Do families in Singapore need to overhaul their attitude towards food? As Jamie Oliver’s global Food Revolution campaign comes back into the spotlight, Executive Chef of Jamie’s Italian Singapore, Gary Clarke, shares what we can all do to really feed our families well.
Jamie Oliver needs no introduction – now much more than a celebrity chef, he’s made it his mission to raise awareness of how the food we eat affects our long-term health. Even more importantly, he believes every child has the right to good, fresh food to help them thrive. His global Food Revolution campaign pushes governments and businesses to get serious about providing children access to nutritious food, but it starts in the home, with us parents, right now.
Do we need a food revolution here in Singapore? Absolutely. When eating is considered a national pastime, takeaway food is more common than a home-cooked meal and food waste is a major issue, we can lift our game. It’s time to really think about what we put into our own bodies and do better by our kids.
Executive Chef Gary Clarke, who helms the Jamie’s Italian restaurants in Singapore and Bali, is absolutely passionate about good nutrition and helping kids develop a healthy relationship with food. He speaks regularly at local schools about the importance of healthy eating; he’s raising his kids Maisy, nine, and Ronnie, 10, to be aware of what good food means (it isn’t easy); and he also happens to be an Iron Man athlete and nutritional coach. He walks the talk (and you should see his meticulously planned diet!). We spoke to Gary about school lunchbox crimes, how easy it is to overfeed our families, and how we can all start a food revolution at home.
Forget everything you thought you knew about how much you should eat
“Make a fist. This is the size of your stomach, and is what your food portion should be per meal. Now think about the size your child’s stomach. We don’t need to overload our children with food. Yes they’re growing kids, but we don’t need to grow them!”
Know what it means to ‘eat clean’
“This really means avoiding processed foods. Peanut butter, for example, should contain peanuts and salt and nothing else. We’re lucky that in Asia there are plenty of foods readily available that are fresh and natural. Understand the difference between processed and natural foods, and make the time and effort to remove them from your family’s diet. Your body is a very simple machine: if you put something in that it doesn’t need, or your body doesn’t know what to do with it, it stores it.”
Make time, and make it yourself
“We all lead busy lives, but cooking your meals means you know exactly what goes into them. I make my kids blueberry bread and healthy snacks like oat bars for their lunchbox, and if I want an indulgence, I make it myself.”
It doesn’t cost more to eat well
“Start eating the right portions, and what you buy goes further. Buy fresh, raw ingredients, not expensive pre-made or processed rubbish. We swap beef burgers for bean burgers at home because it’s inexpensive, and there’s a health benefit to eating pulses instead of too much red meat, which has a higher fat value.”
Get the kids involved
“Plan your meals together – go through recipe books with the kids. If you can engage the kids, you’ve got a better chance of success. On annual Food Revolution Day, we invite children from Melbourne Specialist International School to see how we make pasta from scratch, smell and taste herbs from our garden and make muesli together to teach them about starting their day with a healthy breakfast, where their food comes from and how it’s made.”
You don’t have to give up the hawker centre
“Go to hawker centres with the kids and enjoy – it’s not unhealthy if you do it in moderation. Just don’t have too many deep-fried foods or heavy sauces (which are processed) and steer towards chicken and fish. We go every couple of weeks; it’s when you do it day in, day out that it becomes a problem.”
But ask more questions when you’re eating out!
“We’re lucky that here in Singapore we can enjoy freshly cooked meals out. Just ask the right questions. Ask if the cooks are using MSG, and say you don’t want it. At the juice stall, ask for no syrup so your drink isn’t loaded with sugar. Be aware, so the decision is yours.”
It takes a mind shift
“Know that food is fuel for our bodies: of course there’s lots of enjoyment around food, but it’s not just about what the flavours you want to eat. Eat for your body’s needs, not your mind’s.”
The golden rules for kids?
“Teach them to know what they’re eating. If they don’t know, help them find out. Eat in moderation. Don’t let them eat late at night. Try not to snack in between meals, and when you do snack, choose healthier options, like fruit.”
But about that fruit juice…
“One small glass of juice contains enough carbohydrates to fuel an adult to run for six or seven kilometres. That carton of juice you put in your kid’s lunchbox is like giving your child the energy to run a race, when they’re about to sit in a classroom for hours.”
If you do just one thing
“Always read the label, and teach your kids. Be conscious of what you’re buying. Know that if sugar is in the first three ingredients, what you’re looking at is a sweet. This is particularly the case with cereals – you might as well eat a bar of chocolate for breakfast. In my home, if you can’t recognise what an ingredient is, you don’t eat it. I’ve allowed my kids to buy sweets so we can look at the ingredients. They Googled ‘gelatine’ and found out it was made from bones. They found out the hydrochloric acid in sour gummy lollies is used to clean toilets. The day we did that exercise was the last time they wanted to buy those sweets.”
Know that we can make the most meaningful change for our kids
“It takes time to make a lifestyle change. It isn’t easy, but stick to the bigger picture. I’ve said to my kids, ‘What does it say about me if I give you something bad to eat because you don’t want to eat something good?
I’ve seen the changes in my kids. It shows in their attitude. Their energy levels. Their health. Their sleep patterns.
We care so much about what we surround our bodies with – our clothes and how we look – but we need to care just as much about what we put into our bodies. This is where we can make a great influence for our kids. Don’t miss this opportunity.”
Read more about why Jamie’s Italian is one of our fave family dining spots in our guide to kid-friendly restaurants in Singapore.
Photography: Nathania Tirtaputra