I mean I know I should care, really, but I can't make myself. I've given away our breadmaker and everything. (To be fair, I wouldn't have done if I had more counter space but it was just So Big).

To give you a historic spin on the matter, my great-grandma had to be physically restrained from sprinkling salt on my food when I was a baby as according to her just a few grains would stimulate the taste buds. Now, presumably that means my mother and grandmother had endured the same treatment and yet their kidneys haven't failed.

I appreciate, however, that a sample of two isn't scientifically compelling. Not only that, food has changed a lot since those days and processing adds layers of salt that we don't even taste any more. But I'd still have to say that it's not something I'm enormously troubled by. I don't add salt to things like pasta or veg, and we never add any at the dinner table, so I don't really pay much attention to salt in ham, cheese and bread since Babybear's turned one. Plus we've always preferred unsalted butter.

We do add a bit of veal stock to casseroles and maybe some reduced salt Marigold to soups (although is it only me or does it make things taste awfully same-y?) so I think that makes us fairly virtuous on the salt front. Plus, Babybear drinks water well, so I'm not worried about dehydration.

Am I kidding myself, however? Should I be more stressed about it? What do you lot do? Answers on a postcard please...

Aaaaah, Quorn. That's on my list of 'things we should eat more of.' Or is that tofu? I get so confused...

"Hi there Aitch,

I thought it was about time we had a Quorn recipe on the blog so here is a recipe for veggie meatballs.  It isn’t really mine, I have amended it from Jenny Maizels book but the Pumpkin loves these served with a tomato sauce and pasta so I thought I would share it.  Be warned though, it can be quite messy.

 

Veggie Meatballs (but you could use mince and have normal meatballs). Makes about 16

 

1 small red onion chopped

1clove garlic, chopped

200g veggie mince (I use Quorn)

1tsp dried mixed herbs

1tsp of smoked paprika

2-3 tbsp of passata/tinned toms (I usally use passata but I don’t think it matters much)

11/2 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs

1 beaten egg

 

Heat some olive oil and fry onion and garlic until soft

Add mince with herbs and tomatoes, cook for about 5 mins (until it is cooked through if you are using meat rather than veggie stuff)

Stir in breadcrumbs, leave to cool and then stir in the egg.

Shape into walnut size balls (you can freeze any you don’t want immediately at this point)

Place on a greased baking sheet for about 20 mins (200/400/gas mark 6)"