Since writing a food blog I have come to realise how little attention we really pay to what we are putting into our bodies. It's interesting that as I scroll through Facebook I can often tell at a glance which of my friends have posted, be it about politics, animals, quotes, fashion etc. We all have our interests and hobbies and Facebook is a great platform to share them with our friends.
Naturally, I share my blog and it's fair to say that I do post lots of food related photos on Facebook which aren't of interest to everyone, however, when I started this blog I knew that whilst not everyone was interested in knitting (for example) our common bond is food, whether we eat to live or live to eat, the basic fact is, we have to eat to survive. Therefore it seemed like a good subject and whilst it all started with simple home cooking, I've gained substantial knowledge about what's going on in the food chain which I'm always keen to share.
I often talk about how cooking has changed drastically from my mother's generation to now, but I guess for many young people they've never known a diet other than processed, ready-made, pre-packed.......
Take for example the modern day version of bolognese sauce which no longer consists of fresh vegetables and herbs and far from being homemade invariably comes from a jar, eg Dolmio or Uncle Ben's. Great time saver, just dollop it in a pan with your meat and hey presto an Italian-themed meal in an instant.
The harsh reality is that our most popular sauces are so high in fat and sugar that they should only be eaten once a week - and that's according to the companies that make them!
Mars Food has announced that it will put a 'once a week' health warning on products used by millions of families. This is in light of the fact that food giants are now under pressure to help head off a global obesity crisis (even though they caused it in the first place.)
Food corporations have always had an overwhelming amount of power over our food supply, sod the cost to our health, they look to maximise wealth for their shareholders. The food giants who have foisted these health problems on us with their salt, sugar, preservative and fat laden ready made food products are now saying we should only be eating them occasionally as a treat.
So where does that leave a generation of people who can't cook? The ones who rely on ready-made sauces because they thought they were authentic and not full of crap. I know of several young mums who have never made a sauce from scratch in their children's lives, yet they're regularly tucking into lasagne, carbonara, bolognese, chilli con carne and oriental dishes such as sweet and sour - all from a jar.
I posted recently about how important I think it is to get to know your spices so that you can make sauces from scratch. It would seem that convenience food is finally under the spotlight and we are going to have no choice other than to knowingly feed our families classified unhealthy foods or learn to cook.
Regular readers will be familiar with my practice of using up leftovers in my hotchpotch pies. Using up leftover meat in Shepherd's/cottage pie was once an ideal way to stretch a small quantity into a large family dish. I don't just use beef or lamb, any leftover meat from Sunday lunch will do, as will a variation of vegetables and spices. I've loosely taken this next recipe from the incredible Spice Men's Shepherd's pie with Oomph and Aah. My point in sharing this recipe is to encourage you to experiment with flavours, we have forgotten how to use natural ingredients and we need to re-think our eating habits. Britain has some of the best produce in the world and now's the time to start cooking with it.
Hotchpotch pie with Oomph and Aah
Recipe
4-5 baking potatoes, peel and cut into chunks, boil for 20 minutes. Drain and mash with butter and salt and pepper
Heat a large frying pan, add a splash of vegetable oil, when it's hot add a teaspoon of cinnamon, 2-3 onions, finely chopped, some grated root ginger, 2 heaped tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp turmeric, 5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed and 500g of your chosen cooked meat or mince, fry over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes
Transfer to casserole dish and stir, add 100ml water to loosen the mixture (more if needed) cover with the mash topping, place in a preheated oven 200c/gas mark 6 for 40 minutes
'The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.'
- Ann Wigmore.
Love Donna xxxxxxxx
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