Cooking up some good lessons

I told Jack at dinner last night about my day yesterday. I told him that I served snacks to a middle school in Quincy and how I couldn't believe that kids older than him had never tried blueberries or yogurt.

As a member of the Junior League, {a nonprofit organization of women committed to improving the lives of children and families through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers} each year I have participated in one of the community projects called Kids in the Kitchen. The goal of this project is to address childhood obesity and poor nutrition through cooking demonstrations, games and activities designed to promote good eating habits and a healthy lifestyle.

I've always enjoyed this project, as it is enlightening how even I take for granted the availability of good, healthy eating options to my kids and how trying something we consider so mundane as blueberries or yogurt is a new experience for many of these kids.

I told many of the kids that were hesitant to try the blueberries that I tell even my five-year-old that he has to try something new one time and if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to eat any more. Many of them politely obliged.

I observed that the 6th graders seemed to be more open to trying new foods than the 8th grade students and boys more willing to try new things more than girls. The kids collectively, were more willing to eat fruits than vegetables {like lettuce and tomatoes on their turkey wraps}. And many of them admitted that they usually eat chips or soda when they get home from school.

I wonder how it is in this day and age of news, media and information that we can have an ever-growing population of childhood obesity? Parents should know that chips, sodas and fast food aren't good for them or their children on a regular basis. I do understand why. The food and fast food companies have created delicious and addictive foods that provide no nutrition, but are cheap and readily available. It is cheaper to choose the non-healthy options for parents who don't have a lot of money or time to prepare homemade nuggets vs. frozen. Even our school systems serve chicken nuggets, pizza and Krispy Kreme. Why? Because that's what kids will choose and it sells well.

I am certainly no saint or all-natural "health nut". I partake myself from time to time in a greasy cheeseburger and full o' sugar soda. However, it isn't on a daily basis that I find myself in a drive thru or grabbing a bag of chips and soda as a mid-afternoon snack. I tend to snack on {and give my kids} fresh fruit, cheese, hummus and pita or veggies. I try to buy organic and whole grains where I can and stick to the outside aisles of the grocery store, where natural and non-processed foods tend to live. We only eat fast food on a rare occasion {like when we are traveling on the road}. And I only give small desserts after supper has been eaten well and only when asked for {I never try to encourage eating junk food}. I do the best that I can and realize now that is far more than most parents do.

I love the show Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. I wish we could do this on a smaller scale with our project and follow the benefits of teaching kids early how to eat right and see if it makes a difference on a larger scale. If you've never seen the show, you should check it out.

I was there to teach these kids something new, but I realize that this was a learning opportunity for me. I only hope that people like Jaime Oliver can keep up the good work and that more people will get involved in taking a stand for the kids whose parents can't or won't. It's true that it may be too late to change the parent's minds, but if we can shape the kid's minds early, then we can set them up for a more healthy lifestyle and reduce the growing obesity problem that plagues our country.

A local news station did a story on the project. Here is the story, and the video is on the right hand side of the page. I was glad to see the media giving some local attention to the topic. It is certainly given media attention, locally and nationally and on shows like Jaime Oliver's, but actually making the changes seem to be the biggest challenge now.