Is food thrift relevant?

Something someone said recently made me think about one of the themes I blog about.  I often write thrifty recipes or give tips on how to make the recipe cheaper to make, cook or ways to use up or prevent waste.  My food is rarely expensive to make.  This is because it's the way I cook.  I care about food, I value it.When I was little, my parents used to grow nearly all of our own fruit and vegetables.  None of...

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Living below the line

Unfortunately due to personal circumstances (moving house for the 2nd time in 2 weeks) I won't get to take part in the 'live below the line' challenge this year but I thought I would tell you about it and tell you why it deserves your attention.1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty in the world.  1.2 BILLION that's over 15% of the world population.  The live below the line challenge is to try and experience, and raise money...

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7 a day challenge - Day 7

Today was the last day of my challenge to eat 7 portions of fruit and vegetables in 7 days.BreakfastI started the day with my fruity toast (like I had on day 5).  Delicious.LunchI was with a visitor at work today so I had a buffet from the canteen.  For all my criticism earlier in the week, they didn't let me down, the fruit platter saved the day.  It was served with orange juice as well on the side and every sandwich had...

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7 a Day Challenge - Day 6

On the home run now...  A few days ago I set myself the challenge to eat 7 portions of different fruits and vegetables over 7 days and see how it impacted me and my wallet.BreakfastI'd had enough of trying to squeeze fruit and vegetables into breakfast for one day.  So it was toast with marmalade and proper butter.LunchAs I said yesterday, I was on a soup drive so as well as my 'eat your greens' soup, I also made a batch of lentil...

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7 a day challenge; day 5

I'm trying to eat 7 portions of 7 different fruits and vegetables in 7 days to see how easy or hard it is, how it affects me and how it affects my wallet.  If you want to read more, see my first post on my 7 a Day challenge.BreakfastI started the day today with toast... ha ha ha... no, I didn't miss out the fruits and vegetables!  I remembered I had a bag of mixed berries in the freezer so I took a portion out of there, defrosted...

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7 a Day Challenge; Day 4

Last week I set myself a challenge to have 7 days of eating 7 fruits or vegetables a day in the recommended portion sizes.So I woke up at 4am this morning.  This isn't a massively unusual occurrence for me, especially when I'm busy or stressed and 2am has been known.  I don't think I can put that down to the vegetables.BreakfastAs I woke so early and was intending to run, my body was saying to me "GIVE ME FOOD".  Pre running...

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7 a Day Challenge; Day 3 - Vegetable Pakoras

7 fruits and vegetables a day is a bit harder than I thought.A few days ago, I set myself a challenge to eat 7 fruits and vegetables minimum in 7 days to see how it affected me, my wellbeing and how hard or easy it might be.I'm on day 3 now and I need to find ways to liven things up!BreakfastI was at work early today so took breakfast of rice crispies and a banana.  This is actually far more than I'd normally eat for breakfast so...

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7 a day challenge: Day 2

Day 2 of trying to eat 7 a day.After the widespread media reports that 7 a day or more are much better than 5, I challenged myself to eat 7 or more a day for 7 days to see how hard it is for someone who already eats reasonably healthily.  The challenge continues...BreakfastI had some maple / pecan crisp today with a grated apple in it.  A bit boring I know and I have to admit I was a bit bored by it.  It made me wonder if...

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Seven a Day!

It was widely reported by British media today that official government advice on fruit and vegetables should perhaps change because 7 rather than 5 a day is what we should be aiming for.This might be pretty scary to most of us who fail to get anywhere near.  Recent research indicated only 1 in 5 people manage to eat that level.  I was wondering why and feeling smug, then I had a moment of realisation.I am currently busy, stressed,...

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My Favourite Healthy Smart Swap Recipes

Well we're thinking on with it being New Year; time for change, renewal and as many people do, dieting. I've said before, I'm not 100% sure that dieting works; especially if you are substituting 'diet' products for regular.  I know this is a controversial attitude, particularly considering official government advice reported in the media today.  That said though, some people really are out of the habit of eating healthily and...

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Cheap eats; thrifty recipes for end of the month

I've been thinking a lot about Jamie Oliver's approach to cheap meals recently and I think he has a good point.  A roast can yield a lot of meals, cheap cuts can be really tasty.  What disappointed me though was when I saw his interpretation of 'cheap'.  Many of his recipes are aimed at �2 a head.  Yeah, cheap if you buy ready meals but not cheap if you're on jobseekers allowance, what's more when MSN tested it, they...

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Day 4 and 5, no food shopping

So it's my 5th day of not shopping for food.  After Jamie Oliver's comments about the poor in society not having good, nutritious, cheap food more out of choice than necessity, I challenged myself.  On Monday I thought I needed to get an urgent food shop.  It's now Saturday and I've been eating pretty well without it.On Tuesday I made dahl for lunch from the freezer and sausages (from the freezer) and home made coleslaw...

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Day 3 of raiding my cupboards; have I lost the plot? Has Jamie Oliver?

Something A Girl Called Jack said rang true.  Why are we so judgemental about people?  Why does it matter what people eat, what people spend their money on?  Doesn't the judging turn people off?  After my first post on Jamie Oliver's comments on what people on low incomes, it's interested me and I've started to think about it much more.Perhaps I've got off on the wrong tack.  Perhaps, although I can write...

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Were Jamie Oliver's comments patronising? Day two of no food shopping

I posted yesterday about Jamie Oliver's comments about poverty and food.  Although this seems to be courting controversy I do see his point.  I've always thought of myself as a pretty thrifty cook but for the rest of this week, despite thinking I desperately needed to do some food shopping, I'm just going to eat what I have in the house.Having had more time to think about Jamie's comments.  Do I think they were patronising?...

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