Eating Well V's Eating Cheaply??

leiela

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Sorry, I'm confused now, which is it

It's BOTH!! .... there seem to be 2 major issues with a few people on the boards ... those that pad out so much with veg that the protien and fats are almost none existant and those that seem to eat no fruit/veg at all.

It wasn't about one specific diet problem, it was about diets that arn't balanced... BALANCE is key here you can go too far in lots of directions.

I think we will all agree that a balanced diets include lots of things ... diets that swing to heavily in any single direction arn't healthy. Personally i try and get a good variety of food, but i also try and make sure my family eat well.

It's not rocket science, you don't need to to be a nutritionist to know that we need fruit, veg, protien, fat and complex carbs. any diet missing one of these key ingredients made up primarily of one one of these key ingredients isn't great.

nesssie1702

But irrespective of how much veg is in a meal, if there's protein there, then the body will be able to metabolise that protein and use it.

When it comes to fat, it's reckoned that most people consume far too much of it anyway, irrespective of its form (saturated or unsaturated, animal or vegetable)

When it comes to the food groups that the body needs - protein, fat, carbohydrate and don't forget the vitamins and minerals

Fruit and veg, depending on what it is will contain carbohydrates, fat (avocado), and lots of vitamins and minerals.

One meal might not contain all the nutrients, but so long as the diet is balanced, then the body does not lose out.

bandraoi

Looking at the meal plans people have posted up for next week Leiela does have a point.

Many people seem to effectively skip meals by having something I wouldn't consider a proper dinner - Jacket spud and 1 filling, omelette, beans on toast, soup and a roll. Once every two weeks, once a week maybe, but each of those dinners needs something with it, and some people seem to have them twice or three times a week. Fair enough if people are having other stuff with them too, but since it's a budgeting website, and the extra stuff costs money, to my mind it should be made clear.

Other meal plans I've seen include things like egg and chips one night, followed by beans on toast the next.

Penelope_Penguin

leiela wrote: »

It's BOTH!! .... there seem to be 2 major issues with a few people on the boards ... those that pad out so much with veg that the protien and fats are almost none existant and those that seem to eat no fruit/veg at all.

Well, I'm amazed at your insight :T I've never been able to tell that amount of information about families based on the scant information that people post here about their meal plans.

But frankly, I'm simply not in a position to judge anyone, so will now bow out of this discussion

Penny. x

vixtress

thriftlady wrote: »

I've just fed my family spaghetti with butter, cheese and garlic -and nothing else and I don't care:D How does anyone know what else we have eaten today, or what we will eat tomorrow, or indeed through the week? You don't have to treat every single meal as a lesson in nutrition.

OOOH that sounds delicious!!!

CFC

Well well there does seem to be a bit of an ethos in this thread about having a pop at leila which is rather ugly to see. If you think that everyone who posts in OS is a food saint you're sadly mistaken. Why should those on the OS board on a money saving site always be nutritionally sound? If you're talking about not judging others, then don't judge her either when she expresses an opinion, hey?

I put my hands up actually. I used to be one of the people she's thinking of. I confess to having previously really focussed on what food costs rather than on the overall quality. 20 years ago plus, I was OS and MSEing like mad (before it became popular) because we had no money. With hindsight, now I am older, I wish that I had made other choices. At the time, I would have defended my choices on the basis of the home economy. When you're young to be honest, you do tend to think less about overall health consequences for the future, as you tend to be healthy full stop. It's human nature, especially over 20 years ago when healthy living was not such a heavily promoted way of thought. Go back 10 years ago to when I started working full time I spent more but it was on stuff that took little time to prepare. Not good choices. Pasta cheese and pesto twice a week, anyone?

These days I control what we buy and what we eat from a different perspective. I'll buy better quality even if it's more expensive. Eg I buy low fat meat and bite the bullet on the bill. I watch how many times we eat pasta, because we don't eat a lot of veg with it usually, that kind of thing.

mummysaver

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I quite often leave the vegetable and fruit elements out of my meal plan as we eat what we fancy on the day, or what's available at the farm shop That's not to say we (or other posters) aren't eating F&V - we don't say so on our meal plans, but we eat about 7 portions each per day

TBH, most of the mealplans I see look pretty healthy :T

Penny. x

That's exactly what I was thinking as I've been reading this thread! When I occasionally post on the meal plan thread, if I put lasagne for dinner it doesn't mean just lasagne! It will be served with veg, winter salad or salad type stuff depending on the time of the year, the lasagne itself is often a veg one, but if meat or soya or quorn is used then it will also contain, onion, toms, and other assorted veg.

Pudding is often fruit, though at the mo my kids all seem to have hollow legs so I am trying out more stodgy type puddings, this could be seen as unhealthy, but has to be taken as part of what I consider to be a very balanced diet. They eat fruit throughout the day, we do not routinely have snacks like crisps, they don't eat chips very often, etc.

I think that you can eat cheaply and well. It all depends on where you buy your food and what you buy. For instance there is a world of difference between buying cheap/value/market carrots instead of posh tiny prepacked ones, and buying a value shepherds pie as opposed to making your own. I suspect that most people here would buy the cheap carrots but balk at the cheap ready meal - so in that case we would be buying cheaply buy eating well.

I think many many people would consider the OPs spend of £50 pw for the types of meal she provides for her family very cheap - this does not mean that she doesn't eat well!

We are all different and have differing budgets and needs, but I think that just about everyone on here is doing the best that they can.

Oh and lastly, I like the cheap curry sauce, no it may not be the best thing in the world I could eat nutritionally, but it's lovely poured over chips! And yes, this is a very occasional thing and a treat!

pickle

freyasmum wrote: »

Another thing, and it may be quite controversial But maybe people are eating noodles and hotdogs because they actually like them? Just because you see something on a meal planner doesn't mean that's all the person eats.

I also think this little quote is good here:



Fools seldom differ... :whistle:

True. We have hot dogs regularly because my daughter needs a high fat/protein diet and wholegrains etc are the last thing she needs as they fill her up. She'd happily eat nothing but fruit (she's only 2) all day. When she was 6 months I had a dreadful time trying to get her to put on weight and was there pureeing vegetables etc., in the end I had to resort to feeding her chocolate etc. (she'd throw up cheese and cream based food) to get the calories into her. Horses for courses.

EssexHebridean

CFC wrote: »

Well well there does seem to be a bit of an ethos in this thread about having a pop at leila which is rather ugly to see. If you think that everyone who posts in OS is a food saint you're sadly mistaken. Why should those on the OS board on a money saving site always be nutritionally sound? If you're talking about not judging others, then don't judge her either when she expresses an opinion, hey?

I don't think her opinion is what has upset people - it's the way in which she has put it across. I have to say that my first thought on reading the openoing post was that it was quite amazingly patronising....and ironic considering that it was posted by someone who, by their own admission, is eating a diet that is anything BUT nutritionally balanced in order to make her body do things it was never intended to do?! People have repeatedly asked her to give examples of costs against some sample meals she prepares, as inevitably they are curious as to how she is managing to feel her family good quality healthy food on the budget she's stated, however she's not done so, just repeated the same argument(s) over again. Not really any wonder that people are getting frustrated, is it!

freyasmum

bandraoi wrote: »

Looking at the meal plans people have posted up for next week Leiela does have a point.

Many people seem to effectively skip meals by having something I wouldn't consider a proper dinner - Jacket spud and 1 filling, omelette, beans on toast, soup and a roll. Once every two weeks, once a week maybe, but each of those dinners needs something with it, and some people seem to have them twice or three times a week. Fair enough if people are having other stuff with them too, but since it's a budgeting website, and the extra stuff costs money, to my mind it should be made clear.

Other meal plans I've seen include things like egg and chips one night, followed by beans on toast the next.

I LOVE beans on toast, would eat it every night if it were up to me.

Beans contain protein (amongst other goodies) and count as one of your five a day. The bread is high in carbohydrate, full of fibre and is an important part of a balanced diet.

May I ask, what exactly is the problem with it?

Omelette, well the eggs are obviously full of protein. Cheese has protein, calcium and folic acid, etc. Or you could have a vegetable omelette, etc, etc. It could be served with a side salad - people have already said they don't detail the veg they have when they write their plan.

To each their own, IMO, and if that includes beans on toast instead of an elaborate dinner sometimes then that's ok. Oh, and of course, on the days that you see a simple dinner, there could be a nutrition packed lunch planned. We just don't know.