Make no mistake, I’m not the most health conscious person around when it comes to food. I eat what I like and tend to avoid what I don’t.

But with obesity affecting more people than ever before, especially children, there are fewer and fewer reasons left to justify bad diets.

Sadly, even the most prudent of food shoppers will struggle to feed themselves and others on a budget. It’s a well-known fact that junk food costs less because it’s cheaper to produce.

Worse still, it’s that time of year where you have to pre-order a turkey just to avoid disappointment and selection boxes are stacked to high heavens.

I did cookery as part of my Transition Year programme, which was a new but enjoyable experience. If I ever felt like picking it up again, I would certainly be wary of the ‘experts’.

A traditional cookbook packed with recipes could consume a whole day if you weren’t careful, given the sheer size of some of them.

I remember when Jamie Oliver awkwardly tried to trade a can of Coke with a schoolboy for a healthy food voucher – the same Jamie Oliver who paraded festive treats on behalf of Sainsburys.

Gordon Ramsay’s foul-mouthed vision of culinary perfection could drive even the cold-blooded Vince McMahon character to tears.

Rachel Allen’s signature range at O’Briens caught my attention at the time of its launch but I cannot for the life of me describe what a ‘Croque Monsieur Provencal’ sandwich is.

The new kid on the block – Donal ‘Kitchen Hero’ Skehan could be the answer to my problems. However, just like the other celebrity chefs, he makes a living out of his talent and has made wise investments in cooking equipment and work stations. How can full-time college students like me possibly compete?

Speaking of competing, the biggest culprit of food snobbery is without doubt, MasterChef. Normally, I would lap up a spot of competition, but it is most depressing and counter-productive to have a TV show put a plethora of hopeful cooks against each other and have their efforts judged one by one. You could easily have a World Cup of MasterChefs given how many versions there are.

As mentioned before, I’m not the healthiest eater in the world, but I’m just grateful to have food at all. I don’t want to take the moral high ground per se, but when I bother to take up my fair share of cooking responsibilities, I aim to serve safe food and keep people happy. I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case in my family.

Featured image by epSos.de on Flickr