Banning School Bake Sales is NOT the Solution

When I was sat watching the news yesterday morning when I happened to see the latest food related news, Jamie Oliver thinks that school bakes sales should be banned because it sends out a mixed message about healthy eating.

Now I like Jamie Oliver, I eat at his restaurants and watch many of his TV programmes but seriously, when did he become the head of the food police. To me this claim is absolutely ridiculous, eating a cake isn't suddenly going to make a child fat. 

It goes alongside teachers telling kids what they can and can't have in their packed lunch. This has always annoyed me because they tell kids no chocolate in a packed lunch but then offer chocolate cake and custard as dessert to accompany a school dinner.

I've always enjoyed baking and I believe this is where I got my love of cooking food in general, stemming from afternoons baking in the kitchen and my kids are very much the same. It's a great way of teaching a life skill whilst spending time together as a family.

I won't deny my kids sweet treats, what I will do is limit the amount that they have. School bake sales have no bearing on childhood obesity, this could be from genetics, underlying illnesses, lack of exercise or just an over-all poor diet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for promoting a healthier lifestyle but while Jamie is getting on his high horse again, his latest TV show had a recipe for a frozen banoffee cheesecake packed with hob nobs and dulce de leche, an example of pot calling kettle black right there.

At the end of the day what it comes back to is everything in moderation, creating a balance. So yes have your cake and eat it too but don't forget to have the fruit and vegetables as well, whether you put them in your cakes is up to you! 

Why don't we spend more time focusing on this concept. Instead of picking out the next food type to put in jail, lets educate people in a sensible way, even the British Heart Foundation says it is all about having a balanced diet.

Banning school bake sales is not the solution, what should be banned is all this scaremongering in the news. It is all these stories in papers, on the television and on the internet that send out these mixed messages. So don't give up the cake maybe just eat one less slice.