Who watched Jamie Oliver's budget meal show last night?

maman

Chi-me wrote: »

Some interesting comments both pro and con Thank you all.

My concerns are with the amount of ingredients needed which could create waste. Those pots of sweet smoked paprika are expensive and as one poster already pointed out the 10p worth used may not warrant the whole pot if you don't regularly use the stuff. He also sploshes olive oil around like it's rain water.

I really like the idea posted about shopping around, just like Jack Monroe would and wrote on my blog that I'd like to see her create a series just like Jamie's, a real person working to a real budget. I'd watch that!

I'm not digging JO, he's a great British chef and a good man to boot.

I love to watch cooking programmes for entertainment and while I'm watching I'm thinking how I could adapt it to suit my taste, my pocket and my health!


Not only does Jamie (and all the others) use oil too much for my taste but it's the same with cream and butter and lots of other things that I'd use sparingly. I don't even watch baking programmes.;)

Floss

I'm another one with an aged tin of smoked paprika and regularly watch JO for ideas, just as we watch James Martin on a Saturday morning. We are lucky to have a fair sized budget for the two if us, but still want good value along with good flavour & ethics, so grow our own f&v and buy FR when i can.

Programmes such as these shouldn't have to be so dumbed down that people won't watch, if JO began to say "you can make this cheaper by shopping at discount stores or buying battery eggs" I would feel a bit patronised. As others have said, credit viewers with the sense & ability to reduce the cost by their own ingenuity.

lostinrates

Floss wrote: »

I'm another one with an aged tin of smoked paprika .

They just keep on giving don't they?

I actually am nearing the bottom of mine and I said to DH in panic a couple of weekends ago 'do I buy this at the supermarket?' Because its SO old I have no idea where I bought it. ( answer he'll get me some in London where sadly its bound to be cheaper).

maman

Floss wrote: »

I'm another one with an aged tin of smoked paprika

lostinrates wrote: »

They just keep on giving don't they?

I actually am nearing the bottom of mine and I said to DH in panic a couple of weekends ago 'do I buy this at the supermarket?' Because its SO old I have no idea where I bought it. ( answer he'll get me some in London where sadly its bound to be cheaper).

I bought mine in a small shop in the back streets of Granada after hearing Rick Stein raving about pimenton on his programmes.


I like buying souvenirs like that when we're travelling.

judyjetson

lostinrates wrote: »

They just keep on giving don't they?

I actually am nearing the bottom of mine and I said to DH in panic a couple of weekends ago 'do I buy this at the supermarket?' Because its SO old I have no idea where I bought it. ( answer he'll get me some in London where sadly its bound to be cheaper).

I bought some in M&S fairly recently, don't think it was that expensive, but apparently Tesco sells it and it's 95p.

lollipopsarah

Yes I watched it and loved the belly pork idea - scrummy but none of mine would like it.
What's wrong with leftover lamb? Mind you it wouldn't be left long enough to reheat - nowt better than a bit of cold meat in a sarnie.
xx

[Deleted User]

Having been raised with rationing I too do not waste food (especially butter :)) JO is no doubt a good presenter and chef, and is enthusiastic about cooking. A lot of the stuff he uses and cooks with I wouldn't use, but sometimes its good to try to adapt his meals a bit. I do try to streeetch stuff a bit, and last week I bought with a voucher and a small amount of cash 4 chipolata sausages and half a pound of lean mince.
This was from Dobbies locally where the meat is mainly organic and consequentially a bit higher in price .Saying that I did have a £1.66 voucher so my bangers and mince ended up costing me £1.02.

The mince, I sweated with some chopped onion and a couple of diced mushrooms ,a handful of yellow diced peppers (all from the freezer)in a saucepan. Once the onion was translucent, I added the half a pound of very lean mince and browned it off. Then a small packet of basic passasta from my store cupboard (35p) and a decent squirt of concentrated purree (lidl's 59p a tube used about a quarter of a tube) I also added a couple of teaspoons of Lazy Garlic (best invention since sliced bread :)) and a good handful of basic mixed veg from the bag in the freezer, brought up the heat a bit until bubbling, then turned down to a simmer for 20 minutes to cook.

This produced a lovely meaty thick gloop (techy term ) I portioned up four big portions into 4 of those plastic take-away boxes covered with mashed spuds and voila four single size portions of sheps pie to go into the freezer when cold.I then ran out of mash. The left over gloop I froze seperately and got out last night to mix with pasta for my lunch today So five meals for me .The four bangers I froze in two banger portions.These will be used with an egg 'n' chips or with mash and beans for two further meals at some point .So for £2.68 ( or actual cash £1.02) I have sorted out 7 meals for myself with a few odds and ends added from my freezer /cupboards.The meat was extremely lean and with the odds and ends added it more than enough for the meals.Even allowing say an extra £1.00 for the add-ons I still have managed to make myself 7 meals for about £3.50, or about 50p per meal. Now that is OS at its best I think :):)
JO that is how you make you cash streeetch mate :):)

Chi-me

Almo wrote: »

If someone is unable to recognise that a recipe which uses a fairly high cost ingredient that they seldom use is unlikely to be frugal or low waste then perhaps we might at least apportion some of the blame to them rather than the tv chef who is in no way forcing them to make the dish. Sorry, I know that sounds really snotty and I don't mean to be mean.

I think Jamie is a bit of a tool but I don't have a problem with his show. As far as I'm aware tge programme is not marketed at those on the breadline but as alluded to by other posters, people looking to cut down their food spends and/or get better value from what they do buy. I've made one of the money saving meals from scratch and it's become a firm favourite. Most of his other recipes I use more as inspiration to see what can be done using leftovers/limited time.

The problem with OS is that it's a self selecting group who tend to have budgetting and cooking skills far in excess of the level of joe public. These programmes are thus always a disappointment to the OS board. Over the years it seems to me that it has also focused increasingly on very low budget cooking/shopping. There's no shame in needing to cut a shopping budget to bare minimum and there are hugely inspirational posts all over OS from people doing just that. Equally there is no shame in having a higher food budget and experimenting (I don't only eat 'basic foods' at home although equally you can't beat egg and chips)/choosing higher cost foods. I buy organic FR eggs because of my own moral choices and because I like how they taste. To me they represent good value, to someone else they won't.

I guess I just can't see why people don't just turn over/make the programme they want to see/google alternatives to smoked paprika recipes.

Interesting points and quite correct too. I didn't think you sounded snotty at all. We all have our opinions and they are all correct and in this sphere should not be questioned. I love hearing both sides of a debate so nobody should worry about disagreeing, it's normal.

It certainly is a freedom of choice issue. In my original post I kind of watched it thinking I was going to see him really cutting costs to the bone, using minimal ingredients to max taste and portion size. My mistake? The cut to the bone programme idea is something I would personally find interesting as he is also a favourite chef for me to watch. Somebody else challenged that as 'dumbing down' and patronising, perhaps that would be the case for some, maybe not for others and in particular younger people who aren't budget savvy. I'd be interested to know other members thoughts on that? It is a very good point.

Chi-me

Solstice_3 wrote: »

Well I liked it, and I don't understand the extreme reaction of turning the tv off in anger - what did I miss?! I love watching cook shows just to get me inspired and excited about cooking, the novelty wears off when you cook everyday. I have the book, and I like the look of a lot of the recipes and I like the man (JO) too. It so happens that I am making 2 recipes tonight from the book - Sag aloo, using up some potato and substituting summer greens (which need using) for spinach and Lamb Biriyani, using up my leftover lamb and again substituting the summer greens for spinach - I can't wait!

Oh and 15 minute meals, I use the recipes as a guideline so I don't buy pre cooked rice etc and I regularly make some of the meals in that book - I do have a relatively well stocked store cupboard but I thought that was normal

How did your supper turn out last night? Fancy something spicy myself now

lostinrates

Chi-me wrote: »

Interesting points and quite correct too. I didn't think you sounded snotty at all. We all have our opinions and they are all correct and in this sphere should not be questioned. I love hearing both sides of a debate so nobody should worry about disagreeing, it's normal.

It certainly is a freedom of choice issue. In my original post I kind of watched it thinking I was going to see him really cutting costs to the bone, using minimal ingredients to max taste and portion size. My mistake? The cut to the bone programme idea is something I would personally find interesting as he is also a favourite chef for me to watch. Somebody else challenged that as 'dumbing down' and patronising, perhaps that would be the case for some, maybe not for others and in particular younger people who aren't budget savvy. I'd be interested to know other members thoughts on that? It is a very good point.

I didn't see it, but the test would be not cutting it to the bone I think, but reducing average spend and, crucially, wastage. With lots of amazing average spends published ATM...15k for average weddings, and the average family spending TWO months income on a holiday each year! Then its average families needing to maximise average spends, who have no recourse to measures like food banks, and usually least time for those like me stuck at home for the longer way round things. When I worked I managed to cook from scratch with no problem, But I had different standbys, and expelling more energy then, different food needs.


I think jackieo's posts are always valid but she says it her self, she is cooking from a generation with different expectations, and perhaps not feeding someone with the same calorific requirement. DH for example, simply wouldn't get enough food value from two chipolatas, not do some people in long working hours and family lives have time to YS hunt, and do some of the OS things that so many of us consider the rhythm and routine of our days and weeks.

As a no children household, I'm certainly prepared to go with out a normal healthy choice, or normal meals, if I had children there is No doubt in my mind some of the OS meals people cook I would do what I could to avoid. As a household where health often impacts on diet and what is served I know when I resort to the shorter cuts of cooking ( more meat proteins, less planning use of leftovers more planning for 'the next couple of days not longterm'. Our spends go up. Significantly.

My pot of paprika? Over the years? Less than many spend on chips or chocolate I would guess. Yes, you can cook with out it, and its mates. No doubt what so ever. But if you do whether you still find you food a nicer choice than cheap, low quality junk, whether you become a grudging thrifty cook of fuel or an alchemist of taste and health nobody guesses is thrifty......I dunno.

Its hard to say without having watched, and while I am no great JO fan, I do find some of his recipes very good and there is no doubt they are reaching a demographic. Some of his flavours are far too heavy for me. But subtly pulled back, I find the taste, the health, the beauty, the balance can be put there.

my frustration with OS sometimes is that in pursuit of thrift we can lose the wood for the trees.

Oh, and for the person who mentioned he never measures, I don mt often. I can 'eyeball' most measurements. When I use a measure its often because its the cleanest way to do it