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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be sad and appalled that a healthy diet is now beyond the reach of many.

489 replies

Darkesteyes · 01/05/2014 21:51

Absolutely appalling. And it will have an effect on the NHS. Poorer people are bashed for being poor.. and bashed for being overweight. Why do I have a feeling its only going to get worse. Sad Angry

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27225323

OP posts:
uselessidiot · 02/05/2014 20:16

It's easy to cook cheap healthy food if the following is in place:

  1. facilities namely cooker, fridge and freezer
  2. money for the meter to run the above
  3. basic equipment like pots, spoons, knives etc (I don't mean anything fancy btw)
  4. access to reasonably priced shops that stock reasonable things.
  5. The ability to go to the shop at reduction time (not essential this one but handy)
  6. physically well enough to cook.

Not everyone in the UK has all of the above.

uselessidiot · 02/05/2014 20:21

Sorry shadow I took so stupidly long to type that I cross posted. I hope everything works out.

Southeastdweller · 02/05/2014 20:24

I think talking about the poor here skews the discussion and isn't what the article is on about. I accept that on an extremely low budget that eating well is hard.

But easy enough on a 'normal' low budget. I know because I've done it and the examples listed by others illustrate this perfectly

AShadowStirsWithin · 02/05/2014 20:28

But how many crap days and therefore crap food days am I allowed to have? Food as a source of comfort and comfort eating are a big part of society down here in the underclass. My "oh fuck it, let's have nuggets and beans" nights have increased tenfold since I've been in this situation. DD beams when she gets handed a freddo, I feel like i can face whatever I have to with a few biscuits in my tea. It's also the "it doesn't make a difference" ness. I have finite money, that's isn't going to change any time soon. That money is divided up into money for bills, rent (all of it!), gas and leccy meter. If I plan a food shop with all the essentials and I've got £5 left over, do I buy more veg or do I go to pound land and get crisps, biscuits, a tatty toy for DCs and some nice shampoo. Whether I spend it on bruised pears or monster munch doesn't actually change the fact that I'm going to be eating stewed root veg for the next week, or the next month. It doesn't actually make a significant difference other than to make me feel better. And I do actually understand and can empathise with someone whose oarents were poor, who herself is poor, and who has a lack of education and a lack of knowledge as to how to improve her situation; I totally understand that person going to Iceland and spending £40 on microwave pizza and icecream.

Can you not see why someone who sees no way out, infact doesn't grasp that there is any way out for them would chose easy sugary carbs over faffing around with saucepans? It tastes nice, is instant, is comforting. They will never be able to go to the cinema or out for dinner on a regular basis, they will never be able to afford a weekly holiday. All those luxuries which most people know are around the corner, are attainable at some point, be it a birthday treat or a weekly thing. For these people those are "never" things. So why the fuck shouldn't they buy crap food? Their lives are so so much narrower than many others.

AShadowStirsWithin · 02/05/2014 20:31

Huge cross post.

babybarrister · 02/05/2014 20:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TequilaMockingbirdy · 02/05/2014 20:34

I've been absolutely skint and never in my life have I ate a chickpea. I don't even know what they look like.

Southeastdweller · 02/05/2014 20:35

Why would you boil chick peas? Plenty of canned chick peas sold almost everywhere. Takes 1 minute in the microwave.

And cost 50p a tin.

Waltonswatcher1 · 02/05/2014 20:39

Ashadowstirswithin
I don't know you ,but I wish I did .
X

expatinscotland · 02/05/2014 20:49

People use all manner of crutches - sweet things, carbs, proteins, dairy, alcohol, drugs, porn, gambling. They have since time immortal.

Only on MN do people get sanctimonious and competitive about how great they are and heap scorn on anyone who is not, in cyberspace, as hallowed as they.

fatlazymummy · 02/05/2014 20:49

Chickpeas are 35p a tin in tescos , in the world food aisle.(just thought I'd mention it). I can't be arsed with boiling them , or kidney beans either.

expatinscotland · 02/05/2014 20:53

Takes a lot of fuel to boil them. Cheaper to buy tinned and do them in a microwave, especially if you are on a meter for leccy.

TequilaMockingbirdy · 02/05/2014 21:00

Even now I have more money (mostly DP's) I still get all the cheap tinned and frozen stuff. It's just a habit and saves so much money. And IMO tastes just as good.

AShadowStirsWithin · 02/05/2014 21:02

Yes my leccy meter is the bane of my life. If I run the washing machine, cooker/oven every day and dare to tumble dry a few loads a week I get through something close to £15 a week. I used to batch cook, fanny around doing baking for the week, now I can't afford to.

TequilaMockingbirdy · 02/05/2014 21:04

My mums currently putting ten pounds a day into her meter, it keeps taking money from her and leaving her with pennies. They've come out once and apparently all is well and she'll have to put the money on to show them what's happening - bit hard when you're putting so much on a day to have to save money for when they decide to grace you with their presence!

iwantsun · 02/05/2014 21:05

Can you not see why someone who sees no way out, infact doesn't grasp that there is any way out for them would chose easy sugary carbs over faffing around with saucepans? It tastes nice, is instant, is comforting

Yes and they suffer in the long run. Just adds more troubles to their list

iwantsun · 02/05/2014 21:06

I dont think anyone is talking about odd packets of biscuits or sweets I think its families where they never eat anything other than 'crap'

Agreed

TequilaMockingbirdy · 02/05/2014 21:06

Yes and they suffer in the long run. Just adds more troubles to their list

That may be, but a lot of people don't have the luxury of being able to look to the future and have to live in the now - sad but true.

iwantsun · 02/05/2014 21:08

I think it's just fairly obvious from certain posts on this thread that many people take the option of disengaging with the poor

Because some people don't agree that it is impossible to eat healthy on a low budget, that means they take the option of disengaging with the poor Hmm

iwantsun · 02/05/2014 21:10

That may be, but a lot of people don't have the luxury of being able to look to the future and have to live in the now - sad but true

It is not a luxury looking into the future. It means planning, being careful and not looking for instant gratification in crappy processed carbs

AShadowStirsWithin · 02/05/2014 21:10

Ten pounds a DAY? Fucking hell! That's outrageous! Surely they can see from her receipts how much she's topping up, no one could use ten pounds a day unless they were running a launderette out their lounge!

Iwantsun, I'm not actually going to challenge that. I think your post shows that you are following your script on this thread of spectacularly missing the point of most posts and just gleefully kicking those below you. If Expats comments about her daughters cancer treatment couldn't incite the tiniest shred of empathy and humanity from you, then I don't expect anything I have said or could say to make any difference.

GarlicMaybeNot · 02/05/2014 21:14

Powerful post, AShadow Flowers Wishing you many biscuits and better circumstances very soon.

TequilaMockingbirdy · 02/05/2014 21:15

iwantsun

with respect, it's not that friggin simple when you simply dont have the money nor the mindset because you're so bloody worn down with the life you have

ashadows yes it's ridiculous isn't it!! And it's only her and her dog, so not like she's using a lot! It makes me so mad. I go round hers and we literally cringe when we hear the beep beep meaning it's ready to cut off. :(

iwantsun · 02/05/2014 21:16

I am not gleefully kicking anybody. I have been working voluntarily with the poor and food banks for the last 2 years. If I was kicking gleefully, I wouldnt work with them

Like I said already, you know crap all about me

Montegomongoose · 02/05/2014 21:16

Food as a source of comfort and comfort eating are a big part of society down here in the underclass.

I think that's a crucial point here.

And how do you go about changing things so that comfort eating things which, in the long run, don't help?

I apologise if that sounds sanctimonious; I'm aware that people are sharing painful things, I genuinely want to know.

I mentioned that our food bank offered cookery lessons and nobody came.

Quite often clients refuse things because they are not fast food and they think other food tastes awful and they will not feed it to their families.

Surely we should all be looking for ways to eat more healthily and teach our children how to?

I really don't buy the other argument.