Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
Over the last few years a bunch of mysterious people who are never seen, never properly identified and only referred to generically as ‘scientists’ have set about trying to ruin everything we enjoy about life. First it was smoking: ‘43 carcinogenic chemicals’ they said, ‘cigarettes line your lungs with tar’ they said. Then it was sunbathing. ‘The sun can kill’ they said, ‘Don’t you dare go outside between the hours of 9am and 7pm’ they said (probably).
Then it was alcohol that got bad press (leading to the ridiculous oxymoron ‘responsible drinking’) and then chocolate, fast-foods and now poor old bacon is getting a rap along with hot-dogs and doughnuts. Things have got so out of hand it seems now that these ‘scientists’ are persuading us that living is a health risk. And don’t get me started on health and safety. The less said the better.
According to the ‘scientists’ there is nothing we can do to save ourselves from a set of horrible diseases and a premature death. Can we seriously take any advice from these nameless scaremongers?
The problem is of course that people never want to hear about what they cannot do or cannot eat. Of course you don’t want to hear about what the business and first class passengers get when you are sitting in cattle class.
So where do we put the five a day fruit and veg campaign in all of this? Is it the latest catchphrase from the nanny-state or it is something a little different? I like to think that it is the latter. The five a day campaign is good because it seems to be one of the only campaigns that encourages the consumption of a number of student-friendly foods including baked beans, frozen vegetables and ready meals.
The emphasis seems to be on what more you can eat rather than what you can’t eat. The slogan ‘Just Eat More (Fruit and Veg)’ is clever because it deliberately cries out to the fat kid in all of us to tuck in and stop holding back.
The five a day campaign expands culinary horizons. You can ignore the health bit and just use it as a way of adding some extra taste to your mundane meals. Why not throw some raisins into your porridge, slice an onion into your pasta sauce or wilt some spinach in your stir-fry? Or how about a grapefruit for breakfast or some clementines as a quick snack?
Some people get stressed out with the definitions of a fruit or vegetable and what is considered a portion. I think they are missing the point of the five a day campaign: the exact portion size is not that important as long as you are having some and you should trust your judgement, chances are that it will be good for you. For the record though, potatoes don’t count (but still have great nutritional value) and neither does tomato ketchup… sorry.
For me, the thing with five a day is that whether you're a one a day kinda guy or five a day beast it can only be beneficial. At the end of the day though, if you find yourself saying ‘Five a day, Smive a day’ the most important thing is that you enjoy your food and you don’t get bored.
Happy eating.
For more info head to the 5 a day website
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