Jamie Oliver; Ministry of Food

troo

When my kids first started school, they were 'STARVING MUM, WHAT'S FOR TEA?' the second they walked through the door so we didn't eat together as a family, mr troo didn't get home from work til 6pm. The dining table was too high for them really - if it was comfy for adults, then it wasn't really going to fit kiddies, was it? So they would use a little plastic table, sometimes even while watching TV :eek: :rotfl: And sometimes they ate off the floor, we called it a picnic :rolleyes: I didn't care where they ate, as long as it was healthy food. The only rule was, don't eat (meals) alone. I've always thought you should eat with someone - dunno where I got that idea from, it was just my thing. lol.

Penelope_Penguin

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Claw_back_money

Snipped:

Anwen wrote: »

I liked AA Gill's take on the show:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4867579.ece

(about a third of the way down the page, after the Little Britain stuff)

There are some good points there. LMAO at the James May bit too!
Cbm

lilmisskitkat

Phew! Glad my Fibromyalgia hasn't made me as bitter as Anwen eh?!

Though now she'll probably diagnose me as she has a previous poster and say i haven't 'really' got it :rolleyes:

K xx

HariboJunkie

Anwen wrote: »

Oh well, if people go round saying they have 'really bad depression' and therefore know that it is 'no excuse' for basically anything, then I kind of feel that I have the right (as someone who actually has major depressive illness) to point out that actually 'really bad depression' is horrible but not nearly as bad as it gets, and also that it's not an excuse for anything, it's a reason.

But who are you to say your depression is worse than any one elses? This is an internet forum. Anyone can say they have major depressive illness and because we don't know eachother it's impossible to say how severe it is.
So to paraphrase you... I kind of feel that I have the right to point out that you are in fact being as judgemental of Shazrobo as other people are of the mothers on Jamie Olivers programme.

lainz

After watching the programme and reading the comments on here, I checked out the website that goes with the programme, from the recipes on the site, they do look really simple and he has info on stock cupboard basics (ok some of them I wouldn't consider, but that's more personal taste).

I would guess that that when he first went up he had no idea that people would literally no idea how to cook and has since revised his recipes to reflect that. I would guess in the upcoming weeks we will see the recipes pared back a bit.

Whatever you think of Jamie (I think he's alright) he's got everyone talking again, and hopefully a few people will be inspired to learn to cook. There was a comment in the paper today that due to the credit crunch more people are going back to home cooking as it's cheaper.

pinknfluffy

It's a shame there isn't a 'no thanks' button, because this post was absolutely disgusting, along with several others...

Anwen
I couldn't care less if you thank me or not, it was my opinion and when i last checked, in a democratic society, I believe I am entitled to my own opinion.

I ENJOYED eating at the table with my children and the children on the show seemed to enjoy it too, IMO spending time with their mother is more important than what they eat.

No I have never suffered from 'severe' depression but I do suffer from severe Rhuematoid Arthritis (and the depression that goes with it), I am unable to chop or peel vegetables, carry saucepans empty or full or to manipulate my hands enough to make most of what JO makes. My mother left when I was 13 and I looked after my Dad & Brother and I have been a single parent on benefits (I know i am lucky to be educated) but boy am I glad that I am not as bitter as you are.

I guess this is what the programme is for to spark intelligent debate, but I don't think it is supposed to get so personal. I am well aware of the saying until you have walked a mile in my shoes I use it frequently, IMO I think it is very sad that the young woman in question is not enjoying her children growing up and I agree that that is a social problem not a culinary one and therefore Jamie Oliver is unable to help, but at least he is having a go.

I am not going to read or post on this thread anymore even though I have enjoyed it up to now as I think attacks of a personal nature on posters is unproductive in the extreme.

fatpiggy

I watched the first programme of this series, and overall I think the people who volunteered for it need life lessons before cooking lessons. To say you spend £70 a week on takeaway food but can't afford "proper" food is blatently mistaken. I can feed myself for a couple of days for the price of a Big Mac meal. These girls clearly just have no idea about coping strategies, budgeting, even cleaning if the house Jamie visited and commented on the pile of drinks cans and fag ends outside the back door, is anything to go by - the kitchen floor and surfaces were FILTHY. I'm sorry, but there is no excuse for a healthy young adult who isn't working, to bring up children in such squalor. Get your !!!! off the sofa, switch off Jeremy Kyle and get your scrubbing brush (and the Stardrops!!) out dear. The mother of the child who only ate takeaway food was clearly bright and keen to change things, but by her own admission, couldn't cope at times. She came across as enthusiastic and evidently a good teacher to her friends, but unable to prioritise and get things in perspective. Her house looked beautifully clean and tidy, a palace really, but when you haven't got much money, do you really need a massive TV (which probably guzzles electricity) and a leather suite? I wouldn't mind that sort of thing myself, but I buy from charity shops and Ebay. You cannot say that you can't afford fresh food if you are puffing on 20 a day, or whatever. Many years ago, my grandmother told my grandfather that they couldn't afford for him to smoke anymore, so he just stopped. Even if you can't do that, you can cut a few out during the day for a start.
It is easy to say, well Jamie is a millionaire, what does he know about living on a low income? Jamie himself said he couldn't understand why people lived like they did, but that wasn't because see why they did - in fact he could EXACTLY why they did. I suppose it is easier to see the bigger picture when you are not standing in it. Surely a cooperative could be formed in Rotherham to help such people to improve their situation? Retired teachers could help people to improve their reading and maths, others could advise on how to budget, perhaps how to dig up their back gardens and grow some veg for themselves. Helping young mums by having a toy library, outgrown baby clothes, whatever. I'm quite sure this sort of thing went on during the war, but I suppose in those days we still had communities, not just housing estates.

MrsE_2

Anwen wrote: »

And you have totally missed the point. There is NO MORAL SUPERIORITY in eating at a sodding table. Maybe her chlidren DON'T LIKE sitting at the table, maybe the kitchen is COLD. Just because you've seen a tiny glimpse of their life on the bloody telly, doesn't mean you know anything about them.

If it makes you feel good to convince yourself that you are superior to someone because you eat at a table then go right ahead, but that seems pretty pathetic to me.

I liked AA Gill's take on the show:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4867579.ece

(about a third of the way down the page, after the Little Britain stuff)

My moral superiorty is that I didn't feed my child kebab-in-a-box on the floor with her hands as her daily dinner.
Takeaways are an occasional treat in our home, not our daily diet.

I KNOW enough about her to know she feeds her children a rubbish diet of cr4p she can't even be bothered to prepare let alone wash up after.

BilberryCharlotte

Please don`t let`s get too heated over all this, we all are entitled to our opinions and should be able to discuss them without resorting to nastiness.

I found this programme very interesting, but when I thought about it some things didn`t add up. I liked the young woman (Tasha?) very much, but I couldn`t understand why her boyfriend didn`t show her how to cook. He was supposed to own a cafe. Also, if she didn`t have to pawn stuff to buy the takeaways, aprox £12.00 per night apparently, why did she have to pawn stuff to buy fresh food, even if some of it was salmon ?

I hope this girl and the others manage to come to grips with providing nourishing and economical food for themselves and their families, possibly that might help with some of the depression. Isn`t it a good feeling when you make something nice and your family love it? I know I feel that if I manage to get things reasonably sorted I feel better than when I just worry about how things will turn out.

In any case, there is nothing wrong with the odd ready meal/takeaway IMO, great for if a `not feeling too great day`, but I wouldn`t like to live on them permanently.

Eating from polystyrene trays on the floor could be fun, a sort of `pic-nciky` adventure now and again, but I don`t think it is good on a regular basis. Part of eating meals with cutlery and sitting at a table together is preparing children for the outside world, giving them the social skills to cope with various situations they may find themselves in outside the home.

I admire Jamie, but I think that there are lots of posters on here who could go in and take this problem by the scruff of the neck. showing people how to budget, prepare and cook meals economically etc.

A ounce if help is worth a ton of pity.