Strictly Cheese Sandwiches

I agree about nuts (and relatively expensive), but they're also very high in fat.

I do eat quite a lot of nuts, but I can't survive on them. Anything else?

(and relatively expensive) should have gone after "high in fat".

I’m sure you can sort out your own diet growstuff.

choughdancer nuts

Nuts and seeds. Many delicious choices. (Hemp seeds-complete protein)

Also given Protein/portion: Tofu, Quinoa, Pulses, Beans, Chick peas, Kale, Flax, Spinach, Asparagus, Rocket, Mushrooms, Tempeh.

Norah

choughdancer nuts

Nuts and seeds. Many delicious choices. (Hemp seeds-complete protein)

Also given Protein/portion: Tofu, Quinoa, Pulses, Beans, Chick peas, Kale, Flax, Spinach, Asparagus, Rocket, Mushrooms, Tempeh.

Yes I should have said seeds too. Tofu, quinoa, pulses, beans and chickpeas do contain carbohydrate too though, so someone who has to avoid carbs completely wouldn't be able to have them. But as Norah said, there are many different nuts and seeds available, as well as peanut or almond butter, tahini (high in calcium too), toasted nuts and seeds as a topping.

Growstuff are you wanting to go vegan? If so there are lots of websites showing how to eat low carb vegan. Also I don't think you would have to worry about nuts being high in fat. If you weren't eating meat or dairy, the fat content of your diet would be much lower and so nuts would be fine.

Chocolatelovinggran

JaneJudge -I agree with you absolutely . Her bible seems different from mine. In John 21 Jesus tells us to " feed my lambs". My volunteering at foodbank is my response to this. What is hers?

Yes she is a hypocrite

There you all go again telling the poor how to eat.

M0nica

There you all go again telling the poor how to eat.

Huh? Where now, I must have blinked?

No, I don't want to go vegan!

I'm T2 diabetic and have found out for myself a way of eating which keeps my blood glucose under control and is relatively cheap, which is important for me.

I don't eat much meat, but I do eat dairy as one of my main sources of protein. I eat a low carb diet. Most of my carbs come from veg, fruit and milk products. I hardly ever eat cheap carbs such as potatoes, bread, pasta, etc.

I've had many conversations with vegans over the years about low carb and have looked at many websites. Not one has ever come up with a solution which would be right for me.

Given that I already restrict what I eat to a great extent, I'm certainly not willingly going to give up the foods I can eat, enjoy and are good for me. As it happens, I really dislike beans and tofu, so there are almost no good sources of plant protein which don't involve high carbs.

It annoys me that people seem to think the poor automatically stuff their faces with rubbish food. They probably eat too many carbs because they're cheap and fill hungry tummies., but they often have long-term consequences. I can't believe how sanctimonious people are about food. I'm always amazed how much people concentrate on micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) but don't need to know so much about macro-nutrients (fat, protein and carbs). If people want to be vegan, vegetarian or eat the latest "wonder" food, that's up to them. However, please don't try telling others how to eat.

PS. I'm strict about keeping my total average food budget to less than £3 a day. I've been lucky in having free food available, but if anybody seriously has any ideas for cheap, low carb meals, I'd love them to share.

PPS. The ONS's own stats claim that food prices have risen by 19% in a year. For people already on very low incomes, what are they supposed to cut to eat well?

PS. I don't like nut butters because they stick to your teet and roof of you mouth.

PPS. Exactly! Tofu, quinoa, pulses, beans and chickpeas contain carbs. I eat about 50g of carbs a day and they would all take me over the threshold.

Choughdancer --- Yes, I forgot tahini, use it daily.

Good in many recipes. Wonderful in salad dressings/ sauces, necessary in houmous, good in baked goods.

We make a lovely asparagus/ mushroom dish (LOTS of mushrooms), on quinoa with tahini dressing, sesame seeds on top - complete protein. Add a few slices of bread, green salad, fruit. Done!

Would be a really worthwile discussion and exchange - but we have moved a looong way away from the OP, AW's comment on cheese sandwiches.

Fleurpepper

Would be a really worthwile discussion and exchange - but we have moved a looong way away from the OP, AW's comment on cheese sandwiches.

Sorry yes we have. I meant only to answer Growstuff's question, not recommend any sort of diet. Her questions just seemed to indicate that she was looking for plant proteins with no carbs. I can't see a problem for you Growstuff if you aren't vegan.

Fleurpepper

Would be a really worthwile discussion and exchange - but we have moved a looong way away from the OP, AW's comment on cheese sandwiches.

Indeed.

Sorry I answered as to our own - decidedly not - cheese diet.

Do carry on about AW's comment.

Quibbling about cheese, bread, and sandwiches solves nothing, perhaps we need to vote for people who can put good policy in place.
This is the only way to move forward, I think. As long as we have people on wages that don't pay the bills, policies that encourage people to stay on lower hours in case they lose benefits, zero hours contracts, unaffordable housing and expensive utilities then no amount of lectures on 'making ends meet' will be of any use.

It is easy for me to cook from scratch and make tasty meals, as I can afford the fuel and have a pantry full of herbs, spices and condiments that add flavour. I usually just have to shop for the main ingredients when I make a meal, as the 'incidentals' are already in the kitchen.

I picked up a book in The Works which is called something like Vegetarian £1 Meals (I'm not at home so can't check the exact title), and yes, you can make some interesting things for under £1 a portion, but that assumes that you have seasonings as well as things like soy sauce and tahini, and that you are making enough to be able to use a small handful of chopped herbs or one sheet of lasagne each, and not have to buy a large bag or a pack of pasta to make a meal for one. Even doubled up, it would be impossible to make them for £1 a portion if you have to do that.

Also, there is often an assumption that everyone lives near an outdoor market where you can pick up a punnet of this or a bag of that for peanuts, which many (if not most) people don't. I live in a market town, but the market is once a week when a lot of people are at work, and it sells farm produce at a higher price than the supermarket. My nearest large supermarket is a car drive away, so if you don't drive and can't afford delivery you need to pay ££ for a taxi or only buy what you can carry on the (expensive and irregular) bus. That makes it difficult for people to have fresh food all week, as things go off before the next shop. There's M&S food hall, and a high street grocer, but both are expensive and the grocer is closed before most people are back from work. It's not surprising that a lot of people are struggling, and it must be galling to have people (like me) who are used to having Sainsbury's bring the weekly shop and top it up from the farmers' market telling them that they just need to plan and budget better.

We need a better system of taxation, and I'd also like to see government intervention to regulate the prices of utilities and basic food. Nobody should be even thinking about making 30p meals - it's ridiculous in a country that may be sliding down the tables, but is still one of the richest in the world.

growstuff I am in agreement with you. We all make our own personal decisions about which of the huge variety of food stuffs available on this planet that we want to eat and most of us have reasons for our choices.

However, what sticks in my craw are all those people who believe that their food decisions somehow come with a heavy coating of moral rectitude and make them morally superior to anyone who makes other food choices - and you only have to read this thread to see how ubiquitous this attitude is.

We need a better system of taxation, and I'd also like to see government intervention to regulate the prices of utilities and basic food. Nobody should be even thinking about making 30p meals - it's ridiculous in a country that may be sliding down the tables, but is still one of the richest in the world

This.

I would add that budgeting, cooking from scratch with carefully selected ingredients, planning meals in advance, etc, all takes time and knowledge.

A working mother on ZHC, juggling family and work might not have the time nor the knowledge - or the time to even gain the knowledge that you need to be able to plan your family's meals. And if you are on ZHC, budgeting is difficult.

Someone I know is in this position. She needs more income and is trying to take on a second job in addition to her current ZHC. It's virtually impossible because she needs to be available at the drop of a hat. On one occasion, both employers needed her - not exactly at the same time, but one slot impinged on the other, so she had to turn down one 'offer'. And that usually works against you. She's been offered nothing further from the company she had to 'let down'. The company she works for really could use a full-time employee, but, it's cheaper for them to employ more people on ZHC.

This is your "flexible" labour market. This is often why jobs aren't filled and why companies are short-staffed. This woman is low-skilled, but is wanting and willing to work. She needs full-time, or part-time, guaranteed hours - but locally, there's nothing on offer.

I called in on her the other day with some shopping I'd got for her on my own online shop, she and the kids were sitting down to a breakfast of sardines on toast with thinly sliced tomatoes on top - she knows that sardines are cost-effective and a healthy food option. She's poor, having a rough time, but keeps her head above water. When I listen to people like 30p-Lee and Widdicombe pontificating about people like her, it makes my blood boil.

But Dickens, it's not just about having knowledge. Many people do have the knowledge to prepare meals on a shoestring budget and have been doing so for years. The fact is that food prices have risen on average 19% over the last year - more if you're already buying the basics - and there just isn't anything spare to cover that cost.

The argument that people don't know how to cook is victim-blaming.

MOnica Thank you for your post. I think you know where I'm coming from on this. I'm fairly health savvy and I understand quite a bit about nutrition - especially if it's related to my own situation, so I'm not somebody who buys rubbish food or doesn't know what to do with food. I know - because I've met them - that there are many other people in the same situation.

We've found a way of eating which works for us. We don't have much choice because there are constraints about cost and health benefits.

After years of trial and error, I've found a way of eating that is good for me, I can afford and I can maintain without feeling that I'm constantly depriving myself of things I'd like to eat.

Unfortunately, most of those items have rocketed in price. For example, I buy a big pot of Greek-style yoghurt every week. I eat it for breakfast or dessert and put a dollop in soups to increase the protein and fat and IMO improve the taste. It's almost doubled in price over the last year. That's probably the biggest increase I've noticed, but other items I use regularly have increased by over 30% too, which means that my total food bill would be unaffordable, if I didn't have access to free food every week. I'm strict about not spending more than £25 a week on food, which includes coffee and tea. Until the beginning of the year, it was £20.

I've stopped my Tesco delivery because they've increased the price and increased the minimum spend, although I'm not sure how much that saves because I now have to factor in fuel and it's not so easy to monitor how much I'm spending. I've also stopped buying bottled water, which unfortunately means I don't drink much water now because our tap water is so horrible.

For me, I have a "backstop", if the worst came to the worst, but I don't like sponging. Many people don't have the support I do.

DD buys family packs of wafer thin ham for the GC, the cost in Aldi is £2.19 (last Friday) exactly the same product £5 in Lidl (also last Friday)

Whenever I pop into Aldi I pick one up for her rather than her adding it to her lunch time shopping basket when at work.

There is a huge Lidl next door to where she works, and her and her co-workers have begun to notice that some things have sky rocketed in price but stayed cheaper in Aldi. Whilst things that have sky rocketed in Aldi have remained cheaper in Lidl.

Makes you wonder if they are conspiring with each other?

I've just read through this thread and it brought home to me how little some people know about the way others live.
Being poor today is much worse than it ever was.
You are likely to be living in expensive private rental property instead of a reasonably priced council house.
Your house is liable to be in an area some distance from a decent supermarket and your nearest shop will be an over-priced newsagents which stocks a small range of expensive/carb rich food.
You will pay more for your energy because you are likely to have a coin meter which costs loads more.
Travel by bus is more expensive but if you have a job you will need to use it or have a car.
You will probably be on a zero hours contract at minimum wage

I think a lot of us think we know how the poor live. But there are many kinds of poor. The vicar with several children, the nurse who’s a single parent, the very low paid working two jobs, the family living on benefits, the family with a big mortgage or rent that leaves little over to buy much else, and so on. And only poster thought fit to comment on my very pertinent post about those at the bottom of the heap who don’t feed their children hardly at all, and I pointed out some of the reasons. It was ignored. Probably what most don’t want to hear.

Glorianny sorry I can only speak for myself but I am totally aware how poor people/families struggle and the decisions they have to make on a daily basis.

(for the) Price of tomato slice, a few rocket leaves, a slice of tofu - if not a sum under 30p quite close. Sandwiches, as you know only use small bits of veg. My shop of tomatoes and rocket will last all week. I drain, press, slice tofu, marinate, spice, fry. Wrap slices. Freeze. A box makes 10 sandwiches.

Comments like the above make me realise what an alternative world so many people on this thread live in and how judgmental they are.

Where in the inner cities and food deprived areas of this country do you find shops selling tofu and bags of rocket at prices that any one trying to feed a family on £50 a week would even think of buying? How many of these families would even know what tofu is or where to buy it?

It is so easy for those of us with adequate incomes and a choice of supermarkets and the time to price shop around them, the kitchens to spend time cooking in and the knowledge that comes from the above to have a knowledge of the wide range of foodstuffs and eating patterns that we can choose from.

When, as Glorynanny points out those with very limited budgets face the difficulties accessing any food shops that she describes and are more likely to be ill or disabled or have disabled members of their families to care for, one cannot but think back to Marie Antoinette and her comment when told the poor could not but bread suggested they ate cake, except, I understand that story is apocryphal.

I am descended from Irish immigrants, who fled Ireland during the potato famine of the 1840s. A nation reduced to living only on potatoes because it was the only crop to feed a burgeoning population, when legislation limited what else they can do. Corn was grown to be sold to pay rent. The British government and public blamed the irish for their own poverty and dependence on one crop.

It is depressing in th extreme to read so many posts that show that too many people in this country still think like mid-19th century Conservative politicians and blame the poor for their plight and criticise their food choices.

And as I always say on threads which end up like these, whatever the reasons why children are going hungry, let's not forget that it is never the fault of the child.