Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I know I am a little late to the Jamie Oliver party, but last night I finally got around to watching Jamie Oliver's TED Prize speech. After that I immediately went to Hulu to watch the first pre-season episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, his new show on ABC. The season is set to premiere with a two hour episode tomorrow night and I CAN'T WAIT!

To those who haven't seen it, Jamie goes to a town in West Virginia that has been deemed by the government to be the fattest in America in order to change their food culture, primarily focusing on their schools. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I thought of his approach at first. He comes on a little strong and it was more than clear that the school lunch ladies did not like him poking around on their turf. In fact, other than a pastor that is also concerned with the health of the town's residents, many others also seemed angered with Jamie and he even winds up on the front page of the town paper.

However, what struck a chord with me was the family that Jamie begins working with to change their eating habits. All of the children are overweight and the Mom serves them things like freshly fried donuts dipped in chocolate as their breakfast. She cries when Jamie tells her she is killing her children. This hit home because I was raised in much the same way. The food culture where I grew up was similar (so it is no surpise that Philadelphia and the surrounding area also ranks right up there on the fattest in America list). I grew up eating Entemann's donuts and Cocoa Krispies for breakfast. Lunch was either American cheese on white bread or whatever unidentifiable object they served in the cafeteria. Dinner was chicken nuggets with french fries or macaroni and cheese. We rarely had a salad, but if we did you can bet it was iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing. To be fair, we often had some green stuff, like cooked frozen spinach, canned string beans or asparagus (cooked in butter!). Sometimes we had salmon (in a dill cream sauce) or tuna (covered in parmesan cheese and fried in olive oil). We had dessert pretty much every night: double-stuffed Oreos, Chips Ahoy cookies, a piece of cake with 6 inches of icing or some other pre-packaged nightmare. You might think I had awful parents or something but they were feeding us exactly what every other family in my area was feeding their kids. It's no wonder I got so fat and have food issues to this day....and that I had my gall bladder removed at 23 years old!

If you can believe it, the following is a list of food that I either did not ever eat or didn't know existed until coming to college or, in some cases, even just a year or two ago: whole wheat bread, lentils, almond milk, brown rice, soy milk, quinoa, sushi, bulgur wheat, tofu, tempeh, seitan, falafel, any cuisine from India, Ethiopia, Japan and Thailand, brussel sprouts, kale, chard, beets, mixed greens, jicama, avocado, bamboo shoots, baby spinach, feta cheese, carrots (unless they were in a canned soup), artichokes, Greek yogurt, mung beans/mung bean sprouts, steel cut oats, polenta, brie cheese, couscous, almond butter, okra, whole wheat pasta, cannelini beans, butternut squash, chickpeas, arugula, whole wheat pizza, pesto, black beans, green tea, guacamole, hummus, dolma, blackberries, Asian pears, black grapes, chai, guava, papaya, collard greens and yuca. I am sure there are more. The good news is that most of those things make up the large majority of my diet at this point, so there's hope for others who grew up on foods similar to me.

Jamie's show is premiering at the same time that First Lady Michelle Obama has started her new Let's Move Campaign. In fact, you can sign his petition for healthier food in our schools, which he plans to take to the White House after the show airs. For all of the kids like me who were served slushies, Doritos, frozen pizza and breadsticks covered in cheese (as a main course!) in their cafeterias, I sincerely hope a change is on the horizon. I can't wait to watch and see what tomorrow night brings!

Are you watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? What do you think? What types of food did you grow up eating?

New Season of The Biggest Loser.

"Unless you faint, puke or die, keep walking."~Jillian Michaels

"The Biggest Loser" is back....in a BIG way!

This season's contestants are the largest yet. And while I am not a fan of the extended infomercial that is each episode (seriously, cut out the product advertising and it could be a 30 minute show!) and I am not a fan of the wrong idea it gives to the many people watching that need to lose weight (19 pounds is not doable in a week if you also have a life AND probably not exactly healthy), I still watch. There are some things I do like about this show:

1. If it encourages even one person to get off their couch and into the gym or convinces them to count calories or do something to improve their life, then I think it's a good thing.

2. The theme of the season is second chances and I love it. I love that Abby, a woman who tragically lost her husband and two children in a car accident, will most likely end up in an entirely new place mentally and physically by the end of the show. I love that Daniel is back to prove to the world that sometimes you do slip up and you do need a second chance to get to a goal weight.

3. This season seems to be a lot more about teamwork and less about the competition itself (though I'm sure that will come through later when some of them starting thinking about the cash!). I love that both trainers are working with everyone and that the teams are not made up of relatives or friends. So far the players seem to be mostly encouraging each other and not being snarky. (I said for the most part--obviously Julio needs to continue to prove himself or he is going to be voted off the island sooner rather than later.)

4. I love see the personalities and the drive of the contestants, as well as watching them grapple with whatever got them to being so overweight. This is probably the main reason that I love Shay. Like I said on Twitter last night, I am squarely on Team Shay (with a side of Daniel).

5. I love the motivation it gives me. I woke up this morning and wanted to stay in bed. Really, really wanted to stay in bed. But you know what? If Shay can weigh around 475 lbs and spend her entire day working out, then I can get my butt out of bed and go run for 45 minutes. And that's exactly what I did.

6. And lastly, while I think Jillian Michaels is the scariest thing to ever happen to television, I appreciate that she can make even the strongest person tremble with fear and cry like a baby. As well as force them to go well beyond what they thought they were physically capable of.

Revelry Review: More to Love

Did anyone else catch the premiere of Fox's new reality show, "More to Love"? It's like "The Bachelor", only with curvier contestants.

The guy, Luke, is a 26 year-old successful real estate agent looking "to settle down". And, in case you were wondering, Fox wants to remind you a million times that he is 6'3 and 300 lbs. Twenty average-size women are competing for his affection.

Yes, America: a size 14 is average. Deal with it.

My first gripe: WHY must you list the contestants' heights and weights as they are being introduced? I have never seen "The Bachelor" but I am guessing they don't do that.

Second: I am also guessing that no one on "The Bachelor" talks about how her weight makes her feel unlovable and unable to get a date.

Third: I am also betting that the Bachelor himself does not tell all of the contestants that they have nice eyes.

I have always been super self-conscious about my weight. I still am. I know that it has affected my dating life. As recently as two weekends ago I overheard someone ask why Jesse was with someone like me. And sure, it hurts. But my size--ANYONE'S size--does not mean I am not worthy of love. It doesn't make me less deserving of happiness. And, like one of the contestant's remarked, it doesn't mean I don't take care of myself. Some people were never meant to be a size 2. And I thought that this show, at least the first episode, reduced each of these women to the number on the scale and not who they really are. The worst part? I bet it got high ratings.