Hugh fearnley whittingstall

My son swears by his slow cooker and makes the most of cheap cuts of meat left to stew while he is at work. So kind of the same as the “dying fire” Baggs .He’s recently invested in a second smaller one to accommodate the new veggie in his household. The children say that daddy is the best cook ever.

And then there are the fillers like dumplings and other suet puddings sweet and savoury, cobblers, Yorkshire pud (none of your piffling little pieces like nowadays).

Was it Boswell who said: "No broth, no ball, no ball, no beef"? Meaning you have to eat broth (probably containing barley or similar as well as veg), then savoury suet dumpling of some sort, before you get any meat. Stodge. High carb diets when people needed them!

DD1 loves her slow cooker as well, gilly. I love her slow cooked sausages stewed in apple juice ?

A good caterer's tip when preparing food in advance is to boil or steam vegetables for just a few minutes, chill them in cold running water until the heat has gone out of them, pack them into a Tupperware type container and cover with clingfilm rather than a plastic lid.

These will keep for 3/4 days in the fridge and can then be microwaved when needed. They don't lose any of their nutritional value.

Baggs could I ask for your curried cabbage and leek recipe, please? It sounds lovely!

My 90yo mum still cooks from scratch every day. She only has the basic State Pension to live on but eats very well. She had a bad flu-ey cold earlier this year and had some ready meals as she didn't feel like cooking, but she soon got tired of them and said she wanted 'proper' food again.

It's a shame there isn't some way that people like my mum could pass on their budgeting and cooking skills to younger generations, because she is excellent at both of these.

Yes but that's not a meal, merlotgran. From what I observe about overweight people they need a proper meal, quickly.
But I agree about the slow cooker. You can put any old bits of meat/chicken/veg/ potatoes in with some water (and a tin of baked beans) and a few hours later you have a good meal.
This still requires some forward planning.

I know it's not a meal, Fennel but having vegetables with whatever else is being cooked is better than just shoving some chips in the oven.

school dinners are not cheap
and have gone up by 17% apparently.
DIL was annoyed when DGD came home and said she had had 'a baguette'. DIL said 'I could have made you a baguette, I thought you wanted a hot dinner'.

DH makes a good Lancashire hotpot but it does take him quite a long time to put it all together, involving a food processor and much mess (which he does clear up). However, trying to make one before going out to work in the morning would be some task!

These will keep for 3/4 days in the fridge and can then be microwaved when needed. They don't lose any of their nutritional value.
I'm pleased to hear that merlot, because my Sis-IL does this and keeps her veg in the fridge to use in the week, as she is on her own. I did wonder if they had lost their nutritional value.

My son makes meals for the slow cooker in the evening and cooks them overnight on low. Then they can quickly be reheated at mealtime next evening. Some slow cookers now have timers, too!

suedonim, very easy cumin-turmeric leeky cabbage recipe.

It's dead easy. Just make it up as you go along ?

PS dark cabbage like savoy or spring greens works best

We always went home for lunch when we were kids. My Mum usually fed us on 'stick to your ribs' kinds of soup, involving stock from a marrow bone which was then given to the dog. I loved the butter beans or other pulses but have since discovered how much my youngest sister hated them! Last week I made a butternut squash soup, making it up as I went along. Couldn't find any cumin in the cupboard so just threw in some turmeric - my hand slipped slightly - and it was delicious. Must make it again soon.

That sounds great, Baggs! When I get an organic veg box there's quite often a lot of different cabbage and I've run out of ideas for using it.

I think I ‘d be happy to have soup every day, anno. My soup maker serves up (usually) delicious soup 20 minutes from throwing in some diced potato, onions, a stock cube and whatever veg and/or leftovers are to hand. Preparation time ca 5 minutes. Couldn’t be simpler and costs next to nothing. So far this week we’ve had broccoli soup with cream cheese, celery soup and a (tinned) lentil and veg broth.

I don’t have a soup maker - just one of those hand held wizzer thingies. It still only takes a few minutes longer than the cooking time of the veg to make a good soup.

I have a variable soup recipe. Fry an onion in a saucepan, add all the wobbly veg in the fridge (roughly chopped), add boiling water, cook with a veggie stock cube or two, and wiz up. Add a bit of milk if it looks thin. Some veg like mushrooms, runner and broad beans don’t like being mixed up in this way, but it does make some amazing soups! If it doesn’t work you only loose a stock cube as the rest would have been thrown out anyway. I am such a miser!

And all these posts are examples of how easy (and cheap) it is to whip up a decent, nutritious meal in no time.

It’s amazing how children will often eat soup packed with vegetables that they might turn their noses up served with a meal. ’

Fennel I’m confused. Why should overweight people need a proper meal quickly?

I’m another one singing the praises of a soup maker ! So much so I bought both my daughters one.

I bought the Covent Garden 365 soup cook book and I’m working my way through it. For some one like me who doesn’t like quite a few veggies , by having them in a smooth soup makes them perfectly palatable . So I’m easily getting my 5 a day.

AND they can be cheap , and use up any veggies slipping past their prime or even the value frozen veggies .

Interesting. Yesterday being polling day our school was closed and a group of mums met in the playground. One mum bought a load of chips for everyone,another couple of mums ate large sundaes from Starbucks. No one brought a selection of vegetables!

Merlotgran, right you are . However those ingredients involve complications such as meat hygiene, washing vegetables, adding just the right amount of oil and seasoning. Besides the ceramic pot of the slow cooker is heavy to handle for washing it afterwards. The ingredients require foresight in buying them.

There has to be a respect for food such that slobs don't want to eat rubbish and will go to the necessary trouble to make proper food. Lacking respect for food is a mental disability. Having said that I don't know how to teach respect for food. Certainly the foodie programmes are entertainment only and slobs won't be cooking like the foodies do.

Parenting is one answer to the problem. Is there an ethnic component such that traditional Asian families respect food?

fourormore I have pm'd you the details.

Sorry, Alexa, but just how lazy would you have to be to be put off cooking because the pot is heavy?! You don’t need to be a great cook or have “respect for food” to get a few nutrients into you and say no to the chips, Coke and pasties. Surely at the very least it’s not beyond anyone to open up a pack of frozen mixed veg after bunging a frozen chicken Kiev in the oven? To my mind it’s less about what we do eat and more about what we don’t. At any time of day here you’ll see people strolling or sitting round town scoffing a pasty or burger, or sitting on the bus working their way through a family sized bag of Monster Munch. Fine occasionally, but from the size of most of them this isn’t an occasional treat.

We have a major problem that needs tackling urgently, and if these campaigns help just a few people, good on them. I don’t think Hugh’s patronising at all, and at least he’s got some people thinking about walking a bit and taking the stairs!

Maggie I thought Alexa was tongue in cheek. Was I wring

My DD’s partner and I had a Greggs cheese pasty in the corner of the delivery suite on Sunday afternoon , my first for ages . I guess that makes us slobs .