We often like to blame others for problems we’d rather not tackle ourselves. Take the “fast food versus healthy eating” debate for example.

Many families in the UK are struggling to put food on their table, many children go to school hungry and we rely on fabulous charities like Magic Breakfasts to provide children with a healthy breakfast to set them up for a day of learning.

At the same time, Britain is one of the most obese nations in Western Europe, with rates rising faster than any other developed nation, according to a BBC news report a few days ago.

When I discuss this dilemma with people around me, many feel the Government are responsible; ‘It’s too expensive to eat healthily, ‘the sugar industry makes too much money and nobody cares about the people’, ‘there should be a sugar tax.’ etc.  I’m sure you’ve heard it all before.

It’s a complicated debate and there are many variables involved and there’s never a simple answer. Then, of course, it’s not only our diet that is contributing to the obesity epidemic.

Findings in a recent study by the London School of Economics (LSE), concluded that “social globalisation”, that is, changes to the way we work and live – are also contributing factors to the rising obesity and it’s not just the wider availability of cheaper and more calorific foods.

Ready-made meals are tempting and the more we buy them the more accustomed we become to popping a few holes into a plastic film and wait for the microwave to ping – 3 minutes – done. The more we do it, the less we cook, the less we cook the more we forget how to.

In my opinion, it comes down to education. As a nation, we are forgetting to teach the next generation how to prepare good, simple food from scratch. If you don’t know what to do with a basket full of vegetables – there’s no point buying it.

More than ever now parents are pressuring their children to study more to pass exams for increasingly competitive places in good schools. But are we losing sight of what’s important and are we missing the point a little? Perhaps our balance is slightly off-kilter? What is the point of all of this if the next generation is suffering from heart disease and diabetes type 2 because they’ve not looked after their health, and never been taught to.  Perhaps we should throw in a cooking class amongst the brain- busting maths classes?

It doesn’t have to be this way. Good food is easy to prepare and does not have to be expensive if you know what to do.

Leave out highly processed foods (usually white in colour), leave out packet food, ready-made meals, flavoured yoghurt’s (full of sugar), fizzy drinks (also full of sugar) and reduce meat consumption to a few times a week if that.  This way you’ll find a shopping trolley that is clean, simple and doesn’t break your bank balance.

Then teach yourself – and your kids – to cook!

So yes, this is something Government could help with. We could increase the amount of time in schools’ timetables to teach children how to look after themselves. How to understand nutrition and wellbeing in general. To learn the effects of fast- food, ready-made meals and how they can lead to obesity.

There is no such a thing as a free lunch, but there is a really inexpensive and nutritious one!

For good examples of quick, cheap, easy and nutritious recipes head over to my blog – 100% zero kitchen skills are needed for this delicious 10- minute refuel noodle soup.

Let’s cook and share the love x
Dani x

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Spurred on by her experience with breast cancer, Dani successfully created a wholesome, balanced and sustainable lifestyle for her family and herself. It worked so well that she set-up Healthy Whole Me, sharing what worked for her and what didn’t, providing tips, recipes and regular supper clubs. Through this, she hopes to inspire others to create a healthy lifestyle for themselves and family. She embraces food for the body, mind and soul focusing on foods that are packed with nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins that are both healing and strengthening. She is a busy mum of three, so her healthy and wholesome lifestyle is simple enough to be sustainable.

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