Eating Well V's Eating Cheaply??

leiela

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

Could you give us some examples of mealplans you think arent very good?

I cant see personally how you are buying that much chicken/protein and all other food for just £50pw. Do you buy the really value chicken for that?

Can you give us a typical days food and costing from your mealplan? I would be very interested to see it if you dont mind.

Thanks PP
xx

well i really don't want to point fingers and say "your foods awful" because that brings it down to a very personal level, and i don't want to upset hurt indervidual's but we all know we've seen meal plan's where people have planned, using pretty much crap ... main meal .. hotdogs and noodles... ugh .. thats not a meal wheres the veg?? main meals rice and 15 curry sauce, no protien, no veg??? thats not a meal either.

Sure generally we only see peoples evening meals but if a person's main meal of the day is rice and 15p curry sauce im not holding out much hope for the rest of it, don't get me wrong in the past i've eaten that way too ... because i had no choice, but the question is who has the choice and who still choses to eat that way while upkeeping things like mobile phones?? for me almost everything in the house would go before i let my family eat that way on a regular basis.

If your interested i'll re-start my blog, i really didn't think anyone would care tbh so i gave up.. it was gonna be to keep myself honest but i found i didn't need it.

I've got to go out today with my mum she's buying me a prezzy... yay.. im thinking yogurt maker... oooh. but when i get back i'll update what i have in the cuboards (not alot tbh haha) and my meal plan for the week with costs, so people can cheak it out. don't get me wrong it's not EASY to live off £50 and tbh i know 100% there will be weeks i go over, but as a whole im hopeful of sticking to it or there abouts.

Penelope_Penguin

leiela wrote: »

we all know we've seen meal plan's where people have planned, using pretty much crap ... main meal .. hotdogs and noodles... ugh .. thats not a meal wheres the veg?? main meals rice and 15 curry sauce, no protien, no veg??? thats not a meal either.

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

thriftlady_2

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 a very good point. I don't often post on the meal plan thread but I often post my day's meals on the daily thread. I never include all the fruit the kids eat as snacks, I also often leave out the veg from main meals.

Hardup_Hester

I am well aware that many of my meal plans aren't ideal, but I buy what I can with what I have, I often don't list veg either, doesn't mean I don't serve it, I usually post my daily meals on the daily thread, so just give the bare bones. Also I have a neighbour who gives her kids money to spend in the local sweet shop for breakfast & a packet of crisps for tea, thats when she has money, when it's gone they get nothing. They do get free school meals, I know I work there, but there is nothing they like sold in the school canteen now.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

[quote=leiela;18551187

i see so many meals where people seem so focused on making it cheap, they forget that our family's health is important. Some people who seem to thing throwing tons of veg in makes it healthy, and try and pad out thier meals as far as possible, but neglect to concider protien or good fats. .[/quote]

I have to take you up on this comment.
I have no choice to throw in loads of veg.as I don't eat meat fish or anything else that has a face and never have.I have 3 daughters(all in their mid 30s) and an 18 year old granddaughter who I brought up the same.My husband stopped eating meat 37 years ago when we married and is a very fit strong 15 stone man.We are all extremely healthy and of average weight.My husband so much so that he has had less than a week in total off sick in 35 years.
You don't need to spend a fortune in meat and fish to be healthy.
We use soya and quorn but not everyday.
You just need to have a bit of knowledge nutrition wise and you can live very cheaply.

MrsE_2

leiela wrote: »

Oh i totally agree its not necessary to have protien and fat in EVERY meal, but they should be in at least 1-2 a day. Some people post meal plans with almost none in for the entire week... Ugh.. and the quality of what they are eating is utter rubbish, don't get me wrong ... eating abit of rubbish a few days before payday is one thing, but eating that way all the time is another.

I know things get tight sometimes and when that happens certain things have to go.. but sometimes i wonder if food quaility should be one of them?? At the very least i think people should try and give your family SOME good quality meals even if you can't afford them all to be as healthy as you'd like...

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)

I would imagine that if i can get my protien in AND still manage to eat well and stick within a budget of £50, people with more normal protien requirements (about 50g is the normal recommended for an adult) could eat amazingly well and still stick to a low budget after all i tend to find it's the meats that cost a fortune.

I agreed with some of your post but I think the problem is not too little protein in most diets but too little fruit & veg. I don't believe you can eat too much fruit & veg.
I feel in my familes diet we eat too much meat (& I only buy good quality lean meat), I am always trying to add more veg to reduce our meat quantity and trying to have at least one fish meal per week & one VEGGIE meal per week.

I know about using simple quality foods, the only oil I use is extra virgin olive oil, I don't buy any other oils.

I can't get my shopping bill below £100:mad:

leiela

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I have to take you up on this comment.
I have no choice to throw in loads of veg.as I don't eat meat fish or anything else that has a face and never have.I have 3 daughters(all in their mid 30s) and an 18 year old granddaughter who I brought up the same.My husband stopped eating meat 37 years ago when we married and is a very fit strong 15 stone man.We are all extremely healthy and of average weight.My husband so much so that he has had less than a week in total off sick in 35 years.
You don't need to spend a fortune in meat and fish to be healthy.
We use soya and quorn but not everyday.
You just need to have a bit of knowledge nutrition wise and you can live very cheaply.

this isn't about meat, i eat alot of meat free meals and i was vegatarian for 15 years. It's about healthy eating ... too much of anything is bad it's all about balance. you get your protien from "soya and quorn" which is a perfectly acceptable alternative to meat, i still eat a fair amount of tofu and beans / pulses personally simply because i like them, they are good protien and are often cheaper than meat, i also eat alot of egg which are another alternative.

TBH the posts that worry me more than those with a lack of protien are the ones with a lack of fruit and veg. I do throw alot of veg in my meals they do pad them out and make them go futher which is very handy, but there are still basic nutritional requirements our body's need.

I don't want to make this post about protien as thats not my main concern but a meal of noodles and toast, has no protien, no veg... and well even the carbs are pretty lousy.

Penelope_Penguin

leiela wrote: »

TBH the posts that worry me more than those with a lack of protien are the ones with a lack of fruit and veg. I do throw alot of veg in my meals they do pad them out and make them go futher which is very handy, but there are still basic nutritional requirements our body's need.

Did you read this post

leiela

MrsE wrote: »

I don't believe you can eat too much fruit & veg.

I totally agree !!!!

you can't get too much fruit and veg, but i do think when people pad out meals with fruit and veg to extremes, it's not a case of too much fruit and veg (because in my mind thats impossible) but a problem of a LACK of fats and protien.

mouseymousey99

Leiela, I'm being nosey (I know) do you have a dietican quliafication? I'm genuinely not being rude (I hope) but would be interesting to chat to someone who has the qualification or an 'in depth' knowledge I asked to speak to someone at my surgery; in the end I spoke to the practice nurse (very nice lady) but I do have some queries (I expect others have too).