Like many working people, I never actually cook anything - I just don´t have time. My mother, on the other hand, still cooks a full three-course meal every evening, but then she doesn´t have to work any more. I usually work very long hours and now I´m writing a book in my spare time, so ready meals are the perfect solution - or are they?

According to a survey by a British market research company, we only spend 20 minutes cooking each day - 20 years abo it was an hour a day. One reason for this change is ready meals. Now you can heat up a delicious Indian, Thai, Chinese or Italian meal in the microwave in under four minutes. What could be easier or quicker?

We all know these ready meals taste delicious, but many experts now believe they´re bad for our health because hey often contain a lot of sugar, fat and salt. Health advisers say that we shouldn´t eat ready meals too often and we need to read the labels carefully. Despite this, people who live in the UK spend over 1 billion punds a year on ready meals and the market is growing rapidly.

People in the USA and Sweden also buy a lot of reay meals, and they are becoming more commonin Germany, France and Holland. The Sapnish and Italians still cook their own meals, but things are beginning to change there too. My mother will never change, though - now she´s doing an evening course in traditional English cooking!

adapted from Face2face Intermediate, Cambridge, 2006
Last modified: Friday, 24 June 2011, 2:50 PM