The recipe over the page lists the key ingredients for healthy eating and drinking. Use it as a quick guide to get started, and then use it as a checklist from time to time to make sure that you are still on the right path.

This summary is based on advice given by the Foods Standards Agency, our experience and a distillation of the many books, magazines and news articles we have read. We consider the most important single piece of food advice to be 'enjoy your food in a fit and healthy way'.

If you have an interest in what you eat, you are more likely to make informed choices and select the options that are best for your circumstances. Eating and drinking well is only part of the equation. An active lifestyle is also required to get everything in balance. Fortunately, if you eat and drink well you are more likely to exercise and if you exercise you are more likely to eat and drink well.

Finally, do not get obsessive about either food or exercise. No food is bad in itself, so it is not a disaster if you occasionally have chips with salt on. Equally, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Oranges are a healthy thing to eat, but if you eat forty a day things are going to go seriously wrong. If you miss an exercise session it is not the end of the world, but if you exercise all the time and lose your family and friends as a result, you will regret it.

RECIPE FOR HEALTHY EATING AND DRINKING

Enjoy your food and eat a wide variety of foodstuffs.

Base the major part of your meals on starchy foods, such as potatoes, pasta, rice and bread.

Chose lean cuts of meat and avoid eating fat on meat. Vegetarians should also try and avoid high fat alternatives to meat.

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables of a variety of colours. Eat a mixture of raw and cooked items.

Try to keep the amount of salt you eat to an acceptable level. Much of the salt in our diets is hidden in processed foods. 6 grams a day is considered to be the upper limit.

Eat foods containing the good fats, omega 3 & 6. These are found in oily fish and soya products.

Cut down on high-fat and processed foods. Avoid any food with the words ?trans fat? or ?hydrogenated fat? in the ingredients.

Drink adequate amounts of water or other non-alcoholic drinks and avoid drinks with high levels of added sugar.

What is healthy eating?

Healthy eating is not about nibbling lettuce leaves, getting familiar with lentils and forsaking chocolate. It is about balance; about eating a range of foods so that you have a balanced intake of all the different food groups. There are different nutrients in different foods and in varying proportions. If you eat a wide variety of food you have a better chance of eating all the nutrients you need and in sufficient quantities.

There are no good foods or bad foods; all food has a part to play. Although Ed would like to say that he personally finds spring onions pretty bad and does not eat them. Phil's not so fussy and eats anything, but of course he much prefers the healthier options. We use the term 'nutrient' to cover anything that you need to eat for your body to function efficiently and healthily. Nutrients can be divided into two main groups; macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients consist of carbohydrates, protein and fats. (see chapter 5). Micronutrient is the term used to describe vitamins and minerals (see chapter 6).

Food groups

There are many ways to classify or group foods. A guide called 'Living and Eating Well' produced for people living in South Africa with HIV/AIDs, groups foods into:-

Go Foods Foods that give you energy. Bread, rice and potatoes.

Grow Foods Foods that help you grow. Meat, fish and beans.

Glow foods Foods that keep you healthy. Fruit, vegetables and nuts.

We like this classification, but it is a little too simple for this book.

The Ed & Phil Food Groups

We cannot take credit for this; the grouping has been about for ages, which shows that it has stood the test of time.

Meals should be based around these five groups:

• Bread, cereals and potatoes
• Fruit and vegetables
• Milk and dairy products
• Meat, fish and their vegetarian alternatives
• Fats and sugars

To create a balanced approach to eating you can eat a lot from the first two groups, significantly less from the next two and only a little from the last group. Everyone has different requirements depending on age, sex, activity level and other factors.