Jamie Oliver's TED talk Prize Wish: Teach Every Child About Food
Whether or not you have kids, definitely watch this video. Although the emphasis is on child nutrition, everyone can benefit from learning more about nutrition. Plus his accent isn't half bad to listen to either....
While Jamie's TED talk is two years old now, the worries and concerns he brings up are still present, in fact they've just continued to grow. Good news is things are starting to change. One step in the right direction is the USDA announcing this week that school nutrition guidelines have been updated to comply with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Theses guidelines are all based on scientific evidence. Once the studies are collected, they are reviewed and reviewed again before they go on to be discussed and put into recommendations that are published every five years. The Washington Post published an article on the USDA's new guidelines (USDA Updates School Nutrition Guidelines). While the article is brief, what I found interesting is they included a chart made by the USDA that compares a school lunch following the old guidelines to what a school lunch will be like now under the new guidelines. This is great information not only to be better informed on what is happening in the school, but also to give parents ideas on how to pack healthy lunches when they're kids bring lunch to school.
On a related note: A really interesting article my professor Joan Salge Blake showed us in Community Nutrition Class: Lunch Line Redesign. The article lets you click on images and gives you the behavioral science behind what influences people' food choices in the cafeteria.
Crazy numbers of people are taking some sort of dietary supplement - vitamins, minerals, herbs, algae, amino acids and whatever else. You may be thinking that it's about time you started taking one..or maybe there was a convincing ad on tv. The only way to be sure if you need a supplement is by talking to a registered dietitian and have them do a nutrition assessment.
Dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA so there is no way to be sure of the safety and efficacy of what you're buying. Supplements can be very useful for people with special dietary conditions that don't allow them so get all the nutrients they need from food but the average consumer should approach with caution.
Recently I've been obsessed with reading Kathy Freston's articles. For those of you who don't know who she is, Kath Freston is a New York Times best-selling author who writes about healthful and conscious eating. She's gained popularity through appearances on Ellen, Rhe View, Good Morning America, and most note-worthy on Oprah to help Oprah and her staff go vegan for one week.
Browsing through some of her articles on The Huffington Post, I cam across Kathy's article on Humane Meat. Knowing she is a committed vegan, I was beyond curious about what Humane Meat is. No it's not meat from a postcard-worthy farm, instead it's meat from a science lab. That's right: meat cultured from animal cells. Because I severely lack the information on this topic, I'm going to encourage you to read the article for yourself and form your own opinions on it:
Bottom Line: Whether or not you eat meat, I think it's important that we're all conscious eaters. Conscious not only about the treatment of animals, but the treatment of workers, impact on the environment, safety of our food, and both short-term and long-term health effects.
I found this article and thought it was cute and relevant. Many people who feel strongly about something will forget it in search of other characteristics in a partner..but when it comes down to it they're just not compatible. Food and cooking are at the top of my list. Food is so important that having a bond over it makes a relationship even more special.
Luckily my boyfriend and I share a love for food and cooking..although I don't think I'll ever be at his level with spicy food (Who actually likes jalepenos?) We love spending time in the kitchen together even if we occasionally get in each other's way.
Our food from a trip to the Roxy's Grilled Cheese truck!
