The Food Revolution

Thanks to the blog I follow on the Daily Green, I was introduced to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It's a must-see. You can find episodes on Hulu. Got to http://www.hulu.com/ and type Jamie Oliver into the search.

Jamie's a famous chef from England, whose claim to fame is teaching people to eat better and make fresh meals at home. He's very community oriented. He saw a CDC report that statistically named Huntington, West Virginia as the unhealthiest town in America (which, by the way is the unhealthiest nation in the world). So he decided to go there and inspire a revolution.

What's in the first 2 episodes is absolutely horrifying. Jamie decided to get started by addressing the school lunch program. The crap that the schools are feeding the kids is ridiculous. In the elementary school- pizza and cereal for breakfast, then chicken nuggets and fake mashed potatoes for lunch. Milk is required at both meals, but the kids can choose between regular milk, chocolate or strawberry. The crates of regular milk remained untouched at every meal. Jamie asked the kids what they had for dinner the night before. All answered chicken nuggets, pizza or hamburgers and french fries. And the high school wasn't any better. So, his plan was to bring wholesome, fresh food into the schools. You can't believe the resistance. Here are a few of my favorite moments regarding the school lunch program:

Jamie was told by the lady in charge of food for the schools that the fresh veggie and pasta dish he was serving did not contain enough vegetables to meet USDA nutritional requirements for school lunch. She then said this could be remedied if he served the dish with a handful of french fries.

The school lady told him that fresh baked chicken with brown rice dish he made could not be served because it did not contain 2 breads, which is the USDA requirement. The lunch being served on the line next to him was frozen pizza and fruit. He was told that the pizza crust contained enough bread to meet the requirements.

Jamie pointed out that the chocolate and strawberry milk contained more sugar than equal amounts of soda, and therefore the school should carry regular milk as the only option. He was told that the USDA felt that it was more important for the kids to get the calcium from milk, than it was to worry about how much sugar the kids were drinking. Basically, they're saying the only way to get kids to eat or drink something healthy is to load it with sugar.

When Jamie went into a 1st grade class with various common fresh vegetables, and the children could not identify any of them. We're talking tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant. Sad. Real sad.

This is the future of our nation, folks. Something has to change. I'll be posting more about this show, as well as my thoughts on what I get from other shows, blogs and literature. This whole topic concerns me a great deal. Our nation is the unhealthiest in the world, with respect to the obesity, diabetes, and cardiac disease. Jamie Oliver has been doing this Food Revolution in England. He had a book out about it, containing beautiful fresh recipes you can make at home. And he has a very pay-it-forward approach to the movement. He wants everyone who is interested or on board to tell their friends or family, etc. So, I'm on board. And I'm telling everyone I know. Now, this isn't about dieting or weight loss. It's not about preaching vegetarianism or some greater good. It's about fresh wholesome food. It's about saying "No!" to processed junk that's killing us slowly.

Important Things I've Been Learning About Food

Hello Readers- My apologies for being absent so long. It's been quite a busy week for me but I'm here again! :)

To comment on the vegetarian project, I really haven't been keeping it up. The main purpose was to give me insight to help develop recipes for healthy eating and vegetarian contests. However, I've been working so much lately that I haven't been doing much cooking at home. But I did learn a lot during my brief project. And although the vegetarian idea didn't stick permanently, I will be paying much more attention to my nutrition and the food I eat. What I learned about the mass-produced food we all eat on a regular basis is alarming.

If you haven't seen Food, Inc. yet you should. It's a documentary film that came out about 2 years ago that exposes a lot of what lies behind the veil separating us from the food industry. Everyone needs to know this. I'll warn you though, some scenes in the film are graphic and flat out hard to watch. And when you see it, you can decide what to believe as true. Regardless, it will change your life one way or another. It sheds light on some questions I've always had, like why it's so much more affordable to buy crap like fast food burgers, processed foods and soda than fresh vegetables and organic meats. The film addresses this, as well as explaining the government's role in the production of food over the last 50 years or so and how the industry has evolved into what it is today.

What's also alarming is what advertisers are allowed to claim on the food products they promote. You know, I understand that we are responsible for the decisions we make for ourselves and our families, but there is a lot of bull-crap out there. Just for fun, one day go the the grocery store and see how many boxes of cookies and sugary cereals make claims like "promotes a healthy heart" or something about developing a stronger immune system in children.

Basically, what I'm saying is that you should pay attention to your food. Do a little research, read labels and make sensible purchases. Buy fruits and vegetables in season and locally grown if possible.

Funny and Interesting Food Quotes (4/20/10)

"Noncooks think it's silly to invest two hours' work in two minutes' enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet." - Julia Child

"HAM AND EGGS - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig."- Anonymous

Big John's Books for Cooks!

The Vegetarian Epicure By Anna Thomas.

Knopf 1972

Anna Thomas wrote this book while she was in college and I feature it because it was her first of four books she has written, the Vegetarian epicure book two was written while she was in grad school, and the New vegetarian epicure is the last of the series and the book that would may be your best choice because she it's the most contemporary.I like this book because of it's charm. the illustrations and style. It's 70's man. It was considered the bible for gourmet vegetarians in the 70's and sold over 1 million copies.
It's a grass roots publication that includes ideas for vegetarian munchies for you and your friends after smoking some weed! I told you, real 70's man.
However, it is also a serious cookbook that is a classic for bringing gourmet eclectic vegetarian dishes to American cooks.
She explains how to put menus together, baking bread, and how to make each meal a celebration of life.it's full of interesting ideas and it's fun just to browse through and read.

-Big John

The Daily Green

I don't know how many of you folks out there are into green living, but lately I've been trying to improve myself in this area. Maybe it's inspired in part by my vegetarian project.

Anyway, I found a website I'd like to share- The Daily Green. It's packed with a lot of interesting and useful information, especially about food. There's a section fully dedicated to cuisine with many good, healthy recipes. I highly recommend checking out their food blog. The direct link is www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/blogs/. It's full of articles written by a nutritionist who addresses several pertinent food-related topics including health, social issues, and economics.

More thoughts on the vegetarian thing

OK. It's been about 3 weeks or so..?

I don't know how people live this way. I've been out a few times for lunch, dinner and snacks with friends and family. Last night I went to dinner with my guy's family. We went to a nice Italian restaurant. You know, not quite fine dining but much better than casual. I'll bet they had about 40 entrees on the menu plus 6 specials or so. I kid you not, there were only 3 dishes that I could order (not including the appetizers). Eggplant rollatini, penne con vodka, and a dish called cavatappi Tuscany. It was pasta with tomato, eggplant, scallions and smoked mozzarella. I ordered that.

Although my dinner was pretty good, it was kind of frustrating that my choices were so limited. In fact, I thought that in an Italian restaurant with such a vast menu would have at least a few selections with pasta, vegetable and cheese. There's so much you can do!

This is not the first time this has happened. Twice now I've gone to grab a bite and a beer in a mainstream casual dining franchise. Same problem- in both places my choices were limited to 2 or 3 items: a green salad, vegetable stir fry or a veggie burger. Blah, blah, blah. I'm becoming a connoisseur of veggie burgers everywhere.

Finally, family dinners and gatherings with friends are tough. Easter Sunday my guy and I did dinner at his mom's house. She made turkey, ham and roasted pork. There were also a few vegetable sides and mashed potatoes. Sorry guys, but I had to cheat. I couldn't go into this holiday dinner and announce to the in-laws, "not gonna eat the dinner you made me- I'm vegetarian this week!"

I'll Never Think of Easter Day the Same Again!!!

Wow, readers!!! I just survived one of my busiest weekends ever in any job I've had. Now, I'm usually experiencing Easter on the other end of the spectrum. As a paying customer, I've often gone out with family and/or friends and shelled out $30 or so for an average tasting all-you-can-eat Easter buffet. I never thought much about what was going on behind the scenes. Why would I? All I cared about was that there was plenty of waffles, sausage and bacon, potatoes, and eggs in front of me ready to be feasted on. And feast I did!!

Well, that all changed this past week. I'm now working in a kitchen at a very elite country club. So yes, that means I wasn't able to be a paying customer this past Sunday b/c I was actually one of those people "behind the scenes". Let me tell you, it is crazy work. We actually started prepping for Easter a few days ago, but went into a fevered pitch on Saturday. By Sunday morning, basically everything was prepped and just needed to be cooked and then brought out to the buffet stations. We had approximately 140 members (with family and guests) come and they really loved the food. We had the standards, including sausage, bacon, waffles, french toast, and eggs benedict, but we also had more choices such as braised short ribs, some sort of ceviche (sorry can't remember what type of fish was in there; i didn't make it), ham (which was carved on the spot) and a few types of salads (including an endive salad and a spinach salad). Also, there was a huge array of desserts. I should have taken some pictures of the food, but alas I forgot. Sorry everyone. You'll just have to imagine.

After all was said and done, there was still so much food left over so we lined everything up back in the kitchen and had a huge (and I do mean huge) family meal. For anyone not associated with a restaurant the "family meal" is a meal prepared by the kitchen to be eaten by all the staff members (family). Nice, isn't it?!? It was such a tiring day that 1/2 of the wait staff was so tired that they just went home w/o having any of the meal that was left for them. Not to worry though, because those that were remaining + the kitchen staff took care of much of the remaining food. After all, our appetites were huge.

I feel that I went through a battle this past weekend. I think I lost about 10 pounds just from walking here and there and sweating up a storm. Just yesterday, I drank 1 gallon of water. Yeah, no joke... 1 gallon of water. Also, I came away with a couple of injuries. Don't laugh readers, but they hurt and I am now wearing two band-aids on the same hand. On my left forefinger I have a huge blister as a result of splitting a zillion crab legs on Saturday. Then yesterday, I cut my thumb on the mandolin while slicing garlic (the chef likes garlic and shallots to be cut on the mandolin first; and with no food guard you're bound to cut yourself sooner or later).

Well, it's rest time for me today and tomorrow and then it's back to a hectic week on Wednesday. All I know, I'll never look at Easter the same again!!!

Until next time,

Jason G

Busy Holiday Week for Us All

So, as you can all see, it's been awhile since we've posted. Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and Passover started a few days ago. I can assure you that when you work in our industry the holidays are busy. It's a delicate balance of working extreme hours and trying to find time to spend with the family.

My restaurant was not particularly busy for Easter. We're more of a special-night-out-for-fancy-dinner kind of place. But my contributing buddies, Jason G and Big John must've had dining guests coming out their ears this week! See, JG works in a country club kitchen, and Big John's place is well-known for events and weekend brunch- how perfect for Easter weekend!

I myself have been busy this week for different reasons. In addition to Easter Sunday preparations, it was my guy's birthday this week. I spent my day off running errands, baking a cake, etc... That, plus my job at the restaurant, plus the one-day-a-week second job I work for extra cash, has left me not much time for blogging. More importantly, I haven't had much time for cooking at home, which is my favorite blogging topic! So for the time being, I kind of ran out of material. JG and Big John have just been crazy busy. In fact, Big John told me yesterday that his place had over 400 guests. Holy crap, that's busy!

Readers- How did you all spend your Easter? What did you eat? Do you have any Passover stories to share? Feel free to comment!