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Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

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Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#31

Post by ryeguy »

wtvanhest wrote: post #20

If you want to save some money, save some time and eat healthy, try this: Go to the grocery store, buy these 3 items: 1 bag of frozen vegetables. 3 chicken breasts 1 bag of dried lentils. Sunday night: Cook lentils in water, don't add anything Slice chicken breasts down the side, add seasoning, no oil, just seasoning, don't bread it etc. Bake the chicken breasts Monday for lunch: Microwave a bunch of the vegetables,…

There is nothing wrong with butter, oil, or dressing in moderation. If it makes a rather boring dish more interesting, it's worth it - none of those things up the calorie count too much.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#32

Post by Nursie »

While it is a great article, and potentially useful info for those that fall on hard times, I don't share some of the other poster's views of this being aspirational.

Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely? I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let alone every day for weeks at a time.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#33

Post by drharris »

lenazegher wrote: post #11
weego wrote: post #6

I think the main weakness of the diet not listed on their weaknesses is they've made no attempt to break it down into a realistic 3x7 meal plan, because it doesn't really make one. Yeah, it's easy to put together a whole load of things cheaply that conform to predetermined values on a spreadsheet, but sometimes sum of the parts does not give you a realistic outcome. Also, I can tell you as someone who grew up with pa…

> I think the main weakness of the diet not listed on their weaknesses is they've made no attempt to break it down into a realistic 3x7 meal plan, because it doesn't really make one. Yeah, it's easy to put together a whole load of things cheaply that conform to predetermined values on a spreadsheet, but sometimes sum of the parts does not give you a realistic outcome. That's a very fair point, but it seemed like prem…

No, I think you're right on for a 0.1 version. The basic nutrition (most important) is there, and you now have a good list of foodstuffs to go by. I think 0.2 should allow for some diversification (trade these two foods for these two, at an extra cost of xx). Version 0.3 can then work on some basic recipes. Also consider things like freeze-dried fruit (easy to rehydrate to put inside oatmeal) and vegetables (make good salad toppings) to add diversity.

I think most people would allow sale prices if you can prove they're on a cycle. For example, sacks of yellow onions go on sale every 3rd week at the store I frequent, which lines right up with my usage habits.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#34

Post by DanBC »

venomsnake wrote: post #8

Now if only there was consensus what is healthy eating (it changes once a decade, cyclical fashion). Fat is currently returning with a vengeance, while sugar is the killer molecule. 10 years ago a spoonful of butter was considered slightly worse than cyanide. The amounts of protein per day is also debated as are total calories, and carb/fat ratios. And the number of meals per day and the optimal amounts of fasts.

You mention some things that are under debate. Those things are not part of "healthy" eating, they are important for "optimal" eating.

Fat is not returning with a vengeance.

Common sense advice has not changed particularly much over the past twenty years.

There are some things - dietary cholesterol isn't seen as evil (but the foods it's in are).

But other stuff - replacing fat for sugar (replacing a real salad dressing with a low fat (but high sugar) dressing) has always been seen as bad advice.

Of course, if people pay attention to wing-nuts pumping out crank advice then yes, everything changes every week. Peas cause cancer one week, red cabbage causes it the next.

Most people do not need "optimal", they need "good enough". Most people are not at "good enough", they're at high fat, high sugar, high salt, high poor quality foods, low exercise. Someone drinking 4 litres of cola a day and eating a jar of peanut butter on crackers doesn't need to know whether their total calories should be 2,000 kCalorie per day or 2,500 kCalorie per day. They just need to eat less than 7,000kCal per day.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#35

Post by claudius »

Nursie wrote: post #32

While it is a great article, and potentially useful info for those that fall on hard times, I don't share some of the other poster's views of this being aspirational. Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely? I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let alone every day for weeks at a time.

I more or less live on pasta, cooking 1-2 kg at a time and then heating it up in a pan with tomatoes, ham and possibly eggs. Takes less than ten minutes, and less than twenty including the actual meal, and two meals (~250 g of pasta) get me more or less through a day.

And, yes, to me food is mostly a mechanical source of fuel. Sure, there are occasions where a good dinner with friends is a nice thing, but definitely not on a daily basis, and especially not in the morning when I’m short on time already.

But YMMV[0], of course.

[0] There should totally be a ‘YMWV’ for ‘Your mileage will vary’.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#36

Post by gnaritas »

Nursie wrote: post #32

While it is a great article, and potentially useful info for those that fall on hard times, I don't share some of the other poster's views of this being aspirational. Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely? I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let alone every day for weeks at a time.

> Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely?

Speak for yourself.

> I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let alone every day for weeks at a time.

I've eaten the same lunch every day for well over a year or more at times. Food is fuel; it doesn't have to be a source of entertainment.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#37

Post by Isamu »

Project for someone: provide better sorting, ranking, visualization etc. for food nutrition info. You sometimes see these, not all of them are well done.

OP mentions use of the USDA National Nutrient Database. Here is where you can get a download, plus previous versions and updates from previous versions if you plan to maintain your own database copy over time: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#38

Post by drharris »

tejay wrote: post #17

The same triple constraint nature of the project management triangle exists, I think, with food intake. Quality, cost, and ease/speed of preparation -- pick two. Every two days, I cook up 2 lbs ground beef, boil 4 cups beans, and 4 cups rice. I let it cool off, and throw it in Tupperware, and into the fridge. I take from that whenever I'm hungry. It doesn't taste the best, but it fills you up, is cheap, and is good f…

You can make that combination taste good. When cooking your beef, add some garlic, onion, bell pepper (if $$ allows), cumin, oregano, and chili powder. If they're black beans, add cilantro, onion, and garlic. In the rice, saute the dry rice in a few teaspoons of olive oil before adding water, and replace some of the water with lime juice. Now you basically have a simplified Chipotle burrito bowl. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, pico de gallo, etc.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#39

Post by claudius »

frou_dh wrote: post #21

Am I the only one unduly annoyed by the ubiquitous slogan "fruits and vegetables"? Fruit is full of fructose AKA sugar. They are worth eating some of, but it's bizarre that they've come to occupy this front and centre position in diet advice.

I guess it is easier to convince people (and especially kids) to eat fruits than vegetables, as the former are often sweeter. And even sugar-laden fruits are still better than none at all.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#40

Post by frou_dh »

ryeguy wrote: post #31
wtvanhest wrote: post #20

If you want to save some money, save some time and eat healthy, try this: Go to the grocery store, buy these 3 items: 1 bag of frozen vegetables. 3 chicken breasts 1 bag of dried lentils. Sunday night: Cook lentils in water, don't add anything Slice chicken breasts down the side, add seasoning, no oil, just seasoning, don't bread it etc. Bake the chicken breasts Monday for lunch: Microwave a bunch of the vegetables,…

There is nothing wrong with butter, oil, or dressing in moderation. If it makes a rather boring dish more interesting, it's worth it - none of those things up the calorie count too much.

I'd say satiating meals is a better goal than interesting meals. If you're completely satiated by reasonable portions then your energy levels will be solid and you'll lose/maintain weight without needing to think about calories at all.
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