Healthy Eating features

Real food for real lives

The Real Food Festival comes to London in April, giving consumers a rare chance to meet hundreds of artisan food and wine producers from around the world. So what is ‘real’ food – a passing fad or a genuine means of improving our health and environment?

Celebrity chefs, food writers, environmentalists, health experts? all seem to be giving us the same advice: eat more fresh, nutritious food produced by ethical and sustainable means. "The message is all around us that good food, nutrition and health go hand in hand, and we must eat more fresh, unprocessed foods," says food campaigner and environmentalist Graham Harvey, author of We Want Real Food.

One obstacle to sourcing ‘real’ food is that much of it is produced by small, local concerns that are unknown to most of us. The organisers of the Real Food Festival hope to change that by bringing together 500 of the best artisan producers from Britain and around the world so consumers "can discover them, see their passion, learn about them, taste their produce and then buy it to take home".

Real food is Good, Clean and Fair

While each exhibitor’s offering may be unique, all of the produce has one thing in common: it must be Good, Clean and Fair. "All our producers are selected on the basis that their products should taste GOOD; they should be produced in a CLEAN way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that the food producers should receive FAIR compensation for their work," say the festival’s organisers.

Visitors will be able to sample a wide range of ‘real’ produce – from organic wines, hand-blended herbal teas and home-made breakfast cereals to sausages and bacon from saddleback pigs and tinned fish from sustainable fishing sources. Other attractions during the four-day event include cookery classes and educational workshops, as well as cooking demonstrations in the Real Food Theatre by leading chefs such as Raymond Blanc.

The festival opens at Earl’s Court One in London on Thursday April 24 and runs until Sunday April 27. Tickets cost £15 in advance and £18 on the door. Further details are available at http://www.realfoodfestival.co.uk.

Grow it or buy it – we can all enjoy real food

The latest statistics on retail sales of organic products and edible plant seeds suggest that a growing number of us are prepared to pay higher prices for food produced by natural methods, and devote more of our time – and garden space! – to growing our own fruit and veg.

According to the Soil Association, organic food and drink sales hit £2 billion for the first time in 2006, while the Horticultural Trades Association reports that sales of vegetable seeds and other edible plant seeds are outstripping those of flowers.

But what about those of us who rely on supermarkets or high-street shops for most of our food? Regardless of where you shop, everyone can enjoy healthier, tastier food by choosing more fresh and fewer processed products, says dietitian Azmina Govindji. She advises:

• When you eat real food, you have a better chance of knowing what you’re eating. The simpler the ingredients, the better.
• Eating more fresh and unprocessed food gives you a better chance of meeting your fibre needs and cutting down on salt.
• If you look at the label of a ready meal, you might find a long list of ingredients. Opt for those products that have fewer ingredients – you might find they're tastier too!
• Fresh foods tend to have an attractive natural colour – think of juicy red tomatoes, bright orange peppers, purple beetroot and green broccoli. Having a variety of colours on your plate means you’re more likely to be getting a range of nutrients.

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