Healthy Kids Meal Wheel - developed by Chef Ann Cooper and Nutritionist Hailey London, RD.

British Chef, Jamie Oliver, is in the midst of pushing a huge campaign right now, which if successful, will bring about a major overhaul in the American school lunch system. The Jamie Oliver Food Revolution is the name of the campaign, and so far just over half a million people have signed a petition to get rid of overly processed lunch foods, in favor of fresh and flavorful foods with much greater nutritional value.

I just added my name to the petition list and sent a message out to many of my friends advising/requesting them to do the same. Too many kids in America today are obese, mostly because they are bombarded daily with an overwhelming supply of empty-calorie foods; foods that are laden with either sugar or fat, and held together with ingredients that are so unnatural that to correctly prounounce their names  requires a significant amount of tongue-twisting.

While regular activity can help burn the extra calories accumulated from such “junk” foods, it’s often not enough to keep excess fat from showing its ugly bulge. And for kids who are serious about their sports, eating a diet that’s mostly void of essential nutrients will inevitably hinder their performance capabilities. Diet also determines to a large extent a child’s ability to stay focused in the classroom, and ultimately their potential to do well in exams. Taking all of this into account, shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to ensure that our kids are fed a healthy diet?

What Jamie Oliver is trying to do to help our kids achieve optimal health is truly commendable, and I hope his efforts to bring about the change he is calling for will come to pass. In the meantime however, until such changes are made, I will continue to support his efforts and tell as many people as possible about his campaign, but also, I will of course continue to send my children to school with a home-made lunch.

For helpful lunchbox tips, check out thelunchbox.org.

Photo from Chelsea’s Light’s Facebook album

In light of recent and unfortunate news events, and the fact that I have two girls who are both avid runners, I feel compelled to remind young female athletes to take certain precautions when exercising outdoors. Some of you may have been following the case of murdered teenager Chelsea King, and if so then you’re aware that she went missing while out running alone in her neighborhood.

When I first read about her disappearance several weeks ago my heart sank, and the longer she remained missing the more my heart ached for her and her family. It wasn’t too much longer before the devastating news broke that she had in fact been abducted and murdered; it was news that I think most people were expecting, but certainly not prepared to accept. And the sad truth is that even though Chelsea’s offender was caught, there is nothing we can do to stop other vile thugs from preying on our young girls.

What we can do though is deter predators by insisting that our girls always run outdoors with at least one other person. If this isn’t possible however, then maybe a different activity needs to be pursued, or maybe running indoors on a treadmill will suffice. I’m guilty myself, of often running outdoors alone, and not just alone, but also during the early hours of the morning when it’s still dark. But I realize now that I’ve gained a sense of complacency that needs to be addressed, as even though I live in what’s believed to be a “safe” area, one can never be too sure what’s lurking around the corner.

I wish more than anything that what happened to Chelsea could be reversed, and that she could be safely returned to her home and family. But what’s done is done, and everyone must move on, taking comfort in the fact that she is now in God’s hands and in a better place. And while we can’t change the past, we can certainly do our best to keep what happened to Chelsea from happening to our own girls.

Girls, find an exercise buddy!