Let’s also not forget that even the not so good ideas suggested above are far better than regular ginsters pastie or a frozen micro pizza.

a fair bit more balanced than my outburst this morning

On the contrary somafunk, I thought your post was very informative, and I had in fact hesitated to suggest fruit juice in my original post, because I was vaguely aware of the concerns about the sugar hit (and missing the fibre benefit of eating the actual fruit). You were quite right to point this issue out, and I am grateful to you because it’s made me realise that the raw fruit is not that much more expensive. I’ve even got some of those fancy grapefruit spoons with serrated edges, and I’m now quite looking forward to getting some use out of them.

I agree with you about the sugar industry and heavily processed foods. That doesn’t stop me from having sugar on my pancakes, I just don’t have pancakes very often.

I am sorry to hear about your friend and his family. Life can be absolutely awful at times, and sometimes I think all we can do is hang onto and enjoy the good moments, whether it’s the company of a friend, a nice bike ride, a good view from the top of a hill, or a good meal/drink.

howsyourdad1, I prefer a grinding of pepper to your suggestion of Maldon sea salt, but I agree with you about the lemon. However, I have only one lemon left at the moment and I am not cutting that up until I’ve first used the zest in garlic, chilli, lemon and prawn linguine.

I haven’t read the whole thread so this may already have been said, but you can buy microwaveable packets of fresh veg from most supermarkets. It’s usually a mix of things so not too boring and you can just stick them on a plate with whatever you’d usually have with chips. The microwave just steams them so they come out quite nicely and not all soggy and horrible.

Here’s an idea I have been looking at while shopping for food recently. Simply check the ingredients and if there is ANYTHING in there that you don’t recognise as a food in its own right or stuff you are pretty sure you would not be able to buy locally, then put it back on the shelves. So things containing, glucose syrup, lecithin, palm oil, hydrogenated fats, Most E numbers etc. get left behind. You will soon end up just buying fresh, tinned, dried or raw ingredients when you begin to realise just what rubbish you are otherwise eating.

i do not particularly like fruit or veg either. i eat it if its on the plate but would never cook them for myself! i have weetabix with milk (no syrup) for breako, a carton of fresh soup for dinner, then pretty much whatever i want for tea – although i always try to avoid anything with a red traffic light on the packet. confine crisps and snacks to weekend too, and i only ever drink water (except beer etc, also at weekend only) having said that ive just necked a door stop of Parkin…

Sorry Welshfarmer 99% of your advice is excellent but E numbers are misunderstood and aren’t all bad at all for example Vit C is E300.

If you can find the program on Iplayer the Truth about E Numbers is an excellent primer on what they’re about. It’s ok though we won’t have them for long as the E stands for European.

Edit Link to a blog post that went with the program. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2010/08/are-e-numbers-really-bad-for-y.shtml

Some suggestions are tricky because I just plain don’t like them!

I grew up loathing vegetables. But eventually I figured out ways to cook them well.

Last night had a couple of slices of roast ham with roasted parsnips, baby pots, sweet potatoes and squash with carrots and green beans covered in butter. It was bloody lovely.

If you don’t like a vegetable, roast it, fry it or cover it in cheese and try again.

No, I fully agree. BUT if you see an E number and don’t know what it is then get your phone out an inform yourself. Maybe it is something benign and can go in the trolley, but maybe not. If you are happy you can buy vit C elsewhere for example, then fine. All I am suggesting is a very simple way to cut down on some of the, lets us say, less essential parts of our modern diet, and to actually think about what we are consuming.

You’d expect pasta sauces in a jar to have loads of crap in, but they don’t any more. At least Dolmio and Lloyd G don’t.

You’d expect pasta sauces in a jar to have loads of crap in, but they don’t any more. At least Dolmio and Lloyd G don’t.

And if you don’t like the ‘bits’ you could blitz the sauce with a blender to get a smooth sauce (although I believe Dolmio do smooth versions of some of their sauces now).

They do, they are a bit sticky sweet but some might like it – I used to.

Some suggestions are tricky because I just plain don’t like them! I love sweet potato, mushrooms, salad, tomatoes, cucumber, don’t mind potatoes, some things I could prob put up with like carrots but I don’t like cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, green beans

As molgrips implies, how you cook and serve vegetables can make a huge difference. Too many domestic and commercial ‘cooks’ in the UK think that cooking vegetables simply means cutting them up and boiling them in water. GolfChick, if you can afford it I would suggest that you try eating out at least occasionally at good restaurants offering differing types of cuisine (italian, spanish, turkish, medditerranean, far eastern, indian etc.) and see if you particularly like how they cook vegetables and what they serve them with.

For example, the typical italian dish of broccoli and pasta would involve boiling pieces of broccoli but what makes all the difference is that they are then sautéd in olive oil flavoured with garlic, chilli and possibly anchovies. Similarly as howsyourdad1 notes above, it is the olive oil and lemon dressing for boiled green beans that make them work so well with a rich cream laden dish like potato dauphinoise. And yet a completely different result can be had by cooking green beans in a curry like this one which also contains tomatoes, mange tout and peas.

Tenderstem broccoli boiled/sauteed with butter and some almond flakes – lovely.

Also something like Thai curry or a stir fry of some Asian type for different veg served differently.

Slowster we should hang out

Simply check the ingredients and if there is ANYTHING in there that you don’t recognise as a food in its own right or stuff you are pretty sure you would not be able to buy locally, then put it back on the shelves. So things containing, glucose syrup, lecithin, palm oil, hydrogenated fats, Most E numbers etc. get left behind.

your logic is a little odd… sugar would be ok (even if there is loads of it) but glucose syrup would not? Lecithin you don’t recognise but is a vital component in cell biology and can be bought in Holland and barrat (and I think is suggested to have potential anti-altzimers benefits), …

It may be odd but it is a starting point if someone really wants to eat more healthily. Lecithin may be available in Holland and Barret but would you recognise it as a cooking ingredient? And why use a synthesised product which is essentially nothing more than egg yolk, when egg yolks are readily available?

As for sugar, I would agree, although most sugar-rich foods these days have had the sugar content replaced by glucose syrup anyway. Part 2 of my healthy eating plan would be to not buy anything containing sugar (or at least containing a significant amount??). But then it is up to the individual how far your take any of this.

BTW I cannot give up my baked beans despite them containing sugar and modified maize starch 🙂

howsyourdad1 – Member

More importantly for Golfchick, New Covent Garden soups are currently half price at Tesco (and some other supermarkets), so that’s one or more to add to the online order.

processed crap, sorry. probably better than a Chicago town pizza however granted! [/quote]

Like welshfarmer, I often check the ingredients of any processed food, and the presence of palm oil and long chemical names usually kills whatever appetite I might initially have had when looking at the enticing image on the packet. In the case of New Covent Garden, they have a reputation of making good quality soups with basic ingredients (and they have published a number of their own recipe books). The ingredients of their tomato soup are:

Water, Tomatoes (26%), Onions, Tomato Paste (3%), Slow Roasted Tomatoes (1.8%), Basil (1%), Sugar, Sundried Tomato Paste (0.5%), Cornflour, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt, Garlic, Coarse Ground Black Pepper

Slow Roasted Tomatoes contains: Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Rapeseed Oil, Garlic, Oregano

Sundried Tomato Paste contains: Sundried Tomatoes (53.5%), Rapeseed Oil, Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Salt

Processed? Of course, but it is fundamentally no different from the cooking and blending processes to make soup at home. Crap? I don’t think so, and it passes welshfarmer’s test.

Are you sure we should hang out? 😉

BTW I cannot give up my baked beans despite them containing sugar

They (Heinz) seem to have changed the recipe and they are a lot less sweet now. Anyone else notice this?

OP yes definitely a good idea to ditch the white bread for wholemeal, but just remember that there are loads of different wholemeal/brown breads available – you might have to try a couple before you find one you like.

Also try to do a weekly shop. Monthly isn’t frequent enough for fruit and veg.

All the best with it.

@slowster I don’t use 3 teaspoons of sugar per 300gms of soup when I make it at home. I don’t need to mention the salt either. In half a carton.

It is processed crap, IMHO. It’s less crap than a ready made pizza , but it is poor quality food. I stand by that. Everything in moderation of course and products like this certainly have their place in modern life.

That depends, when is prawn linguine night?

I want your metabolism, my diet is pretty good bar a couple of teas with sugar a day but I just eat too much of it 🙁

my dad who sadly died of cancer a couple of years ago was convinced that sugar and non organic dairy were the work of the devil. Probably total balls but I promised him I’d try to consume as little as possible!

I don’t use 3 teaspoons of sugar per 300gms of soup when I make it at home. I don’t need to mention the salt either. In half a carton.

Sugar is below something that’s 1% on the ingredients list. Less than basil. So if it’s 1% too, that’s 3g, less than one tsp.

Most of the sugar will be natural, from the toms and tom paste.

Still better to make your own. And I agree on the salt.

Called into Aldi last night before circuits and bought a lot of green and healthy items, most of which I have no clue how to cook but I’m sure I’ll figure it out, recipes seemed easy enough. Managed to spend about £16 on two bags worth and then spent the same on only one bag at tesco, typical!

Had my first tub of overnight oats this morning with blueberries and bananas, ridiculously yummy! For lunch had wholegrain bread sandwich with lettuce, cucumuber, tomato and a slice of ham. Dinner not so great as we’re having burgers but I’m doing home made sweet potatoe fries and I’ll have some mushrooms and salad on the plate as well, all in balance and I have to appears my boyfriend who isn’t necessarily onboard with the whole healthy scheme!

a lot of green and healthy items,

Tell us what they are and we’ll help.

Remember – most boiled veg are shit, they need butter, seasoning, nuts, bacon, spice etc to make them nice. At the very least the first two in that list. Then if that fails, roast them.

Dinner not so great as we’re having burgers

Burgers are not a problem at all. Go with no bun if you like, but sweet pot fries (or roasted) and corn on the cob are nice accompaniments, as are buttery green beans. Then have cheese, optionally bacon and barbecue sauce on. Few jalapenos or some salsa too if you like. Nom. One of my most satisfying low carb meals that.

It is processed crap, IMHO.

Define ‘processed’. Soup is always processed because you are boiling it all down, even when you make it yourself. And don’t assume sugar on the nutritional breakdown means ADDED sugar. Tomatoes are sugary as are lots of other natural wholesome things.

it is poor quality food

Why, specifically?

GolfChick – Member
Called into Aldi last night before circuits and bought a lot of green and healthy items, most of which I have no clue how to cook but I’m sure I’ll figure it out, recipes seemed easy enough.

Honestly go get one of the Jamie Oliver basics/15 mins or 5 ingredient books it’s meant to be simple, quick and demystify a lot of stuff.
Put the book in the kitchen, you can flick through a book when your cooking, it’s even easier than the internet as it doesn’t contradict itself every 5 minutes 😉

Remember – most boiled veg are shit

Good (local or own) produce steamed is a world away from supermarket stuff boiled to rags. A squirt of lemon juice, garlic maybe, but I’ve been suprised at the difference. I steam in microwave in an old takeaway container, works a treat and is economical compared to stove-top

Forget the title, the recipes in here are awesome, and the portions are flippin huge, if you don’t wanna lose weight, just eat more of it. All recipes are for one person too, which is such a sensible idea, and one that not many cook books do.

Good (local or own)

Seems to be this idea floating around that if you grow it, it’ll automatically be great. This is not the case in my experience, having tried to eat what our garden produced 🙂

tru dat @beej, unnecessary in my mind though , plus the salt yep.

@molgrips because of the added salt and sugar, over and beyond what would needed if you were cooking it from scratch with good quality ingredients. IMHO of course, you are entitled to yours. foods like this create the desire for sweetness, more salt etc in my personal experience.

but anyhow @golfchick that is massive progress, good work!

I don’t use 3 teaspoons of sugar per 300gms of soup when I make it at home.

And neither does New Covent Garden: although sugar is indeed an added ingredient, most of the sugar that makes up the 12.6g per 300g serving is the natural sugar present in the tomatoes. By way of comparison their vegetable soup and carrot and corriander soup both contain 9g of sugar, even though sugar is not an added ingredient. In their recipe for making the slow roasted tomato soup for four people at home, they list 1 teaspoon of caster sugar in the ingredients, which is sprinkled over the tomatoes before roasting them in the oven, presumably to increase the caramelisation/Maillard reaction (or ‘burning it a bit’, which is my definition of most cooking).

I think the addition of sugar specifically to some tomato sauce and soup recipes is not uncommon, e.g. napolitana sauce for pasta, although my own personal preference is for those tomato sauces which contain garlic and chilli instead.

I don’t need to mention the salt either. In half a carton.

I’m not sure what you mean. The salt content is 1g per 300g serving. Food manufacturers are obliged to list the salt content, whereas any recipe for cooking at home would leave the amount of any seasoning to the taste of the cook, and that might not be enough for some at the table who would add more: it’s personal preference/choice. I imagine that New Covent Garden add the minimum amount of salt that they consider necessary for the flavour of their product, leaving it to consumers to add more if they wish.

when is prawn linguine night?

I’ve just taken the prawns out to defrost.

In terms of ingredients I’ve bought and not sure about I’ve gone for the following two recipes

Leek and Bacon Pasta

Butternut Macaroni Cheese

I couldn’t find the mustard powder so I’ll be ignoring that part. PLan for both is left overs goes for lunch the next day so I can warm it up a little and serve with a side salad.

I think it may be a good idea to make a list of some meals I can cook to try to stop myself falling into a bad routine, so it occured to me this morning while making my ham salad that I could do egg salad sandwich one day too.

I really want some sort of seafood pasta and mushroom pasta as I love both but it’s finding one that’s not too super complicated. I’m tempted to try to just buy some sauce jars to go with both so that I dont have to quite cook from scratch.

I couldn’t find the mustard powder so I’ll be ignoring that part

Just use mustard. Mustard powder is just dry mustard.

I’m tempted to try to just buy some sauce jars to go with both so that I dont have to quite cook from scratch.

Despite what foodie snobs say, sauce jars can be brilliant, as long as you get good ones. For me I buy the Lloyd Grossman ones and they are better than a lot of Italian restaurants I’ve eaten in. And you end up with a pretty damn good super quick meal.

The tomato and chilly one poured over some chicken breasts and baked then topped with parmesan is bloody lovely and then served with roasted sweet potatoes. MMM. Just be sure to periodically spoon the sauce back over the breasts as it reduces so you get a nice coating.

Oh and top tip if you want roasted veg – microwave them first. For sweet pots it’s about 5 mins til they are just a bit underdone then in the oven for 20 mins.

I think it may be a good idea to make a list of some meals I can cook

Yeah this is a great way – just learn a few staple meals and then you don’t have think about cooking unless you want to.

@molgrips because of the added salt and sugar, over and beyond what would needed if you were cooking it from scratch with good quality ingredients.

Except we’ve already shown that there isn’t loads of added salt and sugar in some of them. Don’t look down on everything pre-packaged. There’s a world of difference between New Covent Garden soups and a Farm Foods frozen ready meal.

There has been a lot of development in food technology since I started cooking for myself. Not quite sure what has changed but you can now buy food that is more or less exactly as it would be cooked by a good chef but put into jars and pasteurised. And our tastes have developed over the years too.

I think the addition of sugar specifically to some tomato sauce and soup recipes is not uncommon

It’s added to take away the bitterness you can get from the tomatoes, especially if any seeds are present. I do it at home also, you only need a teaspoon added, it really makes a difference to taste and in the grand scheme of things isn’t going to turn something healthy into unhealthy.

For me I buy the Lloyd Grossman ones and they are better than a lot of Italian restaurants I’ve eaten in.

These are great and I find them a lot better than the others from the supermarket. Stock up when they are on offer, usually on offer in at least one supermarket at a time.

Yeah I love the Lloyd Grossman Tomato and Basil, use it for meatballs and pasta for when the kids come at the weekends. I need to have a look at the other flavours that would compliment a mushroom pasta. Good to know it’s not too bad ingredient etc wise!

But this is where opinion comes in no as to what constitutes ‘a load’ ? I occasionally add a pinch, the smallest pinch, of sugar (or more often red wine vinegar) to a homemade tomato sauce. I don’t feel like it needs more, particularly if they are good tomatoes grown in my greenhouse . A teaspoon I would find very sweet. Perhaps because I rarely eat packet sauces 😀
Granted that Covent garden one does seem better you are right there, but in general , in my opinion, most are to be avoided.

If we are doing cooking tips, if you cook the tomatoes whole and crush them later the bitterness from the seeds is less pronounced.

Lamb and lentils for me tonight , enjoy dinner one and all

The LG sauces are decent, but no more convenient, and way more expensive, than making a decent sauce from scratch.

It takes a few mins preparation to make a big pot of a good tomato sauce, then batch freeze.

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