To think processed and pre cooked food is way too common in this country?

@MrsSkylerWhite , it really does not. It can be made very cheaply and quite quickly.

There’s a difference between me finding something rude and taking it as an insult. I never said I was insulted.
But I just think these types of post are rude. And I’m not just talking about yours. This is at least the third one I’ve seen in a couple of weeks. Making out like these other countries are so much better than us Brits who rely on ready meals. Just doesn’t come across very nice.

It might be nice but it doesn’t sound at all like a contender for the title of “The Most Delicious Meal Ever”.

I agree with UPF issue, although sometimes I fall down this trap, especially as I have a child with suspected AFRID. I’m not sure what the problem with precooked food is. Today we’re having chicken pie but I know I’m going to be short on energy so I pre cooked the filling yesterday while I was making dinner, I think this is fine hut being honest the puff pastry is shop bought. I often make twice the amount of something and freeze it for a later date.

I don’t really buy any pre-cooked ready meal type stuff. I mean we do buy things like crackers, oatcakes, custard in tins, occasional packet of crisps or jar of pasta sauce. I’m not always growing my own tomatoes and making my own sauce (though sometimes!).

Generally, we make and eat proper food. Pasta with fresh veg. Roasts with potatoes and veg. Soups and stews. Salads. Meats and vegetables in wraps or flatbreads in various sorts. Noodles in brothy soups or stir fried. Curries (made from scratch) and rice.

I don’t know how other families eat. But they definitely don’t form the bulk of what we eat. I do, however, suspect it’s going to be very class based. There is a reason convenience foods are targeted at certain population groups more than others - lack of cooking space, equipment, social norms, food culture, cost, etc.

I agree OP - in fact one of the items in my 'pros' column for the UK is the quality and variety of ready meals! I am an absolute sucker for CB's paella, and spanish chicken and potatoes, not to mention the tikka masala and butter chicken. We tend to have these where we would have once had take out.

When I went back to NZ for several months, to nurse me Mum, I would have killed for access to those, there really aren't similar items readily available. It was very noticeable for me - although I hasten to add I wasn't in a main centre, so maybe that made a difference. There were the pastas and sauces, and the pizzas, but really, that was it. Apart from a truly dire curry offering that I still shudder at the memory of. . .

I was just thinking this- there seem to have been a lot lately!

I think it’s rude.

The French aren’t meat obsessed? Have you tried being a vegetarian in France?!

Pasta with a few tomatoes is just a bowl of carbs with a bit of veg. Not a balanced meal.

Yeah but diet culture also has Brits obsessed with protein. Its telling that you can buy protein Mars bars, weetabix etc as though that's a good substitute for good diet.

I have had a number of international friends in my circle form uni who have being saying this for 20 years 😂

unfortunately, in my view the problem isn’t “this country” it’s just a nuanced view that the italys, swedens, portugals etc are just behind where the uk is.

believe me, 30 years ago we were looking at the Americans and laughing at how ridiculous the fast food and obesity was.

I visited France for the first time in years recently and was shocked at how downhill their food and produce has gone and how Tesco like it now is

the real issue is…. Capitalism

You “can” but not my cup of tea.

Raw tomatoes?

I think there is more awareness of UPF now than there has been in recent years and more people are trying to move towards whole foods. I agree with the comments about meat, and meat can make fresh meals more expensive. All families probably achieve a different kind of balance - I never use jar sauces as I find it quick and easy enough to make sauces myself, and they are usually much tastier. We eat a lot of eggs and vegetables. Don’t typically have any ready meals or frozen chicken nugget type food. But we also eat more takeaway than I would like. I think most families are just doing the best they can with the time, resources and knowledge they have.

@HotPotLove

People in France typically work less hours that those in the UK. They have lower accommodation costs, and lower energy costs. They, marginally, have lower commuting times.

I’ve lived in France, I’m part French, I don’t disagree with you that they eat less processed food. This is a fact. However you are implying a sense of bad decision making being the main factor for Brits eating more processed food, that’s an over simplification of a much more complicated and deep seated issues.

Surely in Italy pasta with a few tomatoes would be a first course? Not the main meal. I’d still be hungry after that, there’s no protein there.

Based on what I have seen in supermarkets throughout Europe I don’t think it’s just a British thing.

But obviously yes, processed food is less good for you than unprocessed.

This isn’t news, people used processed food because of variously lack of time, money or skill.

None of those factors are unique to the UK.

Yes - and the sad fact is that most people don't have access to good quality tomatoes and herbs. Supermarket tomatoes are mostly mediocre and herb selections often disappointing. And not everyone has a decent grocer's nearby (or the time to shlep round multiple shops for simple ingredients).

I think you underestimate the entitlement people feel towards meat and centring meals around them.

Taking that at face value, you then factor in food poverty and people being brought up around a meat and two veg diet.

That's how you see families eating cheap, low welfare chicken and Billy Bear "ham" and low meat-content sausages.

From there, why wouldnt you make life easier with chicken nuggets and frozen waffles? Kids find them soft and palatable and eat it. It's cheap, quick and easy. And many parents won't enforce an eat it or go hungry parenting style and can't cook twice if the kids don't eat it.

It's not healthy though and I agree it's a huge problem.