As I mentioned last week, I am closely following Jamie Oliver’s reality show every Friday on ABC. Since I was away to Austin, Texas, I didn’t get a chance to watch the show for the last two Fridays. I did watch them once I got back and was very surprised to see what they showed at the high school. Jamie showed up there and saw french fries being served and all the kids choosing them as the primary food.  To change things a bit, he proceeded to cook a noodle stir fry dish with seven different vegetables and served it with flavorful pieces of chicken. One of the inspectors who was reluctantly giving Jamie a chance looked at the plate and immediately said that the lunch doesn’t fit the regulations. According to her each lunch tray should have a cup and a half of vegetables. Although the noodles were full of veggies, she didn’t think they were enough. I was very surprised to hear that, especially since they had shown what the kids were eating earlier- burgers and fries- where were the veggies in there???

Are you ready for this- the fries were considered a vegetable. I guess technically speaking, they are made out of potatoes- but really??? I couldn’t believe it. Such misguided rules are making our kids obese and unhealthy. I was angry our government is not doing anything while our kids eat crap food in schools.

My daughter was sitting next me while I was watching and getting angry. She immediately came to her school’s rescue and told me they are not served french fries. She explained how there was fruit cups and salad in their cafeteria. I was happy to hear that but still very concerned about the future of our schools.

As I continue to support Jamie’s effort to make our schools healthy, please do your bit and sign his petition.

I love Jamie Oliver! I have always loved watching and cooking Jamie’s recipes. I have his show set on my dvr and have saved them all in there. My daughter likes him as well- especially after I told her he is my favorite chef to watch. We watch his shows on the weekends and I love watching him cook in his garden in a rustic kitchen in the UK- I wish I could be there.

Now that he is all over television with his show, The Food Revolution, I love him even more. I remember watching him in the UK doing the same thing for the schools there and thinking I wish he would come here. Essentially, he is trying to make our schools healthier. He goes to a school and talks about all the processed food our kids are being fed and tries to teach the school how to make simple, healthy food out of real ingredients. All I can say is – why didn’t someone else do this a long time ago???

Healthy eating comes from the homes but our government makes it hard to eat healthy especially for families who are on a tight budget and find the processed foods a lot cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables- something is wrong.

When our kids are younger, like mine is (she is seven), we can still control what they eat. I pack my daughter’s lunch everyday except one day when she eats pizza. I am okay with one day of pizza as long as the rest of the days I can give her lunch- but I feel, as she gets older, she is going to want to eat at school and the thought makes me cringe. All the unhealthy food being served is very depressing. I am trying to raise her with healthy eating habits and it gets harder as she gets older. Everywhere I look there are tons of unhealthy food choices, chain restaurants, candy and sugar…

Since Jamie Oliver is trying to make a difference, I want to do everything to help. He has a petition we can all sign on his website. Please go ahead and do so and cook something healthy tonight!