At the risk of going all Jamie Oliver on you, for which I make no apologies as he is my hero, I am continuing yesterday's theme.
Look, food is a global issue of everyday importance to people and a necessity in life! Since starting to write a blog I've started to look at our relationship with food and am disturbed by what I have found. For example, food technology/education is not compulsory in the UK despite the fact we are sleepwalking into a dietary crisis. Children are growing up without food knowledge or basic culinary skills, there is no importance placed on our young people needing to have an awareness of the role and value of food in society.
A survey conducted by the British Nutrition Foundation in 2013 revealed that around a third of children think that fish fingers come from either pigs or chicken, and another third think cheese is a plant. Jamie Oliver has campaigned for the rights of children to be educated about food and has said: 'I challenge you, go to any school and open 50 lunchboxes and I guarantee you there will be one or two cans of red bull, cold McDonald's, jam sandwiches and several cakes.' The demands of modern life have left children no longer baking cakes or preparing food at their mother's knee, many children are living on a diet of ready meals and take aways because their parents are too busy to cook.
Consequently health experts are concerned, one in three children in the UK are overweight by the age of nine and at the other end of the scale the number of pre-teen children treated for eating disorders has tripled in four years. The NHS spends around six billion pounds a year on diet-related diseases.
Not to be educated about food has consequences on our quality of life. Now, more than ever, we are distancing our children from the story of how food gets to our plates. Industrialised production relies on sleight of hand on a grand scale, divert your eyes from how turkey twizzlers are made and think instead about the convenience!
It's such a sad indictment of our society that we are ignoring colossal food waste, intensive animal farming and that we seem not to care if our children can't differentiate between a tomato or a potato!
I for one would love to see food education as an independent and compulsory part of the national curriculum, it would be great if areas of schools were given over to growing vegetables and kitchens were well equipped and in constant use, and that today's young people were conversant with the issues surrounding food, as is their right.
Today's recipe is another veggie option, this dish (like yesterday's) is nutritional, economical and delicious, it sure beats 'turkey twizzlers'!
Vegetable bake
Recipe
A selection of mixed fresh vegetables, 2-3 cups per person
55g butter
55g flour
600ml milk
A large handful of cheese, I used feta
2 thick slices of bread, made into breadcrumbs
A handful of flaked almonds
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven 190c/gas mark 5
Boil vegetables rapidly for 6 minutes until al dente
Meanwhile make white sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, remove from heat and stir in flour, gradually pour in the milk stirring constantly, return to heat, bring to the boil, reduce heat and add cheese, simmer for 5 minutes
Place drained vegetables into a greased ovenproof dish, cover with cheese sauce
Top with breadcrumbs and flaked almonds, season to taste
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes
Serve immediately onto warm plates, delicious served with baked beans, crusty bread or homemade potato wedges
'In the childhood memories of every good cook, there's a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mum!'
-Barbara Costikyan
Love Donna xxxxx
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