The great british menu - food poverty... AIBU?

[Bogeyface]

I hate myself for thinking this but, AIBU to think that Lady Whatsername who said in the 90's that the reason poor people couldnt manage on benefits was because they lacked the ability to cook good simple nutritious meals, may have had a point? The way she said it was totally U and she was very sneery, but I cant help thinking that there might be a grain of truth in it.

Of the three families I have just seen in this program I saw what 2 of them ate in a day. one was a mother and daughter who's only meal of the day was a microwave burger each costing £1 each, and the other was a family where the children had fish fingers or nuggets and oven chips, while the parents had tinned veg.

£14 per week that the first family spent is enough for a bag of baking potatoes, some basics pasta, baked beans, passatta, a pack of frozen sausages, a bag of porridge oats, some cheese, some sandwich meat such as Haslet from the deli counter (35p per 100g in my tesco) and milk. The DD would be getting free school meals if I heard correctly about her age and their income. Far healthier, more filling and more than one meal a day!

The second family, again, for the price of nuggets, fish fingers and oven chips they could make a spag bol using basics ingredients that would feed them all well.

RAther than focussing on the cost of food, which is only going to rise, surely it would be better to focus on educating people who eat badly because the food they choose is more expensive than cheaper, healthier alternatives that require a bit of cooking knowledge?

I guess if you're happy enough eating that 7 days a week then why would you change? I suppose I was looking at it from the point of view of them thinking that they don't have a choice because the food is cheap rather than because that's what they like eating.

There was a survey done to find out what the minimum cost of groceries was that someone could live on, with decent nutrition. It was checked by dieticians to make sure.

The cost was £50 for just one person. As you add more people cooking together in families there are economies of scale for each extra person, but £50 is the baseline.

Nuggets and chips were beyond my capability when I had bad MH problems.. so spag bol would be definitely out of reach.

Latara, my post wasn't solely directed at you. You've just told us that you could barely be bothered to drink water some days. Should I not have posted at all because my suggestions wouldn't have worked for you in your darkest hours?

Sorry bumbleymummy not having a good night really.

I have been trying to save money. It is only me to feed though and I'm lucky enough to have a garden. I've grown my own potatoes and veg, bought 2 packs of chicken thighs for £6 and it has fed me every night for a week. I make sandwichs for work so reckon I've spent about £10 on food each week.. It does get boring having pretty the same food each night however. Also that's just for one so it must be pretty difficult to feed two on £14 a week!

Me neither Latara. Sorry for snapping.

That's ok.

I think, Latara, that you point to a very good point- while your depths might have been an extreme example, there are many many women who have low level depression/taking AD for whom life becomes a drudge and grey and cooking wholesome nutritious food (and running all over town to get the ingredients) just slides down the list of possibilities.

I did wonder if it was nonviolent resistance Garlic but I would be very worried that it would soon turn to violence and that would put me off attending any rallys.

If you do have a butcher, as an aside, (a real one as opposed to a poncy one) do use them, as they won't survive without custom.
Mine is a godsend. They are slightly cheaper than my local supermarket and loads better quality.
Their record for animal welfare is better too, as they buy from local farms and know their suppliers well.
I am sure our butcher knows I am on a tight budget since my weekly meat budget is pretty small and I buy mince a lot, and I am certain they give me extra for nowt! They are also good for cheap cuts.
I realise I am really lucky though, and most people don't live near a butcher anymore.

Ermahgerd Your post is spot on and sums up how I grew up perfectly. Our 'treat' came on a Friday when we had a bottle of orange squash and once that was gone, it was gone. The idea of having a slow cooker or a freezer was unimaginable. There were times when we didn't have gas or electric. However, we were lucky as our mum could cook from scratch and was incredibly resourceful. Thinking back, we definitely didn't get our five a day, but we never went hungry.

We all had Home Economic lessons at school teaching us how to cook. However, when you're presented with a list of ingredients to bring to the lesson that come to 25% of the weekly food bill, there will be some kids off 'sick' on those days. We certainly were on more than one occasion.

I'm very lucky now because I've got a good wage. Not massive, but enough to keep a store cupboard. However, when I go back to where I grew up and see some of the people I grew up with, it takes me straight back. There is no bulk buying of food, no daily baths (strip washes are the norm; not many social housing properties have showers), no freezers. If you're cold, you put another jumper on. Heating and lighting are not things that are guaranteed. Everyone buys on tick from the tally man, Christmas finally gets paid for in November and the need for a healthy balanced diet is often an alien concept.

I just wanted to chime in with a bit of support, Latara. I still do have mental health (and physical) problems. I have to try and take this into account, so there's at least some sliced bread in the freezer for toast on bad days. In theory, I cook & freeze half so there should always be something microwaveable, but a recent stretch of three weeks down saw me living on biscuits & vitamin pills My meds make me crave carbs. Shopping correctly for my health would be a complicated challenge on a decent budget - as it is, I see an awful lot of rice and toast. And couscous! Just add boiling water, and sugar if I'm antsy. I've gained a ton of weight.

I absolutely don't blame people not being arsed to cook, with such a grind to get through. The anxiety causes depression, if you didn't have it in the first place -> poor diet exacerbates the depression -> ability to be constructive with fucking pulses diminishes -> gimme nuggets!

I too feel ill at some posters not having enough to eat. Please come to mine. I have plenty and can give you some of my ridiculous budget

There are three butchers in this little town, IfNot, and the local produce is good. But cheap it ain't! Last time I had a fit of doing healthy "peasant" cooking, I asked the butcher for a cheap neck of lamb. It was a bloody fiver and shrank to a handful! Aldi's premium mince and 1kg bags of frozen chicken are far better value, food-per-pound wise.

Thanks rubbish garlic! I love Aldi, but dont have one nearby,wish I did.

Spot on about the ingredients for a home ec lesson EllaFitzgerald.
When I did home ec, we always made something utterly pointless, using massive amounts of something we never had in normally, to be desecrated by me into an inedible mess.

I have just had time to watch the programme.

Right at the end one of the judges, with a beaming smile says....."These chefs today have proven to us that you can have delicious, nutritious food for almost nothing"

So really any further critical analysis is a waste of time because politicians and supermarkets can take that away and have a clear conscience.

That bit was a bit ridiculous mini.

But interesting as part of the debate on affordable school dinners...

IfnotNow Same here. inedible rock cakes or meals for five people for three days? It's not a difficult choice.

I think they should repeat the programme... but this time make it more realistic by factoring in the following:

1. the amount of time normal people have to go hunting all the bargins
2. the cost of transport to do the above hunting
3. the cost of cooking this marvellous food, using electricity
4. the cost of washing up after cooking all this marvellous food
5. the health of the person doing the cooking - are they actually able to go out and make the effort to cook this marvellous food
6. the fact that there's probably a good number of people who can't read these marvellous budget recipes

Oh and whilst we are at it, wheeling out celebrity chefs who do a weekly cookery programme (James Martin I'm looking at you) which generally has recipes that most people - even though on a good wage - couldn't reasonably afford on anything other than special occasions, was hardly going to inspire. Just piss everyone off. Maybe they should consider budget far more often on these type of shows.

I have often thought that Masterchef could do budget series. Its very easy to create amazing food with an unlimited budget, but to do it on a fiver really shows skill and creativity with the added bonus that it could show what really is possible with very little money.

yep, I cringed at the judge's sum up of the experience....

I reckon its taken me more than 10 years to get a 'store cupboard' of herbs, spices, etc etc. THAT's the other expence I thought was brushed under the carpet.

Why didn't they take the families out shopping?
Why didn;t they show 'variations on a theme' such as potatoes, pasta, rice etc.... basic cuttign skills and food hygiene/storage....

So much could have been madeof this...

£5 masterchef? Cancelled after three episodes followiing 50th plate of variation on a tomato based mince dish.

I don't think it helps to post budget plans, menus and recipes without a real understanding of the realities of living in the bottom 10%.

I'm very lucky to be earning a top 10% salary and to know the difference between poor and thrifty and being poor and being patent.

Sorry posting while falling asleep