"Eat Well For Less?" - thoughts?

catkins

JIL wrote: »

Speaking as someone who has had chemo, you totally lose your appetite. Steroids make you hungry but the chemo makes you sick. I would think the parents were totally focussed on the child being interested in eating something rather than nothing. Why would they try to tell their very poorly daughter of what she would and should not have. She has a life threatening illness. I doubt they will be focussed on how many packets of crisps she can have in a week.

its their money to be spent how they want. I did not agree with how they chose to do so but they recognised things had to change but i am sure there was only one thing thats been on their minds in the recent past.

Their daughter is better now so eating more normally. Also it's wasn't a matter of telling her what she could and could not have/eat. As I said in my previous post, it wasn't just things she would eat like crisps and chocolates but expensive fresh pasta, cheese and other items which I can't remember. That was just silly

hunters wrote: »

I certainly didn't see a child dictating what the parents should buy, rather a cheery wee girl helping her two loving parents doing the shopping and the parents just happy that she was well enough to be able to do so.

Another thing I cleaned from the programme was to use frozen fruit instead of fresh, I'll certainly be trying this now.

She wasn't dictating what they bought as such but anything she picked up they bought. What if she had picked up a jar of caviar or a steak? Just plain silly. I certainly wouldn't call it "helping" the parents shop. If they had less money and more sense they would have to curtail the items she chose.

rubytuesday wrote: »

I quite enjoyed it this week as I didn't find the family nauseating like I did last week!:rotfl:

The kids were so cute!

I did miss some of it though so may be that is why they were redeemed?!

The woman this week annoyed me more than the others in the previous weeks. Her attitude towards frozen food was ridiculous.


I have decided I am not watching it any more. Maybe it is all set up for the cameras but I find it hard to believe people just go round a supermarket throwing food in and then throw loads of it away. Greg saying "don't worry we all do it" had me screaming at the tv "NO we don't all do it".


At the end they saved them over £100 a week but they were still going to spend over £200 a week! What on? I don't understand how they were spending £300 odd in the first place. They eat more healthily than the other families but just very ordinary food so how could they spend that much?


They didn't even have wonderful jobs each so how on earth could they afford that much on food

lessonlearned

At the time of filming they said that Sofia had 1 more year of treatment to go. They didn't specify what kind of treatment.

You can see quite plainly that she was bloated from steroids so who is to say what effects the meds may be having.

She was picking up food that she knew and recognised so presumably the family has bought these items before. In particular the dad mentioned that he always bought fresh pasta and was a bit hesitant in trying dried pasta. When they did cook the pasta bake using dried pasta he was pleasantly surprised to find it was just as good. So a valuable lesson learned there.

I am no fan of Greg Wallace but I thought he interacted well with this family, especially getting down and dirty in kitchen with the children. I agree he normally comes over as smug and patronising but I saw another side to him this week.

When Lord Reith founded the BBC the remit was to "Inform, Educate and Entertain". Their licence is still granted in the expectation that they fulfill those obligations. This programme is a mixture of all three, although not necessarily in that exact order. Although judging by some of the comments on here maybe they should add "annoy" to that list.;)

I agree that having seen 3 virtually identical programmes they could up the money saving a notch - perhaps they are spinning it out hoping to get another series.........

Many of the posters on here are extremely efficient and effective moneysavers and experienced cooks. The people on these programmes are not, they are just learning.

It is to their credit that they recognise that they are going wrong and that they are willing to try and change their habits. I fail to see why they should be criticised for wanting to improve their skills and I cannot understand why so many posters on here are so hyper critical of these people.

By all means criticise the format of the programme but is it really necessary to be so nasty about the participants.

Yes the programme is a bit light and frothy but it is BBC 1 so it's unrealistic to expect anything more heavy duty on such a mainstream channel.

Having said all that, even though I consider myself a passable cook and reasonably MSE I have still learned a couple of new things, ie the info about Orange juice was a bit of a revelation to me.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the programme it is a lot better than the endless soaps and talent(less) shows that is the normal customary offering across the schedules.

gran3

I think it's very harsh to criticise this family in some of the terms used in some posts.
They were trying to change, this is the generation who had little educational input about cooking and life skills.
I can completely understand how the little girls illness affected their behaviour, in their position who could say they would do anything different, not knowing what the outcome might be.
Can we not look to the positive and not be so judgemental?

lessonlearned

Re Wallace's reaction to the woman's habit of throwing food away. I thought he responded well, he obviously agrees it's wasteful but what is he supposed to do, tear a strip off her and humilate her. That's not how you get people on board.

The carrot is always far more effective than the stick........

And yes there are people who throw food away. My father is one of them. I have tried to help him and guide him as to the difference between Use By And Best Before dates. I've told him to sniff food and rely on his instincts. I have even jokingly referred to the 5 second rule when I caught him throwing away an unused teabag which had fallen onto his spotless floor. But he won't listen, he's 89 by the way and a real skinflint.

I've known my aunt cook a leg of lamb for two people and throw away at least twice as much as they had eaten. And she was old enough to know better too.

At least the people on these programmes are trying to chAnge their wasteful habits. My dad and my aunt point blank refuse. I'm sure they aren't the only ones in the UK with such profligate ways.

Goldiegirl

I rather liked last night's family. They are obviously a close, loving family, who have had to weather the serious illness of one of the children. In some families, the stress of this drives people apart - in this case they seem to have drawn together as a unit.


The most effective changes that people can make are slow and sustainable changes. Therefore, I think that last nights show was on the right track. The family were shown how to eat the types of food they were used to, but in a more cost effective and slightly healthier way. Once they have mastered this, then they are more likely to explore other ways of saving money, building on what they have learned.


But if they'd been forced to extreme measures, such as padding out their mince with oats or lentils or goodness knows what else, they probably would have rebelled and wouldn't have kept the changes going. Also, such extreme food cost saving measures would be too much for the viewing public ( and frankly too extreme for me)


No-one is born knowing how to cook and budget. They learn - hopefully from their parents, if not from books, TV and the internet. Everyone needs to start somewhere - so I think the people who are criticising are being a little harsh.


Equally, no one knows it all. People should remain receptive to new ideas. I make my own pizzas and burgers, but it had never occurred to me that I could make chicken nuggets until watching last nights show. Also, the frozen fruit - I'll be getting a bag so I can easily put a little fruit in my yoghurt.


Yes, Greg Wallace is annoying, but I think the premise of the show is good. It's not some sort of instructional video - it's an entertainment show, which may help people to make a few savings each week at the supermarket.


Accept it for what it is - either enjoy watching it, or if not, watch something else - don't waste time getting angry about an entertainment show

fairy3

Third programme and as others have said not a lot to be learned - not sure will watch again but hope the family get a trip to Disney out of the savings which was the aim of swopping brands and Sofie's treatment is successful - a lovely if a bit hapless couple who obviously have been through a lot.
As someone who has not been in a SM since December the lure of the packaging and offers has been removed and we are eating healthily and well. There did seem to be an emphasis on fast food yet again this week - burgers, nuggets and spag bol and although I am no Delia we do manage a varied diet which includes fish cheap cuts of meat and lots of vegetables. Both Greg and the other bloke are grocers I believe so why not have the family at the market and butchers?
I have been watching the Food and Drink programme on Saturdays and found this weeks programme much more 'palatable' than this one -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05121t7/food-drink-series-3-5-more-for-less with proper chefs and a good 'step by step' format which shows the BBC can do it when they try, there is also a 'blind tasting' of chocolate too along with tips to prevent the food waste mountain. Will definitely be trying the vanilla tart it looks lovely.
JackieO - I watched the Charlie Brooker programme too and find his observations hilarious.

catkins

Also made me laugh that she thought she was a connoisseur of baked beans but couldn't taste the difference between Heinz and Asda! Asda baked beans I think are disgusting. I have tried all brands and, for me, only Heinz taste decent. Sainsbury's ones are ok in a chilli but not on their own

ash28

Another one here who thinks some people have been unduly harsh on the participants in the programme.....a full frontal frugal assault would probably have had them running for the hills. They probably don't want to know how to feed a family of 4 for 3 days on one chicken and make soup on the 4th.

This week's family like the previous families realised they needed to change. Small steps, not a massive change is probably the right approach initially.

The little girl was still undergoing treatment and would be for about another year...part of that treatment included a steriod week every 4th week if I remember correctly. In that week she was always hungry and craved certain foods....previously the family had been told by the hospital to let her have whatever she wanted during that week. And they let her....and so would I, it would difficult to tell a hungry 3 year old that her hunger was a side effect of her steriod treatment and she could have a carrot and not the bag of crisps she wanted. Years ago I almost lost a child and will never forget that feeling of utter helplessness I had, and I would have given anything and indeed given him anything to make him feel better.

However, on the programme I learned about orange juice - I didn't know that, I did know about sugar in bought sauces.

I have learned some thing from my children, I almost fell over when I saw one of them eating a yoghurt 3 weeks past its use by date.....it would definitely have been in the bin in our house - but not any more.

OurLass

Very well said,Ash.
Also,agree with everything lesson learned has said.
I thought they were a lovely family.The Mother was very young,sweet and ready to learn.They don't have domestic science lessons at school like my generation did.
I think we should give her a chance.
The Dad also was lovely,and the children delightful.

I also lost a child when I was younger,and have had 2 very premature babies,both of whom were very poorly and almost died,and were in hospital for many months.Worry affects your daily functioning, so I felt for this family.

Greenqueen_2

The programme makers missed a glaring opportunity to educate this young mum and all the viewers about the difference between use by/ sell by dates.

I could have screamed when we saw her throwing away broccoli and carrots which looked perfect. :mad: