Recessionary times and healthy eating & living

As most of the world seems to be in the grips of a recession (I've even heard it being called a depression, which is even worse!), it is hard to know how people will respond when they have less money in their pockets, and in their bank accounts - that is if they still trust the banks to mind their money properly...

On the one hand, it could make people learn to cook at home, creating a whole new wave of social behaviour of eating healthy good food, cooked from scratch, because the ready-made food section is very expensive for what you get, and anyway, if you're at home because you cant afford to go out, then it makes great use of all that extra time you have - and lets face it, TV is fairly awful most of the time, so you cant really watch the rerun of the rerun of a not very good comedy show - again!! And if you cook that little bit extra - then you have the leftovers for your lunch the next day (yes, it is time to buy that lunch-box and pack it with home-cooked food!).

On the other hand, and this is probably more likely, people will have to work harder to stay at work, worried about holding onto their job and prepared to work all hours to be seen to be doing a good job. They'll then head home and will have little choice of fresh food available to them on their way home, and then will be too tired to cook from scratch when they arrive in the door, so will pick up a take-away meal, or a convenience meal or a frozen pizza or whatever the easiest option will be... and the end result will be poorer health - you cant be healthy if you dont eat healthily - it is simply an impossibility in the long-term. This will then turn into a vicious circle, as if you are less healthy, you'll have less energy, and then working long hours will mean that your energy reserves will be depleted, and then you'll be prone to illness, or just plain tiredness...

So, if anyone is looking for a New Year's resolution - yes I know its a bit early, but at the same time... why not think about how you can turn recessionary times into a recipe for better health? Things to try... - dont try them all at the same time, as you'll never do it - just add one each fortnight and see how you get on...

Get out and walk or cycle to work - save yourself the bus-fare, or the petrol if you normally drive - and yes, there are dry days in January/February so no excuses for not doing healthy exercise three times a week at least.

Try and cook your evening meal from scratch - yes, starting with fresh raw ingredients - just go for it at least part of the week. If your cooking skills are non-existent, then learn some (you could even come to one of my cookery courses, but of course there are lots of them around). If you cant afford to pay for a cookery course, then get a friend who can cook to teach you - it is great fun and really easy to learn - so, no excuses on that one!

If you think that you'll be too tired during the week, then do your main shopping at the week-end. For me certainly, I never mind the cooking, its the shopping I dont like - crowds in the supermarket, dismal lack of choice and people looking like zombies - not the kind of experience to cheer you up at the end of a long day... If you go to a farmer's market, rather than to your supermarket, you are likely to get fresher food, and it'll be a positive experience as most stall-holders are only too happy to talk to you - a far cry from the experience in most supermarkets I know of. Find out when there is one near you. Then pick healthy ingredients - yes, you do know which ones to go for - and if you dont, email me and I'll be happy to help you with a top 20 list of good foods.

When you cook your dinner, make enough to freeze for another day, or enough to throw together a lunch-box for work the next day. Occasionally, make up a batch of fresh soup - great to have in the freezer for emergencies - there are literally thousands of recipes on the internet for soups, but if you want some ideas, I'm happy to help with some recipes - for starters try the squash soup recipe on this blog.

If you have any garden at all - or even a window box - grow some edible plants, particularly herbs - many of them have medicinal extra benefits as well as adding great tastes to your food - and the sense of pride you get when you can pick your own herbs to add to dishes is fantastic.

Is that enough??

Join the library - these days the range of books is pretty good, and it is free for the most-part (well, unless you're like me and forget to bring back the books, thus defeating the whole purpose of getting free books, because you've to pay huge fines!)

Join a book-club - I joined one earlier this year and have made some lovely new friends. If you're not into books, join a club which does interest you - most of them are really cheap to join and you'll get out and about with a purpose while the dark winter nights pass by!

You dont have to join a gym to get fit - walking an hour a day at a good pace will do the trick - just make sure you have good fitting walking shoes and that you wear visible clothing if you are walking in a non-lit area. Other sports clubs always welcome new people - and you dont even have to play competitively - there are lots of things that non-playing members can help out with, and you can just join in the practice sessions.

I think the most important thing of all is to remain positive. If our recession does indeed turn into a depression - it is called that for a reason, so dont give into it. As there are really strong links between healthy eating and energy, and between healthy exercise and even more energy, these are the things to focus on while the world economy tries to sort itself out. And who knows what opportunities times like this could throw your direction, so stay alert!