"You really ought to eat more fruit and veg", she said to me, eyeing my huge bowl of pancakes, cream and chocolate sauce.
"The heck are you talking about?" I asked. "This is right healthy, this is. Pancakes are make from flour, which is made from grain and I'm pretty sure that's a vegetable of some sort. Cream? Cream is make from grass and water, so that's totally one of my five a day. And chocolate? Chocolate is a bean, and beans are way healthy. Noted for their cardiac properties." I scooped another dollop into my mouth.
"Cream is one of your five a day? Have you even looked at what counts as your five a day?"
I considered this whilst I wiped cream off my face. "Actually", I said, "No."
So I did.
Looking at the government's 'five a day' website, I've got admit that I was surprised by the sheer volume of vegetative matter you might have to consume to meet the guidelines. Some vegetables are better than others, obviously - stuff like kale you only need a little - but others you need more. A lot more. I was especially stuck when I noticed that 1 portion of your five a day is "Eight cauliflower florets".
Eight.
That's forty cauliflower florets in a single day for your full allocation.
A quick headcount at the greengrocers informed me that forty cauliflower florets is pretty much three entire cauliflowers and ever since then I've have had this terrible urge. It's like a story by Edgar Allen Poe, or maybe The Enigma of Amigara Fault. The hapless protagonist learns of some dangerous/creepy/bloody stupid action and is then wracked by an awful temptation to perform it despite knowing what the effects will be.
In this case, I know what the effects will be - nobody will talk to me for a day and I'll get a seat to myself on the train.
But... eating three entire cauliflowers in a day. It draws me with a horrible gnawing power.
"The heck are you talking about?" I asked. "This is right healthy, this is. Pancakes are make from flour, which is made from grain and I'm pretty sure that's a vegetable of some sort. Cream? Cream is make from grass and water, so that's totally one of my five a day. And chocolate? Chocolate is a bean, and beans are way healthy. Noted for their cardiac properties." I scooped another dollop into my mouth.
"Cream is one of your five a day? Have you even looked at what counts as your five a day?"
I considered this whilst I wiped cream off my face. "Actually", I said, "No."
So I did.
Looking at the government's 'five a day' website, I've got admit that I was surprised by the sheer volume of vegetative matter you might have to consume to meet the guidelines. Some vegetables are better than others, obviously - stuff like kale you only need a little - but others you need more. A lot more. I was especially stuck when I noticed that 1 portion of your five a day is "Eight cauliflower florets".
Eight.
That's forty cauliflower florets in a single day for your full allocation.
A quick headcount at the greengrocers informed me that forty cauliflower florets is pretty much three entire cauliflowers and ever since then I've have had this terrible urge. It's like a story by Edgar Allen Poe, or maybe The Enigma of Amigara Fault. The hapless protagonist learns of some dangerous/creepy/bloody stupid action and is then wracked by an awful temptation to perform it despite knowing what the effects will be.
In this case, I know what the effects will be - nobody will talk to me for a day and I'll get a seat to myself on the train.
But... eating three entire cauliflowers in a day. It draws me with a horrible gnawing power.