Eating Well V's Eating Cheaply??

*Maya*

leiela wrote: »

I wasn't trying to get anyones backup.

But i do think that everyone can try and give a few good quality meals to thier familys per week.

Debt, stress and working long hours come and go .. our familys health is ALWAYS IMPORTANT, and i don't think eating well has to be any more expensive than eating badly it just takes alittle more thought and planning.

Well thank you for taking the time to impart your superior knowledge of nutrition to us all.

OrkneyStar

leiela wrote: »

I wasn't trying to get anyones backup.

Maybe you should think before jumping in criticising peoples meal plans (and saying how great you are) :rolleyes:.
Seriously, of course some people are less familar with nutritional bases than others, thats the great thing about OS, we help each other develop our meal plans and think about what we are eating. We are all at different stages and I am no better or worse than someone who eats junk or someone who eats perfectly balanced, organic, free range, freedom food, meals every meal time.
I wish you all the best on your OS journey.

freyasmum

leiela wrote: »

I wasn't trying to get anyones backup.

But i do think that everyone can try and give a few good quality meals to thier familys per week.

Debt, stress and working long hours come and go .. our familys health is ALWAYS IMPORTANT, and i don't think eating well has to be any more expensive than eating badly it just takes alittle more thought and planning.

When I was reading the other replies, I was expecting this

Please don't think that we're trying to talk down to you, because we're not. We're just trying to point out that great as though £2 is, some people can't even afford that - it's why you see the threads on feeding 6 for £1.62, for example.

leiela

greenbee wrote: »

As far as I understand, the best quality food for protein in terms of amino acid balance (remember that there are 25 amino acids that make up proteins) are eggs, quinoa, soay, fish, beans, lentils & meat. Animal protein can contain a lot of saturated fat, whereas vegetable protein usually contains complex carbohydrates.

Even vegetable such as runner beans, peas, broccoli and sweetcorn contain useful amounts of protein.

Vegetable proteins are also less acidic.

I'm not vegetarian, but have been advised by both my GP and nutrionist that excess animal protein should be avoided, and that I should increase plant proteins in my diet. At the moment, I'm trying to have animal protein no more than 3 times a week, and I certainly have more energy when eating predominantly vegetables.

I'm not a body builder, so obviously my requirements differ to yours, but in addition to sitting in my car for a couple of hours a day commuting and sitting around in the office, I do about 3 hours of yoga, a couple of hours of pilates, a couple of hours of weights and 3-4 sessions of cardio a week. I also do a lot of walking, and also kayaking & sailing (although I admit I prefer to do this in a fairly leisurely fashion in good weather!).

I totally agree!!!

This wasn't supposed to be a discussion about protien, but lets face it meat does tend to be the most expensive bit haha...

I get alot of my protien from non-animal products i eat alot of beans/lentils etc because they are cheap.

tbh i was more concerned by the family's who post meals plans that compleatly lacked fruit and veg than i was concerned about people not eating enough protien haha... far to many familys seem to live off bad carbs and bad protiens.. blah.

I didn't want this to be a Pro- meat or Pro-Protien discussion just a Pro-balance one haha..

I know my high protien diet isn't "perfectly healthy" i put alot of strain on my kidneys to process it all, but im a grown adult as is my husband and this is a desision we made.

However my childen, eat a far more normal and balanced diet ... i feel i owe it to them to make it healthy untill they are old enough to make these decisions themselves.

OrkneyStar

leiela wrote: »

tbh i was more concerned by the family's who post meals plans that compleatly lacked fruit and veg than i was concerned about people not eating enough protien haha... far to many familys seem to live off bad carbs and bad protiens.. blah.

Still waiting for a few examples....:rolleyes: .
Bear in mind most of the meal plans are dinner only, so you don't know what else they are eating, protein-wise or other! In fact most of my fruit snacks will never be mentioned on the meal planning thread- a whole day would look a lot different than a dinner. Also some teenagers need to eat lots of carbs (along with other food groups of course) to fill their never ending bellies up!

EC12345

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I would like an example or two regarding the meal plans you are referring to.
(Just for the record one of our meals this week is fish fingers, beans and smiles!- although these are decent fish fingers and beans can be very healthy! The smiles, well they were lurking in the freezer and need using up! Normally a lot more is home made food, we have meat some days, fish others, poultry others, veggie others, egg based other days- you don't need meat every day or masses of it either imho.).
We don't water down milk as DS is still needing full fat and it would be a faff to have two sorts in the fridge!
I don't think we can pass judgement too hastily as one weeks meal plan does not tell the whole story!
:T :T Well said Maya.

Hi Orkney Star. I completely agree with you ....

There are just the two of us in our house - me and my husband - and we also keep a pack of decent fish fingers in our freezer. It's just really convenient. There's nothing wrong with it - exactly as you say - I totally agree with you. Like you we will also have with beans, veg or potato waffles or just something really quick. We are not eating like this every day but sometimes it's nice to have a change and have something a bit more fun - it doen't mean that we are eating badly.

*Maya*

leiela wrote: »

I totally agree!!!

This wasn't supposed to be a discussion about protien, but lets face it meat does tend to be the most expensive bit haha...

I get alot of my protien from non-animal products i eat alot of beans/lentils etc because they are cheap.

tbh i was more concerned by the family's who post meals plans that compleatly lacked fruit and veg than i was concerned about people not eating enough protien haha... far to many familys seem to live off bad carbs and bad protiens.. blah.

I didn't want this to be a Pro- meat or Pro-Protien discussion just a Pro-balance one haha..

I know my high protien diet isn't "perfectly healthy" i put alot of strain on my kidneys to process it all, but im a grown adult as is my husband and this is a desision we made.

However my childen, eat a far more normal and balanced diet ... i feel i owe it to them to make it healthy untill they are old enough to make these decisions themselves.

I realise that you arwe trying to give your children a healthy diet but you have admitted that your own diet is not ideal and is there not a danger that you are teaching your children that your diet is a good one. Our children look to us as an example in most things, especially diet.

leiela

freyasmum wrote: »

When I was reading the other replies, I was expecting this

Please don't think that we're trying to talk down to you, because we're not. We're just trying to point out that great as though £2 is, some people can't even afford that - it's why you see the threads on feeding 6 for £1.62, for example.

True i get that really i do...

Trust me i've been there .. i remeber not so long ago BEGGING and i mean BEGGING the social services to come and take my kids away because i couldn't afford to feed them.

Seriously i know it sounds dumb but i had no money, none of us had eaten in 3 days my kids where crying and hungry ... and my 12month old had been running around with a teatowel on as a nappy because i couldn't afford any.

I remeber my mum coming down with a loaf of bread and us all diving on it like a pack of ravious beasts.

It still brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

My post was more aimed at those of us with a choice .... where is the line bettween eating healthy and eating cheaply??

I'm lucky in that right now my money situation is bad right now but stable... I could fix my financial situation quicker if i cut my food budget lower, but i make the choice not to.

I was more interested in people who had made a decision about where the cost cutting line was, rather than those who have no choice.

Penelope_Penguin

leiela wrote: »

I manage on £50 per week and thats WITH me and my husband being body builders and needing in the region of 200-300g of pure protien a day EACH (1 chicken breast contains 29g protien)

Crikey - you've come a long way since you posted this

Looking at our finances one area is causing us bother, food we are paying an unreal amount of money on our monthly shopping bill.

on this thread exactly a month ago. Maybe a bit of humility towards those Old Stylers who've helped you on the way is in order.

Penny. x

*Maya*

leiela wrote: »

True i get that really i do...

Trust me i've been there .. i remeber not so long ago BEGGING and i mean BEGGING the social services to come and take my kids away because i couldn't afford to feed them.

Seriously i know it sounds dumb but i had no money, none of us had eaten in 3 days my kids where crying and hungry ... and my 12month old had been running around with a teatowel on as a nappy because i couldn't afford any.

I remeber my mum coming down with a loaf of bread and us all diving on it like a pack of ravious beasts.

It still brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

My post was more aimed at those of us with a choice .... where is the line bettween eating healthy and eating cheaply??

I'm lucky in that right now my money situation is bad right now but stable... I could fix my financial situation quicker if i cut my food budget lower, but i make the choice not to.

I was more interested in people who had made a decision about where the cost cutting line was, rather than those who have no choice.

How on earth can anyone in this country get into that sort of situation in a supposedly developed country? I am shocked that there wasn't help available to you.

Surely from the experience you've had you can uderstand. If someone at that point had handed you £2 would you have fed your children something like chips or would you have stuck to your principles and handed them a bag of fruit? :cool: