I was a fan of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution when it recently aired on television in the US. Perhaps that’s because I worked as a dietitian for a few years in British schools, trying to improve the nutritional content of the menus. It was definitely very challenging, but rewarding work.
- Educate yourself about food and cooking
- Switch from processed to fresh foods
- Cook more at home rather than eating out or buying convenience foods
- Find out what your child is eating at school
All very sound, good advice. I recently came across this article, which says that the food revolution begins at home. I am a firm believer that simple changes can make a big difference. One of my favorite suggestions from the article is to make only one change at a time. Often, if we try to make several changes at once, it can be very overwhelming and discouraging, especially if we can’t realistically stick to the changes. But if we choose one thing to improve upon, we will be more likely to succeed. And one simple change toward healthy eating can make a difference.
- Eat out 1 day less each week
- Eat one more fruit or vegetable each day
- Try one new fruit or vegetable that you’ve never tried before each week
- Use whole wheat pasta in place of white
- Use whole wheat bread in place of other varieties
- Try one new whole grain each week (e.g. brown or wild rice, quinoa, bulgar, amaranth, whole wheat couscous, spelt, millet etc.)
- Cook at home one more day each week
- If you don’t know how to cook, take a community cooking class or learn how to cook one recipe
- Have one more family meal each week
- Drink one less carbonated beverage/soda pop each day
- Drink one more glass of water each day
- Replace whole milk with a lower-fat variety
