AIBU?
To think that we don't actually need to eat "a hot meal" every day?
Machli · 01/05/2013 12:43
Dd and I both prefer cold food, salads, fruit, sandwiches. Most days dd eats 8 plus portions of fruit and veg a day. I am not so well nourished 
.
It seems that many don't feel it's a proper meal unless its a big cooked, hot one. I quite often see "kids need a hot meal" or "I always make sure there's one hot meal a day, cooked from scratch" on here.
A lot of food that needs to be cooked, pasta, rice etc hold minimal nutrients and usually cooking processes destroy or diminish nutrients also. Understand that meat and fish need to be cooked to make it safe and palatable to eat, but I just don't understand why it's so necessary to provide a hot meal daily.
What is the reasoning behind The Hot Meal?
StealthOfficialCrispTester · 01/05/2013 12:56
I agree op, never understood this. also never really found that a hot meal warms me up particularly - maybe if I was trekking ti the arctic but in my life I don't need warming food. Also don't really understand the concept of a "light lunch" vs "proper dinner" vs "a sandwich". A sandwich can be equally as fiddly and faffy to prepare as a "hot dinner". It's all just food!
TanteRose · 01/05/2013 13:00
Cooking veggies does not destroy their nutrients 
www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=raw-veggies-are-healthier
And cooking stuff makes it easier to chew and digest
That said, you don't need a hot meal everyday
Machli · 01/05/2013 13:08
Doesn't it depend on the method of cooking though? How many of us lightly steam our veg when cooking in the recommended fashion. My Mum used to and probably still does boil all veg at maximum temperature for considerable lengths of time. I'm spite of the linked article I refuse to believe much could have survived.
SolidGoldBrass · 01/05/2013 13:14
The idea of a notable difference between 'a sandwich' and 'a proper meal' probably dates back to when the concept of a 'proper meal' involved two if not three separate courses eg soup or salad/meat and veg/pudding.
I think if people are consuming enough calories and enough varieties of food (ie veg/protein/carb) then it really doesn't matter what shape it comes in.
worsestershiresauce · 01/05/2013 13:20
Salad is such a faff. All that washing, chopping, grating, arranging.... As for cold meat, well that needs to be cooked originally (buying ready cooked cold meat is ridiculously expensive, and it's mostly packed full of salt and nitrates).
Often a hot meal is less hassle.
StealthOfficialCrispTester · 01/05/2013 13:22
Just don't wash it! I don't and am still alive *
*nb this may not be the best advice
I put salad in my sandwiches. Which I am starting to think is not normal, as everyone else seems to think making a sandwich is so much easier than making "a dinner".
WilsonFrickett · 01/05/2013 13:25
A 'bad' sandwich is not a proper meal, as in two slice of white with plastic cheese or reconstituted meat. Yes, it contains calories and fat and a little bit of protein, but it's not a proper meal. So that's what I think people mean when they talk about a sandwich not being a 'proper dinner'.
However, I don't think that's what the OP is talking about... I am now imagining a smorgasbord of loveliness
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