LAST week we had a very interesting discussion with the guys from Anytime Fitness relating to the idea that fitness starts in the kitchen.

They noticed that many of their members, although training hard in the gym, were not taking their diet as seriously as maybe they should be.

We agreed a different approach was needed to make people aware that eating correctly helps with wellbeing.

Fitness and nutrition go hand in hand and so it seems a natural progression that Anytime Fitness and The Wood Street Foodhall work together to endorse our belief in food and fitness. We are also willing to give advice on how foods can help improve fitness.

Now that Christmas is well and truly over, the fish markets have stabilised and fish is returning to more respectable prices. The price of Dover soles, sardines, herring, cod and salmon have come down, although for some reason lemon soles are still a bit high.

As it is the time for stews and warming foods I have fish pie mixes, filleted, skinned and already diced up in half kilo and kilo bags – ideal for the freezer. Also something which is coming back into fashion is cod’s roe and soft herring roe. I have seen a big demand for these over the last few weeks.

Clams are great at this time of the year and spaghetti alle vongole is proving a big favourite among many of my customers. This dish is very simple and is basically clams in a tomato and white wine sauce with garlic and herbs.

Put a large pan of cold salted water on to boil. Sort through the clams and get rid of those with broken shells. Tap any clams that are open on the work surface – if they don’t close, throw them away.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water. Meanwhile, heat a large glug of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan and fry a crushed clove of garlic, a chopped chilli and a tin of chopped tomatoes for 3-4 mins. Add the clams, pour in a large glass of wine and quickly put on the lid. Cook for 3-4 mins, shaking the pan occasionally until all or most of the clams have opened. Discard any that don’t open.

Drain the spaghetti and mix with the clams and parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices. As the Italians would say, buon appetito!