Viva la food revolution! Jamie Oliver gets Americans in the kitchen

Have you been watching Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC? (I’ve been watching it online.) I love that Jaime has come to the US to show Americans how to cook. It’s a skill so many people lack and is partially to blame for so many people relying on fast food and processed food products.

Jaime is also working to improve school food. He says that he’s been to the townships in South Africa where poor kids eat better than our kids do in the US.

If you agree, you may want to sign his petition that states:

I support Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. America's kids need better food at school and better health prospects. We need to keep cooking skills alive.

Jamie plans to take his petition to the White House after the TV series airs, to show the President and First Lady how many people across the country really care about eating more healthfully at home and at school.

As they say in the UK, brilliant!

 

Food Revolution recipes

Since Jamie’s Food Revolution is about creating convenient and healthy meals at home, here are two of his super easy, healthy “Jam Jar” salad dressings that will encourage you and your family to eat more salad and veggies.

French dressing

1. Peel and finely chop ¼ of a clove of garlic.
2. Put the garlic, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar, and 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Put the lid on the jar and shake well

Yogurt dressing

1. Put 1/3 cup of plain yogurt (low or no fat), 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2. Put the lid on the jar and shake well

Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham

In Jamie’s Food Revolution he writes, “This is a great way to prepare chicken breasts since the texture of the crisp cooked prosciutto goes brilliantly with the tender chicken. Bashing the chicken out thinly before you start cooking means it cooks much faster than a regular chicken breast. If you can’t get hold of prosciutto, then any kind of thin ham, such as Parma ham, or even smoked streaky bacon will work just as well.”

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or organic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 ¼ ounces grated Parmesan
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• Olive oil

To prepare your chicken:

1. Grate your Parmesan.
2. Pick the thyme leaves off the stalks.
3. Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss-cross fashion with a small knife.
4. Season with a little pepper (you don’t need salt as the prosciutto is quite salty).
5. Lay your breasts next to each other and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves.
6. Grate a little lemon zest over them and sprinkle with Parmesan.
7. Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast overlapping them slightly.
8. Drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining thyme leaves.
9. Put a square of plastic wrap over each breast and give them a few really good bashes with the bottom of a saucepan until they are about ½ inch thick.

To cook your chicken:

1. Put a frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Remove the plastic wrap and carefully transfer the chicken breasts, prosciutto side down, into the pan.
3. Drizzle over some olive oil.
4. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning halfway through giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up.

To serve your chicken:

1. Either serve the chicken breasts whole or cut them into thick slices and pile them on a place.
2. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Al the recipes from Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals (Hyperion; October 2009)

Nutritional informational per serving

• Calories 385
• Calories from Fat 164
• Total Fat 18.2g
• Saturated Fat 5.9g
• Cholesterol 135mg
• Sodium 867mg
• Total Carbohydrates 1.4g
• Protein 50.9g

Nutrition Grade B- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 9

Tips:

• Adding salad or steamed veggies on the side will improve the nutritional grade.
• To reduce POINTS, halve the portion. Or don’t eat the prosciutto and use it just to flavor the chicken.

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Posted on March 30, 2010 in Cooking Shows,Recipes,Weight Watchers

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