Aibu to think that normally we are very spoilt for choice in our food shopping?

[Bluewavescrashing]

Usually we can pop to the supermarket and choose from thousands of different foods to buy. Obviously some are on tighter budgets than others.

I think we will have to accept that for the time being there might be some odd meal combinations going on.

Also (dons hard hat) a lot of Brits, me included, would benefit from losing a bit of weight with smaller portions.

Those who are struggling to get food, and have nothing in your homes, I sympathise. But the rest of us need to be a bit more open minded with cooking for the time being.

Use up fresh veg for soups. Bulk out with lentils. Cook vegetarian meals if meat is scarce. Maybe we could share recipes below?

Personally if I had no bread or cereal or fruit or yoghurt or cakes or anything else in the house I would feed my children rice. We're just lucky to have never been in that situation.

Rice instead of bread 😂 and how will that work with my creature of habit toddler dc breakfast?

This sums it up perfectly for me. My DS always has the same for breakfast, when we haven't been able to have it he grumbles but will eat it. We are fortunate that usually it isn't an issue, but as has been said, children won't starve, unlike many places in the world. This excludes those with sensory issues which means that certain brands and foods are important. But just for a toddler in the habit of eating bread, they'll be fine with something else!

Proves my point exactly that, as a nation we are spoilt with our food choices.

OP you had some harsh responses. I'm also having to try new things, scarce meat in the shops here so I created some carrot and kidney bean burgers using Jack Monroes recipe (with added chilli). I've told the kids that they might not have their favourites for a while, but I will try hard to accommodate their tastes... and we won't starve, we are lucky to be able to pick up whatever we can.

No they wouldn’t starve, I don’t know where you got this rice because it isn’t in any supermarket around these parts.

Luckily I make my own bread, always have so my dc are good and we have rice and pasta but many people don’t more so families that shop week to week and couldn’t afford to buy a bit extra.

To get fresh veg around here you need M&S and meat butchers which cost more, I am fortunate to be able to afford that many can’t.

Tesco, Sainsburys

NO fresh meat apart from bacon
No fresh veg
Tin isle stripped apart from mushy peas weirdly
No pasta or rice- had pot noodle which you could buy 2 off...
Freezer isle empty
The only isle stocked was junk food (I.e crisps, chocolate, biscuits)

I get maybe some may think less choice is good but in some places the food genuinely is not in the store, so why people post saying just eat what you can find, stop being fussy is beyond me. What should one feed dc if there supermarket are like mine and they aren’t lucky enough to have food in?

As long as we are fed, in some shape or form, we will survive. It might not be ideal but I think a lot of us need a reality check. Cobbling together bits and pieces will be the best we can do but more food will be available soon, the panic buyers will run out of money or space, supermarkets won't close. We won't starve.

I've had rice in my cupboard for months. We don't eat it much usually as we prefer potatoes or pasta, neither of which are currently available in our area. It was just an example!

I think we are bombarded with messages every day about food. Advertising, TV shows, restaurants etc. Food is inextricably linked with a society’s culture and a cornerstone of its economy. We are accustomed to having easy access to every cuisine on earth. It was never going to be a sustainable situation, but we have been programmed with complex messages about deserving the best, health and self-esteem. Of course it doesn’t technically matter, as long as we are nourished, but it is so much more complicated than that for so many reasons.

YANBU. I have a stocked cupboard, none of which I would usually buy. I got what I could instead and will be creative. This week my children are learning to be less wasteful, not snack so much and not to be picky.

I know what you mean.

For some reason I have always been very conscious of this (maybe growing up with no luxuries, no poverty, but we never had chocolate or crisps or pop or takeaways and a restaurant meal once or twice a year maz. Never been abroad before I was 18 etc, normal 70s childhood I'm sure).

I've felt this doing the Christmas food shop before. I'm sure we had some fancy stuff as a treat in the 80s, but the whole mind-blowing range of Christmas food wasn't available. And yet I wonder if the treats we did have were more appreciated for their scarcity.

Clearly a lot of people are really struggling for food full stop, but there's a lot of us who have grown quite spoiled. In the face of this pandemic it's a mild suffering to change our food attitudes though.

Absolutely agree, growing up, it was very unusual to be able to plan to buy a precise list of products and meals were very much dependent upon what was available.

Usually I’d excel in a situation like this. Sadly I have hyperemesis and there are very few foods I can actually stomach. As a result, I am barely eating. Being able to get the foods I actually can keep down is fairly vital.

I think we are bombarded with messages every day about food. Advertising, TV shows, restaurants etc. Food is inextricably linked with a society’s culture and a cornerstone of its economy. We are accustomed to having easy access to every cuisine on earth. It was never going to be a sustainable situation, but we have been programmed with complex messages about deserving the best, health and self-esteem. Of course it doesn’t technically matter, as long as we are nourished, but it is so much more complicated than that for so many reasons

Totally agree with this. If I have a bad day at work I drive to Tesco and buy the ingredients (some ready made ) for my favourite curry or whatever. Or a ready meal. Drinks, pudding etc. It's all there, laid out with so many choices. We eat to celebrate, for comfort, to socialise. As a family we love eating out and the markup on food is huge, but we enjoy it.

Most people have a few bits knocking around the cupboard they could use up, combined with what's available in the shops to make a wholesome and tasty meal. It just requires more thought and maybe not eating what you wanted most that evening. I understand not everyone does and this thread does not apply to those living in poverty.

Tbh I think this is a wake up call to those of us (me included) who can pick and choose what we eat evety day, until now.

Usually I’d excel in a situation like this. Sadly I have hyperemesis and there are very few foods I can actually stomach. As a result, I am barely eating. Being able to get the foods I actually can keep down is fairly vital.

That's horrible for you @Bienentrinkwasser I can't imagine how ill you must be feeling right now.

I was telling dh about what was available in supermarket this week (morrisons in the North) and how many empty shelves there were but still a fully stocked fruit and veg aisle, loads of fresh meat and fish, loads of ingredients and dried herbs and spices etc. But ready meals all gone, lots of tinned stuff gone, not much choice of bread, convenience freezer food gone and no pasta except spaghetti and linguine and pasta sheets.

Personally we are fine and usually shop from those aisles that were full anyway because I don't particularly like processed food but some families would struggle but it might actually be a good thing for our waistlines and the environment.

It actually looked a bit like a spanish supermarket but with more familiar brands and not as nice fruit and veg and fresh fish but maybe that will change. Hope so anyway. I refuse to cook on holiday on principle but would love to be able to shop like that here.

I’m on a very restricted diet for medical reasons. I have very little choice at the best of times. Now it’s getting really difficult to get the foods that are safe for me, partly because of panic buying, partly because supermarkets are streamlining their product ranges.

I'm on a very restricted diet for medical reasons. I have very little choice at the best of times. Now it’s getting really difficult to get the foods that are safe for me, partly because of panic buying, partly because supermarkets are streamlining their product ranges.

This must be very difficult. Another reason why people need to be mindful when shopping and not buying things that people like you genuinely need.

Absolutely OP.

I have made it very clear to my kids that there will be much less choice whilst this is going on. They can't just help themselves to food in the same way that they are used to. We may end up having some random dinner combinations