Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

I have a new crush. His name is Jamie Oliver. Not only is he cute and British, but he’s also on a mission. That’s pretty sexy. Actually, more like a mission to create a revolution. A Food Revolution.

“I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It’s time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!”

Jamie is – justifiably – outraged at the current quality of our food in general and particularly in the quality – or lack thereof – of the food that America is serving its children. He is looking to revive our cooking skills so that we can eat more whole foods, and cut down on the processed, fat-filled, sugar-filled, chemical-filled “foods” that are responsible for our national obesity and health problems.

Unknowingly, I bought Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals for my son for Christmas. As he is off to college next year, I simply thought that the recipes in this book seemed doable and tasty enough to interest  him in learning a few new cooking skills. Though we cook & eat at home most of the time, the whole family is now completely turned on by cooking with this book. Several of Jamie’s recipes have become instant classics in our dinner menu. We love the Chicken Tikki Massala (cooking Indian dishes is a new thing for us and we LOVE it!), the Salmon en Croûte (oh my!) and the Paella (now our official “holiday” dish. Forget the whole turkey thing), just to name a few… And, now that I understand Jamie’s mission, and per the request in the book, I need to “Pass It On”: learn and master just one recipe per chapter and pass it on by teaching at least two people.  We’ve done it here at home and now I’d like to pass on this idea to you as well.

To get a better idea of the importance of Jamie’s Food Revolution, hear him speak about it here on Ted:

And, not coincidentally, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution series is premiering this week on ABC on Friday March 26 at 8/7PM Central. Set your DVRs please.

You can sign the Food Revolution petition here because “We need your support to get people back in touch with food and keep cooking skills alive before it’s too late. We want to make sure every kid gets good, fresh food at school.”

Go Jamie, Go! And, thank you for the most delicious and satisfying revolution ever.