Andy Newman looks at food and drink days in November

As October draws to a close, we find ourselves at the tail end of two perhaps contradictory such campaigns: ‘Go Sober for October’ (why do they always choose a 31 day month for these abstinence initiatives – surely February is the obvious one to pick) and Pizza Month. 

Given that I can’t imagine tucking into a Pepperoni special without an accompanying glass of red wine, there are no prizes for guessing which of these two promotional drives I have taken most notice of.

Just in case Sober October has not made you miserable enough, November begins with World Vegan Day. 

This should, of course, coincide with a campaign highlighting the dangers of consuming too many Ultra-Processed Foods, given that much of the products which are aimed at replacing the (unprocessed) protein obtained from meat and fish were described by Cambridge University obesity expert Dr Giles Yeo earlier this year as ‘ultra-processed foods with very good PR’.

Trendy substitutes for perfectly good and mainly healthy traditional ingredients will undoubtedly be discussed again just a week later on November 8, which is National Cappuccino Day. 

A whole generation has convinced themselves that ersatz milks are somehow healthier than the stuff that comes out of a cow.  They obviously haven’t read the label.

Coconut milk, for example, contains nearly 17pc fat – about the same as single cream, and a whopping eight times the fat content of semi-skimmed milk; almond milk is generally only 2pc almonds (which is why it is so watery); most milk substitutes are sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners such as aspartame; and none provide the calcium - which our bodies need 700mg of every day - that real milk contains.

You are probably better off delaying your coffee until November 23, which is National Espresso Day, when the real/false milk argument becomes redundant, because it is left out of the drink altogether.

If you do celebrate National Cappuccino Day, make sure you set your alarms the next day for Greek Yoghurt Day (November 9). 

As well as being natural and delicious, Greek yoghurt is a probiotic, so good for the gut, is high in calcium and protein, and can even reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Talking of type 2 diabetes, November 16 s Fast Food Day.  Given the huge marketing budgets of fast food companies and the hold they have on our national diet, does this day really need to exist?

Those with a sweet tooth will be looking forward to November 17, which is National Baklava Day. 

No-one ever claimed this sweet, flaky and decadent pastry treat was healthy, although I suppose you could pretend that the presence of nuts such as pistachios and walnuts gives a nod towards good nutrition. 

Who cares, can we not just celebrate something which is simply nice to eat from time to time?

If you do over-indulge on baklava on the 17th, you probably shouldn’t open the newspaper the next day, which is when Sugar Awareness Week starts. 

For me, the most useful part of this campaign is to point out the absurd amount of sugar present in even savoury processed foods – I think we can all work out that eating too many sugary snacks is hardly going to enhance our health, but the hidden sugar in so many of the foods we buy in the supermarket is rather less obvious.

And then, just in time for the start of the run-up to Christmas, comes National Stuffing Day on November 21.  You really don’t need me to comment on this, do you?  I’m sure you can make up your own jokes.

If all this being nagged about healthy eating is too much for you, then I suggest you get to your local bar on November 12, which is National Happy Hour Day. 

This campaign aims to make us all explore local venues, try new cocktails, and, according to the organisers, simply ‘relax and have fun’.  Which is surely what food and drink should be all about.