Dispatches -- Cost of Food

[Si]

GYO as much as possible - if you are as bad at it as me then after all the heart-ache, effort and time you darn well are going to make sure nothing goes to waste 

[numbnuts]

I spend £50 per month on food (admittedly for 1).

can you come and do my shopping , I'm on my own and I spend at least £100 per month and I don't eat a lot of meat.
and as for waste I don't throw any food away

[Wascally Weasel]

The common factor in the majority of "solutions" posted here is that they require a basic standard of skills and knowledge about cooking and nutrition in general. This is fine for the above-average yacf citizens (YACF - the forum where all members are above average but someone for whom stock comes in cubes, they're not going to make stock on the remains of their sunday roast, much less soup from it... a huge amount of knowledge is being lost from the population as a whole because kids aren't taught this at home. Or at school, for that matter.

In our case it probably helps that there are two of us, we both enjoy cooking and we don't have children - the load gets spread a fair bit between us but would be way more work with kids involved.

I think the other difference is that when you live with someone else, you sometimes try harder to make nice stuff - on Sunday night I made some fresh coleslaw to go with the other stuff I was preparing.  Had I been cooking for just me, I might have not bothered.

Had I not had someone to cook for I might have just ordered a pizza - I think blokes eat better in relationships, whether they are the ones doing/sharing the cooking or not.

[hellymedic]

okay organic baby food isn't cheap,

Is it impractical to make it yourself?

(caveat: I don't have kids)

We do as much as we can, believe me; but we both work and there are times where these pots are very convenient "on the go". When I pick my daughter up "late" she wants to eat as soon as we make it home; or when we travel it is convenient to have a few pots. Baby milk and other things aren't cheap.

I do not presume to tell you how to feed G but she's well over 12 months old; can't she move on to ordinary full cream milk?

[blackpuddinonnabike]

Had I not had someone to cook for I might have just ordered a pizza - I think blokes eat better in relationships, whether they are the ones doing/sharing the cooking or not.

There was some research recently that concluded that men lose weight when they start a new relationship because they tend to eat better than they were, whereas women eat better on their own so the middle ground in a relationship is more unhealthy and they put weight on - ergo men are bad for women....

The clue is in the title of best before. Best before. Doesn't mean it 'aint useable. The amount of food those people threw away (granted set up for the cameras with that particular bin) was remarkable, and I was firmly in the 'Don't complain about the price of food if you throw it away' camp. We plan the week's food ahead and shop accordingly, and little goes to waste (another who makes stock out of the chicken carcass etc.) and we're also growing more fruit and veg each year and now have a growing supply of eggs.

[Jasmine]

The thing that got me was the pizza and the potatoes.  I can't even imagine throwing away potatoes that weren't in the late stage of sprouting and spongy.  Do potatoes even come with a best before date?  I suppose some of it is the supermarkets and their offers which make it appear that you are saving money by buying more than you want, for you to throw it away afterwards.

[Greenbank]

I think the other difference is that when you live with someone else, you sometimes try harder to make nice stuff - on Sunday night I made some fresh coleslaw to go with the other stuff I was preparing.  Had I been cooking for just me, I might have not bothered.

Had I not had someone to cook for I might have just ordered a pizza - I think blokes eat better in relationships, whether they are the ones doing/sharing the cooking or not.

Very similar here, on both points. Neither of us are afraid of cooking and will usually do something pretty much from scratch (although I will own up to using some ready made sauces).

Left to myself I'm much more likely to take the lazy option and order in a curry or a pizza. (Not every time mind you, only once a week at the absolute most.)

As far as "I don't have the time" argument goes, I probably spend 5 or 10 minutes actively "cooking" when making a meal, even if the food takes 45 minutes to cook with occasional prodding and turning. The rest of the time is spent doing other useful stuff (opening/dealing with post, loading/unloading washing machine, personal admin, chatting, on the phone, etc).

[hellymedic]

The thing that got me was the pizza and the potatoes.  I can't even imagine throwing away potatoes that weren't in the late stage of sprouting and spongy.  Do potatoes even come with a best before date?  I suppose some of it is the supermarkets and their offers which make it appear that you are saving money by buying more than you want, for you to throw it away afterwards.

In Another Place, BOGOF deals were known as 'Buy One, Throw One Away' and scorned.
My potatoes reside for months at the bottom of the fridge and seldom sprout. They seem sweeter after a long residence, which I like.
There might be a best before date on the spuds but I would ignore it.
I'm still cross that last week's crumpets were mouldy the day after delivery (though Sainsbury's have since refunded my money).

[Frenchie]

I probably eat the same 6-7 things on a cycle, but I like them.  I live on my own in the week and go out cycling as soon as I get home from work, so there's no incentive to cook anything that isn't really simple (baked potato anyone?).  I suppose it comes down to the fact that I have cheap taste.

Okay. We cook the same for two meals max. and we like variety and the odd "premium" product/produce. I have had pasta and rice a lot when I was a student though.

[Mr Larrington]

erm, I think you are talking about people who don't even know what stock is...

NB: This was sent to me by a Seth Efrican friend a Several of years ago, and may no longer be accurate

[bobb]

I didn't see the tv show in question, but how old were the food wasters?

I always remember as a kid that we were forced to eat every last scrap of food put on our plates, even if we complained we didn't like it - I suppose it was because my parents remembered rationing all too well. I'm glad they were like that as I never waste food now and there isn't a single food I can think of that I don't like (although I'm not too keen on mushy peas from the chippy!)

I notice that a lot of the youngsters at work chuck food away left, right and centre. I've also seen them turn their noses up and open a tub/packet of stuff just because the current one had been open a while. We order way too much food at work and I often take bits and pieces home because it will just get chucked on Friday afternoon.

Do kids still get taught home economics at school? I used to love it. The fact that my HE teacher was an absolute fox may have influenced my enjoyment of cooking 

[Woofage]

Everything said in the programme was true! I couldn't believe how much I spent on fruit and veg at the market this morning. Bloody hell, it must have been all of 16-quid .

And eggs! Don't get me on the subject of eggs. The price rise is astronomical. I had to fork out 85pence for half a dozen. That's up a WHOLE 5 PENCE on last time.

Honestly, I don't know how we'll survive...

[ian]

I didn't see the tv show in question, but how old were the food wasters?

I always remember as a kid that we were forced to eat every last scrap of food put on our plates, even if we complained we didn't like it - I suppose it was because my parents remembered rationing all too well. I'm glad they were like that as I never waste food now and there isn't a single food I can think of that I don't like (although I'm not too keen on mushy peas from the chippy!)

I notice that a lot of the youngsters at work chuck food away left, right and centre. I've also seen them turn their noses up and open a tub/packet of stuff just because the current one had been open a while. We order way too much food at work and I often take bits and pieces home because it will just get chucked on Friday afternoon.

I witnessed a crime most foul at the weekend. A blasphemy against all that is good in the world. Words perhaps cannot do this justice. But it is related to food.

Now, cake is very important to me. A life without cake is truly a barren, pointless place. Like Peterborough. So, on Sunday I bore witness to the horrific scene of a young couple sitting down with cake and coffee, taking a few bites, and making some goodly "mmm" noises. Nothing horrific about this, you may think. But wait, they took about two bites and then left the rest. That was it. They then chatted for a while and departed.

Admittedly, my wife did then have to restrain me from reaching over after they left and 'rescuing' the remaining cakes.

I confess that I too was brought up in the if-you-don't-eat-it-now-it's-breakfast school so plates were always cleaned. I can't waste food to this day. And I regularly, to my wife's extreme distress, eat stuff I've dropped on the floor (well, actually anything I find on the floor that looks edible). I don't know what her problem is, I pick off the obvious dirt and cat hair first.

I also got quite narked and had to be restrained the other week. That was a hotel breakfast buffet. People just piling their plates high, eating half and leaving the rest. Why not just take what you need, eat that, and if you are still hungry go and get some more. Fortunately, the medication set in before I could start yelling that there are people who are starving elsewhere in the world.

Then I remember my parent's other make-me-clear-plate strategy, that by not eating everything I'd essentially be personally stealing the food from the plates of starving Africans. It's all Geldof's fault.

I probably spend a lot on food though, mostly through decadence and laziness, but I do believe that food is important and worth paying for. And I will eat it all.

[Sergeant Pluck]

I also got quite narked and had to be restrained the other week.

I read this as:

I also got quite naked and had to be restrained the other week.

Which is a different thing altogether. 

[Wowbagger]

When we were on the Peli birthday ride, we got to a pub on a hot day and were informed that there was an hour's wait for food. We ordered drinks and sat outside, but a few of us were very tempted by the almost untouched plates of Sunday Roast which had been left behind by a young family. Criminal, it was.

Although I sympathise up to a point with the modern both-partners-out-at-work syndrome, which often gets in the way of sensible shopping, food preparation etc., my mum never had a job other than that of bringing up 6 kids. My dad spent 5 days a week working and the rest of the time growing veg. and keeping hens. It was quite a common occurrence in our house for Sunday lunch to consist of everything-out-of-the-garden-except-the-custard. Mind you, dad used to kill the old laying hens for the table when they were at least 2 years old and I reckon you got so much exercise eating them that you lost weight. They did taste good though.

Mrs. Wow hasn't had a full time job since 1978 and we don't waste a lot of food. Best before dates are indeed a work of fiction.

[Tom B]

a few of us were very tempted by the almost untouched plates of Sunday Roast which had been left behind by a young family

What stopped you from tucking in?   
 

[hellymedic]

I also got quite narked and had to be restrained the other week.

I read this as:

I also got quite naked and had to be restrained the other week.

Which is a different thing altogether. 

So did I!

[Wowbagger]

a few of us were very tempted by the almost untouched plates of Sunday Roast which had been left behind by a young family

What stopped you from tucking in?   

We were going to eat at another pub and although I have in the past eaten two dinners, see the comment above about food in our house going to waist.

[Jasmine]

I didn't see the tv show in question, but how old were the food wasters?

I think they looked mid to late thirties.

At 25 I throw very little food away (see previous comment about the milk), so it's not necessarily down to age.  Some of it is probably being able to afford to throw stuff away.  I still eat like a student (despite not being one), so food chucked is money wasted.  Experience has shown me the limit of best before and use-by dates.