People need to think more outside the box with eating in hot weather

[Nickynicks]

Worked at a supermarket. When we had warm weather like we are forecast for the next week, the salad section- more so with lettuce, we ran out. Customers were moaning about no lettuce/bags of salad leaves. “You can’t have salad without lettuce”. You can! The dictionary definition of salad is a “dish mainly of cold and raw vegetables usually with hot and cold protein or carbs”. Where is the lettuce featured? Plus I had salad when eating out. On a few occasions, I had no lettuce. Various tomatoes, onions etc.

Then overhead people say “I’m sick of salads” by day 5 of the warm weather. Do people who live where hot summers are the norm, eat salads all the time? No! I know that their homes are better to deal with hot weather as our homes are designed to keep warm in the winter.

You can cook food. Ideally not in the oven or hob. But can cook in microwave or air fryer/multicooker (on options where lid is closed). Kitchen doesn’t get that hot that way

Or get some nice bread, cheeses, tomatoes, anti pasti.

Was that when she and Peggy were making sandwiches? Didn't they have a fight after 😄

Don’t come to Australia then, cold meat and salad platters are the norm here. We eat 3 lettuces a week 🫣

This!

YANBU. The majority of my salads (and I eat salad daily for lunch) don’t have lettuce (because I got fed up of lettuce going bad within a day or two). But people get stuck in their ways.

How do you know the strawberries have sold out?

it is annoying that the supermarkets run out!

Yep. And smug and pointless.

Well I expect that when people find there's no more lettuce or whatever their preferred choice is, they dont go without tea, so presumably do 'think outside the box'. Necessity being the mother of invention and all. You appear to have hit on a problem that forces its own solution.

But if you are annoyed that the lettuce and strawberries have sold out, that implies you wanted to buy some. So where’s YOUR imagination? Eat a fucking papaya!

It’s not necessarily lack of imagination

having simple rules like - salad = lettuce and Wimbledon is strawberry season means people don’t have to waste brain power thinking about their dinner so much

whilst you might have the time, energy and motivation to do so, lts of other people have used up their thinking energy on work or planning how to handle a mum with dementia

thinking power like will power is a finite resource

Supermarkets promote different types of food at certain times of the year. I assumed this was widely understood? Not to mention all the cookery programmes that will have seasonal themes.

My parents eat salad 'items' but if it isn't in a bowl with lettuce they wouldn't call it a salad.

We eat salads all year round but definitely more in the warmer months. Of course demand goes up then.

Not sure why you are bothered about what a section of supermarket customers eat OP?

people are allowed to complain in the supermarket that the lettuce is all gone
whether they think outside the box is up to them,
what would you use in place of a lettuce leaf?
home made coleslaw? fair enough if people are having to resort to other foods but allow them to complain

when i was at primary school we used to have winter salad,

june is strawberry season

Why does it bother you though? Eat what you want, let others do the same.

What if people buy lettuce because they like it?

I’m interested in what other things annoy you. Out of season crème eggs?

To be fair I was outraged* to see Mini Eggs in the shop the other day!

*not really, I bought some!

I don't like lettuce really, I love cucumber so I do mainly greek style salads with feta and a little bit of patato salad pot mixed in.

I rarely buy lettuce in the summer because it's so easy to grow. I always have some in a planter in the garden and pick leaves as needed. I buy it the rest of the year though. I enjoy lettuce in my salad, so shoot me.

It’s annoying. Supermarkets purely exist for convenience, otherwise I’ll head to the local butcher or farm shop.

If the supermarket can’t deliver on something as basic as a lettuce, what is the point?

Most people go in with an idea of what they want to buy, they pick up a few items based around a particular meal, if a core component is missing then you need to change the meal and put bits back- it becomes a right faff

Because people like different things? I like salads but would always have lettuce in one because I don’t like cucumber at all or raw tomatoes. It’s not because I’m not ‘thinking outside the box’, it’s what I like.

I eat what I fancy, not to the weather. If I fancy a beef casserole, I make it.

Boxing Day, many people including myself have cold cuts with salad.

I have a side salad about 4/5 days per week. Never have iceberg which is boring!

Demand outstrips supply. Sometimes supermarkets order more salad stuff but didn’t work out. I remember, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend. It was cold and raining. Had loads of salad stuff in but customers at my store “don’t eat salad when it’s raining”.

We had to give away salad stuff for free!

Also, when it’s warm weather, check out the ‘cold weather’ foods - stewing steak, mince etc as I remembered reducing lots and took advantage of buying these cheap, both at my my work and other supermarkets.

Another thing, when it rains, people don’t buy the BBQ meat range. Do they think you can only cook these on a BBQ? Grill, air fry etc. I have used the chicken kebabs with peppers, take the bits off the skewers and stir fry them. Serve on a bed of couscous

But why should people be more imaginative with food? To please you? I don't see what difference it makes if someone eats the same things every day or makes a new exotic recipe for dinner each day. There's no medals for it. Some people don't care about food. Some people have a limited budget and want to make things they already know. Some people are deeply unimaginative and like to live a predictable life, or enjoy small traditions like strawberries in Wimbledon week. Where's the crime in that?

I don't mind lettuce and eat quite a lot of it, but it's a bit boring. However, it gives the impression of a lot on the plate without a lot of calories, so I sprinkle lemon juice or balsamic vinegar on it and dig in. If I couldn't get it, I'd have cabbage instead. I like it more than lettuce, but it doesn't like me (nasty, colicky stomach pain) so I only have it now and then.

I think pps are right. As far as possible, you should eat what you enjoy and as to the strawberries in summer, if that's what people do, they are paying attention to seasonality and surely that's a good thing?

These people are weird!

Fresh, crunchy salads with a mixture of flavours and textures (no 2 the same) are my favourite meals. And I like to add nuts and seeds too. Mmmm....Why anyone would fancy say, a burger, in blistering heat is beyond me.

What are these people eating in the summer then?