As some of you will know, I set myself a challenge to cook one recipe a week using my extensive cookbook collection. Tonight I chose a recipe from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s Veg book. North African squash and chickpea stew is a lovely warming and filling winter dinner. With around 10 minutes prep time and just over 30 minutes cooking it is a perfect midweek meal and even leaves enough left over for lunch tomorrow-a great way of eating economically. The stew is full of chic

Just about every government in the world has a published set of healthy eating guidelines. In the UK one of the most well-known form is the ‘Eatwell Plate’. This is roughly based on a third each for fruit and veg and starchy foods such as bread and pasta with the remaining third made up of meat and fish, dairy and high fat and sugar food and drinks. While this is basic good advice there are some flaws. For example, although starchy foods are important, they should be limited