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Why should home cooking not be classed as fast food? How long does it take to grab a carrot, peel it and start munching away on it? Under a minute. You should be able to make yourself scrambled eggs on toast in under five minutes. If you whisk in with the eggs a little French mustard, garlic and tomato puree then it tastes so much better.
Many vegetables are best eaten raw. Coleslaw is just grated carrot, finely sliced cabbage, onion mixed in with mayonnaise, and possibly some raisins and peanuts too. Again this can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. Have you tried eating the heart of a cabbage raw? Try it; it is so sweet and crunchy, a true delight that people just ignore and once you've tried it you won't be able to stop yourself. In summer, fresh peas eaten raw and served with a simple olive oil and lemon juice vinaigrette are simple great. Carrots too, once they are peeled are wonderful raw; they are sweet, juicy and crunchy and a lot better for you as none of the vitamins or minerals have been destroyed by the cooking process.

So where does fast home cooked meat put in an appearance? If you like burgers as I do then make your own. They are dead simple and because you know what's gone into them you will enjoy them much more. The trick here is to make a load one day then bung them in the freezer and take them out as and when you want them. The method is very simple. Either buy some stewing steak and mince it or buy good lean minced beef, 500g or a pound will do. Add to that a minced or finely chopped onion, a pinch of dried mixed herbs, 5ml or a teaspoon of salt, about 15ml or a tablespoon of tomato paste and the same of olive oil and mix together in a bowl. Then grab a handful of meat and shape them in your hands so they look like burgers. I use a muffin ring and press them into a nice round shape with the back of a spoon, but using hands is much more fun. Once you have them made then place them on squares of greaseproof paper and place then in the freezer. You should get four really nice burgers from that.
Using minced meats allows you to make any number of tasty things. Minced lamb with garlic and mint and lemon and formed round skewers, grilled or cooked on a BBQ will give you a nice kofte kebab; again make them in advance and leave in the freezer. A word of warning; if you do cook meat from frozen make sure it is cooked all the way through otherwise you might be spending most of the day on or near a toilet and no one wants that!
Making salads is again one of those tasks that take take literally seconds to put together. Cubes of Feta cheese mixed with sliced tomato is very tasty and takes about a minute to prepare, especially with a squirt of lemon juice and a sprinkling of parsley or coriander. A twist on this would be to lay the tomato on a heatproof plate, place the feta on top and stick it under the grill for a couple of minutes so the feta melts.
Everyone claims to live a in a world so hectic they never have time to prepare a meal, but then spend thirty minutes going to a take away or waiting the same amount of time while the food is delivered. Thirty minutes is plenty of time to prepare a great meal for the whole family, and that could be two courses.
So I say make up your own home fast food and enjoy not just the eating but the whole cooking process. It's relaxing and very enjoyable and a lot better for you than the stuff called food you get from a fast food outlet; and don't forget fast food restaurants are there to make a profit, they are not there to worry about the state of your health.

Learn more about this author, Ian Pauley.
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