what one food thing couldn't/wouldn't you compromise on- when it came to the worst?

Alison_Funnell

Has to be sweets/desserts.

In real dire straits there would be no option but to go for cheaper options of everything. Treats make any restrictions far more tolerable for a lot longer time.

So an occasional fruit pie/crumble/pavlova etc, cake on birthdays, even simple custard make a huge difference to morale. Or HM ice cream/sorbet/lollies in the summer.

funkychicken76

:think:

oh a tough one but i think it has to be the five branded things - we dont eat a huge amount of meat so that wouldn't be a problem but even the cheapest of food can be made edible by a bit of heinz salad, cream tomato sauce, lurpak,heins spaghetti and mcvities milk choc digestives!!

niksyg

That poll was hard as there were a couple!
My non negotiables are:

Free Range Eggs
Good Quality Jam (but I am going to make my own this year)
Daily fresh fruit

There was a point a few years ago when I couldn't afford to eat but I still couldn't bring myself to get battery eggs.

rosalie-lavender

It was very hard but in the end I chose no processed food. Even if it is temporary I wouldn't want to start eating junk all the time.

Things like tinned fruit and veg I would be ok about but preformed junk is definitely something I can live without.

Bronnie

CCP wrote: »

Now there's a difficult question! I've gone for the fruit option as I love my fresh fruit, particularly apples, and would find it very difficult to cope without at least one piece a day.

Free range eggs and meat are very important to me, too, but if I was really pushed I could cut both out of my diet without, and would do if the alternative was cage-reared meat and eggs.

My one real non-negotiable isn't on your list, though - I would have to have fair trade coffee. I love coffee and couldn't do without it, but I will only buy fair trade as I know that, however bad my situation is, the people growing the coffee need the money far more than I do.

There's always one person who has to be awkward and pick something that's not on the list, isn't there?

LOL my thoughts exactly!!

Re the coffee, this is why I selfishly chose the branded option in the poll. I've cut myself down to just one cup a day which I really look forward to and savour!. Tricky though because in the circumstances most likely I would be feeding my family lots of vegetarian meals rather than much meat anyway. In dire straits, I would use a few of the cheap eggs for baking only.

Ditto the fruit, if I were getting 7 portions of veg/salad a day, I could probably manage without. Shame for children to miss out on the taste of fruit though.

Mags_cat

I voted for the organic/free range meat (if it's used) option.

I don't eat eggs (unless making yorkies or pancakes, and that's rare) but if I buy them they're always free range.

I could live without branded products in the direst of straits (thankfully I don't have to!).

I don't like sweets/cakes etc. so that one was easy to rule out

If the worst came to the worst I'd go veggie and eat lots of curries and chillis with beans/lentils to get my protein. But I'd rather have one meal of good quality, cruelty free meat than a week's worth of intensively reared meat.

*zippy*

I think if we really had to cut back the only thing I wouldn't compromise on is quality meat & eggs, I would rather manage without these rather than switch to value.

Chipps

It looks as though I am in the majority with the free range eggs.

As far as branded items are concerned, I can't really think of anything I wouldn't substitute if I have to (although do buy branded on some items, expecially if on offer).

With meat, well I prefer quality rather than quantity. DH & DS would feel hard done by with no meat, but I would rather go for cheaper cuts than low quality if push came to shove, or would bulk out with extra veg.

Regarding fruit, I didn't choose that, because in tough times I would probably just make sure there was more fresh veg. We have an allotment, and don't grow much fruit (apple tree in garden & strawberries in season - oh, and a lemon tree) but plenty of fresh vegetables which provide the same sort of nutritional value.

Processed food? Well,we can live quite well without that - better in fact! That wouldn't be an issue at all.

Sweet treats? No - wouldn't go without unless we really had to. But I am quite adept at making puddings/cakes/biscuits (even though I don't do it much these days!) And I am not averse to buying cheap brands!

Having lived through times when we struggled, I know what we can do without! It's just a case of being really organised & ensuring that every penny is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d as far as it will go!

weezl74

really helpful and informative reading chaps, thanks so much. I'm stunned it's the eggs, I totally thought there would be a revolt in most uk families about the loss of meat, sweet treats, anf fresh fruit which people would prioritise over animal welfare when it came down to it. But you have totally opened my eyes!

So I'd like to say that the meal planners, recipes etc are coming on nicely and I totally think it's doable to do a family of 4 for £100 a month :T:T:T yippee

Penelope_Penguin

There's another thing that I try to incorporate into my meal planning: shopping in season and locally, where possible. It's usually cheaper that way, too :T

Penny. x