Last weekend I read an interesting article by Jay Rayner, a food critic and commentator, about how, in his opinion, “supermarkets have made our lives better.”

This is an unfashionable viewpoint with many people who consider themselves committed foodies - they will refuse to step into a supermarket and if they do it’s always with a hint of shame and despair at having been caught out by the system.

However, for many people supermarkets are the best (and occasionally only) option. The range of products is broad and tailored to the local community, prices are affordable and the time that needs to be spent on shopping can be managed better with a single location/online ordering.

Having said that, there are many concerns about the power that supermarkets wield. As Jay says, “We know that massive supermarkets have been squeezing producers for years, slicing margins which, in turn, has had a knock-on effect on the quality of produce. The excesses of industrial food production in the country are a direct result of the buying policies of the supermarkets.”

These are important issues which need addressing. Here in the UK there was some hope that the Competition Commission which has just reported after a two-year investigation into whether supermarkets abuse their market position, drive small rivals out of business or abuse their suppliers. The recommendations seem to lack teeth and significant change is unlikely.

This means, as ever, it’s important that we all take the time to think about the issues associated with the industry which puts food in front of us. We need to make informed choices and take responsibility for the system, whether it’s small-scale and homespun or national and industrial, that we support.

What are the key issues for you and what choices do you make? join the debate at the daily tiffin, a blog that helps people have a healthy family lifestyle, and which to which i am a regular contributor.

well, i’m not quite sure how that happened but it’s 2008 – happy new year everyone!

inevitably it’s a time of contemplation, both looking back over the past twelve months and forward into the coming year. i’m always more interested in what’s around the corner and have particularly been thinking about how i want to develop my cooking in 2008.

healthy eating is a theme of eat the right stuff and this will continue, particularly in the early months of the year as i start on a health kick. i also want to continue exploring the incredible variety of foods that different cultures create. i had this as a resolution last january and am ashamed at how little i achieved, so this year i shall redouble my efforts.

i want to make better use of my collection of cookery books. the final months of last year were very busy and i got into a bit of a rut, cooking old favourites or dishes rooted in familiarity. this year i want to broaden the way i approach cooking and learn new ways of putting dishes together, particularly different ways to use herbs and spices.

i want to visit as broad a range of shops and restaurants as possible and regularly have “how to” cooking sessions, hopefully some of which will be shared with friends (this is in lieu of expensive cookery classes as 2008 is also going to be a year of increased frugality! if you want to get involved, let me know). my participation in the daring bakers will also help, pushing me to make dishes i wouldn’t otherwise consider.

i also want to explore the huge range of food-related careers that exist, giving us all a peek into the many ways that people integrate their love of food with their work. the first profile will go live next week, if you know anyone who should be featured, let me know.

finally, and this is specifically related to blogging, i want to broaden the range of things i write about. you’ll know that i regularly contribute to the daily tiffin, focussing on nutrition advice and i want to build on this as i continue my studies in nutritional medicine.

i’m feeling really excited about 2008, i hope you’ll have fun exploring these ideas with me.

the recently launched love food, hate waste website reminded me that here in the uk, a third of the food we buy ends up being thrown away. most of this is food that can be eaten, not just banana skins and tea bags.

for every three bags of food we carry home, we are effectively dropping one straight into the bin. as well as being a waste of money this is also a huge waste of resources.

as we approach christmas, a time when many of us are buying more food than usual, it is particularly important that we think about how to ensure that we are not wasting food

read more over at the daily tiffin, a blog that helps people have a healthy family lifestyle. i'll write about healthy eating, over at the daily tiffin, every fortnight.

it’s been a thought-provoking week. a number of friends, who are lucky enough to have a garden and grow their own vegetables, have given us some of their produce. potatoes, courgettes, runner beans, green beans and elephant garlic all arrived in my kitchen thanks to these generous folks, along with a jar of honey produced by the bees owned our friends kate & steve.

kate & steve also provided us with a meal full of products they were responsible for producing, including blackberries, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes and eggs. it was this, plus last night’s supper, which featured a salad made from the potatoes and beans that we had been given, that started me thinking.

everything tasted so good. and why wouldn’t it? freshly-picked produce grown with love and care is always going to be better than something that is mass-produced and slow to arrive on our plates. i want more of this home-grown/produced food!

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hello and welcome to any readers of scotland on sunday who've discovered eat the right stuff through the "dinner with" feature in last sunday’s paper. i hope you enjoy exploring the blog and find some recipes you'd like to try. and if you see something that piques your interest, let me know what you think - comments are hugely welcome!

below is a copy of the interview.

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