Bashir. — SG photoBy Laura Bashraheel Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Food Revolution Day was celebrated for the first time in the Kingdom on Saturday as part of an initiative by Chef Jamie Oliver to educate and promote healthy food and lifestyle. Rayan Karkadan and Obai Al-Bashir, health coaches and co-founders of Mizan Health Group, decided to put Jeddah on the map by creating their own event as part of the Food Revolution Day. The event took place in Muse Restaurant with chef Badr Fayez and Trainer Rawan Zahran. Obai Al-Bashir, a health coach and also a co-founder of Mizan Health Group, said in a presentation that Food Revolution Day isn't only a revolution to change bad eating habits but also to change bad practices in our society and culture. Talking about bad eating habits, Al-Bashir mentioned how hosts serve rich rice and meat dishes late into the evening insisting that their guests fill their stomachs full. “We won't stand still anymore to such bad habits and we want our society to forego those habits and starts exercising and replace greasy food with healthy choices,” Al-Bashir said. His associate, Rayan Karkadan, gave a presentation on how adapting a healthy lifestyle changed him and how he is trying to promote what he learned from his own experience to change the bad habits of the society. “The whole idea of Food Revolution Day is to start a conversation and that's what happened in the event. After the presentations, people started mingling and asking follow-up questions,” he said. The most common topic at the event was food substitutes and how people can start the change at home. Karkadan talked about food at schools and how unhealthy it is. “Children at schools are eating unhealthy food and fall into the bad habits of our society. Kids eat whatever they are given, they don't know any better unless they are told so. “Parents should be educated about the health and diet of their kids to be able to protect them from a young age,” he added. Yousef Raffah, a 32-year-old executive partner at Quad Dimensions, said that he started looking after his health back in November after he had gained weight. “I met Rayan in January when I already started changing my lifestyle which included changing bad food habits, working out more and jogging. We used to go jogging in the morning with a group of people and it made a big difference,” Raffah said. He also said that he started applying those changes not only to himself but to his family as well. Souad, a mother of four, said that her daughter asked her to join her in the event so she could know more about eating healthy and how important it is. “My daughter started requesting specific kind of foods at home and to change the type of oil we use for cooking. That's why I decided to come and see myself how I can make those changes,” she said. She also said that, in her view, Saudi society does have bad eating habits but the lack of places to walk and fitness centers also plays a major role in the prevailing unhealthy lifestyle. __
