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Post by MartinT on Jun 24, 2018 18:46:23 GMT
I'm just not going to be rigid about it.
We buy very little processed food, but I have a liking for Piri Piri Felafels, for instance.
I eat very little meat, frequently choosing the veggie option at work.
I'm not a big dairy consumer, and I would never ruin tea or coffee with cow-juice, but I do like my cheese.
We have a couple of vegans coming over for dinner soon. I find it a pain even trying to work out what to give them.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 24, 2018 18:49:24 GMT
My mum didn't work and we didn't eat that well. Shortage of money I think That's another major reason for "home cooking," Mike. It used to be a lot less expensive to prepare a meal from scratch than it was to buy ready prepared food. Also, if you were lucky, beans, peas, spuds, and the like came from your garden for at least a part of the year, depending on its size. There also wasn't such a huge variety of prepared meals even if you could afford them. Don't remember that well but we didn't eat plendidly |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 24, 2018 18:58:04 GMT
I am on the verge or Dairy intolerance. I also eat far too much processed food and am overweight. Wow that was nice to get off my chest. My problem is primarily that I can't cook a lot , and because I can't, I feel guilty expecting my wife to do it all so my way of paying her back is to get a takeaway or a ready meal. Interestingly we don't have many ready meals, but we do have far too much takeaway. Because of my heart condition, we have been trying to cut down and lose weight, but with everything going on in our personal lives, we've struggled to find the right balance. What I hate however, is people who have never been overweight, particularly doctors or consultants, telling me to lose weight. If you haven't been overweight, it is impossible for you to know how hard it is to not only get the motivation, but also actually lose the weight. Especially as I cannot do that much exercise as a result of my heart condition. Interestingly, we have all been told that Heart conditions are caused by the food we eat, but there is a recent view (and likely to be confirmed within the next 10 years or so through research) that you are either prone to heart conditions or you aren't, and that the food you eat makes very little difference either way as to whether you get the condition. Granted, it doesn't help once you have got the condition as it makes the heart work harder. P.S. my heart condition has been confirmed as nothing to do with my lifestyle. My weight went up consistently from my 20s onwards. I cut down my intake and tweaked the type of food. A packet of biscuits a night eventually went. Top end was 15.5 stone and I was uncomfortable. Having painful knee problems got me to try cycling. Weight dropped nicely. Vegetarian came next. Cutting intake gradually over the years has worked and I estimate I eat about half what I used to eat and much better food too. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 24, 2018 19:03:17 GMT
We have a couple of vegans coming over for dinner soon. I find it a pain even trying to work out what to give them. Dead easy. Keep it simple.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2018 19:21:34 GMT
I am on the verge or Dairy intolerance. I also eat far too much processed food and am overweight. Wow that was nice to get off my chest. My problem is primarily that I can't cook a lot , and because I can't, I feel guilty expecting my wife to do it all so my way of paying her back is to get a takeaway or a ready meal. Interestingly we don't have many ready meals, but we do have far too much takeaway. Because of my heart condition, we have been trying to cut down and lose weight, but with everything going on in our personal lives, we've struggled to find the right balance. What I hate however, is people who have never been overweight, particularly doctors or consultants, telling me to lose weight. If you haven't been overweight, it is impossible for you to know how hard it is to not only get the motivation, but also actually lose the weight. Especially as I cannot do that much exercise as a result of my heart condition. Interestingly, we have all been told that Heart conditions are caused by the food we eat, but there is a recent view (and likely to be confirmed within the next 10 years or so through research) that you are either prone to heart conditions or you aren't, and that the food you eat makes very little difference either way as to whether you get the condition. Granted, it doesn't help once you have got the condition as it makes the heart work harder. P.S. my heart condition has been confirmed as nothing to do with my lifestyle. Paul, when you say you "can't cook a lot" do you mean that your repertoire is limited, or there's a health-related reason that doesn't allow you to cook? If it's the "repertoire" thing, buy a cookbook. Get Jamie Oliver's 30-minute meals or whatever and try one recipe a week. Make it early enough and you'll still have time to order a takeaway if it's a total disaster.  Work out what you're going to cook in advance and the ingredients become a part of your weekly shop. Re the "weight" thing, I'm currently horribly overweight for similar, but non-life-threatening reasons. My right knee is buggered and has been for a long while, and now both hands appear to have come out in sympathy. I can't walk without a stick, and it now hurts to hold the stick. You couldn't bloody make it up.  As you may remember, my wife had a congenital heart problem, so I do know where you're coming from. Perhaps you could see if your Doc would refer you to a dietician; the things Jeanette had to avoid were not always obvious. Silly little things can help too, like (in her case) finding out that Sainsbury's "Butterlicious" was the healthiest spread for her, and Shredded Wheat is the healthiest breakfast cereal. A slow cooker (my favourite kitchen gadget) can be the healthiest way to cook meat. It takes a bit of investigation, but with the internet being the internet, the world is your lobster. It’s a confidence thing for me, Paul. When I do cook, things like Chilli, Steak and Chips, BBQ etc. it tastes nice, but I always worry that it’ll be under or over cooked and make us ill. |
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Post by Tim on Jun 25, 2018 9:40:49 GMT
It's never too late to learn to cook Paul, just set realistic goals and try to learn a new dish maybe every-week or fortnight. Get your daughter involved too, what a great gift for her. Food is medicine, it really shouldn't be underestimated. Eating real food is the best thing you can do for your body, instead of processed food. The trouble with allowing big corporations to cook your food, is they often use cheaper ingredients and then load them up with sodium, sugar and fat to make them taste good. That's not including the raft of additives in processed food, it's really not good for your long term health.
As far as losing weight, I was 117kg 5 years ago but I didn't go on a 'diet', join a gym or eat anything low fat of called diet food and didn't feel hungry all the time, which I think is key. I did it with healthy food, proper hydration (very important) and walking. Diet's just don't work, I've tried most over the years and failed. I re-evaluated my lifestyle and relationship with food instead of going on a diet. Looking at it as eating healthily, rather than dieting really helps - but not for a month or so just to lose weight, you need to change your habits if they aren't working - the weight loss will follow. I lost 36kg and have put a few kilos back on since coming back from China, but was living with friends so had no real control over what I ate, apart from when I cooked. But I'll be back to around 80kg by the end of the year, now I'm cooking for myself all the time.
YouTube and the internet are your friend, I spent quite a lot of time researching and learning about nutrition. There's masses of info out there and YouTube has great recipes too, which if you lack confidence can help by seeing something made, rather than reading a recipe. The Jamie Oliver channels are great and not too stiff or boring to watch. For nutrition advice, just type in 'healthy eating' and the algorithm takes over!
If you like soup, start there, nothing simpler than a freshly made soup which is cheaper than buying it and much healthier. Pick a vegetable (or vegetables) you like and just search for a soup recipe for it. It's an easy way to start and build confidence. Fresh soup is silly easy, you just bung it in a pan, heat it, blend it and serve it.
You can do it Paul, it does require effort, but it's totally doable. Just don't expect too much too quickly, or you can give up - slow and steady is the way to go. Think quality rather than quantity too and as Paul mentioned, sitting down to dinner and sharing a meal with friends and family is one of life's real pleasures.
(if you are ever worried about meat being under cooked, buy a meat thermometer  ) |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 25, 2018 10:06:19 GMT
Slow and steady for sure.
No rush. No diets. Incremental lifestyle changes -forever - are best.
Lots of wonderful food discovered since going veggie and wondering what on earth I can eat. There is loads.
BTW Note for Martin. Quorn is not vegan !
I weigh myself most days and see it go up and down by up to 4 pounds.
No big deal. The average is what I pay attention to
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Post by dvh on Jun 26, 2018 11:35:11 GMT
I'm just not going to be rigid about it. We buy very little processed food, but I have a liking for Piri Piri Felafels, for instance. I eat very little meat, frequently choosing the veggie option at work. I'm not a big dairy consumer, and I would never ruin tea or coffee with cow-juice, but I do like my cheese. We have a couple of vegans coming over for dinner soon. I find it a pain even trying to work out what to give them. Beans on toast. Old joke: Paul McCartney tells his children he's got some bad news and some good news. 'The bad news: your mum's dead. The good news: we can have bacon sarnies for breakfast!' |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2018 11:40:46 GMT
That joke is wrong but hilarious.
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Post by Tim on Jun 26, 2018 12:20:15 GMT
We have a couple of vegans coming over for dinner soon. I find it a pain even trying to work out what to give them. Why not try Indian Martin, assuming they like that? Doesn't have to be hot if they don't like spice either. So many great flavours possible with Indian besides heat and a lot can be prepared in advance.
Whenever I cook for vegetarians or vegans I always prepare a veggie/vegan dish as opposed to producing a carnivore style dish with some meat substitute.
A good Tarka Dhal with some rice, chapati/naan and maybe one or two other dishes always proves a hit for me. I adore Tarka Dhal and make it similar to this, but use more onion and tomato in the Tarka and loads of fresh coriander. Dhal is the cornerstone of authentic Indian food, unctuous vegetarian deliciousness - I often have it as a main meal
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2018 12:31:17 GMT
Indian food can taste amazing and interestingly, a lot of the time I prefer it without meat personally.
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Post by Tim on Jun 26, 2018 12:34:40 GMT
Actually Paul, you might possibly fancy this, I see you like Chilli so probably not averse to spice? Dhal is pretty easy and so tasty and nutritious. People adapt their own garnish, no rules here really apart from the Dahl itself which is pretty much always just lentils, turmeric and seasoning. I love it and have it often. I tend to make a very large batch of the Dhal and freeze it into single portions, then I just need to make the Tarka/garnish fresh for a quick and easy meal.
Here's another;
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Post by MartinT on Jun 26, 2018 14:28:51 GMT
A good Tarka Dhal with some rice, chapati/naan and maybe one or two other dishes always proves a hit for me. That's a cracking idea, Tim, and I can knock up a Tarka Dahl without much trouble. I love it, too. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2018 14:48:19 GMT
I'm going to give it a try myself.. if you don't hear from me in a while you'll know why |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 26, 2018 15:17:37 GMT
Looking at the ingredients yesterday in even veggie prepared meals pushes me towards cooking from scratch. Stepson is mad keen on cooking so another thing we can do together. He makes some wonderful meals. Might even be able to stop him from using every utensil in the kitchen and leaving them all over the place |
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Post by Tim on Jun 26, 2018 19:28:34 GMT
Looking at the ingredients yesterday in even veggie prepared meals pushes me towards cooking from scratch. It's the only way for the best food (and health) |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 27, 2018 9:29:17 GMT
And taking responsibility for what goes into your body rather than letting big companies decide for you.
Am on the case.
Will go trawling for vegan options
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Work out what you're going to cook in advance and the ingredients become a part of your weekly shop.
)
