Saucy paste is tasty and simple

The last word on any food, even the good, clean variety: moderation

When I started this column nearly seven years ago there really was a lot of rubbish food in the supermarkets.

I had no trouble picking up an item every week and discovering all sorts of artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and all those other additives you have read about over the years.

But lately I have noticed a trip to the supermarket is a lot more rewarding for healthy eaters. Countdown has a whole section devoted to “free- from” eaters and many of their own brands are without artificial colours and flavours.

It seems people like me and you make a difference when we walk into a supermarket and make a good food choice. So keep doing it.

But just choosing food with as many natural ingredients as possible is only half the issue. I think now we have that sorted there are other things we need to concentrate on, such as portion size.

You may be eating a packet of chips with only three natural ingredients in it — potatoes, oil and salt — but of you’re eating a jumbo packet or two then you’re overloading your system and will soon struggle to keep your weight at a healthy level.

And then there’s sugar, now believed to be responsible for so many health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, dental issues and heart problems.

So while I encourage you all to keep reading those ingredient panels, it’s also really important to moderate what you eat and keep your sugar intake low.

I hope this column has helped some of you navigate the minefield that some ingredients labels can be and set you up to continue a lifetime of healthy, clean eating for years to come.

I’ve spent nearly seven years gazing at labels for this column and now it’s time to give my eyes a rest and call it quits as I’ve got a new job on the other side of town.

But being obsessively interested in what’s in our food is part of my DNA, so keep in touch.

As this is my last column I thought I’d let you in on one of my best finds in the supermarket.

It’s tasty, it’s cheap and it has only one ingredient that some of you may want to avoid. You can clearly see whole peanuts throughout this mix and they give a lovely roasted flavour to the sauce.