kudos to Jamie Oliver - for trying to keep us healthy

Kudos to Jamie Oliver for Leading the American Food Revolution

"For all the debate lately, one basic fact about America's health care crisis is rarely mentioned. Namely, the one thing that could really reform health care is you, collectively speaking: People living healthier lives."

- Steve Lohr, New York Times

As I've listened to the health care debate over the last year, my main concern has been the limited focus on preventive medicine. Did you know that studies show that 50 to 70 percent of the nation's health care costs are preventable? And do you know what is one of the best ways to prevent disease?

Eating a healthy diet!

Here's something important to know: This is the first generation of children who aren't expected to live as long as their parents.

It's no secret that kids today are growing up in a soda-filled, carbo-centric, junk food culture. According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years (and the numbers keep growing). This increase in obesity has both immediate and long-term health effects for our kids, and our country. For example:

• Obese kids are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

• Obese kids are at a greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.

• Obese kids are more likely to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore are more at risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis, and several types of cancer.

• Obesity can cut off 10, 12, 15 years or more of one's life.

Lots of people may be aware of this information, but why hasn't there been change?

The fact is that even if parents are trying to feed their children healthy foods at home, the school lunch programs around the country are feeding them JUNK. French fries and chicken nuggets are school lunch staples. Add to this, the soda and candy vending machines around school serving your children sugar bombs are destined to set them up for diabetes, mood swings, and in my opinion, attention deficit issues.

Jamie Oliver, chef, foodie author and television personality, is now on a mission to change the way America eats. After airing a four-hour television series in the UK aimed at improving school lunches, he got the British government to allocate one billion dollars to revitalize the British school lunch system. The revamped program includes more fresh foods, more local foods, better food standards, and no more junk in the vending machines. Nice work! Now Jamie is on an even bigger mission in the US doing what he calls, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution." Through a TV series, recently published book, and his website, he is inviting Americans to take a stand and change the way we eat in our home kitchens, schools and workplaces.

Can he do it?

Luckily he's got First Lady Michelle Obama on the same team. Last month Michelle launched her Let's Move initiative aimed at solving the childhood obesity epidemic (within one generation!). Let's Move was designed to get healthier foods in schools, give parents support to make healthier choices for their children, and get families up off the couch and active together. Furthermore, and I think probably the most important aspect of the program, it is focused on getting healthy, affordable food available in every part of the country. Whether we want to talk about it or not, money is a core element of the health equation, and cannot be ignored.

"The culture of supermarkets - buy one get one free, and the bargain deals - is so weighted on the highly processed cheap foods, junk foods, snack foods, and drinks. But also give us some deals on something seasonal and local in America," said Jamie in an interview with Oprah that aired last Friday, the same day that Food Revolution premiered on primetime ABC.

In my opinion, if our country wants to get itself back on its feet fiscally, health should be our number one priority. Without our health, what we do have? Now is the time to heal the huge disconnect between wanting to be the best country in the world and at the same time abusing our health, which is the very core of who we are. It is time to heal the rift between what we vision in our minds for our future, and what we are actually feeding our bodies in the present.

"Enough is enough," says Jamie. "The standards in this country are not protecting your kids, and I want mothers and fathers to get angry about this."

Anger can be a good first step, as long as it fuels the fire for positive action.

As with many things in life, just a little effort can make a massive difference. If you want to make a positive difference in the health of your children and in effect, the health of our country, here are some simple things you can do.

• Shop for your family at your local farmer's market.
• If you don't have a local farmer's market, buy local foods at your grocery store.
• Buy organic as much as possible.
• Take your kids with you to shop for foods and teach them where the foods come from.
• If you have outdoor space, start a vegetable garden with your kids.
• If you already have a garden, involve your kids in it.
• If you have limited outdoor space, consider planting herbs, small lettuces, and cherry tomatoes in window boxes.
• Talk to other parents about the changes you'd like to see in the lunch program at your child's school.
• Attend PTA meetings and give voice to changes you know need to happen.
• Talk to the school principal to open up dialogue about food at the school.
• Sign Jamie's petition for fresh foods in school. Jamie will take this petition to the White House to show President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama how many people across the country really care, and ask for their support.

You can get healthy recipes to be used in your child's school or in your home on Jamie's website. The LunchBox: Healthy Tools to Help All Schools is also a great resource for healthy menus and recipes.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution can be viewed on Fridays at 9pm/8c on ABC.

Sweet Basil

I will use these glasses all summer long.

Today I also visited Sweet Basil, a fun kitchen store at Scottsdale Road and Shea. I found some cool iced tea glasses that were normally $4.00 each, they were on sale for $2.75, so I got four of them.

After all, it is going to be heating up soon in our fair state, and I want to be ready since summer for me means consuming a great deal of iced tea.

I also think these will be good for iced lattes.

Sweet Basil also has some very cute aprons that are under $30, some of them have gingham fabric and little "yoyo" donuts on the front, very frilly and feminine they are. I want to be in the kitchen and I may be barefoot, but I can still be cute! I think there is one of these aprons in my future. I will take a picture of it when I spring for one, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Get yourself to Sweet Basil. They have a lot of kitchen gadgets, reasonably priced and they also have a little sale section in the back. And a cute doggie that looks like of like a poodle who was very friendly.

My aunt also tells me you can buy iced tea glasses (plastic) at Paddock Pools. Might be a good place for this kitchen wench to visit...in her spare time.

Williams Sonoma + Design Within Reach

I am coveting this "jelly" chair and ottoman - you can find it

at Design Within Reach.

They also have this cool felt rug (sale price/floor model)

The mecca of all kitchen gadget stores, Williams Sonoma.

I went to Scottsdale Fashion Mall today and visited Williams Sonoma, the fancy dancy kitchen store. They had a huge, pretty, shiny espresso maker I coveted - I think it bakes bread too, for that price!

They have some great gift ideas - for Mother's Day, I was thinking, specifically. They have some great fruit preserves for $12 and then I spotted a gift set of smaller jars for $25. They also sell Herbs de Provence in a pretty container that makes a nice conversation piece in anyone's kitchen and this herb blend goes well on a baked chicken, baked fish or sprinkled on diced potatoes with the skin on, roasted at a high heat.

Also I spied that fancy toaster I posted about earlier today - it is pretty and shiny, but pricey...so I'll keep using my old one for awhile longer. Unless...there are any folks out there that would like to adopt?

It's good to keep a sense of humor when one has good taste i.e. champagne taste but with a beer budget. But imported, please!

I also visited Design Within Reach, since it is in the same neighborhood. They are having a sample sale so I took pictures of the items I am coveting which include an orange "jelly" chair and ottoman, and a felt rug that is of the most beautiful design.

When you win the lottery, or just have some extra buckaroos to rub together, Williams Sonoma and Design Within Reach are two good places to visit. Get yourself there for fancy kitchen stuff and tastefully designed furniture!!

From nytimes.com - re: Nutella, worth sharing

Amy Sussman

NUTELLA

Yes, we’re talking about the chocolate-hazelnut spread that has graced crèpes and slices of white bread the world over for decades. Nutella was developed by Pietro Ferrero, of Ferrero Rocher fame, during World War II as a way of stretching a dwindling supply of chocolate. (Hazelnuts are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy.) Happily for Ferrero, the combination caught on, and people stayed hooked once rationing was over. As of late, this mass-produced treat has been inspiring chefs as a novelty ingredient of sorts. Pichet Ong of Village Tart in New York City recently demonstrated his Nutella skillet torte on ABC News, and Bret Macris of Rose Water in Park Slope, Brooklyn, goes several steps further with his bourbon-infused foie gras torchon, which he serves with pan-fried brioche points, blood orange and a quenelle of homemade nutella.

Fancy toaster

My brother just bought a new toaster at Costco - a Hamilton Beach - for $20. It is stainless steel, and looks like an airstream trailer, or at least that's what I told him and my Mom when I was visiting this weekend.

It has different buttons for what you want to toast. If you toast a bagel, you press "bagel" and it will toast only the inside. Cool, huh?

In the meantime, this fancy toaster has been introduced and shared with the rest of us via nytimes.com

check it out:

Food Stuff

A Toaster With Glass Sides for Viewing

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Published: April 6, 2010

A new stainless-steel toaster has see-through insulated glass walls and a button that allows you to stop the toasting at any time, like reality TV at breakfast. It is designed in France by Robot-Coupe, which originated the food processor and first sold the toaster in Europe. This latest appliance has one-sided toasting for bagels, a button for defrosting and toasting simultaneously and a reheat button to warm the toast without further browning. A lever makes it easy to remove small pieces of toast, the ones that often require a fishing expedition in a regular toaster, and the glass walls tip out for cleaning.

Magimix Vision Toaster is $299.95 at Williams-Sonoma stores; later this week it will be at williams-sonoma.com.

What does it mean to receive? huffingtonpost.com article

I saw this article recently in the huffingtonpost.com

What does it have to do with cooking, you might ask?

Well, sometimes, or maybe often times, the cook is "the nurturer" which I have found in myself; this article was useful to me to embrace "receiving."

Enjoy.

What Does It Mean To Receive?

By Anne Naylor

Do you find it easier to give, than to receive? Do you ever have difficulty asking for what you want, because you don't want to be rejected? Do you fear the future because you won't get what you need to survive?

Giving and receiving go together. Often, people are better givers. Giving is within your control. You can decide what, when, where, how, to whom or to what you give.

You might be a compulsive giver. I have a friend who loves to give. She will even help an older person to cross the road when they have no wish to do so. So long as she is giving, she feels good. Giving is gratifying, and what a good thing. Giving time, talent, skills, money, caring, creativity, gifts benefits others and builds the bonds of our human community.

Receiving begins with your breath. It costs nothing. Without it, you would not be here. Most of the time, you are probably unconscious of breathing. In meditation, you take time to observe your breath. Observing slows you down so that you fully receive it. You become conscious and may become more peaceful and contented in your life. Instead of feeling driven, you could become a participant observer.

Do you get so busy during the day that you do not take a moment to receive, to be aware of, the good around you? Do you ever pause to take in the beauty of flowers? The warmth in another's eyes? The joy in a child passing by? Receiving might ask you to step aside from your mental preoccupations and opinions to simply observe what is immediately in front of you.

When you hug a friend, a family member, a person new to you, do you allow yourself to receive their warmth? Or do you, like a friend of mine does, hold the person by the shoulders, so they do not get too close? Do you allow yourself to receive compliments with a "Thank you"? Or do you bat them away with a dismissive "Well, if you really knew.... "?

When you eat, do you take time to receive pleasure from your food, to taste flavours, appreciate colour and texture? When I was writing a cookery book, I was constantly tasting to get the end result I was seeking. Simply tasting fulfilled my appetite. I needed to eat less.

Your senses come alive through using them. Try going out into your daily life with an intention to listen, look and feel with greater awareness the simple things you encounter. Through receiving, your life can be enriched with meaning. You may feel more connected, at one with yourself and at peace in the world.

A reader of an earlier post on receiving commented:

Give sincere thanks when someone gives to you. See more subtle ways that people do give to you already, and give frank thanks to them for doing so. Nothing creates a deeper bond than sincere appreciation, between people.

Receiving I understand as an almost sacred act. Why? Receiving asks that you be open, with no expectations or attachment that you will be given to. If you ever have difficulty receiving, here are 10

Tips For Grateful Receiving:

1. Be grateful for all that you have and enjoy, right now. Count your blessings. This creates a feeling of fullness which makes receiving easier.

2. Give to receive. What would you like more of? What you put out is what you get back. Try seeding. Check this link for more information. What is seeding?

3. Create the space to receive. Let go of what no longer has value for you, is not useful or in no way adds to your life. Sell, give away or throw out unnecessary possessions or clutter.

4. Free form writing. Let go of mental and emotional blocks to receiving by writing. Take a pad of paper and a biro. Write freely whatever comes to mind. Do not re-read what you have written. Find a safe place to burn the paper.

5. Ask for what you want. Communicate clearly to those who are able to give to you what you are requesting. Create a network of supporters to assist you.

6. Be open. Let go of attachments and expectations. Allow what you want to come to you. Attachment can be fearful and shuts the door to receiving. Hold a positive focus with a clear intention of what you would like.

7. Envisage your receiving. Open your heart and mind to creating the outcomes you wish to experience. Make your vision fun, colourful, gracious, enjoyable and freeing. See, feel, hear, touch and taste that which you wish coming easily to you.

8. Listen. Allow yourself to be guided, intuitively, to the actions you can take to promote your receiving. Take off the pressures and expectations about how you will receive. Be prepared to be surprised.

9. Smile, take a deep breath. Let that breath out. Relax. Place what you would like into the spiritual Light for the highest good, this or something greater taking place.

10. Feel grateful. Fully take in what you receive, as a blessing. Take a moment to be consciously aware. Giving and receiving is a virtuous cycle. You may find yourself spiralling upwards as the quality of your life improves, and joy becomes more of a constant companion in your life.

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart,
will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.
Martin Luther

What does receiving mean for you? Do you find it easier to give, than to receive? How do you think receiving benefits the giver?

Please feel free to leave a comment below, or contact me at anne@annenaylor.com

What's for lunch - leftovers

I decided to write another post and give credit to the leftovers we bring for lunch. Mainly for me, it includes chicken I have previously baked, along with a pasta salad. In yesterday's case it was a breaded pork cutlet and skin on crispy potatoes from the Olive Garden. Jason and his family invited me to their Easter soiree and it was the best time, with great (GREAT) eats. I'm so fond of their salad and breadsticks.

Then at the end of our meal I was gifted with a beautiful, cute and colorful straw Easter basket with handles that could easily be used as a purse in the spring - which I am thinking about already, because I'm a "planner" and a "do-er" - - according to a close, personal, partner in crime. The basket is filled with yummies such as jelly bellies (I ate all of those), chocolate eggs and lollypops that look absolutely delicious.

This kitchen wench is feeling mighty spoiled these days. Let's keep this momentum going, shall we?