I hate cooking at the best of times and can never decide what to serve on a daily basis.  However, the Christmas menu used to be easy. It was traditional fare - roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, carrots, gravy and turkey with stuffing, followed by Christmas pudding and custard.  Easy!

Now, however, we can have that meal any time of the year and often do.  It’s just not seasonal and that’s pretty much how it is with most food items these days.

Consumers no longer have to rely on locally grown produce so it doesn’t matter if fruit and vegetables are in season or not.  They will be somewhere in the world and as supermarkets respond to consumer demand, refrigerated containers  will ship them thousands of miles to satisfy our desire.

This is great on one hand but does make my menu planning really difficult and also upsets those concerned about the environment and global warming.

However, there is a fine balance between protecting the environment and helping the poor.  In developing countries the export of food to cater for supply and demand provides jobs and economic growth. It is vital for their progress and survival,  and I have to admit I have become accustomed to having pineapple and cherries in the middle of winter.

I am aware though that not eating fresh fruit and vegetables comes at a price.  Most are preserved in some way and if you look at the sell by date on some items you might think they’ve actually been embalmed.

We have become a nation more interested in the appearance of our food than the quality and contents, i.e. vitamins and nutrients, and many people don’t realise the food we consume today contains much more than we bargain for.

These days unless you eat organic produce the only ingredients you can guarantee to get in your food will be a mixture of fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, preservatives, colourings, flavourings, growth hormones, anti-biotics, and toxic chemicals from the packaging. 

Unfortunately though,  organic products which are becoming more readily available,  are still out of the reach of many consumers who are on a tight budget.  As a result we consume many toxins and over time these can build up to the point where symptoms develop which indicate  some form of health issue.  

It is pretty much agreed by scientists that between 83 - 85% of the toxins in our bodies come from our food, so this Christmas my quest for a menu was not what to cook, but what could I cook that was organic.

Are you concerned about your health and want to remove toxins safely?