Why it is so important to cook healthy, homemade food.

Where do I begin? I was going to title this post, ‘The curse of processed food’, but I then felt I was being far too judgmental, and probably hypocritical, after all, I use processed food too. But when I say processed, what I mean is, ready made meals that you stick in the oven or microwave, or even, fast foods. I don’t consider processed to be tinned chickpeas even though strictly speaking they probably are.

But that’s not what this post is about. I’ve written this post to share with you why for the past 17 years I have been so committed and passionate about cooking fresh food every day, from scratch. I could literally write a list a mile long telling you why it is critical for our health that we cook fresh, home-made food.

Lifestyles, work life and the temptations of supermarket food and takeaways, all contribute to how much time we do, or don’t, spend in the kitchen. However, in order to understand this we have to take a look into the history books.

It all began in post-war England in the early 1950’s when the way in which our food was made available was quite simply revolutionised; fridges, freezers and supermarkets, introduced to us a way to cook differently; buying fresh food from the greengrocers, the butchers and the bakers was no longer a daily necessity.

Instead, housewives could go out and buy their shopping once or twice a week safe in the knowledge that they could happily cook with it 2-3 days later. It must have taken an immense pressure off the women who also were beginning to embark on a life of work outside of the house. These changes were huge but at the same time detrimental in how they changed people’s attitude and perception of food.

The era of convenience was born; tinned food, packets of dried goods, frozen meals, and of course the microwave. Time in the kitchen was slashed, leaving women free to go to work and socialise. All of these things were of course huge positives for women, and I don’t want this to be a feminist slanted article. The point is simple: convenience foods have led everyone to having new kitchen experiences. I am always horrified when I drive past fast food outlets to see queues of cars waiting to be served. I want to go up to them and ask them why are you eating in this way? Fresh food is cheap and so readily accessible. Why do you need to eat this stuff?

I know everyone has a choice as to what they eat and where they buy their food from, but we only have one life, and the reason I cook from scratch every day is to look after my health. If every person in the land, even the world, cooked fresh food in their own kitchens every day of their lives, it would ease the strain our health service is under. Plus, it would save everyone thousands of pounds that could be spent on other things. Here are some of the reasons why –

The information presented below is taken from The Healthy Food Magazine which is researched by qualified dietitians, registered nutritionists and GP. This is why we need to cook from scratch –

1. ‘Tomorrow morning, 20 people in the UK with type 2 diabetes will be waking up to face their first day minus a leg, foot or toe. The same will be true the morning after that. And so on, and so on. Indeed, amputations among those with type 2 diabetes have risen by 25% in the past eight years. And in the majority of cases the tragedy could have been avoided’ April 2019 Nutrition editor Amanda Ursell
2. ‘It is now known we are at risk of 12 types of cancer (only five were pinpointed a decade ago) if we’re overweight, a new review by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) found. While excess weight is now seen as a higher risk factor than individual foods or nutrients, diet is still incredibly important and alcohol is given a big thumbs down’ July 2018
3. ‘I don’t accept the epidemic of diabetes is inevitable or hopeless. We all have control over dietary choices, and we can turn back the clock on obesity and diabetes’ September 2019 Dr David Unswin, Southport GP
4. ‘On average, adults manage only 4 of their 5 daily portions (and teenagers only 3). It’s important to remember all fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit count towards your daily target. You can include pulses, lentils and chickpeas too- although these only count as one portion no matter how much because nutritionally they are more similar to meat, poultry, fish and eggs than fruit and veg. Each portion should weigh 80g’ January 2020

The food we eat is capable of changing the course of our future. According to government led survey in 2019, 28% of adults are obese. This is a staggering figure and one that demands the question, why? As I said earlier, life in the 21st and late 20th century has changed dramatically leaving people in jobs where they barely move, food that they barely have to prepare or cook and social time spent grounded to the sofa. This is the answer to the why, and it requires addressing urgently, in my opinion.

The good news is that it doesn’t need to be this way. Making a change to what and how you eat is simple and hopefully some of what I say on my site and the recipes I share will help you to fall in the love with the vegetables!

A great place to start is to challenge the statistic I mentioned above and find out if you fall into the category of obese, and therefore are in the serious health risk group.

Let’s start by checking your BMI (body mass index)

1. Find the point around your middle that’s half way between your lowest rib, and the top of your hip bone, roughly in line with your belly button.
2. Put a tape measure against your skin (under your clothes) so that it is snug without compressing your skin. Breathe out normally and measure around your waist.
3. Check your measurement against the table below –

MEN	WOMEN	! HEALTH RISK
Less than 94cm (37”)	Less than 80cm (31.5”)	Average
94-102cm (37-40”)	80-88cm (31.5-34.5”)	Increased
More than 102cm (40”)	More than 88cm (34.5”)	Greatly increased

I understand that if you are feeling slightly over-weight, this won’t be a pleasant experience but in the long term it will improve your overall quality of life. Regardless if you are over-weight or not, eating well, eating fresh, and cooking your own food is probably the single most important thing you can do every day to help you remain healthy.

If you would like to know more and take a positive step forward, read some of the articles listed on the British Heart Foundations, The Healthy Food Guide and the NHS websites. All containing really useful ideas, recipes and exercises to improve your health.

Here are some useful websites where you can find out more information –

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/measuring-your-waist

https://www.healthyfood.com/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/

Thanks for reading this week’s blog post. Follow me on Instagram for more useful tips, ideas and recipes to stay healthy.

Laura x