Food Resolutions 2018

It’s at this time of year that I think about improvements I want to make in my diet and lifestyle.  I’ve been into sugar, gluten and dairy free cooking for over 30 years now but there are always things that can be changed, either because I’ve slipped in certain areas or because new research and information has made me more aware.

I took a look at last years list and as with all resolutions some got acted on and some I find myself adding to this years list. I did try ordering grass fed meat but was appalled at the amount of packaging that came with it. Polystyrene box, plastic cool bags, bubble wrap – I couldn’t do that to the planet so I’m back to my butchers and farmers market. I also ordered nitrate free bacon and sausages but the bacon tasted as if it had been left in the freezer too long and the sausages were rather thin and weedy. We don’t eat a lot of bacon or sausage but it’s good to have a healthy option so I was pleased to read that a new nitrate free version will be hitting the supermarkets this month. Called ‘naked bacon’ the meat is preserved with natural products and hopefully will become the norm.

I’m trying to cut out possible GMO products this year which means avoiding soya and corn, unless it states organic and GMO free on the packet. It means my treat of a soya decaff latte when out and about has to go. In places like London it’s easy to find other alternative milks but not where I live so I’m trying to get used to weak black coffee.

In order to eat more omega 3 oils from fish, and preferably fish that is low down on the food chain I intend to find more recipes this year using sardines and mackerel. Fortunately I don’t mind them just as they are but it can get a little boring. Yesterday I mixed a can of sardines with chopped avocado and chopped tomatoes and served it on a baked potato. It was delicious.

Tumeric is back on my list this year as I feel that it has valuable health benefits . This last year I have left the jar sitting by the cooker in the hope that I will remember to add some to soups and casseroles but it rarely happens. I used to take a little each morning, mixed with water but then I read that it needs fat in order to be absorbed hence my trial. This year I’m back to taking it with water in the hope that some gets through.

I’m yet again looking into water filters and this year I’ve added an air filter to my list. I’m quite an instinctive person but up until now I haven’t felt right about ordering either so I keep reading up about them and hopefully will find solutions this year.

What I do try to do with my resolutions and lifestyle is to not become obsessive. There is so much information out there about all the things you need to do to improve your health that it’s easy, if we are not careful, to become stressed about putting it all into action. So long as you are heading in the right direction and making changes gradually that’s all that matters, so have a happy, relaxed but health conscious 2018.