HEALTHLINES: Homemade food can be ‘fast’ too

We all are inclined to enjoy a bit of junk food now and then, but in a fast-paced life in the Gulf it is all too easy to get into the habit of living on expensive takeaways. This is unhealthy and fattening. Many young professionals tell me they hardly every cook a meal because they do not have the time. But you can make a meal quicker than the time it can takes to get in the car and queue for a takeaway. Nutritionists worry about the high salt, sugar and fat content of takeaways; even if salad is included, it is usually only there as a garnish.
It is all too easy with so much fast food available to decide not to cook. But quick ready-made microwave meals can also be bland and soulless. If you can buy fast food really cheap it is because the ingredients too are just cheap and lackluster. They are over-flavored with fat and salt and who knows what else. If it is fake, give it a break.
We can easily get into the habit of grazing on sugary or salty snacks and fizzy drinks. The key solution is to know how to make homemade food fast. Knowing how to put together simple healthy meals quickly is a skill we all need.
Home cooking need not be lavish or beautiful; homemade food is simple and functional but it tastes good. Most children will say they love their mum’s cooking best. Children watching you cook are picking up life skills. There is never a good reason for having a takeaway breakfast, as a healthy breakfast can be made in minutes. A light lunch can be made in ten minutes. All it takes is a sandwich or salad or a bowl of soup with a roll. What our bodies want is simple nutrients from good quality food.
Our bodies are not looking for chemicals and preservatives found in food manufactured in a factory.
Homemade food always tastes good and is healthier.
While there are many cookery programs on television which are great entertainment the food is often produced to impress and also contains far too many ingredients not found in most home kitchens. So while we enjoy watching we don’t get around to making them ourselves.
When you cook for yourself you know what is in your food and you are eating fresh food and so are not adding preservatives additives or chemicals.
I am in favor of fresh local ingredients. Fresh local tomatoes are cheaper and taste better than those who have traveled thousands of miles. Recently on a family holiday on a Mediterranean island my children loved the taste of tomatoes ripened in the sun because they were so full of ruby red juice and tasted so sweet. Tomatoes were grown on the island and picked that morning. Many perfectly shaped tomatoes in supermarkets have traveled thousands of miles to reach the Gulf and are often picked green before they have had chance to ripen in the sun. Vegetables and fruit ripened in the sun always taste better.
Food that has traveled has usually been irradiated. Irradiation involves eradicating bacteria, mold, insects and other pests by using electrical beams or X-rays, or gamma rays, generated from the radioactive source Cobalt 60. This is done to give fruit and vegetables a long shelf life and to protect them during travel.
If you can, get up early in the morning and go to the fish market and buy a freshly caught fish and bake it in the oven with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Nothing tastes better. Serve with rice and salad. It is a traditional healthy meal. In a study conducted by Southampton University in 2008, researchers confirmed that children who regularly eat certain preservatives and additives are more at risk for attention disorders such as hyperactivity and bad behavior.
For the recipes in my column I look for healthy meals that are colorful, easy and quick to make. These recipes do not require many ingredients so most people will be able to make them. If you use fresh produce then you don’t need lots of ingredients and spices because the food has its own natural flavor. Casseroles and stews are great because they are made in one dish and all the flavors blend together. You can make enough for a few meals in one go. Recipes to look out for are ones that do not take a long time to prepare and do not contain too many ingredients.
Email me at [email protected] for 10 quick easy baked potato recipes.

Healthy recipe of the week
Amazing prawn salad for one (in 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
• 1 egg
• 1 baby lettuce, shredded
• 195 gr can sweet corn
• 1 carrot, coarsely grated
• ½ small cucumber, diced
• 100 gr cooked prawns
• 2 tbsp extra-light mayonnaise or yoghurt.
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• splash Tabasco sauce
• lemon wedge, to serve
Method:
• Boil the egg in a small pan of boiling water for 8 minutes, drain and run under cold water until cool. Shell, then slice.
• Layer the salad in a bowl starting with the lettuce,
• Add the sweet corn, carrot, cucumber, egg and finish with the prawns.
• Mix the mayo and ketchup with a dash of Tabasco, then pour over the top
• Serve with a lemon wedge, or a squeeze of lemon juice

Ask Alva
I have been following your healthy eating advice and now my BMI (body mass index) is about normal. I go to the gym twice a week but I still feel sluggish. I am 17 and spend a lot of time studying. Abdullah
I would suggest you now consider a new sport rather than dieting or more gym exercise. How about badminton, five-a-side football, tennis lessons or a weekly swim? This will help you relax, keep fit and it adds zing to an all-important social life.
— Alva

Email: [email protected]