The most expensive food I could find at the supermarket came as something of a suprise.

a reply to: nonspecific

you don't need to be taught to cook. You just need to start doing it. Recipe's abound on the internet. You can watch videos to understand technique.

Same with nutrition. If you want to know what is in food, and what it does, then seek. Ye shall find. On Google. A good start: you should see how bad carbohydrates are for you. That'll scare you away from processed foods.

a reply to: nonspecific

I know, theres isn't anything 'carbonara' about it. All of these sauces are a joke, like the ragu sauce that is basically tomatoes, water, vinegar, thickeners etc, instead of slowly cooked meats, tomato, herbs etc. They are using people's stupidity.

And yes, it probably is deliberate, blinkered consumerism, dumbing down people, making reliance on supermarkets for produce. It isn't necessary. People should be properly educated, on economics, housekeeping and the machinations of society and globalist strategy first and foremost.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

You would think so but the reliance on packets etc for some would show otherwise.

I make Turkish delight sometimes and I put a picture of a batch on facebook as it looked nice, lots of people asked for the recipe and didn't know it could be made at home, we have a chocolate coated version here sold in shops. Most people didn't even know it was basic cornflour, sugar, lemon, rose water / mint etc, and recipes for it are easily found on the internet.

Not so much the carbs as the huge amounts of refined sugars pumped into foods that should not contain sugar. that "carbonara recipe has both sugar and Dried Glucose Syrop in the ingredients list.

Heres another prime example of both the rip ofs of ready made food and the sugar thing.

Muller Light Strawberry Yogurt, You would think that strawberry yogurt would contain yogurt, strawberries and maybe a stabiliser and preservative right,

Ingredients
Yogurt, Water, Strawberries (10%), Fructose, Modified Maize Starch, Gelatine, Flavourings, Beetroot Juice Concentrate, Acidity Regulators: Sodium Citrates, Citric Acid, Stabiliser: Pectins, Sweetener: Aspartame, Contains a source of Phenylalanine

This is a major brand company selling something "Light" which gives the impression of bieng good for you.

The first concern is that the second ingredient is water? So they water down the yogurt to save on costs and then add modified maize starch and gelatin to thicken it back up again.

Then they throw in pure fructose so it's anything but healthy and after the stabilisers and preservatives they finish of with just a dash of that lovley "food" we call Aspartame a chemical so safe it has to carry a warning.

Mmmmmmmm tasty and good for you right?



a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Most people I know have any real idea what food actually is let alone how to cook it.

Never tried turkish delight as I'm not a fan of sweet foods.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

a reply to: nonspecific

Not keen on really sweet foods either, hence the Turkish delight, I add lots of lemon juice, even to the rosewater version, and the mint is made with fresh mint, they both taste fresh and not too sweet.

no reason given)

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: nonspecific

you don't need to be taught to cook. You just need to start doing it. Recipe's abound on the internet. You can watch videos to understand technique.

Same with nutrition. If you want to know what is in food, and what it does, then seek. Ye shall find. On Google. A good start: you should see how bad carbohydrates are for you. That'll scare you away from processed foods.

Thats why I am setting up my youtube channel I want to try and teach the actual basics of cooking and home economics, not recipes but the art of learning how to become an independant versatile provider of cheap healthy foods.

There are so many basic skills that people lack and I get a little worried sometimes, Like when someone says that they can not cook at all and I say

"but your a lorry driver? are you telling me that you can manuvere a multi tonne machine at 60 mph on a 4 lane motorway in rush hour but you can not follow a precise list of instructions to the letter to create sustanance for your self?"

If I ever need an operation I will have the surgeon whip me up a cheese omlette with a simple dressed salad before he comes anywhere near me.

a reply to: nonspecific

beetroot juice concentrate....that is basically a sugar.

So you have beet sugar, fructose sugar, and aspartame?

I understand the concept of using multiple sweeteners to balance the spectrum of sweet. Since i typically eat low carb, i use splenda (not so healthy, but far healther than obesity) and erythritol (quite healthy, and natural, and promotes healthy teeth) to try to balance sweet. But using aspartame? I wonder if its for preservative or something other than sweetener?

ETA: when i eat yogurt, there is only one that I eat anymore:

activia.us.com...

On a side note: i think the cornstarch is the stabilizer.

It is just cheaper than sugar, the same as High fructose corn syrup, theres a thread all of its own on that bad boy.

My partner struggled with her weight gaining for years until I got involved, I wiped everything I have been told and did a lot of research.

I came up with a new routine and she is loosing weight fast and never struggles with cravings as the programme I came up with works in such a way as to limit the effects.

She has passed the ideas on to a few freinds and they are also now reducing there weight.

I'm not about to offer the plan for just $19.99 btw.

Cornstarch wil act as both a stabiliser and a thickening agent, the pectin also sets the yougurt, with that amount of thicking going on it makes me wonder how much water they manage to get in there?

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Regarding eating yogurt have you thought about buying plain live yogurt and addind your own flavourings?

Toasted oats ore better than you would think and really cheap, toasting them releases some natural sugars too and they are far better sugars than dextrose and fructose.

Also natural plain yogurt is pretty cheap and a versatile staple ingredient to have in the fridge, great in currys and can also be used to make flat breads.

It is also far more digestable than plain milk as some of the digestion process is already done by the turning of milk into yogurt.

I read a few articles a while ago that claimed that the ability to digest cows milk as an adult is relativley new on the grand scheme of things, about 5000 years.

I switched to goats milk and it is far better imo although I tend to keep it quiet in case people start thinking I am some kind of hippy.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

a reply to: nonspecific

The genetic mutation allowing for milk consumption originated in Neolithic farmers of the Fertile Crescent so is relatively recent and mostly pertaining to those of such origins.

We aren't allergic but for health purposes we use soya, almond or coconut milk instead of dairy, sometimes I buy dairy yogurt but it is normally the live, bio, fat free organic sort in large tubs, and mostly natural, sometimes Greek with honey, I use it in cooking, curries etc, or serving on fruit.

Have you tried making your own soy milk?

It is on my list of videos to make and so versatile it's silly.

I know soy gets a bad rep but in terms of what you can do with it it's almost unbeatable.

Home made tofu is just amazing both in taste and how you make it.


a reply to: theabsolutetruth

a reply to: nonspecific

It is too time consuming and not cost effective to make my own soya milk or tofu, I purchase both.

The soya milk is around £1, same for almond, supermarkets always have sales on these, I purchase about 10 litres a week, I have a growing child, he likes milk and I use it in cooking a lot. We also drink mineral or spring water, bottled so it makes sense to buy the soya milk rather than making it, I known it's easy to do but I have 3 jobs and I am also doing postgrad study.

I am not tring to push my cause but making soya milk and then tofu is really easy and a lot cheaper than £1 a litre.

It is also fun to make with the kids as they can help and understand how things work.

My son is seven and if he's playing on computer games and I shout "I'm making tofu" you can gaurentee that he will be straight to the kitchen with his little stool asking if he can turn the blender on and stir stuff.

Making soy milk also has great side products including soy flour but now it sounds like I am pushing it too far.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

a reply to: nonspecific

When my son was younger and I stayed at home before resuming work, I made things like that, which is okay when there's free time but I really do have better things to spend time on than making soya milk and tofu when I can purchase them easily.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

you've hit the nail on the head there luv, most schools in my region have eliminated or greatly reduced Home Ec classes when the kids of today need it the most not just to teach them how to cook but to budget a household's expenses as well, then maybe when they leave to go on their own they will be a little more prepared.

A friend of mine told me recently that the school was no longer acepting kids with packed lunches and that all children were required to have pre ordered premade dinners as it was now school policy to outsource lunch to ensure children were getting the correct amount of food/nutrients.

I think we can imagine the response.

a reply to: Daavin

a reply to: nonspecific

and there's the rub school boards are joining with food manufacturers to get sponsors,grants etc. and we get cheaper crappier food into our kids. There is no way in Hades that prepackaged food is healthier than home made with all the chemicals and preservatives in them not to mention the added sugar and sodium to make it taste good.