Welcome to Fresh and Fast Food

In a country where  weight loss companies try to assign 'points' to food, packaging description aren't what they seem and convenience is valued over quality, it appears that the relationship between people and food is at breaking point.

The UK if flooded with dieting and weight loss programmes that attempt to defy the laws of nature and science by attributing currency, in the form of points or sins, encouraging 'calorie fasts' and supplying recipes for curries made out of tinned mushy peas. Perhaps these do contribute to weight loss, mostly short term, but, in some cases, perhaps long term but they do not promote the essential ingredients of a healthy lifestyle. With fresh ingredients, wholesome meals, moderation and self-control it is possible to gain and maintain a healthy weight without promoting such companies.  

The food industry is in a situation where the consumer wants food that is convenient and cheap, quality is not important. In the UK, we have to go a point where the price of food has been driven down to such an extent that something has had to give and that something is quality. When people value price of quality there is only one inevitable outcome – nutritionally poor food and poor levels of food manufacturing. The country is in a financial crisis that cannot be ignored, there are many people trying to raise families on very little money and food is a major expense, however, time after time, families chose the convenience of a ready meal over the more economical, more nutritionally rich fresh food that is on offer. Of course, time is an issue, however, there are plenty of nutritious meals that can be prepared easily and quickly, and that is what this blog is about: food that is both fresh and fast.  

Eating fresh food has been important to me for many years but recently it has become a passion (don't go thinking I never eat take-away pizza or a packet of crisps, there are times when even the thought of cooking is just too exhausting and denying yourself something never works out in the long term but these are 'treats' and occur occasionally) and I want to share some of the quick, easy and satisfying recipes I have created and found. Many of the recipes are my own and are very simple – I'm certainly no professional chef – they are things that I make at home during a busy week at work. Our lives are constantly becoming busier and busier and it is easy to allow food to suffer, but it shouldn't and it doesn't have to.  There are also recipes that I have gathered and tried from various places; books, the Internet, family and friends etc. and where possible I have acknowledged the author.

These recipes are not about dieting (I don't know or want to know the nutritional values of a carrot) they are about fresh, honest and enjoyable homemade food. Where possible, ingredients are purchased from local farmers, of course, there are some ingredients, such as bananas and certain spices, that aren't suitable for cultivation in the UK's climate and these are purchased from the supermarket, organic and free range where possible.