A readers question.

Hello and good morning. It's sunny here, I wonder how long it will last. A question came in overnight by email, while we sleep here in the UK, others are awake on the other side of the world. Thank you, I will answer here.

Crazy question lol Do you ever crave a veggie pizza? Being vegetarian I know you make a lot of stews. Just wondered if there is anything you have besides stews and soups.

Not a crazy question at all. Everyone has something they crave for, that's normal, but I don't crave for pizza, that's for sure, ha ha. I tried a shop bought one not so long ago, I was not impressed. I don't make my own because I can't be bothered with the faff.

Yes it does appear that my meals consist of mainly vegetables, either in soups and stews, or steamed, but I do vary the types of vegetables, trying to get a good variety into my diet.

When thinking about which foods to eat I think you have to take into account why you are eating,  what is the purpose of eating, and what motivates you to eat? Is it because you are hungry, is it because you eat at the same time every day, is it because you like the taste of certain foods, and is it because you think you deserve a treat? For me it is one of those things, I eat when I am hungry, plus I eat to keep my body alive, and hopefully in good condition.

Yes I will have an ice cream occasionally, a packet of crisps occasionally, a piece of cake occasionally, but I don't crave them, I can manage without. I can happily walk past those things in a shop.

What else do I have besides soups and stews? I eat dairy, cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruit, pasta, cous cous, bread, seeds, and nuts. I buy veggie burgers or sausages, or something similar like bean burgers and Quorn products. I sometimes buy a cheese and onion quiche but the prices are rising on those so I have moved that to the treat category, only to be eaten occasionally. Grated cheese on steamed vegetables is lovely. Or a spoon of mayo or a drizzle of toasted sesame seed oil.

I don't want to spend a lot of time on meal preparation, so that means I don't mess about with food. I don't put it in a dish, add some of this and some of that, put it in the oven and wait, I can't be bothered. All the well know recipes that people seem to eat on a regular basis, spag bol, shepherds pie, pizza, chilli con carne, roasted this and that, I don't do any of that. I do grill some things. I have a slow cooker but don't use it, I'd rather put everything in one pan and cook it on the hob. After all, vegetables are still vegetables whichever way you cook them. Plain and simple is how I like things.

There is a page of photographs of the food I eat, link above, and here, Food Gallery. Please note there is fish in some of them, they are old photographs, I stopped eating fish a few years ago and haven't updated the page. I don't know enough on nutrition to give advice, all I can say is be mindful about what you put in your mouth, and be aware of the consequences if you are comfort eating the wrong type of foods. Food only stays in your mouth for a short period of time, but can hang about in your body doing damage for a lot longer. 

Thanks very much for your question reader from the USA, I hope you are suitably enlightened.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip