Kerridge - Tom Kerridges Fresh Start

This book is dedicated to family! Mine and yours.
Bef, Acey and the dogs love you so much!
To all the Kerridges and all the Cullens,
thank you from the bottom of my heart. CONTENTS V Vegetarian recipes Recipes that are good for freezing Hello you lot I love nothing more than seeing people enjoying their food I love it so much Ive made a career from it! As a chef, it gives me a huge amount of satisfaction, as I go home at the end of the night, to know Ive contributed to guests at the restaurant having a good time. Cooking and eating together is one of lifes great pleasures and, although it sounds a bit cheesy, I truly believe that making a meal to share is one of the best ways to show those around you that you care about them. It strengthen bonds and creates lasting memories. Despite this, though, a few years ago I was stuck in a rut of bad habits, making poor choices about what, and how much, I consumed. Coupled with a hectic work life and long hours, this was doing me no favours at all.

Missing breakfast, choosing high-sugar and high-salt pick me ups during the day and alcohol-absorbing starchy carbs at night, I was massively overweight and had developed a routine of eating convenience food most days. I needed to make a lifestyle change literally to save my life and I wanted to be a good example to my young son, Acey. I now make it a real priority to set aside time each week to eat proper home-cooked meals as a family. It may not be every night, but its as often as we can and I know that its helping Acey develop a good relationship with food too. We all know we should be eating less processed food and yet more of us than ever are regularly turning to ready-meals and takeaways instead of cooking from scratch. I get why: were busy, and convenience food is exactly that convenient! But relying on it isnt good for us.

I want to show you that cooking your own food really isnt as difficult as you might think. OK, so it might take a bit more effort than just bunging a ready-meal in the microwave and waiting for the ping, but your meals will taste so much better, I promise. And theres the added bonus that you will have complete control over what goes into the food you eat. Eat better, feel better Although this isnt a healthy eating or diet book, without doubt youll be encouraging better health for you and your family by cooking more of your own food. If youve got out of the routine of shopping for, and cooking proper meals, it can feel a bit daunting to get started again. Maybe youve fallen into the busy-life trap and after a long day you just dont feel you have the time or energy to spend in the kitchen; or maybe youve never really cooked before and dont know where to begin.

Perhaps you just want to try something new, instead of turning to the same handful of dishes you make again and again. Thats where the recipes in this book come in. I want you to feel excited about cooking, so they have been designed to help you have fun in the kitchen and maybe even to kick-start a new, healthier you in the process. Im not asking you to spend hours whipping up restaurant-style food good food neednt be time-consuming. Just take it one meal at a time and build up your skills and confidence slowly. If you start out with dishes that use ingredients and flavours youre familiar with, youll know how they should taste, and then, as your confidence grows, you can experiment more.

The for these family favourites. Once you start having control over what ingredients go into the food you cook, youll find you become more aware of what you eat overall. In this book there are many lower-calorie recipes. Ive also included plenty of vegetarian dishes, shown by the V symbol. Actually, theres an entire chapter devoted to easy ways to get more veg into your diet. And as you become increasingly mindful of your food choices, you might well find youre more interested in your health and fitness generally.

Maybe youll even sign up for a 10K run! Personally, I dont recommend obsessing over calorie counting, but Ive listed the rough calories per portion on the recipes in case you are keeping an eye on your calorie intake because you have a bit of extra weight to lose. Id also encourage you to get all the family involved, whatever family might mean to you whether thats the kids, your partner or housemates. Cooking and eating is one of the easiest and most pleasurable ways to spend time together, and the benefits go way beyond simply eating higher-quality food. So, instead of staying glued to the TV or phone, make time to prepare a proper meal together and eat it around the table. Dont get me wrong: Im not against all convenience food it fulfils a need for many people. But it should be the exception not the norm.

If you start to think convenience food is for every day, then thats what itll become. Habits start young for children and I think we should encourage them to have a healthy relationship with food as early as possible, so they grow up open to trying new things and less likely to become fussy eaters. Talk about what youre doing while youre chopping the veg or stirring a pot on the stove. Learn where your food comes from and try new ingredients. Go on a food adventure together! You can sample new flavours from different countries around the world from your own kitchen how amazing is that? If youre used to eating a lot of ready meals and packaged foods, home cooking can take some getting used to. It might even take a bit of time for your taste buds to adjust to those great new tastes.

Start off with easy swaps: ditch your sugary cereal for the granola , perhaps, or replace your regular week-night takeaway with one of my curries. Once you realise how good home-cooked food can be, youll never go back. Be the boss in your kitchen The first step towards cooking with confidence is to own your kitchen. Know where everything is and have the essentials within easy reach of the hob, so youre not rummaging around at the back of a drawer or cupboard trying to find the wooden spoon or baking tray you need. Think of the place where you work your desk, forklift truck, behind the bar. You know that space inside out and even if youre not the official boss, youre in charge.

You need to feel the same way about your kitchen. Dont be intimidated by it, make it your zone. You dont need to buy the fanciest kitchen equipment in order to cook really good food a couple of decent pans, a sharp knife and chopping board, a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a whisk, a roasting tray and a baking tray will do! If you feel like splashing out, then investing in a food processor will save you loads of time chopping and mixing, and its great for making quick sauces and soups. Also, make sure you have some storage containers for prepping meals in advance, keeping leftovers and freezing meals. Youll easily save the money you spend on these by not buying takeaways! Now that youve got your workspace in order, start thinking about what youre going to cook. This is the fun bit.

These days, many of us often leave the decision-making about what to eat that night until were on our way home from work and then well dash into the supermarket and pick up something quick. But this can lead to some pretty poor choices. People used to work out what they were going to eat each day of the week ahead, and then do a big shop supplementing it with a few extra fresh ingredients every few days. Lets try and get back into the habit of doing that a bit more, as it saves time and money. Every bit of food you buy will be destined for a meal, so you wont waste food, and you wont be tempted to nip into the chippie as you pass it because youll have a delicious meal planned at home. For many people, its actually time or rather a lack of it that is the real barrier to cooking your own meals from scratch.