Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

redmel1621 wrote: »

I usually cook family favourites, but then add a new one in every now and then...if it is a success then it becomes more regular, if not then depending on how simple/cheap/healthy it is it will either be completely boycotted or just made now and again.

That's the way I worked too..... that and getting the children to look through cookery books to find something the wanted to try (after careful selection of cookery books to let them loose on, so not ones full of complicated and expensive recipes )

The thing is they can AFFORD the £130/week. The saving they made (£90/week or £4,700 a year) is the same as Mum's salary - which they were about to lose. Plus they are presumably paying child-care for the twins while Mum is at work, so they'll also lose that expense once her job has gone (which should cover extra gas/electricity for the house being occupied 24/7).

So, in theory, if Mum's at home all day they'll actually now be better off !!!

I just watched this on iPlayer too and really enjoyed it. I do think that £130 is still quite a hefty budget, but at the end of the programme it did sound like they were getting a takeaway a week out of that too. I wonder if that also included household spends, nappies etc too.

I think I might macaroni cheese soon, although I usually add leeks rather than artichokes and just serve with peas and sweetcorn. It's also nice with some sweetcorn added to the cheese sauce. When I was a kid we used to have cheese and sweetcorn soup and that was lovely!

frugallily wrote: »

It shocked me when you consider how we all manage!! Navarin of lamb!!! Shan't be following too much of these programmes. Was horrified not just at the family but also at the amount they still spent after the advice. We should make a programme. "How to manage on much less!!!!"

But it was economy gastronomy - showing people how they could eat well without buying takeaways and spending as much as they had been.

You have to remember that these were not OSers, they were people who have been spending an absolute fortune (either through not knowing how to cook/budget/etc or sheer laziness) on takeaways and processed foods - giving them a budget of, say, £40 and letting them manage for the week would've been far too much of a shock and could only have been, IMO, detrimental. It may have forced them straight back to how they had been before.

The navarin of lamb looked delicious and it'll certainly be something I'll look at trying -my three year old loves lamb, she eats the little chops like lollipops

Another thing to bear in mind is that not all of our OSers are OS because they're struggling for money, they do it because they like the old ways, they hate waste, they don't like processed foods, etc

My son and I really enjoyed this programme. I felt all warm and glowy as my ds complimented me on all the things the family were taught to do and that I do anyway. :A It was a real eye opener for him to see that some children really do have a poor diet at home.

That said, what a lovely family. I'm sure lots of us have made parenting mistakes around food with a first or fussy child and the eldest son was simply a very cute and clever product of his parenting. The twins on the other hand show all the gusto and gumption of children who know they need to be quick to avoid having their dinner scoffed by their table mates. :rotfl: Gorgeous, just gorgeous! So nice to see supportive partners on the telly when you usually only hear doom and gloom. That couple are going to be like reformed smokers, by the end of the year they will be doing the 50p a day challenge!

Looking forward to the next episode for a therapeutic 'smug' and a furtive taking down of recipes to adapt.