Is anyone else watching Jamie Oliver's TV special right now?
I am and I'm starting to feel depressed. I saw a sign outside a church during a scene in the TV show that read "Today: Culture Shock." That's truly what this is!
Our culture has become reliant on convenience and instant gratification. Now, before anyone gets all riled up at me, I'm going to take a stance on something here:
Our culture is ruining our lives. It's killing us.
I'm not blaming anything on the food industry. I'm not blaming pharmaceutical companies. I'm not blaming the medical system. I'm not blaming our school lunch programs.
I'm blaming US. The human consumers of all of those systems and industries.
Why can't we see that our need for instant gratification and our laziness is going to kill us? It's so evident in our food choices.....and where has it gotten us? A lot of us are fat, and a lot of us are on more medications than we can even count on one hand.
It's time that we take responsibility for our health. I find it ironic that this show is being shown at the exact same time that our politicians are trying to pass a huge health care reform bill. Why? Because a lot of that bill is based on preventative care and the need for preventative care. I 100% agree that preventative medicine is needed - but shouldn't it start at home?
I'm not talking about taking more supplements or self medicating. I'm talking about things that we laypeople can do: Eat REAL food: Food that we make ourselves. Not food out of a box or out of a can.
Convenience food is okay to eat......in moderation!! Should we be eating frozen meals for every single meal? No! Yes, they're perfectly fine and healthy to eat once every so often - but we shouldn't be putting that in our bodies ALL.THE.TIME.
But it costs so much to eat healthy!! Right?!?! Doesn't it?!?!
No, it doesn't. I hate to break it to you, but going to the produce section and buying fresh fruits and veggies will actually SAVE you money! Do you know how many meals you can get out of one head of cabbage? Probably three easily. Yes, it will take you a little bit more time to prepare.
But use that time to catch up on other things: Listen to the news while you wash your veggies. Let your kids help you prepare dinner, and spend that time talking about your day. Spend that extra 5 minutes chopping up the veggies to plan your next day's events or your next day's "to-do" list. It can be done!!
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but this show is really frustrating me. Baby #1 begs me for hot lunch every day at school, and it terrifies me to let him get it. I've seen the menu - it's exactly what they're showing on this TV show. I don't want him to eat that food. I want him to eat the fresh meat from the farm down the street. I want him to eat the apples that we picked over the weekend.
But our culture makes him feel like a "loser" if he doesn't eat the same thing everyone else is eating. How do we change that? This food - and our ability to eat three times the amount we need to eat! - is killing us!!
I'm going to step down from my soapbox now, but I ask you:
Do you eat a lot of processed food? Why or why not?
What do you think about food choices in America?
If this post were on FB I would say "LIKE"!!!! We have worked hard to get processed food out of our diet and eat more whole foods. I recently cut out wheat and sugar for health reasons and I have to say that while it is challenging at times, I feel like a million $$$$$!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying very hard to do the same in our family. On a very limited, very fixed budget, it's difficult. But we're doing it.
ReplyDeleteI know that my own health has been adversely affected by my food choices - and I'm actively trying to change that.
Pardon the pun, but it's great food for thought.