The trick is in the ingredients

One thing I have found since cooking more regularly, is that if you use good ingredients you can't really go wrong.

If you are serious about diet, then the most important thing I would recommend is to look at where you are getting your food from.

Meat
For those of us chasing muscle gain, meat is really important. I've always loved meat, even before protein levels were of any concern to me.

It is tempting to buy supermarket meat. They have good deals, a large range and are a very convenient option. All this is well and good, but I would not recommend getting meat from the majority of supermarkets. Supermarket meat is watery, low quality and has additives to increase the shelf-life. This is not what you want.

One of the best decisions I made with regards to health and fitness was to visit my local butcher. The meat is higher quality, more pure with less water, and to top it off the service I get there never fails to put a smile on my face.

If you don't have access to a local butcher, or you just don't have the time, then the one supermarket I would recommend for meat would be Waitrose. This is the lesser of many evils, it's not quite as good as butcher's meat, but it's lightyears ahead of other well-known supermarkets. This brings me onto my next point, quite conveniently.

Other groceries
Another decision, made fairly recently in fact, was to start shopping at Waitrose. Shopping in Waitrose is a much better experience than other supermarkets I could mention, and the quality of the produce is way ahead.

The selection of veg is vast, and whenever I hear about the latest superfood you can almost guarantee that Waitrose will stock it. My first roast dinner I had with Waitrose ingredients completely sold me.

I should also take this time to dispell the ridiculous rumour that Waitrose is more expensive than other supermarkets. This is completely untrue!

I usually spend less than I did at the previous supermarket I frequented, and I'm getting a much higher quality of food for my money. If you visit Waitrose at the right time of day you will even find them reducing veg that will be good to use for up to a week after buying!

 I think that these simple life choices have proved extremely effective. I feel healthier, more alert, and I am getting leaner quicker. Remember, if you use good ingredients, you can hardly put a foot wrong.