Over the past 5 years, Food Revolution Day in May has been an annual event all over the world, celebrating and campaigning for better food education. This year the focus shifted from one day to every day – a year-round Food Revolution! This year the Day fell on Friday May 20th and I spent the better part of my day teaching kids (and their parents) how to cook some of Jamie’s “Starter Pack” recipes – ten delicious, nutritionally balanced recipes, each covering a different skill and technique that can give anyone the confidence to cook good, real, healthy meals for themselves and their families, for now and the future.
At my school, the Friday before the long weekend is typically the day we welcome next year’s new boys into the school and everyone spends the morning with the teachers they will have next year. We do lots of fun activities and since it’s always Food Revolution Day, we’ve managed to incorporate some food education into those activities each year! This year, the incoming Grade 5s made Jamie’s DIY oaty-fruity cereal (sans nuts, of course).
They got to choose their add-ins (ignore the pizza chain plates!!)…
They made sure to chop everything finely so it was even-sized pieces to add in to the cereal…
Then they got to name their cereals…
I LOVE the creativity!
Later that day I headed down to the beautiful Kitchen at St Lawrence Market where I was hosting a family cooking class for nearly 30 people with fellow Toronto Food Revolution Ambassador Mary Catherine Anderson. Over the course of a few hours, the kids (and their parents) worked through several of Jamie’s recipes to make a complete meal, proving that getting a nutritious dinner on the table with kids in kitchen IS possible!
We made Jamie’s hummus and served it with peppers and flatbreads (that we made ourselves too!):
The kids loved making a rainbow from their pepper strips!
We made a big old pot of Jamie’s minestrone soup…
There was a granola station where the kids made jars of the DIY oaty-fruity cereal to bring home…
and the ever popular smoothie bar…
Bellies full and minds blown (“I never knew how easy it was to make bread/ hummus/ cereal etc…” resonated around the room!) everyone took home a brilliant swag bag to help them keep the Revolution alive year-round…
and one of our participants took home a very special prize – a Torrent Blender!)
Huge thanks to my sponsors: Sobeys, KitchenAid Canada, Harper Collins Canada and Bernardin who helped make this possible. Thank you for helping get kids and their parents back in the kitchen. Thank you for being Revolutionary.
Those of you who read regularly will know that my quest to educate kids about food and cooking doesn’t just stop after Food Revolution Day. During my weekly cooking classes throughout the school year, I know I’m changing little minds, one at a time. It may be baby steps but slow, consistent change is the key to ultimately making a big difference. I am proud to be a part of Jamie’s Food Revolution. Every day of the year.
It was really great of you to share this amazing blog..Kids these days need to be taught the importance of eating and cooking healthy food..This food revolution effort will not only teach them to cook a little bit, but also the need of balanced diet in their life..The children involved in activities above looked really happy..Hope you all had fun..Thanks for sharing..
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope we’re making a difference doing what we’re doing – one little tummy at a time!