As part of our weekly cooking series, we’re doing a special feature today on how to cook with real food, in celebration of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day.
The idea is simple: Put away the fake ingredients and pre-made mixes and sauces and cook with real food for better health.
This idea is being brought to American dinner tables and school cafeterias by one seriously-determined British chef – Jamie Oliver. Oliver has started a movement both stateside and in Britain called the Food Revolution, which aims to get back to real, quality food, and move away from the high-fat, sugar-laden processed foods most Americans are eating today.
For a better sense of how Oliver views healthy eating, here is his food philosophy as stated on his website.
“My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced and sane way. Food is one of life’s greatest joys, yet we’ve reached this really sad point where we’re turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: If you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that’s alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don’t eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.”
We love this, and couldn’t agree more with this philosophy. You can have enjoy of the foods you love – in moderation, and when balanced with other, more nutritious meals.
When it comes cooking with real food, the idea is simple: Put away highly-processed, fake ingredients like boxed macaroni and seasoning mixes, and get back to the root of the food as its intended to be enjoyed. We believe doing this will help you rediscover the natural state of food and how delicious it can be on its own, without additives, preservatives, or sodium- and sugar-laden sauces.
Here are a few recipes to get you started.
Recipes:
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. Toss those pre-flavored packages of instant oatmeal out the window with this delicious and fruity recipe for made-from-scratch oatmeal. Talk about starting your day off right.
3-Ingredient Berry Smoothie. There’s no processed protein powder to be found in this delicious smoothie. If you have yogurt, fruit and orange juice, then you can whip up this quick and healthy breakfast or mid-day snack.
Bobby Flay’s Perfect Penne Marinara and Garlic Bread. Jarred pasta sauce no more! Break out of your convenience-food Italian rut with these step-by-step instructions on how to make Bobby Flay’s perfect homemade marinara sauce and tasty garlic bread.
Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake. Who said eating dessert had to be unhealthy? Ditch the boxed mix and make your own nutritious dessert with this easy-to-make snack cake.
Even though the official event for Food Revolution Day has already taken place (May 19), we still find it a worthy cause to celebrate.
Yesterday, thousands of people joined Food Revolution Day by attending or hosting events that served real food – focusing on locally-sourced, fresh ingredients. And the purpose wasn’t just to fund-raise, but to inform people around the world about the importance of eating real, quality food. Oliver hopes people will continue to come together in support of the cause long after the event has passed.
For more information on this and other great causes supported by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, visit foodrevolution.com for a complete history on the organization, as well as resources on how you can help bring about food change in your community.
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