TED: Jamie Oliver Speaks On Our Diets & Child Obesity

Jamie Oliver spoke at TED earlier this month talking about obesity in our society and the lack of proper nutrition and poor diet. It is evident throughout this talk that Jamie is extremely passionate about teaching and informing others on the importance of healthy living.

During a recent trip to an elementary school, Jamie asked the kids to identify vegetables and the scary part? Most of them couldn't!
I found his talk to be very informative and hope it is a wake up call to us all. Do you think he was able to get his message across?

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Jamie Oliver's Green God Salad

Jamie Oliver just posted this recipe recently and I had to share it with you all. This recipe serves 4 and is jam-packed with nutrition!

FOR THE SALAD

* 5 large handfuls of interesting salad leaves, such as soft round lettuce, oakleaf lettuce, radicchio, rocket, mizuna & dandelion
* A bunch of small radishes, trimmed
* 2 handfuls of freshly podded peas
* 2 handfuls of pea shoots if you can get them! (Optional)
* A few edible flowers, such as marigolds, pansies or violas (Optional)

FOR THE DRESSING

* 1 ripe avocado, halved and stoned
* 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded
* Juice of 2 - 3 limes
* Extra virgin olive oil
* 6 sprigs of fresh dill
* 6 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves picked
* 6 sprigs of fresh coriander, leaves picked
* 1 tbsp soured cream (you can also use soy yogurt or soy milk in replacement)
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* A small splash of tequila (Optional)

FOR THE CRUNCHY TOPPING

* 1 ltr vegetable oil
* 3 soft tortillas, rolled up and thinly sliced into 0.5cm (quarter in) strips
* 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced about 0.5cm (quarter in) thick
* 1 heaped tsp plain flour

Get a liquidiser or hand blender for your dressing. Scoop the avocado flesh into the liquidiser and add half the chilli, the juice of 2 of your limes and 3 times as much extra virgin olive oil as lime juice (about 6 tablespoons).

Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and a pinch of salt and pepper, pop the lid on, and whiz until you get a smooth, shiny liquid. Add a splash of water or tequila to get it to the right drizzling consistency if you like, then have a taste.

It's up to you to give it attitude, so add a bit more of anything you think it needs. I like to make my dressing slightly saltier and more acidic than it needs to be, because when it's added to the salad the flavour gets toned down a bit.

Next make your crunchy topping. Pour the vegetable oil into a large sturdy pan and heat it to 180C. If you don't have a thermometer, just add a small piece of potato to the oil. When it turns crisp and golden and floats to the top, the oil is ready. Make sure you concentrate and are very careful, though, because hot oil can burn badly.

Remove the piece of potato and carefully lower in the tortilla strips. Move them around a bit and fry them for a few minutes. When golden and crisp, use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.

Toss the onion slices in the flour to lightly coat them, then carefully lower them into the hot oil and deep-fry until golden and crispy. Move them to the kitchen paper and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Put your mixed salad leaves into a bowl with the radishes, peas, pea shoots if you have them and just enough of the dressing to lightly coat the leaves.

Toss together using your hands, then pile on a big platter or bowl in the middle of the table with some edible flowers scattered on top.

Plonk your jug of incredible dressing and bowl of crunchy topping down next to it and let everyone get stuck in and assemble their own. Delicious.

Gotta love the way he words his directions :)!