Jamies Ministry of Food (foody thread so in here)

[Urchin]

I didn't want to put this in the TV bit cos I want to know how/what you guys cook.

There are parents on this TV show now who have takeaway for them and their kids 4-5 times a week because they "can't cook" I can't believe some people just let their kids have crap food every night of the week! Kebab meat and cheesy chips almost every night, how sad
I never used to be a great cook but I have had to learn over the years, and now we have decent cooked dinners about 5 times a week, stuff like cottage pie, casserole, lasagne etc then a couple of nights eg. fish fingers and chips etc to give me a break. I can't see why people can't learn when you have kids, fair enough if you wanna eat crap yourself but what about poor kids getting no vitamins or veg... ever.

 

[LisaJ1986]

I'm a terrible cook. But i do try. My specialty is roast of some description. Or casserole.
I was a fussy eater as a child and i really don't want my kids to be the same.
I'm starting to try new things. I'm getting better at Hickory Chicken now.

 

[Squiglet]

Chinese... and lots of it... BUT... home made Chinese food. We even have a rice cooker Its usually rice and stir fry... We occasionally have spagetti, pesto pasta and if we are very lucky we get San Jacobo's (kinda ham and cheese wrapped in bread crumbs) and chips There are also Swedish meatballs (oi oi ) with mashy potato... and generally lots and lots of different things, its whats on special offer at Lidl's ... Around twice a month we will have take away/eat out... which is usually Chinese or we will go out and have menu del dia which is usually home cooked Spanish food so not really junk

 

[Foxxi]

I have just spent a full night in the kitchen doing Fynns meals to freeze... and Im fair fooked!

I did 8 chicken dinners - chicken, mash, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and sprouts

7 corned beef cassaroles - mash, carrots, peas, corned beef cassarole

8 fish pies - fish, cheese, mash, peas and sweetcorn

and 9 shepherds pies!



He does sometimes also have ravioli .. beans and sausages .. Fish fingers..and stuff like that when im low on the frozen meals Iv made.


I could never give him takeaways.. I like to know what he eats.


Before I had Fynn..I never cooked at all..couldnt cook.. but now our eating habits have changed cos we have the little fella to think about! So no more takeaways for us either!

 

[daftscotslass]

It's how it is and it's depressing. I work in a school where a good majority of the children receive free school meals (i.e. their families are in receipt of some form of support/benefits and they qualify for it). For many it's the only good meal they see in a day. I regularly have kids coming in absolutely famished having been kicked out the house with a packet of 10p crisps for breakfast. We have a breakfast club in winter but always have a box of cereal in the staffroom in the summer for such kids. So many of them go home to a plate of chicken nuggets and chips... frozen convenience foods are really the only things that the village shop sells and what fruit and veg there is is battered, bruised and not something anyone would want to eat. It breaks my heart to see some of the kids devouring the free fruit the younger classes get like it's something so special. They get all the crap in the world - crisps, chocolate but to them an apple is WONDERFUL and a rare treat.

Over the last few months I've been conscious I've been eating a lot of crap and convenience food. Not what I want my daughter to see when she's more conscious of what she's eating as she gets older. I can't justify making something healthy for her and then sitting myself with a plateful of crap so I'm going to get my finger out over the next few weeks and start cooking again. I'm not spectacular but I know how to pick up a cookbook! A good idea I think is to prepare some dishes like bolognese, chilli and stews, things you can make on one day at the weekend and then freeze for throughout the week. Think that's what I'll aim for.

 

[Happybunny]

I completely agree. It is very sad.

My OH and I were terrible and ate out or fastfood all the time during our twenties. We were supposedly 'cash rich and time poor.' (Too lazy after a day at work if the truth be told!) All well and good, but we are both fat now!

I am absolutely determined that my daughter will not follow suit. Since my maternity leave began in January, I have been making home cooked meals. I have been learning so that I can cook wholesome food for all of us. Also, as I have now given up work, we can't afford to eat out or get take away. Planning our shopping and meals meticulously has shaved £20 off of our shopping budget and we rarely have ay waste!

We have mainly vegetarian food as I don't like meat really. We try to have a wide variety of veg, although we are now using a lot more frozen veg (such as sliced peppers) as it is cheaper and goes further. We have home made casseroles, chili, curries, risotto, fajitas, pasta bakes etc. Once a week we have 'brown dinner day' ie. breadcrumbed thing from the freezer as it is quick if we are tired.

 

[SarahH]

I cook everynight. Partly because I love to cook, plus I also want to know what I am feeding to my daughter.
Everything I make is home cooked from scratch, no jars or packets. When I first moved in with Brian, he asked me what brand of sauce I had used for a simple Mac & Cheese and I was like "what???" His Mum never even made her own cheese sauce, which I think is the most simple thing ever to cook.

I make roasts, lasange, spag bol, chicken dishes, stir-fry, pies... loads.

When Brian is away, I hardly ever have a take away or eat out. When he is home we maybe eat out OR get something in once a week.

 

[charlie84]

Im not watching the program now gonna watch on catchup as OH is watching CSI.

However i do worry about food for Calleigh and the habits she will pick up when she old enough to understand. I generally eat anything, i am not a fussy person when it comes to food. However OH dislikes the majority of the healthy foods and his diet consists of mainly junk foods
Most evenings i will prepare seperate meals for us both. My main concern is how this will affect Calleigh, obviously she will be eating the healthier food that i prepare for myself but what on earth is she gonna think when her dad is sat there with a plate of chips and something

I wish i could make him eat healthier but he dislikes most fruit and veg, wont eat things that are spicy, any pasta/rice, any kinds of sauces, i could go on
I suppose i will jut have to hope that my eating habits rub off on Calleigh.

 

[Misslarue]

I make everything from scratch. I don't buy sauces or packets, tbh I find them a waste of money. Its a lot tastier and cheaper to make your own meals. Being an ex-chef though does help!

I am very aware what I feed Dan. I grew up in various pubs where our diet mainly consisted of deep fried chips. It's shocking the cr@p that my mum used to feed us. I think that has alot to do with why I am so fussy about what Dan eats. I buy lots of fresh fruit, veg and fish. But I do chuck in the odd treat, as its just as important to get the right balance.

I'm really going to try and get Dan interested in healthy food and cooking. I also started growing our own veggies this year and I really hope its something he will enjoyed doing as he grows up. He's a real outdoorsy kid, so fingers crossed!

 

[beanie]

This is something I have always struggled with. I had a bit of a sheltered childhood and when mum died had no idea how to cook. We used to take it in turns, I would cook spag bol (mince and ragu), Luynds would cook Uncle Ben's stir fry and my dad would cook this mice stew thing (the rest of the time we had takeout).

I have to make myself eat well. It has got easier since we had the kids, as I have to cook a meal for them. I have learnt to make stews, chilli, spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie, roasts etc all from scratch, I also cook alot of fish and meats with baked spuds and steamed veg or salad. We have lazy meal days when I make pasta bakes, we had macaroni cheese (with a homemade cheese sauce, learnt how to do that), homemade pizza (the base is done i the breadmaker though) and then super lazy days when we get a takeaway and Seren has fish fingers and beans, this is usually a weds as she has been to nursery that day so she has had a nutritious meal already. On a friday we go round my gramps house who usually makes home cooked chips, but again Seren has nursery that day.

One thingI ampassionate about though is getting decent ingredients so I always buy free range chicken etc.

 

[Misslarue]

However OH dislikes the majority of the healthy foods and his diet consists of mainly junk foods
Most evenings i will prepare seperate meals for us both. My main concern is how this will affect Calleigh, obviously she will be eating the healthier food that i prepare for myself but what on earth is she gonna think when her dad is sat there with a plate of chips and something

I have the same problem hun. My OH eats cr@p, nothing that I buy as I refuse to buy it. We have seperate meals, but I won't make OH's. I refuse to help him fill himself with cr@p. I worry too that Dan will pick up his habits but I make sure OH is seen to be eating all the lovely good stuff. I said he will have to move out if he starts jeopardizing Dan's health, thats how strongly I feel about it!
I recently read there's a link between fussy eaters and eating large amounts of chemical enriched foods. That is certainly true in my OH's case. I will try and find the article

 

[Steelgoddess]

i can't understand it either, I mean yeah i felt bad when she was upset, however whats the harm in her spending some of that £80 a week she gets and investing in a cheap recipe book or something?

i as lucky growing up although both my folks worked there was always a fresh home cooked meal when we got home from school...

Admitedly when we were teens it didn't stop us going to the chippie before we headed home though tehe...

Msybe we could do a PF recipe swap?

 

[Steelgoddess]

However OH dislikes the majority of the healthy foods and his diet consists of mainly junk foods
Most evenings i will prepare seperate meals for us both. My main concern is how this will affect Calleigh, obviously she will be eating the healthier food that i prepare for myself but what on earth is she gonna think when her dad is sat there with a plate of chips and something

I have the same problem hun. My OH eats cr@p, nothing that I buy as I refuse to buy it. We have seperate meals, but I won't make OH's. I refuse to help him fill himself with cr@p. I worry too that Dan will pick up his habits but I make sure OH is seen to be eating all the lovely good stuff. I said he will have to move out if he starts jeopardizing Dan's health, thats how strongly I feel about it!
I recently read there's a link between fussy eaters and eating large amounts of chemical enriched foods. That is certainly true in my OH's case. I will try and find the article

What kind of junk does he like??

 

[Jen & Her Men]

I LOVE Cooking!

Tonight i made this: http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/sa ... e_p_1.html

It was lush!

 

[charlie84]

This is a list of what my OH diets mainly consists of
Chips
Sausages
Burgers
Breaded Chicken
Pizza
Gammon Steak
Eggs (fried)
Chocolate Biscuits
Crisps
Twixs
Ham Sandwiches for work.

Honestly that is what he will usually eat.

The only veggies he eats are
Potato
Peas

Fruit
Apples

 

[Misslarue]

Steelgoddess, when I first meet him over a decade ago (we were friends first) he lived on macdonalds chicken nuggets, kebabs, burger king, pizza etc. Basically takeaways.
He has improved over the years but he still eats very little fruit and veg. I wouldn't even say 5 portions a week let alone 5 portions a day. And he eats zero fish.
If he doesn't like the look of something then he won't even try it. He eats with his eyes!
I don't know what he eats in the day, probably a roll of some sort with dairylea and marmite thats the only sandwich filling he will eat. A lot of biscuits at work and chocolate. He has his goodie drawer at work.

For dinners he will eat some things I make like homemade chips (frylight) and quorn sauages. He will also eat beef/chicken casserole, but none of the veg just the meat that he picks out and scrapes the gravy off! Even when he is being good he's bad. He will have a jacket potato but then fill it with half a pound of butter and cheese!

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I eat awfully I tend to snack on rubbish during the day and then have a pasta sachet in the eve (i'm ashamed writing this!) it's one of those things where you add boiling water and milk and microwave

I can't cook. I am a bit of a fussy eater and I have no idea how to cook a meal - i could probably do individual components (i guess i could boil potatoes) but i would be useless at getting things to be cooked at the same time.

My OH loves to cook and he made spag bol for tea tonight from scratch and it was really nice.

I bought a weaning recipe book so that I can weigh things and know how log to cook what for - i am determined Fi will have homecooked food.

Any ideas for a decent 'normal' recipe book?

 

[SarahH]

I'm just watching th programme now as I sky +'d it.

I am shocked that the girl didnt even know how to make pancakes. Arianna even helps me now making pancakes and she is only 2! She goes into the cupboard and takes out the flour

I don't know, I am probably going to cause a bit of a stir, but I dont truely beleive that people can't cook, anyone could do it, it really is just common sence and practice.

 

[mummykay]

i luuuuuuuuurve cookin, think thats cos my parents cooked everythin from scratch so I was led to believe that was how dinners were made

the only time i cheat is if its stuff like chicken goujons and potato wedges, me and Jam normally have chilli, spag bol, lasagne, meatballs etc for din dins and everythin gets eaten lol

 

[MissSara]

i luuuuuuuuurve cookin, think thats cos my parents cooked everythin from scratch so I was led to believe that was how dinners were made

the only time i cheat is if its stuff like chicken goujons and potato wedges, me and Jam normally have chilli, spag bol, lasagne, meatballs etc for din dins and everythin gets eaten lol

same really, although if i can't be bothered to cook what we usually do is just invite myself to my folks, no matter what day, what time i am guarenteed that she will be cooking meat and two veg ( or something homemade ) and because we have all moved out, she still thinks she has to cook for a HUGE family so theres always plenty for everyone....... ideal when we drop in at the last minute. My OH lived of crap before i started to make him eat properly.