Actually eat healthily for £1 per day • Hacker News Board

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#71

Post by CodeMage » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:26 PM UTC

MarkMc wrote: post #56

king_jester wrote: post #29

Eating cheaply is really difficult to do for the folks with the least amount of money to spend on food, as working is counter to the things that make eating cheaper: cooking your own meals, shopping or growing cheaper foodstuffs, having appliances to store items for longer periods or cook dried items, being able to plan meals out in advance, etc. That is the reason why convenience foods are popular. A lot of advice s…

From a book called Rework [1]: "When you want something bad enough, you make the time - regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don't want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time." I think virtually everyone in the UK has the means to eat healthy if they really want to. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Rework-Jason-Fried/dp/0307463745

That kind of comment can only be excused by lack of experience.

Try "making time" when, for example, you've got a job where you can't bring your food with you (and would have nowhere to heat it up even if you were permitted to bring it), a long commute and a family to spend time with.

And I'm talking about a middle-class example. Now add being poor on top of that.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#72

Post by Zenst » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:27 PM UTC

papsosouid wrote: post #69

Zenst wrote: post #61

Whilst it is nice people try and point out cheap options they ignore the following: 1) cost of running a fridge and freezer 2) calorie intake and how people are all different 3) large supermarket nearby and only you hanging around the reduced counter With that I'm sure a very short small inactive person could live well on this amount and intake but we are not all small inactive people. A few years ago I was in hospit…

You are absolutely, without a doubt, incorrect. Making up random guesses about your caloric intake is exactly why people think all sorts of crazy nonsense about metabolism like you do. You were eating less than your recommended intake, not double it. You just suck at estimating. Most people do. There is no way you were eating 5000 kcal in the hospital, they won't even let you.

Sorry are you saying you know me better than me, when you have not even met me!

This hospital in the uk I was and did, I have no need to lie about it. I know what I was eating and the volumes and I know what I eat when I'm not in hospital, so sorry if I completely and utterly disagree with your random asertion. There again I have been known to eat 3 full plated roast dinners in a day, we are all different, just accept it that I know myself better and I know I am not exagerating and not all hospitals are the same, let alone hospitals in different countries.

Though you have proven my concerns fully, sadly enough :(

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#73

Post by jb17 » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:27 PM UTC

Zenst wrote: post #61

Whilst it is nice people try and point out cheap options they ignore the following: 1) cost of running a fridge and freezer 2) calorie intake and how people are all different 3) large supermarket nearby and only you hanging around the reduced counter With that I'm sure a very short small inactive person could live well on this amount and intake but we are not all small inactive people. A few years ago I was in hospit…

Have you considered that muscle atrophy might be part of your weight less as well? It sounds like you were bound to a hospital bed.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#74

Post by Shorel » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:31 PM UTC

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.

Some oils are better than others.

Palm and coconut oil are much better than sunflower or corn oil, in part because of something called the smoke point.

And calorie count is not that important if you eat the right things.

http://nusi.org/

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#75

Post by gbog » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:33 PM UTC

Just reading Antifragile, and stumble on this seemingly immortal shitcliché: one need to eat "At least 55 grams of protein per day", "Around 50% of food energy from carbohydrate".

I do not even want to know what a carbothing is. This is plain proved horseshit. Our stomach has been prepared by Mother Evolution to handle a wide range of variation in the feed. And the risk of stomach boredom is very real.

So the real proper diet is: do not have a diet. Do know what is tasty, eat 1kg steack some days (rarely), eat stone soup other days. Don't eat things that have been invented in the last 50 years (from margarine to exctasy). Do never ever watch TV or other addicting ads carriers.

Amen.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#76

Post by ctdonath » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:36 PM UTC

king_jester wrote: post #29

Eating cheaply is really difficult to do for the folks with the least amount of money to spend on food, as working is counter to the things that make eating cheaper: cooking your own meals, shopping or growing cheaper foodstuffs, having appliances to store items for longer periods or cook dried items, being able to plan meals out in advance, etc. That is the reason why convenience foods are popular. A lot of advice s…

A lot of advice stories about eating cheaply often fail to achieve that goal because it is hard to do and requires a lot of effort.

This is a recurring sentiment which speaks volumes about our culture. Complaints of "hard" and "a lot of effort" belies how incredibly rich this society is, that the notion of just making pasta or growing vegetables is somehow prohibitively difficult - not because it's inherently so hard, but because we're so used to "swipe a card, get a meal" at all levels of society. Even if you're officially "poor", just be at WalMart at midnight on EBT recharge day and walk out with convenience foods. For most of humanity through most of history, what so many today belittle as "hard" was "normal" on a daily basis.

On my "A Buck A Plate" blog I've addressed various forms of this complaint. Difficulty? boil some water, open a few cans, spaghetti dinner done. Cost of cooking system (stove, gas, etc.)? grandma's ancient cast-iron frying pan over burning wood scraps in the back yard, make a nice veggies-and-shrimp stir fry. No cooking space indoors or out? $4 crock-pot and an electrical outlet. Cooking your own meals? c'mon, it's not that hard, really. Shopping for inexpensive? look at every price tag in the store (Walmart, Aldi) and discount everything over $1 per pound. Appliances? thrift shops overflow with them dirt cheap. Dried items? throw 'em in water before going to work, ready to cook when you return. Planning meals in advance? you really have an issue with this?

Sure convenience foods are popular. You also pay for that convenience: instead of doing the work yourself, you work doing other things then exchange the money earned there. Do more yourself, and there's less need to be out doing other things.

Don't confuse "you have to do something" with "hard to do and requires a lot of effort". If you watch TV at all you have no excuse.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#77

Post by np422 » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:36 PM UTC

Before we start talking about "eat healthily", please visit http://nusi.org/ , apply critical thinking - ask for references to published research papers. Be aware of the difference between observational and clinical studies and of course, always remember correlation does not imply causation.

We, as in mankind, don't know very much about what really is healthy food.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#78

Post by jsonne » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:41 PM UTC

dgabriel wrote: post #60

frou_dh wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

We all have different goals, but interesting meals are certainly near the top of my priority list, especially since I eat with my family and meal times are more than just a way to fill a hole.

I agree. I for one get a lot of joy and happiness out a great meal. It seems a lot of people in this thread are taking a very utilitarian approach to food, but for a lot of us, food is more than fuel. It's an experience to be enjoyed.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#79

Post by g8oz » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:42 PM UTC

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,…

My tips: get split, hulled lentils. Soak them in water for at least 20 minutes, washing and draining till the water runs relatively clear. When cooking, place them in boiling water and scoop off the the froth that bubbles up. This will reduces the saponins that some say are associated with leaky gut syndrome. For bonus points use a pressure cooker to destroy the phytate and lectins that are considered anti-nutrients by the paleo community.

Re: Actually eat healthily for £1 per day

#80

Post by 13b9f227ecf0 » Fri, May 10, 2013, 3:44 PM UTC

king_jester wrote: post #29

Eating cheaply is really difficult to do for the folks with the least amount of money to spend on food, as working is counter to the things that make eating cheaper: cooking your own meals, shopping or growing cheaper foodstuffs, having appliances to store items for longer periods or cook dried items, being able to plan meals out in advance, etc. That is the reason why convenience foods are popular. A lot of advice s…

Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very cheap and you can practically live on them, in perfect health. Generations of Irishmen, Kitavans, and Peruvians have. This claim that you can't eat healthy on the cheap is silly. Eating just potatoes & butter & a few eggs a day and you could probably go years before having problems. The prep time argument is also silly. A sack of potatoes will keep for a month and you can boil or nuke a potato in minutes.

The "convenience" foods are about the taste and pleasure. It's not cost or convenience. Junk food and fast food are very tasty and offer variety, unlike plain potato, or some other reasonably nutritious gruel.