Anyone else a Top Chef fan? I love the show. I’m not a reality show fan in any way but this show is the exception. I’ve been watching it for two seasons and am watching the current season now.
A few weeks ago there was a challenge to prepare a healthy lunch for grade school kids in the DC area. The contestant that went home was Jacqueline Lombard. She made a dessert — a banana pudding — that was a total and utter failure.
Jacqueline was eliminated because her banana pudding contained a whopping 2 pounds of sugar! It wasn’t nutritious in any way, and was not well executed (too starchy and too sweet). I’m glad she went home and when they were hyping the elimination round, I was yelling at the TV that if she wasn’t sent home, the show was rigged. TWO POUNDS OF SUGAR?! Oh my god! That’s incomprehensible to me. No adult should have two pounds of sugar in any thing they consume, let alone a kid!
Did anyone else watch the show? What did you think?
A new study out claims that Oregon is ranked 39th in obesity for the USA. The 2010 report states that 1 in 4 Oregonians is obese. However, the good news seems to be that Oregon is setting a standard for having nutritional breakfasts, lunches and snacks in our schools. For being 39th in obesity rating, we somehow have a lower rate of childhood obesity.
I recently discovered that some Oregon schools have a Farm-to-School program. 32% of the schools are getting their produce from local farms. That’s a win-win situation in my book! Not only do the kids benefit from healthy food, but the locally owned farms are still in business too.
I don’t have kids. Someday I hope to and I hope I can pass on a passion for healthy eating and exercise. Growing up in my house, the theme was RESTRICTION. My parents were into the low-fat/no sugar/no flavor kind of diet. It was horrible. And as a result I rebelled and ate junk food whenever I could…at friend’s houses, at school, sneaking candy into my room to eat secretly. Restricting treats lead to my obsession with sweets and overeating.
Who has kids? What are the challenges you have for getting your kids to eat healthy food?
Clearly, restricting food is not the healthy way to go about things. And what about kids that are super picky about their foods? Is it too challenging to fight with them daily to eat their healthy foods? Do you give in and let them eat what they want to avoid that fight?
Check out this article about a local school that’s making a difference!
QUESTION: Do you know where your state ranks in the obesity statistics? Is your community doing anything to make a difference?
steff
i did see that episode of top chef, and i agree that she deserved to go home. however, while they were getting all riled up about the sugar, i kept wondering to myself “how many servings was the split between?”
for example, if 300 children were eating that pudding that would be just over an ounce of sugar for each child. that’s bad (especially considering that bananas are high in sugar to being with) but not unheard of.
i’m glad she got kicked off, her dish was NOT healthy or (it seems) delicious, but I just wish they’d given more info about the reality of it.
hundredtenpounds
Good point about the servings. Since it is a reality show, it’s hyped for the drama. So maybe it wasn’t quite as bad.
lisaou11
I don’t have kids either but it’s something I think about often. RAising my kids to value healthy eating but also moderation.
I live in Oklahoma and I know we are top 10 of fattest states the country. It’s very frustrating and I dont think enough is being done to change that statistic.
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self
I saw that Top Chef episode, and I also thought she deserved to get kicked off because of the sugar…although, as the above commenter mentioned, they didn’t say how many servings it was split between.
In general, I hate that when we want kids to eat something, our automatic response is just to sweeten it up with lots of sugar. There must be a better way!
hundredtenpounds
There has to be a better way! That and not bribing them with sweets.
Lisa (bakebikeblog)
“I don’t have kids. Someday I hope to and I hope I can pass on a passion for healthy eating and exercise” >>>> THis is my goal too!!!
I havent seen Top Chef (I dont think it is on in Australia)…we have Master Chef which may be similar?
hundredtenpounds
Maybe…I think they did a few seasons of Master Chefs competing for a title. We watched one season of that. Do you get Netflix in Australia? It’s such a good show!
lisasfoods
That report was fairly discouraging, except I think Massachusetts came in as number four. That makes me feel more hopeful about where I live, except it doesn’t mean we live without problems of obesity.
Michelle
Two pounds of sugar is disgusting! I know that my city is one of the most obese in Canada, and it’s really sad. I wish that people had the opportunity to get more educated about what to eat.
Julie @ Pickley Pear
Detroit is usually on top of the “fattest Cities” list :(. My family has always been pretty healthy, but we work at it. I didn’t see that Top Chef episode, but I’m glad that girl went home too, that is ridiculous.
Joanna
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and really enjoy it.
I haven’t commented yet, but was moved to comment when I read what you said about growing up in a food restrictive household. My family had the same approach and I developed the same habits you mentioned, especially with sneaking and hiding food/treats.
I’m just starting to understand what this has meant for my relationship to food and my overall weight struggle. I also used to think it was something that was wrong with me and still have a lot of guilt.
Thank you for talking about the issue – it really helps to know someone else had a similar experience.
I don’t have kids yet, but when I do someday, I plan to make sure they have a balanced approach to eating with no ‘off limit’ foods.
Thanks for the inspiration you provide with your blog. 🙂
hundredtenpounds
I’m glad you could relate. I really do believe that my childhood had something to do with my food issues as an adult.