Friday, March 26, 2010

We are in need of a Food Revolution

Watching Jamie Ollivers Food Revolution tonight has my mind reeling.  With all these thoughts flying around my mind it's hard to pluck out even one to articulate how this show has activated my mind.

But I will try.  "Practice makes perfect!" They say.

(whoever they are...)

I knew nothing of food or nutrition growing up.  I wouldn't touch vegetables (my cousins still laugh at me because I refused to eat anything green as a child) because I didn't have to at home.  My mom made me carby/fatty and easy food like Hamburger Helper and I lived off Top Raman (my meals still revolve around the microwave, actually).  If our fridge was fully stocked with fruits and vegetables and void of Top Raman, chips or bread I would call my mom (she was ALWAYS at work) whining and complaining that I was hungry and there was no food in the house.

Needless to say, I was a heftier heifer than I am now.

I had to find the motivation in myself to want to change and in that the will to learn by finding information and teaching myself about nutrition and my body.  I'm still learning and trying to unbrainwash myself.  Who would have thought that I, of all in my family, would be a vegetarian?!  Pass the greens bitchez!

I've come a long way.

(btw, Unbrainwash is a word in my dictionary Mr. Spellcheck!  You don't know anything!  OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!)

It makes me sad to see these kids of the show not know what a damn tomato looks like and still want to eat a chicken nugget knowing what it's made from, because I was that kid.  Actually, I probably would have said, Eeewwww, I'm not eating that. LOOK! BEHIND YOU! IT'S A FLYING PORCUPINE! and eaten the chicken nugget when their backs were turned.  Point being, if it tasted good, I'd eat it.  And I didn't even have to be hungry.  Even now, I notice my family is constantly eating just because it's there.

And I'm still making faces at chips and then gobbling the whole bag when they leave the room.

(and then puking it back up.)

And they do it because that's how they were raised, so they think it's okay and it's normal.  Just like they think that being overweight is okay and normal because they are older.  They just make sure they don't get to the obese point and they'll be fine.  Now we have kids around and this is what they are seeing, only it's worse now because there is so much more processed fattness available to us and they are kids they'll run it off.  Yes, they will work it off now but you are still depriving them of nutrients.  Nutrients and vitamins that help the body and brain develop and grow properly.  It's easy, cheap and the kids love it but there is so much more going on in their little bodies and minds that is being affected.  Habits they are seeing and getting into that are unhealthy and just might lead to an unhealthy weight, diabetes or cancer.

Of course they like the sugary processed food!  We do too, sugar is like a drug, it's addicting!  Instead of giving into this retrain yourself and the kids.  I saw a picture the other day of a baby shoving a chocolate bar into his mouth.  He was all covered in chocolate and it was cute but all I could think of was how it was a damn shame that his little taste buds are being jacked with so early.

...ummmm... I ran out of steam and lost myself on a tangent... so, yeah.  Jamie Olliver Food Revolution. Watch it. It's good.  Sorry I don't make sense, I'm tired now.

8 comments:

  1. im so gonna watch this.
    i totally know what you mean abouit the baby and the chocolate. it always makes me so sad that my mom is unconsciously brainwashing my little brother the same way she did me. all he eats is chicken nuggets pizza and candy :/

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  2. I was listening to something on the radio about this, and I am SO psyched to watch it now that you gave it rave reviews.

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  3. I'm tired too, but I agree with you, you know? It's horrifying to realize just what people eat and how we were raised. My parents, after their divorce, survived off of fast food. I remember going at 10 at night, after a performance (I was in a lot of plays) to McDonalds and getting a supersized meal. This was when I was in Jr High and elementary school, so from the ages of seven to fifteen. I feel like my whole childhood was stolen from me by my weight.

    Did you also know that the generation now that's the young ones--those little kids that are supposed to run it off?--are one of the first generations not estimated to live longer than their parents. We're the start of it. But those little ones now have an estimated lifespan of only 50 years old.

    I'm 23.
    I'm middle aged according to that.
    Think about that.

    Scarring of the liver, kidney failure, hardened arteries...this is what the average diet is doing now.

    If you want to watch something really fantastic, watch
    How to Get Fat Without Really Trying. It's all on youtube. Great documentary.

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  4. I'm glad I'm not the only person on earth who watched that show! I think it's a wonderful idea, and all of the bureaucratic nonsense and financial red tape are sorry excuses for killing kids slowly. There is a show on BBC America called "You Are What You Eat" where this skinny bitch of a nutritionist goes into the home of an obese person and teaches them about nutrition and exercise and all of this fascinating stuff that WE SHOULD LEARN IN SCHOOL. But no, you have to pay a couple grand at a university to be knowledgeable at all about nutrition. It's fucking bull shit.

    I hope Jamie succeeds in everything he wants to do, because food is fucking retarded anymore.

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  5. God you took the words right out of my mouth. I don't know how many calories words are, but thanks anyways ;)

    My family is the same with food being there and food then being gone. We can't be trusted. And I suprise myself with how often I look at things I know are disgusting and putrefying and then I've got an empty plate.

    Viva la revolution! Tell me where to sign up xx

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  6. Anonymous27.3.10

    It's all about balance and moderation. i grew up eating whole foods, hardly anything was processed, my parents don't eat 'crap' and as a result nor do I.

    I never ate fast food when I was a kid. McDonalds was not on the menu.

    I'm lucky because even at my old age of 35, I look at least five years younger, I have had two children and have a slim, fit body and have never had a single health problem in my life. Nothing. Like, I don't even have a single filling (cause I didn't pour sugar down my throat I guess).

    Jamie Oliver is a legend and I applaud his efforts to educate the masses, although I must admit that don't watch his shows, because the fact that people are so stupid and ignorant about something as basic as eating nutritious food makes me depressed and disillusioned with the world in general.

    My kids (aged 3 and 4) eat exactly like I did, and if I have a single thing to do with it, they will be living well past 50!

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  7. i might watch it i gave up on jaimie a whil eago becaus ehis use of olive oil gives me nightmares lol but i do think he is trying to do good

    and woah way to much of what you wrote is parrallel to my me/family

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  8. I completly agree with what you are saying here, the habits we develop as kids tend to stick with us as adults.
    When I was a kid my dad didn't buy alot of junk food, but I was always eating sugary things like sweetened condensed milk or sugar cubes. I was a skinny kid because I would throw my sandwich out and just eat a fruit rollup at school and a bowl of ice cream for dinner. Now as an adult it is seriously hard for me to stay away from the sweets. It's something that has taken alot of time and effort to correct.

    Kudos to Jamie Oliver for trying to turn the tide of the obesity epidemic. I'll be sure to check out that show.

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