Hi,

** Just re-read your post, sorry - it was a bit confusing - and I think I've got the wrong end of the stick completely!!! I'm leaving the rest here though in case it's any use. SORRY! Lol. **

I'm a coeliac (no gluten - ie anything nice like pastries, bread, pasta etc, although I do eat the GF versions!) and I've recently started a mediterranean diet for health and medical reasons, along with a very chequered family medical history which makes it sensible for me to eat well...

We are perpetually strapped for cash (lost my job to the CRPS, and am self-employed now), so of course it's awkward to shop, especially with two children in school who strip the cupboards like vultures! When I was researching a healthy diet I had to do a lot of manoeveuring because I can't just go and buy nice posh expensive ingredients

The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest in the world and the one which stands up to scrutiny and research again and again (most diets are discredited after the initial enthusiasm), it has been shown to cut the risks for many health problems which are prevalent in the modern world. Basically your body needs certain fats, vitamins and minerals and we tend not to supply enough of them, and overload our bodies with saturated (bad) fats, salt and sugar.

Basically you need to do a few basic things which make the most difference:

- Use extra virgin olive oil every day in your food, drizzled on pasta and salad, used to cook meals etc.
- Eat nuts (as long as you aren't allergic!) every day. Not salted ones, just normal nuts like almonds, Brazils, hazlenuts, walnuts, cashews, unsealed peanuts. Many nuts contain very important minerals that our bodies need.
- Drink a glass of red wine with your evening meal if you can (be sensible re meds etc)
- eat fruit or veg with every meal, as much as you can. This one is like a habit - the first few days are hard, then it becomes normal and not a chore. Even my kids are fine with it now
- swap any sugar you use to brown (unrefined)
- eat oily fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, etc) once a week
- eat red meat only once a week.
- switch to whole grained foods (brown rice, pasta and bread)

And of course a few things you need to try to stop. Try to cut out completely:

- saturated fats ie butter, lard
- processed foods like biscuits, ready meals, etc.
- foods containing processed sugars like corn syrup, ie sweetened cereal
- processed meat like bacon and ham (lots of additives)
- white bread, white pasta, white rice (all very processed)
- 'low fat' food like yogurts etc - tend to be stuffed with sugar and additives.

It's hard to do on a budget, but to be honest not half as hard as I expected. A lot of processed food is very expensive compared to the calorific goodness If you shop around to start with you get wise very quickly to the places you can buy cheap decent food. Veg is actually pretty cheap, but avoid supermarket bagged veg (even offers) as it tends to be expensive, it's better to get veg from a market or local store, especially at the end of the day when they often put things out cheaply. Buy things like chicken thighs (cheaper and tastier than breast anyway) in big packs, then split the pack into food bags and freeze them for defrosting when you're ready. Nuts and dried fruit are best bought in bulk from a health food shop or market etc, then stored in glass jars. There's lots you can do to save money.

The biggest thing is to plan your food for a week and buy accordingly. If you use up leftovers, use up everything you buy and try not to throw away uneaten food, you can do it fairly cheaply. If you can't do the whole thing, just eating olive oil, veg and a variety of nuts every day, and cutting back on sugary or processed foods will make a big difference to your body.

Any questions do ask, it seems daunting but it is possible

Bram.