Matt Hazell Blog

I’ve just watched Jamie on Channel 4’s Food website, great site with lots of cool stuff and great recipes.  http://www.channel4.com/food/ This “Jamie In America” trip he doing is going to be a tough one, as the challenge he’s set himself is like climbing Everest (it’s on the same lines as Jamie’s School Dinners, you remember the Turkey Twizzlers).  I really feel for what he’s trying to do, and I can see he’s getting so frustrated by the whole approach the Americans take to food, and what they consider to be good, wholesome and pure.  For example, within the school dinner guidelines it’s approved that you can take a potato, chop it into little skinny long things,  fry it and call it 1 of your 5 a day.  This, in England is not allowed, not even if you steam it.  So in other words, the American School system allows young children to eat chips/French fries all day long, as it’s considered to be a healthy veg option???

I just think this is the tip of the iceberg, having lived in America for almost 10 years I can tell you this is part of the reason for so many people being overweight, and carry the obesity label.  I wish Jamie all the best, and I really do hope the American public gets what he’s doing, and backs him like we did here in the UK.

I was at a birthday party recently (Luca’s now 3, and has a social life that puts Paris Hilton & Rob Lowe to shame!), and it occurred to me that it’s always a little weird at these parties.  For example, for the past few years I’ve seen the parents of these children dropping, and then picking up their kids at the nursery, but for some reason we don’t actually know each other.  We all seem to refer to each other by our kids names (oh’ that’s so and so’s mommy), you know what I mean?

At this party, and this is true, I was asked if I could heat up some jarred baby food for a little girl, whose brother was off kicking something with his mates.  This Jar, was produced by a well know baby organic food company who sell’s lots of little jars, to lots of mommy’s and daddy’s. 

Now, for those who don’t know me, and I even talk about this in my first DVD called Easy Weaning, “That jars and pots have a place when feeding, but in my opinion they should only cater for convenience, not the main stay of a child diet”.  It’s not that these foods aren’t good, it’s just they’re very bland, have the same texture every time and even smell the same regardless of variety you buy.  In addition, I know the ingredient at the time of making will be the best quality the “Bean-Counters” will let the manufactures get away with, but the Sell-By-Date was well into 2012??? 

Now, I know with the slow “Pasteurising” technology these manufactures use, they’ll be 100% safe, and no government would ever allow baby food standards to drop, but for me (and again my opinion) a jar with a 2 year shelf life can’t be good for a baby every day.

I asked the lady, who handed me the jar if they ever cooked from scratch, and she said no, and moreover that this is all she’ll eat, and that they’ve tried every pot/jar/bag manufacture in desperation.  I feel for parents who find themselves in this position, and I can only recommend that they start cooking at home.  And if the food is refused, then that they should keep trying, as the child will have become used to eating very smooth, and often very bland food.  If you’re about to start weaning, please try to cook from scratch, it’s good for you and your baby.