Archive for July, 2009

When it comes to being fed, my children are fairly easily pleased. Well, obviously not all of them all of the time, but they are used to a ‘one meal fits all’ approach and have learnt to live with it. I am a functional cook, not terribly adventurous, but can be relied upon to get a hearty nutritious meal on the table most days. I shop on the basis that I will be feeding 7-8 people at each mealtime, so rarely even contemplate ready meals – heating individual meals for so many is inconvenient and the cost is prohibitive. Anyway, I’m a bit of a control freak and like to know exactly what goes into the meals I provide.

This may seem like a full-time job but to be honest, most meals on our table follow a set formula:- some kind of meat (chopped up small for the child who can’t chew meat) and whatever vegetables are to hand magically transformed into a recognisable dish by a jar of organic cooking sauce – and generally served with fair trade pasta, rice or organic noodles. Chilli, spaghetti Bolognese, stir fry, sausage pasta, sweet and sour, curry…the variations are numerous. Moreover, the advantages of such a system are endless:-

• You only use half as much meat as you would with individual portions (financially and environmentally sound)
• You can have a cupboard full of sauces and pasta, rice and noodles so that there will always be a meal to hand
• There is a great variety of organic sauces out there – check out Meridian or Seeds of Change for some ideas
• If all else fails for the vegetarian in the house (ie. If I don‘t get round to cooking him anything), he can open a tin of Free & Easy chilli or curry without going hungry
• You are in complete control of what goes in
• The jars are easily recyclable unlike the packaging of the equivalent in ready meals
• This type of meal can stretch if someone extra turns up unexpectedly or can be kept and reheated for anyone who arrives home late (and eaten up for breakfast the next day by my child who prefers leftovers for breakfast to cereal or toast)
• The fair trade and organic content of meals is considerably higher than with any other alternative
• A meal can be rustled up in ten minutes after having picked one child up from tennis and before another has to be at dancing
• There’s something very satisfying about setting two big pots of steaming food on the table and ladling it out (rather like Mummy Bear)

So there we go. Ten reasons for stocking up on cooking sauces. Call it cheating if you want. Sauces could be made from first principle, I know that. I’m no superwoman. I make compromises. Anyway, it works for us. We survive. Not much gets thrown away. My sanity is intact. No-one complains (to my face, anyway) that the food I cook is boring. At least I cook. Not that ideas for easy healthy meals with ethical ingredients for a large family would not be welcomed. Of course they would. I look forward to hearing from you and trying some new recipes out on my tribe.

Ever thought you really can’t be bothered but after the event found yourself saying “That felt good. I should do that more often”?

I don’t know what you’re thinking of; I’m talking about exercise. Thinking about it is the easy part. We love the idea of exercise. Buying the appropriate apparel, the new trainers, the fancy equipment….so much more exciting than actually breaking out into a sweat. The good news is that for us ethical consumers, we can make some of these purchases with a clear conscience – yoga mats made from natural rubber or organic cotton; fair trade volleyballs; recycled fleeces; fair trade leggings; ecological bike cleaner or recycled backpacks. That’s a good start.

We all know that it’s good for us. The NHS leaflet I was reading about Depression the other day (as you do) lists exercise as one of the great self help remedies. It makes you feel better – the scientists tell you so; you know it for yourself. My children’s Primary School have Morning Exercise (a la Chinese) for all children every day – it’s said to stimulate the mind and be a great start to the day. It’s actually my daughter’s favourite part of the day. The Government Change4Life campaign states that active kids are happy kids – actually, that’s pretty true in my experience too. Whether I like it or not, my younger children are like dogs and are all the better for a runaround in the fresh air every day.

But being human, we either find every excuse not to get fit or go mad and get completely obsessed. Exercise to excess leads to sports injuries, over-competitiveness; health issues; an unhealthy obsession that consumes all our time and money. As usual, moderation is called for. To be honest, I’ve yet to reach the level where moderation is an issue. As for many of you, I suspect, the aspiration far outweighs the reality. Our local tennis club doesn’t miss a trick. It knows how to tap into aspiration. It holds open weekends during Wimbledon, for all those who sit in front of the TV, itching to get a racket in their hands. An opportunity to transform that inclination into action, sign on the dotted line for a year’s membership and then spend the next 364 days making up excuses not to get on court again. (or for those less cynical amongst us, to rediscover a long lost love for the game and a newfound fitness).

I can’t help wondering (as I do on a weekly basis) if we have not all gone a tiny bit mad. We purchase every labour saving device known to man and then join a gym to work out. We distance ourselves from manual work and then realise that our bodies actually need it. When I was in Malawi last year, my friend remarked to a woman on a foot treadle pump in the blazing sun that people in the UK pay good money to go to the gym for exactly the same kind of workout (as I said, mad).

So here are my five top tips for regaining (assuming you ever had one) a level of fitness this summer:
1. Discover the joys of gardening. Our garden is so overgrown through years of neglect that I certainly have my work cut out. I hear allotments are the new cool – get digging, weeding, pruning. You couldn’t work more muscles if you tried.
2. See housework as a form of exercise. Instead of investing in miracle products that do the work so you don’t have to, rediscover the satisfying combination of more natural household products with a fair dose of elbow grease – a great result all round.
3. Leave the car at home. Take the time to walk or cycle. It may take a real effort to hang up the car keys, but you will feel better when you get there. One of the greatest ironies in my life, which my husband is quick to point out, is driving to the gym; one day, I will silence him.
4. Play with the kids. I don’t know if all kids are the same, but I can’t send mine out to play – they want me to go out with them. How can the kids be inspired to be active if I sit and watch from a garden chair? Why would they think being active is fun if no-one is modelling it for them? This is a real trial for me. I didn’t enjoy outdoor games as a child – why on earth would I enjoy them now? But I do enjoy seeing my children learning how to hit a ball, skip or play hopscotch. So I play for ten minutes and then sit watching for ten minutes – a happy compromise for all.
5. Arrange a summer of activities. Call me mad, but I have come up with a summer of fun – a sheet of pre-arranged activities with a meeting place and time – and given it out to all my friends. A bike ride, a walk to the pub, an all-age rounders match, Sports Day…we’ll see who turns up and have fun with whoever does – the more, the merrier. At least it will get us out and about.

This is all common sense. As I said at the beginning, we all know the theory; it’s turning it into practice that’s the problem. These are my modest aspirations. Let me know some of yours. I have five children off school for seven weeks coming up. Seven weeks of not being able to get to the gym and needing to find my exercise in other ways – so the more ideas I receive from you, the better.

The hot weather has been beating down all week, and I don’t know about everyone else, but my thoughts have been turning to picnics, barbeques and enjoying myself in the open air.

There’s the perfect opportunity to get involved in this summery vibe coming up – put the 19th of July into your diary – the nationwide ‘Big Lunch’ is coming right to your doorstep! Well, only if you choose to get involved, but we think that this countrywide picnic sounds like a great plan.

The idea is that two weeks tomorrow, millions of us throughout the UK will choose to sit down and have lunch together, wherever we fancy. It’s a great excuse for a street party, and a wonderful way to have a fun day with family, friends and neighbours. Just register on the Big Lunch website – www.thebiglunch.com -  to plot your event on the Big Lunch map, sort the food and get the invites out, and you’ll be good to go.

We’ve teamed up with the lovely folks at Divine Chocolate to devise a The Big Lunch Fair Trade Hamper to make sure your party goes with a swing.  It’s designed to take away the hard work by creating your picnic for you – complete with delicious sweet treats as well as something healthier to munch on, not to forget drinks for adults as well as the kids. In fact all you really need to add is the sandwiches!

We’d love to know if you’re planning to get involved in the Big Lunch – where are you, who are you inviting, and how are you bribing the weatherman…?

Image via: foodforlife.org.uk