Black-Saturn's Menu Planner

mirakl

I discovered Value mince as a student and thought it was a great deal. After a while I noticed how much fat I was draining off which obviously I was paying for. I tired weighing the cooked product from both value and decent mince and now I buy my butcher's mince or extra lean mince from the supermarkets when it's on offer. Value mince is definitely false economy.

Trow

kittie wrote:

<snip>but I don`t think this is the right place to criticise, even by implication, someone who tries hard to feed her family within her budget

I would agree if I thought that BlackSaturn (or anyone else) had been dealt with unfairly - but when we are dealing with something as intrinsically essential to healthy living as diet I think it is entirely appropriate to point out any potential problem with a meal plan, so that others can make an informed choice as to whether they would like to follow that example or not (bear in mind that all diet books, even those with balanced diets, have a disclaimer saying consult your doctor before you follow the diet). This is a popular thread - I doubt if a thread on healthy eating would get as many people reading it.

Any criticism I have seen has been fair and not in any way a personal attack on BlackSaturn, and I hope s/he hasn't taken it as such. Many people have benefited by taking advantage of the recipes posted, and the subsequent discussion that has resulted.

Trow

sandymogs wrote:

After reading your posts on the 'Smoking Banned' thread - you've obviously not given up the fags!

Ooh, I don't think is territory we should go into on this board - lets try and retain the friendly and helpful feel of OS.

Alleycat

Can I just say that although I am not overly in favour of the meal planner myself, Black Saturn isn't actually here for a week, so it might be fair to wait until she has come back from her holiday to defend herself?

Wasn't sure whether to post this, but thought I should!

Becles

kittie wrote:

I am sure that most people know but not everyone has access to fresh food. Some people genuinely don`t know and others just cannot afford it

I hate that "cannot afford" argument!

A quick look on Tesco.com shows loose Value apples are approx 10p each. I'm sure 3 apples (30p) is comparable to cost of ingredients for making the fruit cobbler or mousse for dessert as suggested in the original menu plans.

gettingitsorted

I hate that "cannot afford" argument!

Who are any of us to judge what people can or cannot afford ,everyone on this site all have their own set of circumstances as to how or why they haft to struggle or not whichever the case may be and all of us get by the best we can .

Alleycat

I think the overall concern is the dramatic rise in obesity levels currently in the news. The increasing reliance on convenience/unhealthy foods that today's society has and the fall in eating un-messed-about-food (sorry, don't the right terminology) is what people here are worried about.

I bought value mince for a short while, but stopped as I didn't like the texture, half of it turned to water/fat which had to be drained away and I now buy mince from the butcher or supermarket. I prefer the butchers as less is wasted in added water and it really isn't too expensive. I used to think it would be, but was thankfully proved wrong.

Becles

Sorry - that came across wrong and wasn't directed at anyone here.

I meant I can't stand people using the cannot afford fresh fruit and veg excuse yet they can and do spend more money on convenience foods than what the fruit & veg costs. I've seen this happen at with parents at school - eg they claim the cannot afford to put fruit in the school lunch boxes, but they can afford to put Cadburys Fingers in!

Dora_the_Explorer_5

I am sure that most people know but not everyone has access to fresh food. Some people genuinely don`t know and others just cannot afford it

Not true I'm afraid, the UK is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, everyone in the UK has access to fresh food within walking distance or a short bus ride - whether they chose to buy it or not is another matter. In the same way that people chose to spend more money per head per week on fags or telecoms than on food.

Everyone makes choices all the time - there is a current thread on where to buy the cheapest and best garden chiminera (sp), I think people who want to heat up the planet like that are completely bonkers :rotfl: but it's their choice.

BS meal planner was her contribution, and anyone with common sense would understand it was not for everyone to follow scrupulously - a bowl of runny soup for lunch every day wouldn't keep a growing child or grown adult male going until the next meal, for instance, and wouldn't even be recommended as part of a weight loss diet.
Everyone with common sense understands that 5 portions of fruit and veg a day is necessary to maintain present and future health and offers protection against disease: bowel cancer, heart disease and stroke. Everyone undertstands the importance of a balanced diet - especially now horrific examples of an unbalanced diet appear in glorious technicolour every week on You Are What You Eat. The very graphic decline in health for the bloke who ate nothing but MacDonalds, his doctor had to advise him his liver was turning into pate :eek: , was explained very clearly.

My opinion, and I don't mind who doesn't share it, is that there's a problem when someone is spending more on, say, fags per week than food for themselves.

gettingitsorted

just going off a little ,when i first met my other half his idea of real food was mcdonalds and basiclly all he ever ate, his shopping would consist of milk bread and beer,he couldnt cook at all .(Apart from microwaving baked beans).

It has taken 5 years to change his attitude to eating but iv chipped away at him bit by bit over the years and he is now a reformed eater ,he has a great diet now very balanced and he admits he feels much better for it.

And he can cook a bit too.