Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution? – Take the Cooking with Sugar Food Challenge

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is trying to win the hearts of a West Virginia City by getting them to eat healthy foods. His new show “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” documents his efforts to change eating habits in a community the network calls the nation’s unhealthiest community (Huntington, WV). If you haven’t seen the show I highly recommend it. It airs on Friday nights and is a must watch (check your local listings).

Jamie Oliver’s philosophy about food is a lot like mine.    When I first saw the show, I was nearly moved to tears because I thought, “Finally!  Here is someone preaching what I have been trying to tell people for years.” It was so moving for me to hear him talk passionately about what I have practiced and preached for most of my adult life:

My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life’s greatest joys yet we’ve reached this really sad point where we’re turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that’s alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don’t eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you’ll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they’re in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you’ll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you’ll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you’ll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you’ll want something warming and hearty. If you’ve got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we’ll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a ‘healthy’ approach to food, and eating better I’m talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.

It’s amazing to see this sort of movement taking shape.   Jamie’s not alone in this.   Other celebrity chefs across the country are also joining in on this new push to advocate healthy eating. These tactics have been called “The eat healthy movement.”  The concept is becoming more mainstream but we all know we have a long way to go.

I think part of the problem has been all these crazy diets. The low-fat & low-carb diets are so confusing and so complicated. When did the simple act of eating become so mind-boggling? All of this has to change and go back to the basics. I believe and what I was taught as a kid by my family, is that you have to have a balance and eat whole foods. That means it’s OK to have cake or ice cream but not every day. I think we all believe it is far better to eat healthy fresh foods with whole milk, butter, and cheese than it is to eat processed fat free fake foods yet most people don’t do it.

The main reason I started my website is to inspire women to get back in the kitchen and start cooking real food for their family. It doesn’t have to be the fanciest, or prettiest, but it does have to be real. I know if I can get more people back in the kitchen cooking and being conscious about what they are putting into their bodies, lives will be transformed. Everything is better when we feel healthy and fit.

I don’t know if I can adequately state with the right tone, the importance of this message but I would encourage you to watch this video featuring Jamie Oliver from a talk he gave in February of 2010.  After you watch it, read about my own challenge for you to change how you look at food and cooking.

So, if you can smell what Sugar is cooking, I challenge you, all of my readers, for the next month to eat what you cook and cook what you eat and let me know if you see a difference. If you’re not sure how to do that or what that means than be sure to get my “How to lose 10 pounds this month” and do what I recommend. It’s free and it’s full of simple common sense things that need to become part of your lifestyle, not a fad diet.

I dare you!