* She’s always refused to eat meat substitutes on the grounds of their high fat content. Although recently I’ve noticed that she’s begun to eat Quorn products occasionally, she’s told me that she only eats them on days when she’s done a certain amount of exercise to burn off the calories (walking into town to do some shopping). It’s the same with dried fruit like raisins.

* She’s almost got a sort of ritualistic behaviour around food – like in the way eats (cutting everything into minuscule pieces) how long it takes her (she times herself, taking about 20 mins per meal) and the inflexible manner in which she does it (eating only at a certain time. She gets up at 7am every single day to have breakfast and won’t eat anything after 8pm)

* She won’t drink with her meals. She read once in an article that apparently it’s better to drink a large glass of water about 25 mins before eating instead of with the actual meal itself. She hasn’t ever since.

* She seems terrified of eating any refined foods. I know that wholegrains are supposed to be good for you but there was this one time when we’d run out of wholemeal bread and she absolutely refused to make a sandwich with the white loaf, having a can of soup on its own instead.

* She won’t to eat anything containing sugar, butter (or spread), cheese (cheddar & cream) or peanut butter. She also won’t drink any juice from concentrate.

* She used to have this weird thing when she only ate half of her bowl of porridge in the morning – now instead she just has a fruit ‘salad’ (usually a bowl of berry fruits, 1 apple and banana) with fat-free natural yoghurt.

* She used to be upset if she didn’t manage to achieve her ‘5-a day’ but seems to be letting that go now.

* She’s admitted to usually planning her meals a day before she actually has them.

* She’s not anorexic but she’s quite thin and a bit underweight now – she says that she doesn’t see this as a serious problem though as she can still stick her stomach out.

It’s hard to explain – she doesn’t seem absolutely obsessed but it definitely doesn’t seem normal. Does it sound like I should intervene somehow.

Also one for tuna sandwich spread. Something with interest?

*yuk, gags, thinks of REVENGE*