# Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990 "2010-03-27T03:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/81 "2010-04-03T05:17:21Z")
I think the biggest problem with processed food isn’t so much the calories or even the lack of fiber. It’s the sodium, followed by the carbs. Anything you find in the freezer aisle, save for frozen veggies, is loaded with sodium. Look at those meatloaf ingredients - most of the individual ingredients contain salt and HFCS! All of the men in my dad’s family are skinny guys (my one uncle is even underweight) who have been eating processed food for the past 50+ years. All four of them are on blood pressure medication and two of them have had heart surgery. You might assume they’re healthy to look at them, but sodium has taken its toll on their bodies for sure. Don’t get me started on HFCS, either. Even if you dip your homemade meat loaf in a couple tablespoons of ketchup, there’s no way you’re going to be getting more salt and sugar than you would if you ate processed meatloaf. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/82 "2010-04-03T05:26:43Z")
Salt is a risk factor for some people, but it’s not what makes people fat. Carbs are a risk only inasmuch as they represent excessive calories. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/83 "2010-04-03T06:16:53Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Oh, I eat quite healthy for my metabolic relativity, thank you. You can keep exaggerating all you want, but the truth is you are more hung-up about food, and restrictive in an obsessive and unnatural way, than I could ever be… I have a quite enlightened relationship with food, thank you. I am? Really? What does my diet consist of? I have to lawl at the “restrictive” and “unnatural”. Well the unnatural is right actually. I had a bag of chips for dinner and washed it down with a bottle of blue bubblegum cane sugar soda. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/84 "2010-04-03T06:36:17Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > I am? Really? What does my diet consist of? I have to lawl at the “restrictive” and “unnatural”. Well the unnatural is right actually. I had a bag of chips for dinner and washed it down with a bottle of blue bubblegum cane sugar soda. You’re a product of countless restrictions and a metabolic reaction. Dieting. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/85 "2010-04-03T06:50:10Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > You’re a product of countless restrictions and a metabolic reaction. Dieting. I am? Wow, who knew?! Oh wait! devilsknew! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/86 "2010-04-03T08:52:58Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Salt is a risk factor for some people, but it’s not what makes people fat. Carbs are a risk only inasmuch as they represent excessive calories. Salt is what kills fat people in addition to the diabetic problems associated with a high calorie diet. devilsknew, if you watched the program you would have seen the kids eating chicken nuggets dipped in 3 kinds of corn syrup sauces. The apples on their trays were thrown away. The “balanced” diet consisted of sugar enriched poultry scrapings washed down with sugar enhanced milk. And for the record, meatloaf is not health food so comparing poor nutrition at home to even poorer nutrition at school misses the point Oliver is trying to make. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/87 "2010-04-03T16:15:31Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Salt is a risk factor for some people, but it’s not what makes people fat. Carbs are a risk only inasmuch as they represent excessive calories. I’m saying that being fat is not the only way to be unhealthy. Including my dad, uncles and my grandpa, I know plenty of thin people with high BP and high cholesterol. I am quite fat and have stellar BP and cholesterol numbers. You can’t judge a person’s health just on how much they weigh (not saying that I am healthy, but that thin people aren’t necessarily healthy). ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/88 "2010-04-03T16:33:07Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Oh, I eat quite healthy for my metabolic relativity, thank you. You can keep exaggerating all you want, but the truth is you are more hung-up about food, and restrictive in an obsessive and unnatural way, than I could ever be… I have a quite enlightened relationship with food, thank you. O Enlightened One, you have opened my eyes to the Truth! We can just feed pizzas laden with fatty, salty, processed meats to the kiddos three times a day and, what the hell, put some sliced Twinkies on top as well. No more hang-ups, 'cause all foods are equal and everything is relative. And if the little buggars end up fat and diabetic, well, it’s just their bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/89 "2010-04-03T17:39:41Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > So, did anyone watch tonight? > And if so, do you honestly believe that these kids were the only cooking for the large group of bigwigs? I assume that they must have also had professional cooks helping out. I don’t know, but I went to sleep early, so I’m watching it now from the DVR and I’m amazed that he’s got this one kid making risotto. Now, I’ve never made or eaten it, but this is the dish that I’ve seen the so-called experienced chefs on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen screw up. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/90 "2010-04-03T18:04:21Z")
Funniest point in last night’s episode was Jamie being told that french fries counted as a vegetable. Saddest part in last night’s episode: Jamie confusing “7 different vegetables” with 1 1/4 cup of vegetables. The kids were getting at most 1.5cups of the noodle dish, even I could see there wasn’t 1 1/4 cup of veggies in it. Although in is defense, 2 cups of veggies can easily cook down to 1/4 cup when you’re done. What I’d love to see is Jamie cook a “perfectly acceptable” meal according to the guidelines, but just make a mockery of it. Serve them 1 1/4 of potato chips, with two jelly filled doughnuts (for the bread and fruit servings), and 4 strips of bacon for their protein. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/91 "2010-04-03T19:55:18Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Funniest point in last night’s episode was Jamie being told that french fries counted as a vegetable. > > Saddest part in last night’s episode: Jamie confusing “7 different vegetables” with 1 1/4 cup of vegetables. The kids were getting at most 1.5cups of the noodle dish, even I could see there wasn’t 1 1/4 cup of veggies in it. Although in is defense, 2 cups of veggies can easily cook down to 1/4 cup when you’re done. He’s not playing the state’s nutritional game. He could have thrown the noodles on top of or next to the cheapest throw away vegetable (lettuce ?) and claimed victory for getting real vegetables consumed with the noodles. He needs to show that the kids are eating real food instead of throwing away apples and eating french fries. > [@emacknight](#): > > What I’d love to see is Jamie cook a “perfectly acceptable” meal according to the guidelines, but just make a mockery of it. Serve them 1 1/4 of potato chips, with two jelly filled doughnuts (for the bread and fruit servings), and 4 strips of bacon for their protein. That would be a great episode. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/92 "2010-04-03T20:38:35Z")
I hate the emphasis on whole grains. Whole wheat bread tastes like shit. People in France eat white bread, damn good white bread, and they are healthy because the rest of their diet is healthy. In Japan they eat white rice and they are healthier as well. If you want to add fiber, you can serve oatmeal, bran muffins, beans, vegetables, or other food that actually taste good. Serving whole wheat bread and brown rice just teaches kids that healthy food has to taste bad. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/93 "2010-04-03T21:25:32Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > In Japan they eat white rice and they are healthier as well. To judge from the Japanese pharmacies I’ve been to (a fair number), they’re also very constipated from a lack of fiber, as there seem to be a ton of laxative products on offer. I’ve heard just anecdotally that JP women in particular complain of this problem. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/94 "2010-04-03T21:58:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t know, but I went to sleep early, so I’m watching it now from the DVR and I’m amazed that he’s got this one kid making risotto. Now, I’ve never made or eaten it, but this is the dish that I’ve seen the so-called experienced chefs on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen screw up. Huh. I’m no foodie or fan of Jamie Oliver, but cooking a risotto seems exactly the sort of technique I’d encourage an unconfident non-cook to be guided through as a way of building simple skills. Professional standards are another matter and shortcuts are a mistake, but it’s a good flexible basic for a beginner to understand. That said, I’m not sure I’d recommend it for teaching a _kid_. Glugging away at the white wine involved is part of the cook’s privilage in making a risotto. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/95 "2010-04-03T22:28:43Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > In Japan they eat white rice and they are healthier as well. The Japanese are short and the women are skinny with small chests. These are generally indicators for poor nutrition. As more Japanese adopt a more western diet, the women are getting more of an hourglass shape. I imagine everyone is getting taller, too, but that’s just a guess. The hourglass shape is a real phenomenon, though, as they even introduced a new word to describe it. Roughly translated it means “big little big.” Trying to dig up a cite but google isn’t playing nice. The article I remember reading was from the early 2000s. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/96 "2010-04-03T22:56:45Z")
I just remembered the actual Japanese term: Bon kyu bon. The translation is big _small_ big, not big little big. That’s why I couldn’t google it. Anyway, here’s a [cite](http://www.thestar.com/living/article/211747), and it appears my guess that they’re also getting taller is correct. > [@](#): > > Today, the average Japanese woman’s hips, at 35 inches, are around an inch wider than those of women a generation older. Women in their 20s wear a bra at least two sizes larger than that of their mothers, according to Wacoal. Waist size, meanwhile, has gotten slightly smaller, accentuating many young women’s curves. > > The average 20-year-old is also nearly three inches taller than she was in 1950, according to government statistics, and the average foot has grown by nearly a quarter of an inch. > > The physical changes are largely the result of an increasingly Westernized diet, say nutritionists. Meals that used to consist of mostly fish, vegetables and tofu now lean heavily toward an American-style menu of red meat, dairy and indulgences such as Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. > > All this extra protein and calcium has led to longer, stronger and fuller bodies. In short, I wouldn’t point to a traditional Japanese diet as an example of good nutrition. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/97 "2010-04-03T23:22:34Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I hate the emphasis on whole grains. Whole wheat bread tastes like shit. People in France eat white bread, damn good white bread, and they are healthy because the rest of their diet is healthy. In Japan they eat white rice and they are healthier as well. If you want to add fiber, you can serve oatmeal, bran muffins, beans, vegetables, or other food that actually taste good. Serving whole wheat bread and brown rice just teaches kids that healthy food has to taste bad. I like baguettes and croissants and white rice as much as the next gal, but I gotta say - if you think whole wheat bread tastes like shit, you’re not eating the right whole wheat bread. A good whole grain loaf is denser and more nutty flavored than white - a whole different beast really. Very good on its own merits. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/98 "2010-04-03T23:33:12Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I like baguettes and croissants and white rice as much as the next gal, but I gotta say - if you think whole wheat bread tastes like shit, you’re not eating the right whole wheat bread. A good whole grain loaf is denser and more nutty flavored than white - a whole different beast really. Very good on its own merits. Agreed. Try a different brand. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/99 "2010-04-04T00:03:14Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I like baguettes and croissants and white rice as much as the next gal, but I gotta say - if you think whole wheat bread tastes like shit, you’re not eating the right whole wheat bread. A good whole grain loaf is denser and more nutty flavored than white - a whole different beast really. Very good on its own merits. There is a big difference between generic faux wonderbread type whole wheat bread and a good solid multigrain bread as Athena points out … I love a good homemade whole grain multigraon loaf especially when it has tef, amaranth, crushed wheat berries and assorted seeds in it. Especially if you toast the grains and seeds first to bring out the flavor. And added flaxseed for the omega 3s… way better than the commercial crap. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990/100 "2010-04-04T00:38:38Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > There is a big difference between generic faux wonderbread type whole wheat bread and a good solid multigrain bread as Athena points out … I love a good homemade whole grain multigraon loaf especially when it has tef, amaranth, crushed wheat berries and assorted seeds in it. Especially if you toast the grains and seeds first to bring out the flavor. And added flaxseed for the omega 3s… way better than the commercial crap. Too me it’s just not bread. With all that stuff in it there is not enough gluten. I don’t want a crumbly, cakey bread, I want a nice chewy one with a crisp crust. But to each their own. I just don’t want kids to think that healthy means brown rice and whole wheat bread. Do any of the countries that are healthier than the US eat them in their traditional diet? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/533990.md?page=6)