Food – Glorious Food

Categories: BLOG and HEALTH & NUTRITION.

I’ve been on such a food journey and now, for me, food is one of life’s greatest joys. In fact, I live to eat. Anyone who knows me can vouch for my constant truffling.

Food is such a huge part of our lives and a few simple changes to what and how we eat can have a big impact to our everyday life. Here’s my food journey, so far…

Growing up

I grew up in a small village in Lincolnshire and my mum was a great home cook.  As a family, we had a very traditional and wholesome diet of meat and 3 veg.  I never cooked at home apart from bringing home some paltry offerings from home economics. I still have quite vivid memories of that pink blancmange!  I did however spend a lot of time in the kitchen baking with both my Mum and Gram, happy days.

University

And then I was off to University, a great adventure and my first time away from the comforts of home and Mum’s home cooking. I did not go it alone as Mum sent me on my way with a great little paperback called “How to Boil an Egg”. It contains detailed instructions on how to prepare and cook a vast array of salad, vegetables, and meat and of course, how to boil an egg. There were also plenty of easy recipes to get me started. The author J Arkless states that it was written “for the person who knows absolutely nothing or very little about cooking or meal planning”. It was a lifesaver for me and heralded the start of a new curiosity with food.  As you can see it’s well-thumbed and I even still refer to it now on the odd occasion.  I was lucky enough to also have some lovely housemates who guided me in the kitchen and introduced me to garlic and curry.  Both took quite a while to get used to (the new foods that is!) and I’m forever grateful to Sarah & Nicola for having so much patience, I was useless in the beginning.

My Twenties

In terms of lifestyle I was probably the least fit I have ever been.  I did absolutely no exercise, smoked like a trooper and ate rubbish.  Cheese sandwiches featured every day for lunch along with 2 packets of crisps.  Evening meals were pretty basic or takeaways and it got even worse…. I even owned a deep fat fryer for a few years so dinner then became “something” & chips at least every other night. I guess I got away with it as I am naturally quite slim although when I gave up smoking briefly I did “balloon” by 2 dress sizes.  It was a good enough reason (at the time) to start smoking again.

In my late twenties, I met David (now hubby) and he was much more adventurous with food choices and flavour, although I will stress at this point that he can’t actually cook. His palate was developed as an army brat living abroad and travelling whilst growing up. I started watching endless cooking programmes and slowly increased my repertoire. Even though I used to stick to the recipe verbatim the occasional inedible disaster would happen.  David’s sisters were a great influence in my love of food and they taught me how to adapt recipes and trust my instincts more with cooking.

My Thirties

I decided to get fit and quit smoking which in turn meant that my food also took on a healthier direction.  The quest to cut calories and lose the pounds for me meant ditching the deep fat fryer for good and researching healthier recipes.

My Forties

Well, they say life begins at forty and I have to agree.

My ever increasing love of fitness and food has led me to re-train and start an exciting journey in the fitness industry.

Food is 80% of the battle in living a healthy lifestyle and in my humble opinion it’s the easiest part of the battle. I really enjoy cooking healthy nutritious meals knowing that I am giving my body and the people I love the best chance of living a healthy life. In fact, most of the time I’d rather cook and eat at home than go out to eat and so often be disappointed by my own expectations of food elsewhere. I do of course eat out on occasions, especially if its’s socially or on rare occasions I may have the opportunity to visit a Michelin starred venue, the foodie in me has weaknesses.

Most of the time though I like to know that the food I eat is free from preservatives and additives and hidden sugar wherever possible.

Preparation is key and I will share many recipes and tips over the coming weeks to arm you with a healthy food plan.

My food and cooking nowadays is quite fast and furious.  I’m always up against the clock to produce healthy quick meals.  So, you won’t find many long recipes with masses of ingredients unless it slow cooks for 4 hours under its own steam in the oven or even longer just bundled in the slow cooker.

Click here to head to the recipe section.