Quick meals (beans on toast, jacket potatoes)

Pop_Up_Pirate

Fusspot wrote: »

Can someone please clarify, are meals like beans on toast and jacket potatoes not good for you? I'm not talking about eating it every day but say twice a week.

I have heard that some people eat this on well known diets, yet I've also heard where tinned stuff is full of rubbish and potatoes are full of carbs and fat.

Some nights I could just eat something like this as a break from meat, fish and veg and for quickness.

it really depends on who you ask.

If you have any kind of Autoimmune problem such as fibro, MS, RA, Ehlers Danlos, Crohns, etc then both meals are 'bad' as they contain known 'inflammatory' foods or foods from the Nightshade family.

All grains are bad. We eat them because that's what we have been brought up on and dieticians and nutritionists all recommend them, but more and more evidence is showing the direct correlation between grains and chronic illness.
Many people then don't give up the grains because the diet becomes 'hard work'.
Its very easy to grab 2 slices of bread and stick a tin of beans on them.

Beans are legumes and legumes are bad for us in other ways.
All beans, peas, soy, lentils and peanuts have a negative impact on our bodies if used as a staple part of the diet due to phytates. Having beans or soy, for example, instead of meat or fish is not a good idea.

Giving up these foods is hard, which is why so many don't bother yet continue with ill health.

Jackieboy

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

it really depends on who you ask.

If you have any kind of Autoimmune problem such as fibro, MS, RA, Ehlers Danlos, Crohns, etc then both meals are 'bad' as they contain known 'inflammatory' foods or foods from the Nightshade family.

All grains are bad. We eat them because that's what we have been brought up on and dieticians and nutritionists all recommend them, but more and more evidence is showing the direct correlation between grains and chronic illness.
Many people then don't give up the grains because the diet becomes 'hard work'.
Its very easy to grab 2 slices of bread and stick a tin of beans on them.

Beans are legumes and legumes are bad for us in other ways.
All beans, peas, soy, lentils and peanuts have a negative impact on our bodies if used as a staple part of the diet due to phytates. Having beans or soy, for example, instead of meat or fish is not a good idea.

Giving up these foods is hard, which is why so many don't bother yet continue with ill health.

That's a pretty extreme dietary attitude.

PasturesNew

Those were pretty much staples as meals for most people for decades. For me, I still eat a lot like that.

These days a lot of food shamers like to prove they're cleverer by banging on a particular drum about something or other... there's always a new fad for them to pounce on you for. Many of these fads are then, years later, shown to be nonsense.

A lot of the "ooh bad for you" myths have been exposed.

What you can/can't do is an individual choice, partly based on budget/location/access .... for me, it's all so over-whelming these days that there is NOTHING you can eat that somebody won't have a go at you for.

Bottom line is: Are you fat/too skinny? Do you pass out or feel odd? Have you gone a funny colour? If no to all of those you're probably eating OK

MandM90

PasturesNew wrote: »

Bottom line is: Are you fat/too skinny? Do you pass out or feel odd? Have you gone a funny colour? If no to all of those you're probably eating OK

This is kinda what I live by. I'm a size 8, OH is a size 32 waist, we can both run a half marathon with ease and feel healthy and energetic...so we figure we're OK and don't micromanage our diet.

We often have beans on toast with broccoli on the side (sometimes even roasted in oil). We're vegan so don't eat cheese, but hummus on baked potato with roasted veggies is one of our favourite meals. No idea how much protein/carb/fat in it...

Jox

I recently did a quiz online - its by NHS choices called "How Are You" - was quite interesting though the end advice was move more and eat more fruit and veg - which I know They have a free app called "One You Easy Meals" - I downloaded it from GooglePlay - some good simple meal ideas here!

Fusspot

Hi, thanks for all your helpful replies. I am going to have these quick meals more often, I realise now that its more about balance. I'm not overweight or unhealthy but I worry about eating more than I did when I was younger as I am now 55 and my metabolism isn't the same as it was then. I've already cut out sugar in my coffee so I can afford to have a little sugar elsewhere. I have got a sweet tooth. I live alone so don't want complicated meals plan but I don't want to eat junk food all the time. When I cook a meat and two veg meal for myself I never enjoy it for some reason.

PasturesNew

Fusspot wrote: »

.... I am now 55 .... I live alone so don't want complicated meals...

This is one of "the things" .... many people banging on are 25-35 and have a family of 6 to feed, visit every supermarket 3x a week and have two freezers. Often, too, they have people visiting to be fed.

Find what works for you - and enjoy it.

Getting portions right is hard because you're restricted by how much you can actually eat You do end up eating "the same old" stuff ... and "the same stuff 3-4 days in a row to use it up".

Also, it's not worth putting the cooker on for most/many things "just for one small item"... which is why I've a toaster oven.

Fusspot

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is one of "the things" .... many people banging on are 25-35 and have a family of 6 to feed, visit every supermarket 3x a week and have two freezers. Often, too, they have people visiting to be fed.

Find what works for you - and enjoy it.

Getting portions right is hard because you're restricted by how much you can actually eat You do end up eating "the same old" stuff ... and "the same stuff 3-4 days in a row to use it up".

Also, it's not worth putting the cooker on for most/many things "just for one small item"... which is why I've a toaster oven.

I have a small table top oven too with two hobs, I mainly use the oven. What kind of meals do you have if you don't mind me asking? I mainly eat fish and chicken, fresh fish but I like the Birds Eye chicken grills because you can cook them from frozen and they are easier, I cooked a fresh chicken breast in the slow cooker today but I seemed to be wading through it for ages trying to eat it and somehow it didn't taste right. I think I would rather balance things out with fresh fish and just have the chargrills inbetween, also jacket potatoes and beans on toast or sandwiches. I only seem to enjoy full cooked meals when I eat out.

elsien

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

Beans are legumes and legumes are bad for us in other ways.
All beans, peas, soy, lentils and peanuts have a negative impact on our bodies if used as a staple part of the diet due to phytates. Having beans or soy, for example, instead of meat or fish is not a good idea.
.

I'm not sure the 30% of Indians who are vegetarian would particularly agree with that viewpoint.

Mojisola

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is one of "the things" .... many people banging on are 25-35 and have a family of 6 to feed, visit every supermarket 3x a week and have two freezers. Often, too, they have people visiting to be fed.

Getting portions right is hard because you're restricted by how much you can actually eat You do end up eating "the same old" stuff ... and "the same stuff 3-4 days in a row to use it up".

Making a famiy-sized meal (so it's worth the effort) and then freezing it in one-portion sizes means you can eat well without having to cook from scratch every night.