Do I have to?  I never wanted to diet, I never wanted to give my children food supplements.  Do I have to eat differently to the rest of the family?  Do we have to take vitamins?  I want us all to sit down to the same food together, and to get all the nutrients we need from our food.  Food should be a shared pleasure, and not a worry.

This year I am going to have to look harder at our food.  I love food, I like cooking (I don’t love having to do it every night, but I do enjoy cooking).  We buy some snacks, but mostly we eat food – cooked from scratch.  I have been ignoring most of the health scares, saying to myself “all things in moderation”. I, however, have not been moderate enough of late.

My hip to waist ratio is neither flattering nor very healthy and I need to work out how to feed my family the best food I can on a budget.  I have managed my shopping well for years, but I want to be sure I am buying the best quality food I can for my money.

One meal for the family, good for all of us, is my aim.

Growing children need good nutrition, but so do parents.  We are busy, and our bodies do make less good use of the food we eat as we age, apparently.  So we should all be eating the best we can, not forgetting our favourite treats and trying new things.