Cooking for one (Mark Two)

SquirrelSmall

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

That's it then squirrel - we like cat pictures on here.

Got any of your two?:)

I do have pictures, but the technology of posting them is thwarting me...

Hollyharvey

karcher wrote: »

What did it say?

Do you have a link please...not that I do "clean eating", in fact I'm not really sure what it is ...but I'm curious.

I think it is the independent and of course the Daily

moneyistooshorttomention

karcher wrote: »

What did it say?

Do you have a link please...not that I do "clean eating", in fact I'm not really sure what it is ...but I'm curious.

The link is

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4709100/HOrrifying-toll-clean-eating-fad-taking-young-women.html

There seem to be two definitions of "clean eating" currently doing the rounds. One that is a sight more restrictive and the original one (ie that I reckon on personally) which is more along the lines of trying to have an absolute minimum of processed foods (basically = I don't want my food to have chemicals in if I can help it, as I just want it to be food only/no "extra" processing that I can manage to avoid).

To me personally - I take that as meaning that I'll eat my own homemade bread for instance (organic wholemeal flour/extra virgin olive oil/organic molasses/dried yeast/healthy salt) or decent bread made by a "named other" locally. But I won't buy any bread from a supermarket if I can help it (as I know that will have chemicals in it) iyswim.

PasturesNew

In this house, clean eating is eating a crisp you've dropped on the floor, after you've rubbed it down the leg of your jeans

I've just got 3 small/medium spuds cooking .... and grated some cheddar to go on top once they're finished cooking. Food will be served in approximately 10 minutes.

moneyistooshorttomention

...and I'm guessing that the definition I favour of "clean eating" means a term adopted in desperation to try and say "When I say I'm eating healthily - I really mean it - eg no processed sugar, flour is wholemeal and not white, rice is brown and not white, etc, etc".

It's a term that almost had to come out in order to deal with the number of people that describe a way of eating as healthy when it isnt at all. Shorthand for "When I say healthy = I really mean it".

But others have since come to use the term to mean something a good deal more restrictive. I can recall, for instance, going on a raw food (un)cooking course quite some time ago. 15 years?/20 years? - dont recall but it was way before that came out as fashionable. Some of the stuff was tasty/it raised some interesting points - and I took away the message personally that I would add in the odd bit of that into my diet - but wouldnt follow it wholesale (ie because I checked out the looks of a noticeable number of other people doing it - and they looked skeletal to me).

So I do have a look at the person presenting whatever form of diet it is - and take with a pinch of salt either way. If they're skeletal on the one hand or telling me they eat healthily but I can see they need to go on a diet for some time on the other hand then I get out the "virtual salt" either way.

PasturesNew

Clean eating was described quite adequately, imho, by the DM when they said many things in that article.

The DM pointed out:

Tens of thousands of youngsters are unaware that social media pictures which look so spontaneous and carefree are contrived, manipulated images designed to get ‘likes’ and clicks.

The Internet is driven by people taking selfies and being young/beautiful in lovely places - while sponsored by big business to promote their brands. These people even believe their own hype.... as the DM said

The Hemsley sisters, Jasmine and Melissa, who wrote The Art of Eating Well despite holding no formal qualifications in diet, nutrition or cookery, were given their own Channel 4 show.

and

If they were doctors or dietitians promoting non evidence-based practice and promoting such unhealthy ideas about food, they’d have their licence to practice revoked and be struck off. Yet, as there’s no way of regulating this area, they go uncensored.

I have said this ...not so eloquently, for a long time.

All cooking/food now is all about chasing the bucks, the likes, the sponsors.

I make no apologies for my "poor" diet - although, increasingly, all the things the "righteous eaters" slammed me for are proving to be "good for you" or "not bad for you".....

So many people follow/believe this stuff in a cult-like fashion, addicted to these people as if they were real/genuine people actually helping them....

I despise that whole side of the Internet - people being conned into thinking "Mummy of XYZ Cooks Nutritious Food ... for 3p" ...etc etc - most are either sponsored by big business, or cashing in on the wake of that.

As the DM said - a lot of the food photographed is never even eaten!

I bet there's many a "Mummy Blogger" feeding her family for £1-2/day who simply does it, photographs it, blogs it ... then bins it and cracks out the salmon and champers, while banking the cheques from selling the book of their recipes.

Cynical? Moi? No. Realistic.

karcher

Yep, Realistic, and I wholeheartedly agree with you PN.

The Internet, Social Media and The Press have an awful lot to answer for on a plethora of issues (not just cooking) IMHO...:(

Hollyharvey

PasturesNew wrote: »

I make no apologies for my "poor" diet - although, increasingly, all the things the "righteous eaters" slammed me for are proving to be "good for you" or "not bad for you".....


Cynical? Moi? No. Realistic.

I don't think that you have got a poor diet at all.


All the time that low fat has been seen as 'bad' I have quite happily been putting proper butter on everything, eating cream, full fat yoghurt, eggs, cheese and quiche with cheese and cream in it.


I like cake and puddings and intend to keep enjoying them, same for pizza, pork pies and pies in general.


If I like something I will eat it, same as you PN. I found it quite amusing when butter was suddenly good for you again I can't be doing with all of these different 'fads' that come and go.

moneyistooshorttomention

I've certainly read some of the "You can eat on £1 per day" mummy type blogs - followed by concluding pretty much every single time that the food isn't remotely enough to fill a hungry stomach and/or looks pretty blimmin' awful and I wouldnt fancy it or expect anyone much else to do so either and almost certainly it ain't healthy.

Same rule applied at the start of figuring whether the diet works - I want to see a full-length photo of the person concerned - ie to see whether to get out my "pinch of salt" factor.

Is it just me that regards this as a useful rule of thumb? - ie to look at the promoter of whatever-diet-it-is personally. I took a look personally at the promoter of a "healthy eating" type diet the other day, knowing she's the same sort of age as me. Came to my conclusions and "next please". Is that a daft way of assessing? But I could see she was slim - but looked older and less fit than I do - so wondered if the diet was working for her and so.......

Sometimes you evaluate what evidence you can physically see to decide what you think about a diet.....

*********

Anyways - I've had my two glasses of wine I was promising myself whilst out this evening. But - leastways I didn't weaken and have any more than I'd decided on:). Also held out against having any of the food that was on offer:). So I guess that counts as a "win" for tonight then. Willpower held up. Came back hungry - and have just had two slices of that sourdough bread I bought and a glass of milk coming up. Well - I'll let myself have that...

Whoops - that's been 5 meals today in total:eek: - if we count the one in the middle of the night. Tomorrow is another day - and the vast majority of the time it's 3 meals and no snacks though so...I guess that's not too bad.....:cool:

PasturesNew

I don't think my diet is "bad". Yes, you can point to lots of individual things I eat (too often) ... and yes you could have a list as long as your arm about what I don't eat (e.g. 5/day, 10/day... pfft).

But, I must be doing something right as I'm still alive and I am not overweight... I have a little wobbly belly right now, but it's easy to identify why that is. I'll admit it. I'll admit that sometimes I eat too much, for too many days .... and get a little wobble on - but I realise that and eventually rein it in again to get down to 8st7lbs.

But, I do believe that "a little bit of what you fancy does you good" - and there's no joy eating food you hate because somebody says you should eat that stuff.

Generally, if I have pizza, it's half a 10" one maximum. Maybe once every 2-3 months.

I do get a little carried away sometimes, such as my favourite choccies - I used to only find them 1-2x a year and suddenly the shop at the end of the road was selling them.... so I went a bit mad
I think many of us would do that.

I did deliberately not buy them a few times - and now that shop doesn't sell them ... booo ..... but I've found another shop 1 mile away that sells them, but a mile away is too far to bother

I generally just work on calories as an overall concept.... and let the rest sort itself out.

CFO isn't easy .... as you do lose the option of variety. Toss in my peculiarities regarding ovens/hobs (not being able to use them) and I figure I do really well, considering

Today I had the noon meal ... and two choc ices a bit later as it was quite hot/muggy .... then I had spuds/cheese ... and just now 2 digestives.

I know something in there was a bit naughty and unnecessary, but what the heck. I am aware I over-ate, not in denial.