Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

Trishh_2

Just watched it on iplayer. Although the family are still spending more than they need to, I think they did really well. It's not's just about the money, it's about changing their way of thinking and educating them. I think the programme helped them a lot in that respect. I'd be surprised if they don't continue to cut their spending now they have the knowhow and see the benefits of cooking decent, healthy food, from scratch. Who knows ... they could end up regulars on this site and might even embrace not just moneysaving, but oldstyle ways of doing things :j

moneysavinglaura

mumto1 wrote: »

I'll echo what some have said on here - and it's not jsut this thread - many of you are incredibly judgemental of anyone who doesn't think and do exactly like you do regarding food, budgetting and cooking/recipes.

Not every has to spend 20p per meal, or add 1kg of oats to 500g of mince, buy cheap sausages (and think they are OK) or anything else you lot do. Nor is there any need for a program to preach at the unconverted masses about living that way. Your evangelicanism about 'all things OS' smacks of an extreme religion to me, and is incredibly off-putting to say the least.

The program shows the families that don't know how to budget and cook home-made food how to do that - and it accomplishes that very well.

I'm not one of these extreme OS-ers myself but I do think that if they are going to be down a salary maybe they should be encouraged to budget a wee bit more. For me, it was the £130 budget that I thought was quite excessive for their situation. I don't know how much lorry drivers earn though! I guess you have to start somewhere and atleast it shows them making an effort.
Also good to see a couple who actually get along for a change on TV!

chickadee

mumto1 wrote: »

The program shows the families that don't know how to budget and cook home-made food how to do that - and it accomplishes that very well.

I haven't read any posts on here that dispute that fact.

What I have read is that many posters here on OS are already capable of planning and making nutritionally balanced, economical meals.

Whatever lifestyle people lead, there are always those who take it to extremes, or to greater extremes that we would prefer anyway. OS is no different. I don't want to feed my family for 20p per meal or add 1kg of oats to 500g of mince, but there are many useful tips that I can pick up that will fit in with my lifestyle and I'm happy and grateful to have them. I'm sorry you don't see it that way.

mouseymousey99

Hello Mumto1, Sorry but I totally disagree. I've always found this section to be the friendliest one on MSE. No one is preaching anything! There are pages of views on here (I've read most of them). Everyone is just trying their best. I've never added oats or lentils to anything. All I want is to eat well, and not eat packaged rubbish. If you think that's wrong - fine, thats your opinion. Maybe this board is not for you? Best wishes anyway...

mumto1_2

That isn't wrong, and I cook from scratch too.

People on here were disparagng of the show before they even saw it, how judgemental is that?

It's the 'OMG £130!!?? a week??! - I live on that for 2 months' and ' £2.67??! for 1 meal per person - I spend that on a meal for 5' attitude - there is nothing wrong with spending £2.67 per person for a meal - but many on here come across as if that is tatamount to blowing the grocery budget on clothes/a holiday/boozing it up or something.... or that because they wouldn't no one else is allowed to.

One family's budget is just that and is up to that family how they spend money on food, sensibly or not, nor does it need to come up to - or down to- the standard many of you here use. many threads on here about food budgets decend into a competition about who can spend the least + 'holier than-thou' comments about food budgets are completely unneccesary.

I've posted in here before and left because of the attitude I got about buying organic/freerange/veg deliveries/not buying the cheapest of everything - that I wasn't doing things right, was spending too much +wasting my money - my decisions not anyone elses.


I came back to look for a recipe or 2, but this place hasn't changed - and the lady that posted asking for diabetic recipes was really upset about her thread being 'locked' and has gone elsewhere and I doubt will be back. It isnt' as friendly on here for those that don't toe the line re: OS or are different in some way.

Floxxie

Have they produced the weekly meal planner on the BBC site anywhere? I was interested in reading what they were eating for lunch and was hoping that it wasn't just left overs from the night before.

mumto1 the programme was about cheap and healthy eating - £2.67 per person for a meal is not cheap. I made that comment and I certainly don't spend that on a meal for 5. In fact I am not a regular member of this thread but I have my thoughts on the programme and I can comment about them. Nobody, up until you posted, had criticised me.
I wish I had £130 per week to feed my family, let alone £200 but even if I did I would not want to spend it on food. If this programme is a reflection on how the general population is living and spending, then it is no wonder obesity and diabetes are on the rise.

It's a real shame where an interesting discussion on a TV programme is lowered to insulting those who post.

cw18

mumto1 wrote: »

I've posted in here before and left because of the attitude I got about buying organic/freerange/veg deliveries/not buying the cheapest of everything - that I wasn't doing things right, was spending too much +wasting my money - my decisions not anyone elses.

I've never seen ANY such comments within the Grocery Challenge thread - people there work to all kinds of different budgets. As I said before some of us are on really low ones due to necessity, while other are just trying to watch their spends in order to save for something specific.

But there are a fair number of people on there who buy organic / free-range and/or have veg boxes - and no-one gets shouted down for this. Personally I applaud them for doing so if they can afford too..... and I'd love to have the money to be able to afford to make that choice The best I can hope for is that when I start growing my own f&v next year it will release some cash to allow me to up my standards on other food items

cw18

Floxxie wrote: »

Have they produced the weekly meal planner on the BBC site anywhere? I was interested in reading what they were eating for lunch and was hoping that it wasn't just left overs from the night before.

Not that I've seen, but the Macaroni Cheese was certainly mentioned as a 'lunch the next day'. Personally I'd get bored of always having 'yesterdays tea' for 'todays lunch', so very much doubt they subjected the family to that all week ?!?!?!?

freakyogre

I wasn't particularly bothered by the amount they were spending as it's none of my business and if they want to spend it on that kind of thing, they can. I can't compare weekly/monthly grocery amounts as I live on my own.

What surprised me was that they (initially) really thought that ready meals were cheaper and quicker than making a proper meal. A ready meal takes 4? minutes in the microwave, times that by 5 people and they've spent 20 minutes heating food up. In that time they could have quite easily prepared and made a meal from scratch.

Maybe I am judgemental, but it does shock me that people of their age live off ready meals and takeaways and don't know how to make a simple meal like chilli. I'm not that old, but I really did think that people would know the basics of cooking! Well done to them for making an effort, but I do wonder if they have stuck to it.

I haven't been on this site long but do enjoy coming on to this board and reading some of the posts for hints and tips. I don't necessarily do it to save money (although that helps at the moment as i'm out of work) but it's given me a lot of ideas on what to cook etc. You seem to think everyone on here wants to live off the cheapest food they can find, but I don't think that's the case at all to be honest, I think a lot of people just prefer cooking proper meals (which generally are cheaper) because they know what goes into the food.

cw18

maman wrote: »

What I couldn't understand is why, given the 'ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED' rule at the beginning, did they go out and spend on the huge joint of beef? Personally I think they should have made a list to cover the week's meal plan and only bought that. Top-up shops are huge money wasters.

It really didn't make sense when they had 'unexpected' guests and went to the fridge to make a scratch meal and 'found' a joint of beef!

I guess it could have been a case of the menu plan listing a joint within a given weight range - especially as, with their lack of know-how on home cooking, they probably weren't aware of how many people that sized joint could feed.