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Interesting story in the news today

(82 Posts)
CariGransnet (GNHQ) Tue 27-Feb-18 09:09:48

About how over 60s have not tried many of the 'staple' foods that millennials love

(Having canvassed some of the millennials at GNHQ/MNHQ none of them eat spurulina and matcha either.. and for some of the 'shunned' foods (eg salmon) it turns out only 4% haven't tried hmm)

Anyway thought it would be interesting to see what you think. I can see that spirulina and wheatgrass won't be a large part of most people's diets (and I think they may slightly be generalising about millennials here grin) but are blueberries and olives really so outlandish?!

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/top-50-unusual-foods-over-12092403

Elegran Tue 27-Feb-18 12:48:43

The conclusions and the headlines are at odds with the figures.
One in ten has never tried duck, aubergines or asparagus? Put it the other way round - nine out of ten HAVE eaten these foods, and possibly eat them frequently.

1.3% have never eaten porridge? So 98.7% of them HAVE eaten porridge. It was a staple breakfast food in their youth and probably still is.

I shall copy and paste the list, with the other side of the statistics added.

The foods at the top of the list are mostly examples of transient crazes for new "wonder foods" which will soon either fall into obscurity or become a regular and boring part of the traditional menu. Those at the bottom of the list are hardly "new" or exotic. Most of them have been on the plates of the over sixties for - well, for over sixty years.

Millenials have just discovered the virtues of beetroot, salmon, nuts, broccoli, beans, and think their poor ignorant elders were not aware of them.

Granny23 Tue 27-Feb-18 12:41:32

I have so many favourite foods that it takes me a more than a monthly rotation to have them all. Why on earth would I therefore waste money on trying things I am unsure of or have tried in the past and did not like? I grow favourite fruit and veg and binge on that while it is in season, with some frozen to enjoy in the winter.

luluaugust Tue 27-Feb-18 12:33:21

Haven't had around 10 out of the fifty.

Direne3 Tue 27-Feb-18 12:24:42

Quite agree, Katek. I'm in my 70's and have tried (and enjoyed) all on the list (with the exception of meat & fish) - been vegetarian for 30 years and embrace new food experiences.

Katek Tue 27-Feb-18 11:57:56

Oh for heaven’s sake! Where do they get this from? I eat everything on the list after item 4 apart from meat/fish as I’m veggie. Lentils and porridge have been a staple of Scots’ diet for years-centuries in the case of porridge. Even my grandmother born in 1894 ate salmon. Stop generalising about the over 60’s - lots of us were into healthy eating from the 1970’s! Mung beans anyone??

Blinko Tue 27-Feb-18 11:54:24

Like Luzdoh I too resent assumptions (and judgements)being made about what I have or haven't tried from this obviously crucial list.

How many young people have tried battenburg? Does that count?

janeainsworth Tue 27-Feb-18 11:54:18

“Commenting on the research, Dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton, spokesperson for The Chilean Blueberry Committee, which carried out the study said: “With all the buzz around new food trends and superfoods, it’s interesting to see a divide between what the younger generation prefer to eat, and how this compares with those in later life, who tend to prefer more well-known foods.”

More robust research from the Institute of Investigating the Bl**ding Obvious!

Did any of us in our 20’s and 30’s eat the same stuff as our parents?
Or did we do adventurous things like buying Elizabeth David’s books and terracotta chicken bricks from Habitat?

Elegran Tue 27-Feb-18 11:48:16

On another thread we see that "milleniums set to be the heaviest generation ever" hmmm.

Elegran Tue 27-Feb-18 11:46:55

I'd like to see a list of the foods that millenials have never tried. That would be interesting.

The price of duck and asparagus could be a good reason to avoid them.

NemosMum Tue 27-Feb-18 11:42:21

Age = 66. Have tried everything below number 4 on the list. It is so much a matter of fashion. Some of the items on the list will just be a distant memory in 10 years time.

Nanny41 Tue 27-Feb-18 11:38:46

I just eat good old fashioned food,and enjoy it.

JanetAnn Tue 27-Feb-18 11:26:20

I regularly eat most things on the list, could be because I’m veggie. I haven’t tried Cronuts.

Craftycat Tue 27-Feb-18 11:24:41

Haven't tried first 4 on list but have had everything else.
Haven't liked some of them but avocado on sough dough toast is a favourite breakfast & I love Quinoa. Most I have tried because I was using a recipe that required them. I tried Kefir to see what all the fuss on The Archers was about.
I'll try anything once- unless it has coconut in it which is the only thing I absolutely detest!

luzdoh Tue 27-Feb-18 11:22:05

Errr, I've just eaten a large lump of swiss roll. First for maybe 5 years but.... It's snowing! That's why!
Spurulina - yes tried that, the blurb about it convinced me, the rest of the packet is still in the back of the cupboard...
Matcha? Wossat? A big bloke?
Wheatgrass - Yes, see spurulina
Salmon - yes from time to time. What on earth do you mean "Over 60s haven't heard of it"?
Blueberries - try and stop me, have started buying frozen as they go off fairly quickly and its easy to make smoothies oh boy I think I need one now....
Olives - of course, preferably with the stone in them and by the way I really did know a lady name of Olive Stone!
Quinoa, Flax seed, cous cous, avocado with egg on toast, granola, tacos, chia seed, flax seed, oat and almond milks, .... I eat all of them, plus the rest on their list AND I am offended to be picked out (I'm 68) as if I'm stupid or something for not eating them.
I expect it reflects the choices of the Mirror readers rather than the population in general.

henetha Tue 27-Feb-18 11:21:40

I'm 40 x 2 and I eat porridge almost every day. And love beetroot. Never heard of some of those fancy foods.
Spirulina? What the * ?

JacquiG Tue 27-Feb-18 11:07:01

Over 40's have not tried porridge or beetroot? I find that difficult to believe.

annodomini Tue 27-Feb-18 10:59:07

blueberries, beetroot, broccoli and spinach among the top foods these adults have sampled. These are quoted as foods that my generation sampled. When my dad was 'digging for victory', during WWII, in my infancy, I was brought up on beetroot and spinach which were 'good for me' with the result that I grew up disliking them. As for broccoli, I was growing it in my garden in East Africa over 50 years ago. I like cous cous and often have blueberries with my breakfast cereal when I can afford them. I haven't noticed that my DSs and their families are any more adventurous with food than I am.

Madgran77 Tue 27-Feb-18 10:57:37

I have tried every single item on list except cronuts (I don't like donuts or croissants) and regularly eat many on the list! I am based in London!!!

annodomini Tue 27-Feb-18 10:47:58

I would like to be able to say that I enjoyed eating avocados. I did like them until I realised that bad tummy upsets coincided with the times I'd been eating avocados. The worst one - and the last one - caused me to throw up in the doctor's surgery and have several days off work to recover. Years later, my dad rang me up to ask if avocados could upset his guts because he'd been up all night! Like father, like daughter.

Oldwoman70 Tue 27-Feb-18 10:28:44

I have tried or regularly eat a lot of the food on the list (although spirulina and macha are a complete mystery to me.) Pomegranates were a regular Christmas treat when growing up and I still buy them occasionally. I wonder whether a lot of "older" people don't eat some of these things because of the cost - I am actually very fond of passion fruit and mangos but the cost means they are an occasional treat.

Nonnie Tue 27-Feb-18 10:07:46

If we can't get it in our supermarket we don't eat it. We don't have any of those overpriced fashionable specialist shops they have in the trendy London boroughs.

Last time I was in London I ordered avocado toast for breakfast and it was very watered down and runny, not very avocado tasting at all.

Note who the research was for so not biased then! Incidentally I had blueberries and yogurt for breakfast yesterday!

Nelliemoser Tue 27-Feb-18 10:03:23

I am concerned about the reference to blue green algae with regard to spurulina.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina_(dietary_supplement)

(Spirulina is a form of cyanobacterium, some of which are known to produce toxins such as microcystins, BMAA, and others. Some spirulina supplements have been found to be contaminated with microcystins, albeit at levels below the limit set by the Oregon Health Department.[23]

Microcystins can cause gastrointestinal disturbances and, in the long term, liver damage.[19] The effects of chronic exposure to even very low levels of microcystins are of concern, because of the potential risk of toxicity to several organ systems[19] and possibly cancer.[23] and many more concerns?)
I think there might be a danger in getting such a mix of bacterium go wrong.

In Britain eat a good balanced diet with a good range of green veg and fruits. Take your vitamin D supplements. at this time of year. It is a very important part of your diet.
Follow the general dietary advice don't eat too many sugary foods and carbohydrates.
Trouble is a lot of us Brits don't eat a decent diet to start with.
I am really not a believer in so called "miracle foods".
I do take Kefir which is a slightly fermented yogurt type product that is supposed to be very good for the gut flora.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-kefir

hildajenniJ Tue 27-Feb-18 09:56:53

How did lentils get on to this list? They have been in my cupboard since childhood also porridge. I use oats in baking too. As for blueberries, we used to pick the European equivalent bilberries, when out walking and playing when we were children.

MawBroon Tue 27-Feb-18 09:55:10

I hope I do not upset whoever it was, but recently a GN member said she had never had an avocado.
Even in my wee Scottish backwater in the 60’s we knew about avocado and prawn mayonnaise as a starter!
Mind you at the same period on a visit to Paws family in their Westminster flat I was asked to nip out to Sainsbury’s in Victoria Street for some limes for G&Ts before lunch.
Expecting a green version of lemons, I thought these wee hard green things looked a bit sad so I haggled and got them reduced. Returned to fulsome admiration for the quality of the limes I had sourced!

CariGransnet (GNHQ) Tue 27-Feb-18 09:46:37

Agree Blinko - though even living in London I don't know anyone who eats some of that stuff. And I am not convinced that 1% of over 60s not eating something makes it a 'thing'