I came upon this Ted Talk as a recommend. This is Jamie Oliver, a British chef and “restaurateur”. He is passionate about educating children about food. He feels very strongly as you can see in the video. If you go to 11:14 you can see him in a class of 1st graders, maybe, and they don’t know what the names of different vegetables are. Please watch through 12.30 when he starts talking about sugar and dumps the wheelbarrow of the stuff on the stage. The other unsettling thing for me is he showed a double sized casket at 5:59 that is now being made for larger people. He said something like, “Here I am a Brit, you are at the top of your game, but this is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world!”

This is one of the ways to be a Deep River Parent–doing the opposite of what our culture is doing. It takes grit to plan, shop, cook and cleanup. The crux of all of that work is the meal itself, and there are so many benefits!

I wrote here about two books that two different Americans wrote when living in France and how living there taught them about the French food culture of savoring food, cooking with the best ingredients, being in charge of your children’s food education and learning and teaching self-restraint.

One of Jamie Oliver’s suggestion is to have an ambassador at grocery stores to educate people. I would say, “Folks! We have the internet! Start doing your research!” He also wants corporations and schools to take more responsibility and I again say, “Don’t wait for someone to do your job. It’s too important. We have to educate our own children! Don’t leave it up to anyone else or expect anything to change unless we teach the truth to our children.”

I do like his suggestion that everyone needs 10 recipes that can feed them once they leave home. I worked on 5 recipes, trying to help my children launch. One daughter went really far and had figured out how to make French macarons. In another daughter’s top five is clam chowder and we had her make it this past Christmas when she visited. It is epic! Another son is fearless at grilling meat. My youngest son made bread for four years to make money for his mission, and can make a mean quesadilla and pasta. I couldn’t ever budge him from those three culinary feats, but I am still working on it!

We don’t realize how precious good health is until it is gone. When we make good nutrition a priority and teach our children how to make food, and to savor the good, healthy stuff, we are blessing them forever. I love Jamie Oliver’s emphasis on teaching good health. I love his passion for knowledge and how he has expanded his career and made it a calling. This video has reminded me how it’s easier to be healthy cooking from home. Aren’t those fruits and vegetables above beautiful? Think how much they would heal and help our bodies!