Happy Food Revolution Day, everyone! This is a day that’s near and dear to our hearts as food bloggers and regular people who want to live a good long life. Food Revolution Day, started by our dear friend (we’ve never met but we know we’d be friends) Jamie Oliver to help kids – and their families – learn how to cook from scratch at home.
When Jamie’s show was on in 2010, we were shocked to find out what kids knew – and more importantly, didn’t know – about food. Here’s a clip that really woke me up:
On the show, kids go on to not know where milk comes from, or eggs, or understand what grows in the ground, what very common fruits and vegetables are! We think of the right to an equal education as the right of every child to be successful in their path to higher education, but we’re leaving them in the dust on simple things like how to fulfill their basic needs.
We do not come into this world with innate understanding of our diets – we learn this. But society is doing a poor job of teaching children just exactly what that should be. So those children grow up to make bad choices in food, without exactly knowing what the right choices are, even if they have access to them.
So, today, I want you to simply think about the kids you know. Think about if they are lucky enough to know the difference between an eggplant and an apple, between a pear and an artichoke. Now think about the ones that maybe don’t. Can you make a difference in a kid’s life right now? How about a grown-up’s?
I can think of a handful of opportunities we’ve had to tell our friends, people who are successful in careers, in love, in “being adults,” who didn’t know about foods and cooking techniques Corelyn and I take for common knowledge. We feel fortunate to have the education and passion for food, but we recognize that doesn’t come as easily to everyone. But food is a basic need – and human right – of all of us, and it’s time we started realizing we can influence our own health.
It’s time to start educating our children, and ourselves, about food. And it starts in the kitchen, and it starts with you.
To get you started, here are some of our more simple recipes that you, I promise, can cook for yourself and your family:
Beet & Fennel Mac & Cheese
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Portobello Mushroom Pizza
Roasted Veggies with Kefir Sauce
If none of these are right for you, check out Jamie Oliver’s site for more information and recipes that are great for the whole family.
[addtoany] Yum