Being time poor is a massive issue for me. Before lockdown i routinely was in work from 10am to 10pm, running grpups and attending meetings with offenders, social services etc. If i was hungry hut i had feedbacks to do - well the hunger will wait. A complete lack of any routine around food and also time and availability. If im getting home at 1040 and up again for 7 im not wanting to cook, im wanting to grab something wuick. My diet was basically takeaway and costa coffee
Lockdown gave me more time at home to spend cooking. My cooking and my eating and sleeping has improved. I can eat when im hungry, and im no longer knackered going to bed and knackered getting up! I wake up feeling refreshed which tbh motivates me to have a breakfast at home rather than grab something on the way and lie in bed 10more mins. I was always rushing before as even on my early finishes i was rushing to NA meetings. Having the time to reflect has allowed me to make changes, the main of which is something has to go and thats na meetings being reduced. No more rushing to walsall and not getting home until 11pm. Ill do one or two a week and prioritize self care.
At the moment that means being strict with a bedtime routine. It means planning ahead, and it means if i fsncy a pizza ill plam to have one on a weekend. It means not denyong muself. In a months time ill be back doing evenings again. Im preparing by cooking an extra portion eg chilli and freezing it so ill have quick meals to take into work. I do my shopping on a friday after work, and i meal plan and budget. Tnis has the pleasant side effect of more money for colouring or other luxuries!
I do think now costa etc is open the government is being a bit contradictory. I had a mint cooler the other day, bit that was for my lunch and i had no other sweet stuff. Its all about balance but i do fear that if people resume to their prelockdown routines itll go to pot again
Lets be honest, if you pick up your toddler from nuesery at 6 and have tp fit in tea, supervising homework, prep for next days lunch as well as grabbing half hour for yourself youre not going to want to faff about chopping veg and making a bolognese. Bunging a pizza in while uoure washing the toddler and the elder is doing their homework is much more attractive.
I also think busy lives and lack of exercise contributes. Theres much more information on healthy esting these days - chia seeds, buddha bowls, low csrb, low fat, 5:2, fasting, ww, sw, intuitive eating ... when my parents were growing up there was none of thst yet people were more fit.
A usual day then (rhondda valleys so deprivation galore) was toast and coffee for breakfast, or maybe a bacon roll, or a full breakfast if had the time. Elevenses more coffee and a biscuit or two. Dinner usually sandwich , crisps, maybe an apple. Tea home cooked. Possibly supper. The focus wasnt how healthy food was or even how it tasted, it was is it filling? And how much is it?
The difference is that cars were obly used for long journeys. Most men would walk to work, even when that walk was 2miles and theyd then be off doen a mile. Factory work was physicsl snd again youd tend to walk there. Older children would walk to school, or younger children walked with mam who would walk there and back. With multiple children, the toddler had to walk if the baby needed the pram.
There certainly wasnt as much fussing over whats healthy and what isnt, or agonising over if a malt loaf is ok for packed lunch for children , or how msny sweets they had. But again there was more time available. At least near me, most womem tend to stop working once they have children or go part time at the least. They had more time to cook meals from scratch. Because of poverty a costa coffee was a treat on holiday, not an everyday occurance.
I think nowadays, particularly in cities, were money rich but time poor. In my hometown more people now work, drive everywhere and takeaways are more accessible. Its not realistoc to expect someone to get home at 6pm and start cooking a meal. Beans on toast or pasta n sauce is easy enough but not the tastiest. Im single and manage to motivate myself, by having sn hours sit down before cooking. I still dont finish cooking, eating and washing up by 8pm most evenings and then its a shower, tv and bed! And i make quite simple or at least not time consuming meals. Add in a few kids to wrangle, and a lack of money so not being able to tske risks on what if dc wont eat it,and it becomes obvious.
And a pack of biscuits is cheaper than a pack of apples. A pack of 6 apples is 6 portions. A psxk of buscuits will give quite a few more portions. Not everyone has a local cheap supermarket. Often the local shops in poorer areas contain oblg bananas in the way of fruit and veg, but shelf upon shelf of junk food. Yes you can travel 4miles to tesco or 6miles to aldi, but thats bus fare youve got to find plus a few hours to dedicate to doing it, plus lugging it back. I have an aldi right near work, many dont
Also, if youve had an unexpected bill but next month youll be fine, its easier to manage mentally. You can live off pasta and veg etc because theres an end in sight. Treats can be expensive toiletries or a cinema trip or a holiday or new shoes etc. When theres no end in sight its hsrder. We all eant treats its human nsture. But when youre struggling day to day and theres no holiday or cinema or nice toiletries in sight, then your treat becomes a chinese on oay day. It becomes a few glasses of gin on a saturday, and a few biscuits while watching tv.
If youre in a nice area you can let your kids play out, or afford clubs etc. If youre in a rough area you might not feel safe letting ypur kids play out.
I think a bit of empathy wouldnt go amiss on this thread. Yes, we shojld all just chop an apple and stick it in a bag for a snack. Never mind that walking to your caring job, exhausted, wet through with rain, worrying about money erc and then habing the faff chopping an apple which doesnt even taste that nice, is miserable as fuck. We all need a bit of comfort and i certainly cant blamd tje poor for wantinh a kitkat instead.
Its much easier to be slim and healthy wjen you have momey. Read the road to wigan pier. When you work 9-5, few money worries, accessible cheap shops, good equipment and skills, non fussy children, the ability to get it wrong and eat something else instead, well its easy to be virtuous and eat chia seeds mixed with yogurt and mango and sneer at the fatties who just arent trying hard enough. Its acrually an incredibly privileged position to be able to choose food based on health and dietary preferences, as opposed to choosinh based on financial constraints and will your family actually eat it.
Fuck the privilege on this thread is glaring. You can tell Mn is middleclass!!