Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Have you been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution?

A friend told me about it and I watched Friday's episode. I don't watch anything on ABC so I hadn't seen any promos for the show. But when I found out that the premise is that the British chef is trying to introduce healthy living to Huntington, West Virginia, I was all about it. Huntington is one of the unhealthiest cities in the country and being from nearby Kentucky which isn't exactly a mecca of good health, I knew there would be many similarities.

In a nutshell, Jamie is working in a local school, trying to convince the cafeteria staff that fresh not processed food is what kids need for better health. The staff isn't having it-it's more time consuming and costs more-and the kids aren't much more receptive. Despite a gross experiment that will give me second thoughts about ever going near a chicken nugget, the kids still choose nuggests over recognizable cuts of fresh chicken. Another experiment of quizzing the kids on fresh veggies is downright depressing. I can understand first graders in a rural area not recognizing eggplant but not recognizing a tomato? Or a potato? Sad.

Jamie is also adopting an overweight family, trying to introduce recipes and fresh food. The wife claims to be cooking fresh food from scratch but the groceries still in the fridge combined with fast food cups sitting around, make Jamie suspicious. A trip to the doctor where the family is told the 12 year old son's health is in danger might spur some changes.

The show is an eye-opener particularly the information on school lunches. I'll be tuning in next week.

Official site is here.