Food Revolution Day 2016 | Lake County to the Netherlands

Golly gee willacker! Summer is in full swing and it's time to take a look back to one the best months of my life. I hope you enjoy my diary of Food Revolution Day 2016!

I celebrated Food Revolution Day for the first time on Aces Day at West Oak School on May 4th and for the second time at the Liberty Prairie Plant sale on May 14th. Ambassadors Christina and Sara and I braved the unusually brisk weather (yes it snowed!) and we passed out recipes to inspire market goers to buy kitchen garden ingredients together. I am one lucky girl to have passionate teammates like them!!

And then I was off...

I flew standby out to Europe (so crazy thankful to my friend Susan!), got bumped, stayed overnight in Detroit but finally took off on a London flight. And it sure paid off...

It was a very unexpected detour, but on the way to Amsterdam (via the City London Airport), I got to meet the lovely Jo Creed and team, visit Food Revolution Headquarters and sip tea at Fifteen London. Pretty amazing hiccup that I am so very grateful for!

Even thought there was not enough time to cook with them, I got to see a little bit of the Hello Fresh cook off event with Food Revolution team! What fun and what an incredible team building idea to promote employee food education + workplace wellness!

After a final epic picture, and a good bye promise to come back again soon, I finally arrived in the Netherlands to see my dear soffritto sister, Terri Salminen! 

This is how we roll! Terri + me in her "bakfeit" (cargo bike). Yup I fit just fine in the front.

In partnership with Hutton Europe, Terri's first Food Revolution workplace wellness event went off without a hitch. Chef's Damien Sawyer (left) and Damien Taylor (Executive Chef) were amazing to cook with! I loved connecting with the Hutton team and the Microsoft employees; The energy was fantastic and everyone LOVED the FRD inspired recipes we prepared for them.

Find, prepare and eat all of 10 FRD Recipes! Here is one of the beautiful plates of salmon I prepared and served with my team at Terri's first event at Microsoft NL!

Our second cooking event was located at SAS Institute B.V. Which was absolutely Gorgeous.

Wack the pomegranate! I prepared and served Jamie's SuperFood Salad. YUM.

Gosh I love watching her work! Terri prepared her beautiful ricotta, risotto and strawberry dishes for the employees to enjoy and be inspired!

I made crafty handmade tags for each of our chefs and bloggers who led cooking stations at Terri's Food Revolution Day 2016 Food Symposium (A better description would be a pop up cooking market event!) Over 350 people came to Fifteen Amsterdam event including 50 school children. It was simple amazeballs and I will NEVER forget being a part of epic free food education gathering.

Here is a link to my previous post explaining the who/what/where/how of the FRD event.

I hope you enjoy our video!

I love your face Thomas!!!

20 years ago me and Annemiek went to High School together (she as a foreign exchange student). It was absolutely INCREDIBLE to see her again and catch up after all these years! Thank you SO much for coming to see us Annemiek!!!

It was truly incredible. The work, the effort, the volunteering... I never could have imagined this level of talent and passion spreading and teaching at the same time. We were all so tired, so content, so happy to be together here in our celebration circle. I wish I could go back! Terri, your vision and organization impresses me like know other, I will follow you to the ends of the earth my dear Super Ambassador and Soffritto Sister!

To Chef Ramone Otto and Chef Damien Taylor: Without you both, this would not have happened. I am one lucky girl to have had the honor to cook and play with you both. Thank you for everything. And I sure hope we meet again!

Amsterdam, Haarlem... You have captured my heart.

I even got to cook with her at her beautiful workplace!

I treasure our friendship Terri. You are my soffritto soul sister and I cannot wait to see YOU in July! GET HERE!!!!!!

I'll be seeing you around town, on my fun new Dutchie bike (Found at Higher Gear!) Bringing a little part of Netherlands BACK baby.

To the mullies we go,

xoxoL

Cooking with Tommy - A Simple Hummus + Cilantro Pesto

Tommy was super proud of himself. Here's how it went down :) 
#lemonlickinggood #gowashyourhandsagain

Find this recipe and more information of Food Revolution Day here :

I am in the Netherlands, typing next to Terri at her kitchen table. We are about to start prepping to host her Food Symposium (aka pop-up cookery school) at Fifteen Amsterdam Friday! 

Here's how she drove me home to her house from the airport: Driving Miss Lindsey

The Netherlands is amazeballs.

xoxoL

Aces Day at West Oak + Organic Plant Sale Weekend!

All hands up for "No Guts No Glory!"

Pilot Light Chef's "Tacos Al Pastor" curriculum = "Engagement through the roof" - Mr Bercos 5th grade Dual Language.

You girls make the best hummus and pesto ever!

Mr Willeford loved our tasty samples too!

I tried to hit every table and talk FOOD!

Chef Rob knows how to inspire us with great food!

The students placed their tally on any of the boards they liked!

Super high Ambassador fives!

Sara put this fantastic video together! I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!! Thank you so much... I still cannot believe how fast you made it:)

It's been a week and I still can't stop smiling ear to ear! What an awesome day we had at West Oak School last Wednesday!

I know I have thanked everyone, but I must do so again.

Thank you Principle Chris Willeford - You said "Aces Day" and we said YES!

Thank you Pilot Light Chefs - Alex, you and I have been dreaming for a long time and finally, FINALLY we were able to get your common core aligned food education out to the suburbs. I can't wait to do it again!

Thank you Preferred Meals - Mary, it was wonderful having you in the lunchroom with us and the kids LOVED tricking out their tacos! Thank you for jumping into our hot food education balloon and Let's take it again up uP UP next year!

Thank you Ambassador Sara Lohrman + Stevenson High School Food Revolution Club - I have never had so much fun speaking, teaching and working alongside a group of students! By the last lunch (there were four of them!) you all were making everything on your own and running the entire tasting line. BOOM.

Thank you Chef Rob - Your presence, your wellness story and your sweet potato hummus rocked our worlds! I cannot wait to work with you again. What great energy we have together!

Thank you Sue Kruckman - You deserve Wellness Chair + Nurse of the YEAR! Thank you for spear heading this day from the "inside". It could not have happened without your passion and organization. You are my school wellness hero.

Last but not least, thank you Jamie's Food Revolution for inspiring us all to get food education back into our schools and to cook more from scratch at home together. We've been at it together for 4 years now and I love volunteering for this fantastic campaign.

What a team effort! What a day! Every smile, every tally mark, every conversation was one.more.drop into the good food conversation. There were so many students who had never tried hummus, let alone sweet potatoes or a pesto. "What is cilantro? What is pesto? You can put that on your taco? WHAT!?" The "Tacos Al Pastor" lesson connected the students to their food, a tangible take away lesson with real world application. My "No Guts No Glory" presentation made them laugh and it made them think a little bit more about what is in their food + where their food is coming from. It linked our gut health to our mental and physical health and encouraged them to take ownership like an athlete takes charge of the game!!

Wanna make what we whipped up on Aces Day? I know you will enjoy Jamie's Simple Hummus along with the other 9 recipes that are now LIVE on our website to download and cook for your family table. Here is the link: Jamie's 10 Food Revolution Day Recipes (Simple Hummus included) - And don't forget to sign your name as a fellow food revolutionary!

Chef Rob’s Sweet Potato Hummus

1 cup Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon Sea or Kosher salt

1 whole Sweet potato Roasted and Diced

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (optional)

Add all ingredients to a blender, food processor or nutribullet and blend! Feel free to use reserved garbanzo bean juice to thin out the hummus rather than add extra oil for a creamier consistency (thanks for the great tip Chef Rob!)

Super Food Ambassador Lindsey’s Cilantro Pesto

1 zucchini diced

¼ cup sunflower seeds

1 bunch fresh cilantro (stems included)

1 lemon juiced

2-3 Tablespoon avocado oil OR extra virgin olive oil

A healthy pinch of sea salt

Add all ingredients to a blender, food processor or nutribullet and blend! Feel free to add more lemon juice or oil to get to your desired consistency.

What's up NEXT!?!?!?

FOOD REVOLUTION DAY - May 20th!

Our Food Revolution Day Community event will be on Saturday from 10-2pm at the Liberty Prairie Organic Plant Sale and Farm Open House. Please come out and see us! We will have a booth with kids' cooking kits for sale, FRD recipes and loads of suggestions on what to buy for your kitchen garden so you can cook up a storm with us this Summer!

Here is the list of organic plants that will be available to purchase: Liberty Prairie Organic Seedlings

See you Saturday!

xoxoL

ps

Connect up with us on Facebook at our Lake County Food Revolution Page for great articles, recipes and information on upcoming community, school and workplace events.

Welcome to the New Food Revolution Website | Jamiesfoodrevolution.org is LIVE!

Stop, drop and hop on over to Jamie Oliver's 
NEW FOOD REVOLUTION HUB:

http://www.jamiesfoodrevolution.org/

This will be our new home, the place where Jamie, myself and all of the other ambassadors will be gathering to help YOU, to help EACH OTHER make a difference at our family tables, at our schools, and at our workplaces. 

Please sign up today and join us - Let's get the party STARTED!!!!!

Happy FRIDAY everyone! 

xoxoxoL

ACES Day - A Perfect Day for Food Education + Exercise

Our planning is complete!

On Wednesday, May 4th, our District 76 Wellness team is partnering with the Chicago Pilot Light Chefs organization to bring the common core aligned food education lesson, "Tacos Al Pastor", to West Oak Middle School on ACES Day (All Children Exercise Simultaneously). 

Here's how our Wellness Committee decided to weave Food Education into ACES day: 

1. Half of the student body will participate in a classroom Pilot Light lesson while the other half will join me in the gym for my “No Guts No Glory” presentation. Ambassador Sara Lohrman, students from her Stevenson High School Food Revolution Day Club and Chef Robert Collins will be joining me on stage to inspire and engage with West Oak students and staff. **Any teacher or school administrator who is interested in bringing Pilot Light to their school can access this special lesson online: Pilot Light Chef's - Reset the Table Curriculum. (In case you don't have time to review the materials now, take the time to watch this incredible video: The Whole World is a Taco.)

2. During lunch, all West Oak students will be inspired to "Trick Out Your Tacos" with our freshly prepared samples and a special Preferred Meals’ lunch. Our school lunch provider has aligned their lunch menu to Pilot Light's food education curriculum to include an all beef taco and hotdog lunch with an expanded condiment bar including tomatoes, lettuce, onions and jalapeños. A perfect pairing to our live chef's demonstration and tasting table! The SHS students will prepare Jamie’s Oliver's Simple Hummus and my special cilantro pesto; Chef Rob will demonstrate his “Sweet Potato Hummus.” The Simple Hummus is one of 10 special "Cook for your Life" recipes as part of Jamie Oliver's new Food Revolution Day Campaign being launched May 9th on www.jamiesfoodrevolutionday.com. The students will walk away with all three recipes to cook at home with their families!

I cannot wait to share pictures and highlights from this special day next week! I am so grateful for the collaborative efforts between our Wellness Committee, Pilot Light Chefs, Preferred Meals, SHS, Chef Rob and our amazing school administrators. This could not have happened without the positive synergy we have been building together over the past few years. I have to give a special shout out to Sue Kruckman (school nurse), Chris Willeford (school principle) and Tracy Zeman (Student Services Coordinator). Sue is our Wellness Committee Chair, West Oak nurse and a true partner in crime! I will never forget the meeting when Chris said, "Let's do this on ACES Day!" This could NOT have been accomplished without their hard work, support and mutual passion for good health and well being. I am so grateful to be a part of our D76 Wellness Team!

Speaking of TACOS... Last night, my family table "tricked out" ours with watercress and green leaf lettuce!

Happy weekend everyone!

xoxoL

ps

And as today's my 39th bday (AHHHH YEA!), I'm pretty pumped to post about school food ed today!!

A Fifteen Amsterdam Food Symposium

For the first time since I became an Ambassador, I will be celebrating Food Revolution Day outside of Lake County. This is so I can continue to learn and bring greater collaborative food education experiences BACK here to Chicagoland. 

Super Ambassador Terri Salminen and I have shared the dream of changing the world since we met in 2012. I invited her to teach with me in the kitchens of the Prairie Farm Corps last Summer, and now I have accepted the invitation to team up on her turf.

Terri has partnered with the corporate caterer Hutten Europe for a second year, engaged in her successful campaign entitled "A Focus on Food in the Workplace." More than 100 locations throughout the Netherlands will celebrate the importance of good, fresh food throughout a week of menus inspired by a combination of recipes from both Jamie and Hutton chefs. She and I will assist these chefs and serve their beautiful lunches from May 16th through May 20th at a number of internationally renowned corporations, hospitals and hotels.

Last but not least, here are the details surrounding Terri's grand finale FRD event planned in partnership with Hutton Europe:

Fifteen Food Symposium | Food Revolution Day 2016

Ambassador Terri has gathered dedicated chefs and food influentials to cook from the heart and get involved in Food Revolution Day.

Where:
Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Amsterdam

When:
Friday, May 20th 2016 11am-4pm

Who:
Students of all ages, parents and grandparents, health and hospitality professionals, as well as government officials will be invited to take part in the pop-up cooking school celebration of good food and basic cooking techniques.

How:
A festival of master classes and tips will be shared by a dynamic group of passionate chefs from the corporate workplace who will team up with Fifteen apprentices and graduates. Together with an international group of Food Revolution Ambassadors, head chef Michael Verswijveren of Fifteen Amsterdam, along with a team of nutritionists, food stylist and bloggers, the newest of Jamie Oliver's "Cook for Your Life" recipes will be demonstrated in a hands-on setup of twelve teams in the heart of Fifteen.

The following food influentials will team up with Fifteen apprentices and graduates in a Food Revolution line-up featuring Jamie's "Ten Recipes That Will Save Your Life." 

Thomas Stahlman, Ambassador & Chef - DIY oaty fruit cereal and other simple breakfast ideas.

FongYee Wong, Hutton Chef - Veggie noodle stir fry and Asian velvet techniques.

Damien Sawyer, Hutton Chef - Cheese omelette and spicy "shakshouka".
Damien Taylor, Hutten Chef - The making of risotto and two stocks.
Ramon Jorge Otto, Hutton Chef - Minestrone soup, knife skills and no waste cooking.
Jeroen Lips, Hutton Chef - Vegetable noodles with garlic and peppers. 
Bram Kanters, Hutton Chef - Pan-fried salmon and how to plate a main course. 
Guus Follings & Joris Hendriks, Hutton Chefs - Sunday roast, butchering a chicken, chicken broth and roast potatoes.
Frank Van Hurne, Hutton Chef - Simple hummus and other healthy spreads.

Hilary Metcalfe, Blogger - Green Salad and lemon dressing, the art of fermentation.

Michael Verswijveren, Head Chef Fifteen - Lamb curry with chickpeas.

Edwin Kwakernaak, Hutton Chef - Classic tomato spaghetti and how to dress pasta.

Vardit Kohn, Nutritionist - Vegetable filled wraps, salads for a meal. Real fast food on the go.

Can you imagine? Just close your eyes and savor the scene for a minute... 

I am getting soooooooooo hungry.

Imagine events similar to this... waterfalling and popping up all over the USA, all over the GLOBE, uniting family tables everywhere: the workplace cafeteria, the home kitchen and the school lunchroom... ALL in the name of good food education!

Join the Food Revolution! Jamie and his global team of ambassadors (there's over 2,000 of us now in 196 countries!) are getting ready to inspire YOU into growing, buying, cooking, eating more real food with the ones you love.

Sign up today at www.jamiesfoodrevolution.org.

No Guts No Glory - Fremd Wellness Week

Thank you Fremd High School for having me as a Wellness Week Speaker - What an honor to speak to your students and staff on Wednesday!

I knew I was "home" when I arrived to meet everyone and the song Geronimo came on. Last year for Food Revolution Day, I made this video with it. The song reminds me of the jump we all make when we leave the processed food highway and the waterfall of food education spreading all around us. I listen to it almost everyday...

It was a pleasure to meet the Physical Education teachers & coaches who ran the event. I have to give a special thank you to Coach Allie Miccuci (Softball & Golf) who extended the invitation to me and Coach Jason Hogrefe (Basketball) for running the auditorium sound stage. I think one of the favorite moments was reconnecting with a former travel softball teammate, Coach Christine Vlaming (Golf). She and I played together on an elite all-star travel team (The Barrington Hurricanes) over 20 years ago and you can imagine the HUGE hug I gave her. There are truly no coincidences in life!

Athletics + Food Education = My Passion Combination

It's pretty fun to connect with staff and students over the two common topics that thread and shape our lives. We exhale a little bit together to realize we're ALL going through similar struggles. We're in the trenches together.

What's in our food?

Where's our food coming from?

What is our Microbiome?

How can cooking from scratch more often improve our lives?

I love drawing the parallel between sports and food. I love making people laugh. I love learning how to teach food education better everyday.

I will be posting here more often about our local and global team's upcoming plans to help YOU celebrate with us on May 20th, Food Revolution Day!

Sign up here to join Jamie Oliver's global campaign with me and my family table.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

xoxoL

The Fuller Center Hero Project Lake County

I hope you can join me tonight in building something Lake County has never seen before. 

"If you build it, they will come."

I am so honored to be part of the FULLER CENTER HERO PROJECT. I met Yvette Ewing, the Executive Director of the Fuller Center for Housing Lake County earlier in the year as we are both members of Liberty Prairie Foundation's "Lake County Local Food Task force". She asked me about a month ago to join her Wellness Hero team and help her build a mobile teaching kitchen that would service all of Lake County. And of course, I said YES!

Yvette asked me to share my wellness journey for the Hero Party tonight. A little over four years ago, "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" came on the radio while I was parking my car at a local grocery store late October 2012. For some reason, I paused before turning off my car and began to really listen to the words. I got silly emotional (gazing out my windshield) thinking about food education spreading farther from me and others in the community, kinda like water finding it's way down a mountain. I envisioned a new future for my family and community playing out... I imagined a gathering of heroes who believe in spreading food education for all -

JUST LIKE TONIGHT!

If you cannot join us this evening and would like to be a part of building this Hero Table together, please visit here as every donation will help us build it! 

Have a great weekend all of YOU food revolutionaries!!

xoxoL