Our nationally touted strapline “have you had your 5 a day?” is soon to be obsolete.  Or at the very least superceded by “10 a day”, as that is much nearer the reality of what constitutes a healthy diet. This isn’t a newsflash, it being so much in the air, what with Meat free Monday and vegan diets all the rage, but I am really trying to change the animal protein to vegetable consumption ratio in our house…  For my mid-western husband it has been quite a slow dawning that a meal need not necessarily include animal protein to be substantial and tasty.  In order to eat like this as a family, turning him around has been a key factor.  I remember the first time he came home to our town in Italy and my mother had prepared a light but typical Italian Summer supper.  We had just surfaced from our late evening Ryanair flight and made it via hairpin bends all the way to our beautiful Penne (in the Abruzzo), and we sat down to eat a tomato salad and fresh bread and a selection of cheeses.  After polishing off a vast amount, my husband said something which is now a piece of family folklore, he turned to me, knowing what a fabulous cook my mum was, with “wow, that was amazing, I wonder what your mum has chosen for the main?”. 

…

Read More »