Marty and I took a walk on Monday morning and in our meandering discussions we got onto cooking in schools. Not just tuck shops and what's offered but actually what's taught, subjects like Home Economics and Food Technology. Now, neither of us have been in school for quite a while now - 10yrs plus - and I was not educated on this side of the world, but scary statistics do show that kids just don't know how to cook, or in fact what different things are. Anyone who's ever watched Jamie's Food Revolution in the States will agree with me that when your children only know what a potato is because of the fries they have at lunch, there's a serious reason for concern.
Thanks to the Masterchef revolution and the nice little spin off of Junior Masterchef families and children are eating together and cooking more, but honestly the most beneficial episode each week is actually the Masterclass when you can learn something. So, what do you ask was Marty's solution or at least, what did this conversation really have to do with anything? Well, he felt that if everyone was taught about nutrition and food and cooking in school as a mandatory part of the syllabus like physical education, Maths, English, etc it could actually help with the growing problems of obesity and all it's related diseases.
At the moment 20 - 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese and 50% of obese adolescents continue to be obese as adults. And according to international statistics this trend is worldwide. What shows is that our kids are educated to eat well, the chances of growing into healthy adults is increased. The scariest statistic? "If weight gain continues the path it is following, by the year 2020, 80% of all Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese." - http://www.child-obesity.info/child-health/alarming-statistics-about-child-obesity-in-australia.html
So, I asked the man who daily crusades against Maccas, what can be taught? Surely the information is out there, but it's not really that it's that when you're fed a high fat, high sugar, salt added diet, everything else tastes bland and boring. He answered, teach them how to cook healthy and tasty! Easier said than done my friend!! When I met my chef he loved nothing more than to cook with butter, salt and those contributed in a BIG way to years of weight gain and loss for me! I could have refused...BUT it tasted so good!! I think the key with those decadent ingredients, as I've found out the hard, long way around is moderation, moderation and if you're not sure moderation! They should be the exception not the rule! We've all been affected by the reverse of this though, the underseasoned, overcooked veggies or meat! So it's about finding a happy medium and we're so lucky to be living in a time where sourcing our food locally, and growing some of it ourselves is very 'in'. And that's the trick. Fresh produce, fresh herbs, free range meat and chicken, these all taste better. Even if you're living in an apartment you can find a nice rectangular pot and grow some herbs in a sunny window. At the moment our herb garden is looking meager with just parsley and mint, but as the weather gets better the basil, coriander and thyme will go in. These particularly flavoursome herbs add punch and depth to your cooking. You'll also be surprised if you try the free range chicken at the supermarket over the mass produced how much darker the meat is and tastier. The meat's darker because the animal is more active and there is more blood flow = more flavour. Another excellent addition to your grocery list is fresh chili! I have never been a lover of hot, spicy foods like other people in my life but even I add a little chili here and there to accent a dish.
The last obvious place to find flavour is in the cooking process. Bear in mind there is a difference between slow-cooked and over-cooked. When you're slow-cooking a stew you're browned off meat to create flavour, chopped up your veg to make a mirepoix and even added bay leaves and thyme as your fresh or dried herbs. What you wouldn't have put in is a lot of salt because the process will just make everything more salty. When you drown the veggies in a huge pot of water and cook it to a tasteless sludge, that is overcooking, and no amount of added salt will make that taste any better! Stir frying and steaming also helps to accentuate the natural flavours of veggies and meat alike.
On Monday night, after our discussion, Marty cooked up some Thai cakes with salmon and prawn in them instead of crab. He used fresh coriander, seasoned lightly with flaky sea salt and added in a fresh chili. He used one spray of olive oil to the non-stick frying pan out of habit, and that was all the oil used. He baked them in the oven after they had been browned and each side and they were delicious. It proved the point that healthy doesn't have to be boring, and if we could all use a little imagination we'd be eating very differently!
Some food for thought I hope! Would be interested to hear your views!
Ciao
xoxo
