Hugh fearnley whittingstall

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

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!

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.

Exactly!

How hard can it be to throw some ingredients in a slow cooker, go to work and come home to a nutritious meal?

Dishes like Lancashire HotPot were invented by Lancs mill workers who had long shifts but still had to feed themselves and their familes. I'm not sure of the full details but I think cheap bits of meat and veg were left (in a pot!) on a dying fire to stew while people were at work. It can't be harder to do that now than it was then, can it?

Funnily enough my DGC would probably be quite happy with a plate of cabbage, carrots, sprouts etc. As they love all kinds of veg.

My eldest DGD’s secondary school canteen is the opposite and she says the food is “amazing”. She’s a vegetarian and can always find plenty to eat that she likes.

Someone needs to look at school meals because if my 2 primary school aged grandchildren’s school is anything to go by then meals are often atrocious. Fine if you are on first or even second dinner but the higher up the school you get the less there is left to eat when they get into the dinner hall. Not unusual for my years 3 and 5 DGC to say there were only horrible sandwiches left or the scrapings of the salad bar with mash or beans. Obviously it’s hard to know what each child might choose but school dinners are not cheap and I would expect that they would at the very least have a nutritious meal for their money.

I agree that cabbage and carrots are not expensive but surely there has to be some protein to go with them to make a nutritious meal.

Yes.

I must say that I do like Hugh F-W - but in the programme I saw he did make me think of 'reformed smokers' grumbling about anyone who dared to light up near them.

There seems to be some virtue signalling here.
No one can be in ignorance as to what constitutes a good diet - until of course pesticide residue in most veg is held to be cancer-inducing, wh I predict will be a scare again in the not too distant future.
Talk of the laziness of other people seems a bit harsh and impertinent. Remember George Orwell, saying that when life seems against you, you don’t want to be told how to live for a week on oranges, dates and whole-meal bread. You want a packet of chips, a packet of cigarettes and a strong cup of tea. Still much truth in that.

Sorry Fennel I disagree. It doesn’t take ‘a lot of time and effort to provide nutritious meals’. It takes a bit of time, a bit of effort and a modicum of planning.

I was never keen on H F-W, but loved his 'Hugh's Wild West' nature programmes on BBC2 so have warmed to him. I was surprised to see that he was in the overweight category along with many of us.
I love my veg, always filling well over half my dinner plate with them, and only eat processed foods or take-aways once in a blue moon, but still struggle with my weight despite exercising too.

Teetime - off the subject slightly but where did you find the six week walking plan? I haven't got the valid excuse you have with your crutches - mine is pure slobbery
A structured six week plan may be the answer?

It's an interesting programme but I didn't find it very inspiring. I think he should be concentrating his efforts on the schools, on both the syllabus for the food and nutrition classes and on the menus for school meals. In France, children sit down to a properly cooked meal at lunch time, including fresh fruit and vegetables.
www.google.co.uk/search?q=french+school+meals+menu&rlz=1CASMAE_enGB792GB792&oq=French+school+meals&aqs=chrome.1.0l4.7179j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Wouldn't this be a good way to curb the progression to a society of obese adults?

I haven't seem this series, but it takes a lot of time and effort to provide nutritious meals. Not just money, except you do need the equipment.
Then plan what you're going to make, write a shopping list, go shopping, then cook.
Jamie Oliver once started a series where he tried to teach non-cooks how to make a few simple dishes and he had to give it up - people dropped out from lack of interest etc.

Did any of you watch Rich House Poor house last night ? That family were struggling on two wages to survive,I've always cooked from scratch as do my children but I'm not stupid enough to think everyone gets taught to cook by loving parents or that they enjoy it when its a case of cobbling together cheap uninspiring ingredients.
I dont like being preached at by those "superior beings" who because they've been lucky in life think they know it all so someone living on the breadlin must get really peed off at it.Let chefs cook ...let education come from people who might understand what its like to struggle and cry themselves to sleep ,like last nights couple,because life is so grim .

I'm enjoying the programme and I find Hugh a very warm and caring person. Last nights programme was particularly inspiring I felt it will help me to get back on track. I have downloaded a six week walking plan which I shall start as soon as I get off these crutches in 4 weeks time.

What a defeatist attitude, and now who’s being ‘judgemental’? At least someone’s trying to do something about the problem and all they get is criticism.

So what’s the alternative? This nation of gluttons is running the NHS into the ground. The programme stated that 1:6 beds in hospitals is occupied by someone with Type 2 diabetes, an illness that is largely avoidable.

I worked full time and still managed to put a home cooked meal on the table, cheaply too, as do my own children even though they work long, hard hours. It’s a commitment someone in the family has to step up to, like your son Gillybib so well done him.

Personally though I think it’s irreversible though. Too many lazy people out there who can’t ‘find the time’ to shop and cook but can find time to watch TV and access social media.

We should also remember that many parents both work full time and starting to cook a meal from scratch after perhaps a 12 hour shift might not be ideal . Much easier to grab something that can be microwaved etc. My son does almost all of the cooking because he enjoys it and it’s never a chore for him but I can undertstand why many young people don’t .

My DGC ( fortunately) all enjoy proper meals. They all love vegetables ( eldest DGD 12 is vegetarian now) and they have been known to squabble over the amount of sprouts on each other’s plate . I know by feeding some of their friends though, that they are perhaps not typical .

I agree that cabbage and carrots are not expensive but surely there has to be some protein to go with them to make a nutritious meal.

I agree with Jalima and paddyann so easy for the likes of him and his mate JO (who incidentally is looking quite porky of late) both down to their last £millions to preach to those living on the breadline.

It’s sheer laziness.

Much easier just to pick up a ready meal or chips and put it all in the oven or microwave or better still get a cheap takeaway and then you don’t even have to shop.

Am I being deliberately provocative? Probably.

Cabbage and carrots aren't expensive. Along with onions I'm not convinced you actually need much else in the way of vegetation.

It's nice to have variety if possible, obviously, but I'm talking about needs rather than wants.

So I guess people who don't eat enough vegetation don't want to.

I do a killer mildly curried cabbage with leeks.

I agree with Jalima he comes across as very judgemental and for sommeone of his income eating well isn't an issue.People on limited budgets with no cooking skills cant always live to his standards.

Might be a better idea to have somone ordinary ,overweight and scraping a living to show us it can be done.Would be more of an inspiration to folk in the same boat.

Menopaws I’m enjoyimg it. I find him refreshing and totally disagree with Jalima about him being ‘holier than thou’. Tonight was only the second one surely?

I was horrified to discover that the UK is the fastest, most overweight country in Europe. Not surprised though as Jalima pointed out about the sale of vegetables in particular.

It’s about time the fat word was used more often instead of pussy-footing around the issue.