Essentially I continue to work with basic ingredients now I am hooked on the idea. That is unlikely to change. More time-consuming in theory perhaps than convenience foods and ready meals but I am in total control of my intake, as far as that is possible. That said, I quickly developed workarounds to save time, a natural human instinct.

The bulk of my intake was originally frozen. Fish and meats purchased fresh in bulk from time to time. A new tall freezer contains the bulk of perishable produce. The cost of running that paid for by savings on fuel, special deals and bulk offers.

Highly perishable fresh produce which cannot be frozen is harvested on return from my travels. Top-ups I call them. Likewise if I get a sudden urge to have a change.

I spend time machine-processing some vegetables in bulk, bagging them for the freezer. These are principally used for some very tasty and highly nutritious dishes, which usually turn in at no more than 100 kcal per 100g. Produced in batches, also for the freezer. The food processor only needs to be cleaned once, saving time. There is very little that cannot be frozen.

Daily I extract frozen vegetables from my small freezer and they are ready for steaming to perfection in one 15 to 20 minute process. Freezing seems to me to break down fibres in tough vegetables. I also steam all fish and turkey steaks. Other meat is cooked on a counter-top grill.

Steaming is quick, clean and healthy. Flavours never blend as they do when using a pressure-cooker. You will quickly learn to exploit this technique to best advantage. I use a two-tier stainless steel set that is heated on a 1kw gas hob. Quick and easy to maintain in pristine condition.

Most of this evolved naturally from adoption of these principles. Necessity really was the Mother of invention and all that.