Food Revolution Day in Santa Monica

Last Saturday I participated in an amazing worldwide event called Food Revolution Day.  Media personality and health-centric chef, Jaime Oliver (one of my personal idols), started this “holiday” as an opportunity for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues.  It couldn’t be more up my alley! I connected with all kinds of people and truly felt inspired to see all the effort put forth to educate and impact the public.


The day was an incredible showcase of progressive healthy living and sustainability. It ranged from food demos to fitness challenges and of course a generous dose of fresh, locally grown produce.  Think a mini Coachella of farmers markets, but without the pretentious attitudes. There was so much great info I'd love to share, and I’m going to highlight my personal favorites below:

The wonderful folks at Santa Monica Community Gardens taught kids of all ages how simple it is to grow their own plants.  Instead of being glued to a giant screen while clutching a game controller playing Call of Duty 36, I actually saw kids genuinely engaged in something rather unsavory such as composting: essentially creating beneficial nutrients out of left-over crap and worm poop!

 Being the work out freak that I am, I saw the words “fitness challenge,” and I immediately dove right in.  I had to lift these extremely heavy ropes and perform various exercises for intervals of 15 seconds.  Let’s just say my arms felt like jello afterward.

 I had the honor of getting to know Los Angeles based author, chef and healer Nancy Mehagian, who wrote The Supernatural Kids Cookbook. http://supernaturalkidscookbook.com/ The book features an impressive assortment of recipes geared towards the picky eater.  The names of the recipes such as ‘Zany Zucchini Bread’ are meant to be fun and catchy, yet delicious and filled with whole, natural ingredients.  I tried making the Sultan’s Surprise (stay tuned for recipe), which is a healthy take on pizza that was “surprisingly” delicious!

This was by far my favorite food demo. These delicious, completely vegetarian wraps are unique, easy to make, and most importantly taste great! Here is the recipe for these Beet and Goat Cheese Wraps:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- 1 medium beet 

- Small handful of walnuts 

- 1 tablespoon fresh goat cheese

- 1 tablespoon honey (preferably raw and unfiltered)

- Small handful of arugula 

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

- 1 lemon

- Salt and pepper

- Spinach or whole grain wraps

To Make:

1. Boil beet for 30-45 min, or until softened. Do not peel before boiling.

2. Once the beet has cooled, peel and shred it.

3. Chop your walnuts.

4. In your wrap, arrange a handful of arugula, a handful of shredded beet, and some chopped walnuts. 

5. In a small bowl, make the dressing by combining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork. 

6. Crumble some goat cheese into the wrap and drizzle a bit of the dressing over everything. Make sure to not make it wet or you'll have a soggy wrap.

7. Drizzle the honey over the filling and wrap up.

8. Enjoy! 

I hope everyone enjoyed this recap and I look forward to posting more and more!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

xoxo,

Jill