Did you catch the sneak peak of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on tv the other night? It will start airing on Friday’s regularly for the next few weeks and is worth watching.
Not only is it worth watching, it may just change your habits and make you healthier. Sure, the town highlighted on the program is the most extreme in the United States, but it’s a real commentary on the state of our health in North America, especially that of our children.
The increase of pre-packaged food and processed food in our diets (and our children’s diets) is a real concern. Just as I write this a news story on tv is talking about how 77% of the sodium in a Canadian’s diet comes from pre-packaged food – and we already know that most people are eating more sodium than they should be.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my vices. Fast food, pop, chocolate – but in moderation.
A few years ago we decided to get rid of products that had too much sodium, any trans fat and most packaged foods – this eliminated a lot of things from our cupboards and freezers. But we found that it was fairly easy to adjust, that we eat healthier and cook from fresh more (which is always great until I forget to take out the meat from the freezer or don’t have all the ingredients. But we try!)
Since January, we have been getting a fruit and veggie delivery of organic (and if possible) local food, once a week. It hasn’t been saving us money (and usually I love saving money) but it has meant that we are eating more fruits and vegetables and I am becoming more creative in my cooking, which is fun.
These changes don’t mean that I didn’t have McDonald’s last week, but it does mean that we’ve become much more aware about what we’re eating.
My next steps: Watch Food Inc. and become more aware of WHERE the food I am eating comes from. I should be more picky about where meat comes from and how it is farmed (and when possible support local). Same with eggs. I also would like to try and eliminate some of my dependency on store bought bread and want to make more at home.
If you follow this blog, you know how much I like to cook with fresh ingredients – but you may also notice that a lot of what I do is fairly easy – which means anyone can do it!
Did you watch or will you watch Jamie Oliver’s new show? Are you getting ready to make changes?
Honestly, I am amazed that people are STILL not reading labels and cooking with fresh foods.
Eating packaged, processed and frozed foods are the worst you can do to your body.
Shopping for food? The easiest tip is to buy mostly on the outer perimeter of the grocery store!
I will definitely watch his show. I just heard about it recently and can't wait to see it. I'm also looking forward to seeing Food Inc. I did see Michael Pollan on Oprah a couple of months ago and it certainly piqued my interest. I think it's such an important issue & I hope shows and documentaries like these change how the food industry is being run, because right now, it's pretty sickening.
I watched that show and quite liked it . . the series on salt in the Globe and Mail last summer had me look closely at sodium in all the packaged foods we eat . . I hadn'gt really considered it too much before that (focusing more on fibre, fat and calorie count). Is this show the one where he teaches people to cook of where he examines the diet of certain folks? I may be confusing . .
Donna, this show is new in the States – he is going to one of the most unhealthy cities in America and trying to get the town to change how they eat – starting at the school.
I did see some of the one you talked about re: diets of people. that was scary too.
The Globe and Mail sodium series was excellent
Not all processed foods are bad for you, most are, not all are though. I process food for a living and we use no chemicals or preservatives in anything we make. There are many products on the market that are like mine..
On the other hand, I have also done as much as I can to clear my house of highly processed foods and make fresh as much as possible. Great post.
I haven't seen the U.S. version, but I did watch a few eps of Jamie's U.K. version a few years back – scary stuff!
I watched most of the Food Revolution the other night. It was terrifying. And it made me really think about what we are eating as a family. We definitely eat too much packaged and overly-processed "convenience" foods. By the time we get home after 6pm, it just feels so overwhelming sometimes to get a healthy meal on the table.
I'm trying to do more batch cooking on the weekends. A work in progress! We tend to do better in the summer when fresh local produce is so much easier to come by.
There need to be more shows like this and more people need to watch to realize what they are doing to themselves by eating the way that they do. Nothing says that you can't enjoy food, but cooking from scratch is very important, and look at labels. You would be amazed to see how much crap is in the food that people eat. I follow the shop in the outside of the grocery store rule, and shop local when I can.
Food Inc is a must watch for anyone. I bought it so I can share it with anyone close to me, that is how much it hit home. I already knew so much, my holistic nutritionist has been a fantastic teacher, but it changed my husband, and that is big!
My husband said the moment the movie was done that our grocery bill was going up because things were changing. He went shopping the next day and bought organic milk and yogurt, and every fruit and vegetable he could find! We already buy hormone free meats, but I am going to look into others as we have almost run out.
My husband works in the food industry and when I first started coming home after visits with my nutritionist, he always bantered with me. Now he understands, and has done as much as he can to change his bad habits.
Great post!
I also watched it, and even though we have no processed foods in the house,it still scared me because we still have a lot of work to do.But I was most shocked at the bureacrats ignorance of healthy food. The bigger question is how do we get Health Canada who just approved putting more caffeine in non-cola drinks to wake up and really take their HEALTH name seriously?
Sorry, didn't mean to rant. I think I will go make some granola now…
Darryl, you are right – there are some foods that are 'processed' but natural still.
I am more concerned with processed cheese (a major market for kids – processed cheese in the shape of dinosaurs is targeting them) and pre-packaged food items.
Emma, that is shocking about Health Canada, I'm going to do some more research. Curious to see what they are thinking.
Lindsay, when we started the organic fruit/veggie delivery we knew it wasn't going to save money but we are close to breaking even so that's a bonus.
I don't think everything needs to be organic (that's a whole other issue) but fresh at the very least.
More posts to come!
I love your blog – so much so that I want to nominate you for an award! http://wp.me/pNHSk-2z – for more information on it. Keep up the good work.
I love your blog – so much so that I want to nominate you for an award! http://wp.me/pNHSk-2z – for more information on it. Keep up the good work.
I haven't watched the show yet but my hubby and I have been working hard to eliminate sodium and processed foods in our diet. It has been hard the last few months with the new baby but I see things improving as he grows and naps more 🙂