is this food bad for you

earwig

hi i have stared helping my brother who is mental ill do his shopping i found out on sunday he hasnt been shopping at all for months he lives next door to a kebb and pizza takeawy and has been eating there he hasnt even been makeing tea for him self i contacted his carer who told me he chooses to live like this and they wont help as he his taking his meds any way i took him shopping yeaterday and at his instenace it was all asda smart price food from the washinging powder to the bread i got him two weeks worth of food breakfast lunch and dinner and come to 35.89 which is good i know but i do worry that this smart food isnt good for you i mean sauasages 20 99p fishfingers 10 for 18p what is in the food that they can sell them so cheep im all for saving money but long term is he diong his health in and and what is he actually eating like a saw a program once and the cheep hotdogs are made from pigs noses and ears yuk are all cheep foods like this or am i miss informed

missk_ensington

Im not an expert, but if they can afford to sell something at price they haven't put much into it. However, I eat smart price for tins (mushy peas, chopped tomatos) and always use smart price ( or supermarkets alternative) for things I don't eat, like cleaning cloths and bleach, etc.

The point is, the finish fingers and hot dogs are bad you for regardless of what make you buy! (With the exception of Birds Eye who's are appearently 100% cod etc etc)

I he refuses to eat this you can't make him, but you could try sneaking stuff into his cupboards? x

calleyw

A lot of mass produced items like sausages, Burgers etc will be made from either the left overs or what has been in the past what is called mechincally recovered meat.

In other words the scrapings off the bones. Fish fingers will be what is called minced fish. Again left overs all mixed together.

If he can't afford it more what can he do. As I have said before I spend in the region of £100 a month only for food for two people. And that includes joints of meat from the supermarket. And allows for fruit and veg in the house. Both fresh and frozen. And very little in the way of value products and whole grain bread and pasta.

I know he has mental health problems. But what can you do. If that he wants to eat it you can't make eat or shop any differently.

If you are concerned then what about when you next take him shopping. Point out that X and Y are not very good for because they have to put much fat or salt in. With out wanting to sound patronising with out knowing his condition. Does he understand about healthly eating. As surely eating healthly would help him with coping with his mental health problems. His drugs are there to help. But having a good diet helps where the drugs can't.

All the best.


Yours


Calley

rchddap1

One good question to ask at least at first is ..... is it better than Kebabs and Pizzas?

dora37

missk_ensington wrote:

The point is, the finish fingers and hot dogs are bad you for regardless of what make you buy! (With the exception of Birds Eye who's are appearently 100% cod etc etc)

I read an article about 100% cod, 100% pure beef & 100% chicken claims that are on processed food - it is actually clever marketing.

What they mean is the small amount of cod/beef that is actually in the product is 100% pure.

ie There may only be 30% cod in fish fingers (don't know exact quantities as I don't buy them), and it is that 30% of cod that is 100% pure cod.

Very clever marketing!

earwig

yes i agree it has to be better than takeaways but he is a big lad and i do worry about him dont get me wrong im not the worlds best at healthy eating but when i cook i do make things rather than buy them like burgers(thanks lynzpower) rather than pre made things as for ecomey things like bread veg and fruite i dont belive you can grow an an ecomey apple its the dinner side of things that worry me he can aford to buy better qultiy food but if he dose is less for him to spend on dvds and to be honest i dont want to make him buy the dear foods if there is no real difference between branded name and the smart price food but at the same time if the smart price food is just chemicals and rubbish i could make him buy the branded name things i just want to know the differance so i can do what best for his health and pocket i know that burger ect are not the best foods but i need to get him intressed in cooking foods he would eat like fishfingers chips and beans before i can get him to cook plain fish rice with a sauce if i had done that yesterday he would of gone stright down the chippy so softyly softly is the pace at the minute with him

calleyw

earwig wrote:

i need to get him intressed in cooking foods he would eat like fishfingers chips and beans before i can get him to cook plain fish rice with a sauce if i had done that yesterday he would of gone stright down the chippy so softyly softly is the pace at the minute with him

I agree softly softly. Getting him interested in cooking is a good idea. Once he is happy to cook then maybe you could show him how to make takeways foods at home. Better on the pocket and the waste line.

New tastes and textures are the things. I mean I eat fresh tuna/salmon now never had it home as my Dad would never eat it.

Also when you take him shopping if you have the time then why not compare boxes with him. Say yes this is cheaper but look at the chemicals in that. They are not in this.

It will take time to bring him around if at all.

All the best.


Yours


Calley

moggins

Hmm, I understand completely the point of the question but this has raised an interesting question in my head. Is this really being OldStyle when we refuse to eat something because it consists of the 'scraps'?

I remember something being said of the pig being the most useful animal because you could eat everything bar the oink! I remember watching a River Cottage programme where they barbecued the pigs ears. I also have numerous ancient cookery books which use fish heads, sheeps heads etc?

I do have to have a bit of admiration for food companys who can use these cuts that people would now turn their noses up at if they were on the butchers counter and turn them into cheap 'reasonably edible' meals.

lynzpower

Hi darling

I know what you mean. Ive lived and worked with people who eat crap food, and TBH Ive done it myself in the past. As you know yourself, you can shop on a budget and make really nice homemade food for the same amount of money.

What is his Mental health illness? of course Pm me if you want, but some things like depression can make people unmotivated, as you say softly softly is best.

Maybe you could get him involved in making food together and show him how easy it is to make some of the things that you make? Or maybe take round a bit of frozen bolognaise or something like that when you next go round there?

I think value fruit & veg is generally fine, If I dont buy organic which I cant afford to at the mo, then I buy value- very seldom buy the middle range unless it doesnt exist in value.,My dad works in importing fruit & veg & hes sure that the main reason why its value is just its the wrong shape for the "finest" or "standard" ranges, the value peppers a classic example, they are much smaller. thats great for us, no waste, so i wouldnt overly worry. Additionally, market traders & greengrocers pretty much always get whats left after the supermarkets have had thier pick. I wont bore you with the vagaries of the produce market, but unless its organic/pickyourown/fairtrade, then the rest comes down to shape & size, nothing more.

If hes committed to convenience food, then you could, try and get him to eat linda mccartney frozen foods ( pies, sausage rolls are both superb) and no ropey weird meat or beaks type thing. I agree, i wouldnt buy smartprice fish or meat products, but happy to buy smartprice/ value cleaning products/ juices/ biscuits/ peanut butter/ etc.

I take your point about his care worker, but knowing what i do from social services there really isnt much they can do except encourage a bit, its entirely what your brother wants which is what they have to do. Sadly they cant make judgements on
what your brothers doing, just support him in getting what he wants personally, not shoving thier ideas onto him.

Lynz
xx

rchddap1

One other thing you could try.... if he likes chips is to see how he gets on with HM chips. You don't need a fryer. We do ours in the oven....slices of potato with oil and salt bunged on a baking tray and then in the oven.

The same goes for burgers.....there is recipe on the old style boards somewhere, but simply put its beef mince with some onions and a bit of seasoning and spices as required.

Could be a way to start to shift him into making a few things.

calleyw

moggins wrote:

Hmm, I understand completely the point of the question but this has raised an interesting question in my head. Is this really being OldStyle when we refuse to eat something because it consists of the 'scraps'?

To me it is totally different to using up a few scraps off the bones that I have picked off to mechincally recovered meat. Which is either blasted off with a hose. Or scraped off the bones. Bits of bone and all going in the food.

Let along all the rest of the rubbish they put in it as well. As well with a lot of cheaper foods like burgers they use all the gistle and stuff which to me is a big no no. And all the other bits like tubes and everything else. One reason I don't earn corned beef.

If I was starving and that was all I could get I would eat it. But I have a choice. And would prefer slightly better quality food.

Offal is not something that most people will touch including me. Apart from a bit of kidney in a steak and kidney pie. It maybe seen as being wasteful.

A lot of the value brand items are not good for you. Like mince it is normally the lowest quality that is allowed in the food chain. Same goes for sausages and all the fillers that are used in them. And all the extra fat and salt and sugar that goes in to them as well.

But things like pigs trotters just turn my stomach. And with food if I don't like the look of it you will not get me to eat it. I don't like my fish looking like fish with heads and tails on. Go on call me squeamish

But if that is all someone can afford then that is all they can afford.


Yours


Calley