There's No Accounting For Taste

I can sympathise with schools encountering problems with their pupils's take-up of the healthy meals inspired by Jamie Oliver's "School Dinners". Last year, a cat decided to relocate from his hard working family's home, where he was the recipient of a top-brand organic catfood, to live with me. He soon displayed a strong preference for one of Tesco's own brand non-organic ready meals, even when given the option of fresh meat. This, or course, raises a number of ethical issues, including an additional requirement to shop at Tescos. Nevertheless, the cat seems quite healthy, engaging in a reasonable amount of exercise : mainly fighting with other cats in the early hours of the morning. He mostly spends the rest of his time sleeping.

Returning to Jamie Oliver, I must be one of the few people not to have a followed his various TV shows, although I understand that his appearance in advertisements for Sainsburys is generally regarded as having helped improve their fortunes. It seems to me that the "Food Issue" has tended to polarise people between those who are obsessed with what they eat, and those who prefer the most convenient option, whether take-away or ready meal. Personally, I find both extremes equally unattractive. People who are fixated with food can be rather tedious. There's nothing like a foodie to make me reach for the salted peanuts, crisps and a few bottles of lager. However, a diet which consisted only of these could be quite limiting, not to say unhealthy.

Nevertheless, it has come to my attention that some people, young and old, who seem to live quite unhealthy lives in terms of what they eat and drink still stay remarkably healthly, whilst other food fad following folk are always ailing. I've no doubt this can be attributed to other factors such as genetic make-up, predisposition to allergies, and general lifestyle and wellbeing.
Personally, I have quite a fondness for oily and fatty foods. One consequence of this seems to be that I find the British Winter easier to cope with than many people. Indeed I've taken animal fats seriously ever since I heard Clarissa Dickson-Wright (my chef of preference to Jamie Oliver) say that these are an excellent tonic for seasonal adjustment disorder : No SAD for me !