It’s fun to eat out or grab a takeaway. But it can also be fun to create really good food yourself – or help your family do so. It’s a great way to spend time together. I eat my fish raw but most people like their food cooked and hot. This is why you have a kitchen in your house… so use it! It’s  cheaper and better for your health if you prepare your own fresh food rather than buy everything processed or ready made.

So there are several things you can do to help your family to a healthier and, often, cheaper way of eating:

	Things you can do	>More details
	Buy locally grown food whenever you can	Check for farmers’ markets in your area. Many places in America have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) schemes you can link up with. Ask your local shops or supermarket to stock locally grown food. They usually try to provide what their customers want. Some farms run a delivery service – vegetable boxes – so you don’t even have to go out. Some mail order companies can supply quality foods (including fresh) which they also deliver
	If you can afford it, buy organic	Better for you, your family and the planet. And you don’t have to do without many cans of soft drink or takeaway meals to save quite an amount of money.
	If you’re thirsty, try drinking water.	It’s free – unless you buy the bottled sort - and it’s the healthiest drink there is. If the water out of the tap tastes bad (chlorine or something), you can get simple filters which remove the bad taste. Or just fill a jug with it and leave it for a day (no lid so the chlorine escapes). Then drink it.
	Watching a cook on TV is no substitute for cooking yourself	If people did as much cooking as there are programmes on TV (and books) telling them how to, they’d never be out of the kitchen!
	Learn to cook	Be bold when you cook: try different recipes or even invent some yourself.
	When you have plenty of fresh veg, make salads	These are easy to prepare – especially if you have a food processor with a grater attachment. Salads are very healthy indeed and yummy (so I’m told) with a delicious dressing – which you can also make yourself. You can use lots of root vegetables like squashes, carrots, rutabaga (swede) and so on, to grate into your salads.
	Invite your friends to have a meal with you that you’ve made	It will probably be a new experience for all of you and an opportunity for fun!
	Grow your own food	Even if you've only got a small space, you can still grow some of your food. What's more, it's fun: sowing your seeds, watching your plants grow as you care for them and, finally, harvesting. You can even grow tomatoes (or other plants like capsicums) by the window in your room... wherever there's good sunshine. Many cities now have local community farms where you can join other people who grow their own. It's cool!

Happy cooking and happy eating! As for me, I'm tired and hungry after all that and I'm off to catch my fish for dinner!

Bye!

Love from

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