New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[Willow]

I never believe the dates on fresh meat anyway. When I was a teenager I had a weekend job as a meat wrapper in one of the main supermarkets in town and my job was to take in all the meat from the fridges, check if it seemed ok and rewrap with a new date In those days I assumed that if a well known supermarket was doing this it was allowed

[Tessa the Duchess]

Absolutely agree with the points made by Egluntine and Caroline, I use out of date food all the time and I use bendy carrots etc., I just hate to see food wasted. I thought the programme was just stupid actually, I am positive the two families were not for real and the whole 'throwing things away' scenario was made up, why would anyone throw perfectly good potatoes in the bin?

I thought the commodities section was pretty spot on though, apparently this kind of futures trading is why oil is at such a high price

 

Tessa

[Milly]

I thought the programme was a bit disappointing. I suspect it was preaching to the converted - I don't know if anyone who didn't already take an interest in food would have watched it.

 

I was shocked by how much the first family spent on food - particularly as they had two small children who are unlikely to eat much anyway. Apparently a third of all food shopping is thrown away. Even so, I keep thinking the family that threw good food in the bin must have been doing it for the cameras, to make a point. I hope!

 

Maybe if it makes people think about using local butchers and greengrocers it will be a start - they put things in bags with no sell by date, so people have to decide for themselves when things are too old to use.

 

I won't start on things found at the back of the cupboard years past their sell by date....

 

Milly

[Charlottechicken]

I'm afraid I got so bored with the programme that I kept wandering off to the kitchen to do this and that. The sound/vision synch thing was really noticable too, although I thought it was me (went to a loud concert last week).

 

[Olly]

funny you should mention bendy carrots ... I made a delicious carrot, lentil and coriander soup with mine just today!

 

I cut off the really bendy bits and the tops and bottoms, cooked them for a few minutes and lobbed them into the Cube run when I wanted to get the girls back in. They don't mind bendy things either!

[Guest]

I turned it off halfway thru as it was annoying me so much. Firstly because the reporter was urging people to buy cheap, factory farmed food and secondly because of the idiotic people who were throwing loads of perfectly good food in the bin! One bloke even said it was too hard to buy things that would last a whole week. Make 2 shopping trips per week instead of one then you flippin numpty!

 

We hardly ever throw any food away. We threw out half a pepper yesterday and felt really bad about it and they had a bin FULL of food!

 

Oh yeah and lady muck who said £700 would keep her in shoes for a year! I spend about £60 a year on shoes, if that.

 

Sorry but it just wound me up too muvh and I switched off, mentally and literally!

[Guest]

I'm still using a bottle of gravy browning dated 2002 and it's fine!

[Shirl]

We are guilty of spending about £185 a week on food but there are 6 of us and we buy everything organic if possible (including shampoos etc). We don't waste a great deal but I don't for example use bendy carrots but I give them to the dogs. I prefer my veg to be as fresh as poss because otherwise the nutritional value is so depleted it probably isn't worth it.

 

I did use a pot of cream last night that was a month out of date but it was fine.

[ajm200]

We rarely throw anything out these days but I don't get to buy much except fresh fruit and veg either. Since giving up work we walk everywhere during the week and leave the car at home so there is a limit to how much I can buy and carry.

 

We do a monthly shop to get all the heavy packaged stuff like washing powder, then for the rest of the month I make 3-day meal plans based on what we have already to minimise what I have to buy as I have to get all the shopping back in one bag, a small cooler bag and the buggy basket. It forces me to think if we really need things before buying them.

 

I think the modern lifestyle is responsible for people's overspending and wasteful attitudes to food. People rush to the supermarket, hungry after a long day at work. Grab stuff they think they need with little planning or forethought and have no idea what's at home already. The convenience of being able to cart it all home in the boot of the car doesn't make them look at the sheer amount that they buy and think do we really need 8 bags of shopping fo two people who skip breakfast and eat lunch at work...

 

They just wonder where all their money has gone when they are running out of money two weeks before pay day as they are throwing out the contents of the fridge.

 

sorry, that really does sound like I'm preaching doesn't it

[Lesley]

I think you've hit the nail on the head - it's just too easy to fill the boot of the car.

 

Meal plans are great - we base ours on what it growing in the garden at this time of year..........

 

Unfortunately (for me) this week means i had to find A Hundred and One Ways with Salad!

[Guest]

.....

sorry, that really does sound like I'm preaching doesn't it

 

It's true though! I gave up work recently due to ill health so i can see it from both sides. When I was working (because of my medical condition) I was constantly tired and in pain and by the time I got home, fit for nothing except putting my feet up!

 

It wasn't just the work itself, it was sitting in traffic both ways and the pressure of the job that finally did me in.

 

We were probably guilty of exatly what you describe because we were so time poor. Both working full time, both having to deal with traffic jams, working different hours so sometimes eating on our own.

 

There's no way we would have had the time to grow fruit and veggies and shop around for the most ethical places to buy food, like we are doing now.

 

Now I have the time to plan meals and because I'm not so exhausted, I'm learning to cook and really enjoying it. The whole process, planning the meal, shopping for the ingredients and of course eating it!

 

The weird thing is, although we've lost one income, it hasn't hit us quite as hard as i expected because of the savings we're making in other areas; I hardly ever put petrol in my car now (I'm selling my car soon anyway so that will mean a saving on tax and insurance too), we're growing more of our own food, I'm making proper meals instead of grabbing a ready meal or a takeaway or wasting money on crisps, drinks and chocolate at work, I have time to shop around and think carefully about what I'm buying.

 

It's so hard to find a balance when both of you work full time (one of whom is constantly cream crackered) and spend ages in the car.

 

We had 3 or 4 holidays a year just to try and relax! Now I'm very happy just sitting in the garden with the girls, I don't miss going on holiday at all, I've nothing I want to escape from.

 

It's funny because I was working to fund a lifestyle that I'd created BECAUSE I worked, if that makes sense?

[Gamebird]

Hubby and I do a weekly meal plan and then buy what we need for each meal.

 

We grow all our own vegetables which feed us, the dog, the chickens and friends. What's left after that either gets frozen for later in the year or goes on the compost heap.

[..lay a little egg for me]

Unfortunately (for me) this week means i had to find A Hundred and One Ways with Salad!

 

Oooh, I love salad! Have recently had the luxury of having a crisp green salad with lettuce and herbs from the garden and a nice balsamic dressing with creamy scrambled eggs from our own hens on nicely browned toast made with home made spelt bread. It was yummmmy! I found it really transforms the eggs from a snack lunch into a proper meal!

 

Then there's home made pizza and salad.

Home made burgers and salad

Grilled organic salmon, new potatoes and salad

Quiches and new pots and salad

 

Mmmm....how long until lunchtime????

[Guest]

I like a nice rump steak with new pots and salad.

[ajm200]

Poet,

 

I know what you mean and I don't mean to offend anyone.

 

I used to work 12 hour days in a stressful environment, ate badly, slept badly and conversations with my husband seemed to revolve around both of us letting off steam after a bad day as he worked in a similar environment.

 

The government go on about family values but they barely give most families a chance to spend quality time together so its not surprising that other parts of life have to give.... Its time that they looked at people's quality of life not just GDP. We might laugh at some aspects of the 70's but that is where the rot set in with the emergence of convenience food, two+ car families and consumerism. BTW I was born in the 70''s

 

I consider myself very priviedged to be a stay at home mum and I know that there are many others who would love to be in my situation but can't due to financial pressures...

 

 

(Edited due to typos again)

Edited June 26, 2008 by Guest

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Couldn't agree more.

 

When we had our first DS I couldn't afford to give up work, and continued full time. By the time DS2 arrived, parents rights to request part time had been strengthened and I was only the 2nd person at my workplace to get a part-time contract ( I had to earn it though by working a term full-time before the p/t started - breastfeeding a 5-month-old and with a 3-yr-old toddler. That was fun.).

 

I've been part time for six years now and wouldn't give it up for anything, I can't afford to give up completely and like the balance of both. We do have to manage financially, but if I were full-time the cost of childcare would balance out my increased earnings anyway.

 

Now that YS is 6 though, I've noticed pressure to return full-time, which I'm resisting. My contract is part-time and there is no limit on it, so I will up my hours when I'm good and ready and not before. i've done a few spells of full-time when my supervisor was ill or away, and it's been tough. The kids suffered and I suffered, and our marriage was under a lot more pressure. We'd rather do without the money and keep the time, thanks!

[theherd123]

We don't waste a great deal but I don't for example use bendy carrots but I give them to the dogs.

 

 

This really made me laugh out loud!

 

I know what you mean and i do that too!

 

[Lesley]

- Jazz had a couple grated into her dinner last night!

[The Dogmother]

The government go on about family values but they barely give most families a chance to spend quality time together so its not surprising that other parts of life have to give.... Its time that they looked at people's quality of life not just GDP. We might laugh at some aspects of the 70's but that is where the rot set in with the emergence of convenience food, two+ car families and consumerism. BTW I was born in the 70''s

 

I posted about this a while ago ajm - it's called Gross National Happiness, as defined by the King of Bhutan http://www.grossinternationalhappiness.org/ There are a lot of papers and sites if you google it.

 

Unfortunately our governments are so concerned with GNP/GDP that thier heads are well up their own bums.