Thai Food for Health 0
Dining in the UK is, like so many aspects of modern life, sometimes a compromise. In days gone by, when gender roles conformed to long-established stereotypes, a housewife would prepare a full, cooked meal for the family to share in the evening. These days, when it is more likely that both partners in a relationship will have careers, time is at a premium and many begrudge time spent cooking after a busy day at work. Consequently, takeaway food and restaurant meals account for a larger part of our diet then ever before.
While many of us avoid the kind of fast food that we consider to be junky American imports, such as burgers and greasy fried chicken, we do not seem to be so aware of the health aspects of other cuisines which, although established, are also relative newcomers to our shores.
Health in diet and lifestyle is a modern obsession. We shy away from overdoing the very obvious unhealthy foods. We limit our intake of cakes, sweets, chips, but we are less wary of eating Indian and Chinese restaurant meals or takeaways – perhaps several times a week – even though, at the back of our minds, we know that these are often as full of fat, sugar and salt as the more obvious junk foods.
Of the imported cuisines popular in the UK, Thai food offers one of the most consistently healthy and well-balanced diets available. Its various techniques and components are a fusion of contributions made by the Asian, European and African cultures that, at various periods, took advantage of the trade routes upon which Thailand was so well placed. It is almost as if it has embraced all the best elements from the many influences that played parts in its evolution, while leaving out most of the things which we now know are not healthy to eat. Read the rest of this entry →