Rog T Food Blog - Making salad sexy!

I've been on a diet since last November. Salads are a big part of this. The problem for me with salads though, is that they always seem like a penance! I'm not even convinced that most of the ones you buy in a supermarket plastic carton are actually healthy. I always check for additives and you'd be surprised what they put in. Is there any reason why salads need to be as dull as dishwater? I think not.

One of my missions over the last year has been to make tasty salads that are not unhealthy and have some nitritional value.  Some of the ingredients of salad, such as lettuce, don't really have much flavour. Alternatives such as rocket and watercress do. Fresh tomatoes are a healthy vegetable. Beetroot also has benefits. I quite like cucumber, especially when pickled. Finely chopped shallots also add a bit of flavour. 

I like to make up my own dressings. There are many listed health benefits of cider vinager with mother. That is my base. I add some tumeric, smoked paprika and pepper and a small amount of olive oil. If I am feeling spicy, I add some finely chopped fresh hot chilli and some grated garlic.

Depending on the day of the week and my mood, I have tinned sardines, boiled eggs, cheese or smoked mackerel with it. I am not a fan of mayonnaise or salad cream. They leave a cloying aftertaste. By making my own, I get something to my taste. It also works out much cheaper to make it up, rather than buying a bland, tasteless shop made salad.

Rog T's food blog - Navigating the risk of Ultra Processed Foods

There was a fascinating article on the BBC yesterday, detailing how ultra processed foods are shortening our lives. I found it quite shocking and disturbing. Before we proceed, below is a list of foods. Which do you think are healthy and which do youthink are deemed 'ultra processed' and may shorten your life?

cakes, pastries and biscuits
crisps
supermarket bread
sausages, burgers, hot dogs
instant soups, noodles and desserts
chicken nuggets
fish fingers
fruit yoghurts

fruit drinks
margarines and spreads
baby formula

It may surprise you, it certainly surprised me to learn that all are 'ultra processed'. Clearly cakes and sausages were not really a surprise, but yoghurts, fruit drinks and fish fingers did surprise me. It almost made me laugh, my good lady has moaned at me for years to eat fish fingers instead of bacon sarnies. Seems like I needn't have bothered.

So which of these do I eat on a regular basis? I don't have a sweet tooth, but crisps, sausages, fish fingers and  supermarket bread are all part of my shopping basket. Now I actually believe that the odd cake or fish finger as a treat is no problem (once a week?) but I had got into the habit of having a bag of crisps with my salad most days. The report states that in the UK, there are around 18,000 premature deaths a year.

I believe that healthy eating is all about balance. I've learned that freshly prepared food tastes better than the stuff you buy in plastic pots and warm up. The more fresh food you eat, the better. If you buy loose veg, they are cheaper and I find them tastier. I am lucky, I have the time these days. When I had a job that involved almost daily travel, it was hard. Food was all too often a full english at the hotel, a canned drink and a sandwich for lunch and a pint and a bag of crisps for dinner. Maybe firms should have healthy eating policies for staff that travel. I love food, so the full english buffet was hard to resist, especially as it was free. It is perhaps no coincidence that this period of my life coincided with developing prostate cancer.

I was well paid and it suited me, but I believe I paid a price for the lifestyle. We all think we are invincible until show otherwise. We often only realise the lesson to be learned when it is too late. And for the record. My lunch today? A freshly prepared salad with sardines, a banana and an orange.