I don't know if you all saw the 'Eat Well for Less' programme the other evening. Basically Greg Wallace and award-winning greengrocer (whatever that means), Chris Bavin were purporting to help families eat healthily while saving money. What they actually did was swap the branded products the couple normally bought for cheaper alternatives. Good in itself as it did save them money, but they didn't tackle food waste, balanced diet, proper menu planning, food management, i.e. cook once eat twice, nor the possibility of them growing some of their own fresh produce. Amazingly they also ignored the elephant in the room, the £1000 worth of excess food they already had in their home. No, they sent them out to buy more. I thought the programme failed on many levels and I'm sure that many of my fellow frugally clued up blogging chums will feel the same.
It did get me thinking though about balance and harmony in the home and how important it is to me and my husband that we live and eat well and make the most of all of our resources. A strong waste not want not ethic. Since I stopped working full time I have had the luxury of being able to spend more time making sure we get the best value for money on everything we 'consume'. This gives me a great sense of contentment. Money is hard earned and should be spent mindfully. That's not to say we don't spend when we think something is worth it and will enhance our life experience.
Sue over at Frugal in Suffolk has just written about finding pleasure in small things and how it can make you happy. I couldn't agree with her more. For me, having everything in order at home is my life base from which everything else stems. It does indeed make me happy. Yesterday I made a lamb casserole in the slow cooker for dinner last night and cooked up a batch of roasted red pepper soup to have for lunch today and froze the excess for another time = happiness.
Because we don't waste our money we have more disposable income then friends who earn more. I feel it's a strong framework for a happy life.
It also means we can book tickets to go and see a poptastic icon of the 60s.
A warm welcome to my latest Google Friend Connect follower Carol, thanks for joining my site.
I'm afraid l don't give people like Gregg Wallace
ReplyDeleteor his side kick John Torode any telly time what
so ever...There're a joke, so are chefs like Ainsley
Harriott, and the like...! Especially that Lawson
woman! As for that Jamie Oliver...15minute meals,
Ha! Yeah! Right!
HeHe! best if l tell ya who l do like...Keith Floyd,
Rick Stein, Antonio Carluccio and Queen Delia.
And, that's about it...
After all...."Life is like cooking..All the ingredients
are there, you just hope it turns out o.k."
If l comment on food...You'll all think l'm weird.....
HeHe! "People laugh at me because l'm different...
I laugh at them, because their all the same".
It cost me very little to eat...Even when it was just
me and daughter for 14yrs, very little!
I had a different upbringing, in the way of food, we
ate what was available, what was at hand. Home
grown, home made, home cooked. Always ate game,
even from the roadside. HeHe! AND...Still do!
The pheasant shoots finish to~day...Last day!
I've done some 40~50 pheasants in the last 3 months.
Some l've kept, some l've given away!
I waste absolutely 'nothing'...! My waste/recycle bin
goes out once a month..With barely anything in it!
Even, when my daughter was small, if left anything
on her plate...Guess who ate it...! Hate food being
wasted!
Goodness! This is all very interesting....But, then
when it comes to food...I have a lot to say........
O.K. That's it....HeHe!
Happy! Happy!
The seven dwarfs, went up to Snow White and asked
if they could sleep with her..."NO...NO...Certainly not"
She said...
So they ALL felt Grumpy...! :>).
HeHe! All together now.....
"Happy days are here again.......".
Willie, I love the way you tell it like it is. And you're such a card too.
DeleteJean
x
HeHe! Thankyou....
DeleteYou know where to send the cheque....!
Good thing I didn't see that programme; I would have been simmering with irritation!
ReplyDeleteI caught the last half hour of that programme Jean. I thought it was interesting but like you, I felt as if something was missing. There was another programme on a while ago with "celebrity chefs" helping people on low incomes to plan meals etc. The just didn't get it at all and ended up buying stuff for the people instead of using each person's budget (which wasn't very much). They just couldn't do it. One lady celeb chef was in the supermarket and said "oh look, you can buy 3 of these packs of chicken for £10", but the poor woman who she was supposed to be helping didn't have much more than £10 for her whole weekly food shopping after paying all her bills. They do make you larf don't they?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the mention. We are all agreed on that programme - could do SO much better!
ReplyDeleteI say Yeh Yeh to that...I tell my girls to 'use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without' but they say I'm out of touch... really? xx
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch it because I knew it would irritate me. Waste is such a massive problem and it seems ridiculous to approach a subject like budget without taking it into account. We don't throw much away here, get to the end of the week and the fridge and cupboards are bare. xx
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the programme was on, but was beguiled by David Attenborough's programme of Birds of Paradise, what a treat that was.
ReplyDeleteI am not fond of Greg Wallace and have no idea why he should be making progammes like that, especially since you say it was so unbalanced.
I watched the programme and thought exactly the same as you. Also, when Greg Wallace said he'd help make a meal from the food they'd already got in, I thought he was going to come up with something amazing considering he'd got £1000 worth of food at his disposal and what did he choose? Spag Bol! I ask you! I shall be watching again this week just to see if it gets any better. Well, it can't get any worse!
ReplyDelete