of the weekend and everyone deserves a little treat, so go ahead and treat yourself to a small sweet. Like cookies and milk!
Relax: We are going old school today for our relaxing activity. Think back to your childhood to your favorite cartoon or anime show. Then go onto YouTube or hulu and watch an episode from back in the day! My favorites were Scooby Doo and Pokémon! :)
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