Cooking with Alan

 Healthier Eating

I am not saying what I am writing will work for everyone, or it will be to everyone's tastes, but it worked for me - so I will impart a few cooking tips to my audience.

Years ago, out of curiosity, I checked on a few of the diet sheets you can buy.

What did I find?

One of the diets made me laugh, the lady running the diet was telling her customers to cut back on things and eat things that I had been doing for years.

Oil or fat?

Oil is better if you can use it, all you need to do is look at your frying pan after using fat to cook with and see the fat in the bottom, that is in your body.

I grow herbs, partially to help the bee and butterfly populations, but also for my cooking; so changing from cooking fat to garlic oil was a natural for me - you have to enjoy garlic, as I do - or you can use nut or sunflower oil. Sunflowers also help the bees.

I am debating cutting back on my coffee drinking, drinking tea has improved my mental health, but it relaxes me too much so writing becomes hard at times. The good thing about cutting back is I have greatly reduced my sugar intake, as I don't eat a third of the biscuits I did.

Lean or fatty?

Again this is a personal choice and lifestyle habit, but I have never liked fatty meats one reason I don't enjoy lamb, duck, or beef. When I was in the RAF, I got invited to some USAAF bases in Germany What the Americans ate for breakfast would have set me up for the day.

Fish and fruit.

I have always enjoyed fish, I suppose because I come from a family who fished the North Sea for generations I saw it as helping the trade. I enjoy various fruits and nuts, but not all nuts. I have a strong dislike for walnuts.

Vegetables.

I have to own up, though I used to grow vegetables, I am not a big eater of them. I do love chives.