Food

[LKSF]

Like you said you get what you put in. Time is the issue not so much the cost

When you're working time is money though. Whatever your hourly rate is it'll buy a lot of F&V, it'll just be not as good as your own and that is one way of looking at it.
That's how I came unstuck, i'd stay at work to earn more, then grab a takeaway on the way home as I cba to cook because it was too late.
Well, that and a Chinese was more tasty than something from the Supermarket

 

[6feetdown]

Interesting.
Personally I detest Veg...bad I know
She's got me slowly into butternut and a few carrots now...maybe the odd pepper...

But obsessed in meat .
Amount of time I look at takeaways etc and say right give me less ££ and I'll go down a buy decent meat instead. Get most of ours for last few years from local farm shop who gets it all local if not their own cattle.

Not much beats simple steak chucked on the grill.

Last Sundays effort.
Bit of Rib,4hrs later.
View attachment 55603
Then tomohawks for family bash
View attachment 55604
Not cheap but worth every mouthful.

Get the veg too. As said good veg is like good meat

 

[6feetdown]

When you're working time is money though. Whatever your hourly rate is it'll buy a lot of F&V, it'll just be not as good as your own and that is one way of looking at it.
That's how I came unstuck, i'd stay at work to earn more, then grab a takeaway on the way home as I cba to cook because it was too late.
Well, that and a Chinese was more tasty than something from the Supermarket

Tbf eat fresh probably 4 times a week sometimes more. I enjoy a takeaway but way prefer home cooked

 

[TiltyShaun]

We're largely a nation of salad dodgers and i've recently realised why, It's because what we're sold is crap, it's just tasteless rubbish.
My Dad used to grow our F&V when we were kids, but back then I wasn't really interested in the end result, even though it ended up on my plate. I'd help him in the garden, mainly doing the lawn mowing and rotovating of the veg plot, because I was interested in operating machinery rather than anything else.

FF to recent years, looking a bit 'Jeremy Clarkson', drifting into T2 diabetic territory and i've started to grow more and more of my own, the more I learned, the more I realised the huge difference between mass produced F&V and my organic stuff. The things you uncover about the chemicals used, how the soil is lifeless and abused it's no wonder it tastes of nothing and so many people don't want to eat it.
Many people push growing your own as a money saving exercise, if you're a working man it most definitely isn't, it's expensive. Good food is expensive, it always will be, you want crap buy cheap just the same as anything else. If you're retired, house husband/wife which means you have an alternative income then that changes a bit. What I mean is this; purely from a money perspective then it's better to put another hour in at work at your hourly rate and buy it, than an hour in the garden to grow it. There is of course much more to it than that, as said ^ quality, but also sense of achievement and enjoyment. It's great to be able to go into the Polytunnel/greenhouse/garden and pick some fresh produce, take it back to the house and cook it. Instead of eating sweets or crisps i'll eat a cherry tomato because it's just as good in terms of taste. It isn't easy, you have to want to do it and/or enjoy it.

I can get a big mac n fries for £1.99 and it's shite. It's fast, tastes good and I enjoy it, but it is utter rubbish. Rubbish is cheap.

When we cook we generally put lots of flavouring on to make things taste better. When you buy a really decent piece of steak or prep some good F&V you find you don't need to do that, the basic ingredient speaks for itself.

We have the odd one or two family or friends gatherings here in Summer and often i'll put out two plates of one type of F or V, one will be mine, one from the Supermarket. I'll ask which they prefer and 10/10 will go for the organic everytime. We even put two plates of raw carrots or toms on the buffet table and said nothing. At the end of the day all mine had gone, the plate of supermarket stuff still had some on it.

If you want fresh tasty carrots and parsnips let me know, i'll send you some for free, just pay the shipping. If it gets you understanding decent food and even growing it it will be worth it. I'll write more in my thread later

Great post and you certainly hit the nail on the head regarding home grown against commercially produced.
We have the same with our meat. Our grass only dexters are head and shoulders above the commercial grade. Even shop organic meat can be a marketing exercise rather than grass fed. We are lucky that we have a few other local producers that we will happily have their pork and lamb.
I see in your later post you mention T2D. Have you looked at reducing your carb intake? I was diagnosed as pre T2 and have got down to normal levels after cutting carbs. It is quite scary how many carbs are in some vegetables and fruit!
One of the key things about grow your own is you eat good quality when it is in season. Especially important when you look at fruit and veg. We are genetically hunter gatherers. Can gather tomatoes in the winter when they have all been eaten. Gorge in the summer and famine in the winter.
A lot to be said for “What did the agricultural revolution do for me?”…….make you fat and unhealthy!!

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

We're largely a nation of salad dodgers and i've recently realised why, It's because what we're sold is crap, it's just tasteless rubbish.
My Dad used to grow our F&V when we were kids, but back then I wasn't really interested in the end result, even though it ended up on my plate. I'd help him in the garden, mainly doing the lawn mowing and rotovating of the veg plot, because I was interested in operating machinery rather than anything else.

FF to recent years, looking a bit 'Jeremy Clarkson', drifting into T2 diabetic territory and i've started to grow more and more of my own, the more I learned, the more I realised the huge difference between mass produced F&V and my organic stuff. The things you uncover about the chemicals used, how the soil is lifeless and abused it's no wonder it tastes of nothing and so many people don't want to eat it.
Many people push growing your own as a money saving exercise, if you're a working man it most definitely isn't, it's expensive. Good food is expensive, it always will be, you want crap buy cheap just the same as anything else. If you're retired, house husband/wife which means you have an alternative income then that changes a bit. What I mean is this; purely from a money perspective then it's better to put another hour in at work at your hourly rate and buy it, than an hour in the garden to grow it. There is of course much more to it than that, as said ^ quality, but also sense of achievement and enjoyment. It's great to be able to go into the Polytunnel/greenhouse/garden and pick some fresh produce, take it back to the house and cook it. Instead of eating sweets or crisps i'll eat a cherry tomato because it's just as good in terms of taste. It isn't easy, you have to want to do it and/or enjoy it.

I can get a big mac n fries for £1.99 and it's shite. It's fast, tastes good and I enjoy it, but it is utter rubbish. Rubbish is cheap.

When we cook we generally put lots of flavouring on to make things taste better. When you buy a really decent piece of steak or prep some good F&V you find you don't need to do that, the basic ingredient speaks for itself.

We have the odd one or two family or friends gatherings here in Summer and often i'll put out two plates of one type of F or V, one will be mine, one from the Supermarket. I'll ask which they prefer and 10/10 will go for the organic everytime. We even put two plates of raw carrots or toms on the buffet table and said nothing. At the end of the day all mine had gone, the plate of supermarket stuff still had some on it.

If you want fresh tasty carrots and parsnips let me know, i'll send you some for free, just pay the shipping. If it gets you understanding decent food and even growing it it will be worth it. I'll write more in my thread later

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

Well said that man! Totally on your page with growing your own, in modern times we have to work longer hours to make enough to buy the expensive mass produced modified force grown food, but we have come to know no different! Houses are built now without vegetable patches!

 

[AHPP]

We're largely a nation of salad dodgers and i've recently realised why, It's because what we're sold is crap, it's just tasteless rubbish.
My Dad used to grow our F&V when we were kids, but back then I wasn't really interested in the end result, even though it ended up on my plate. I'd help him in the garden, mainly doing the lawn mowing and rotovating of the veg plot, because I was interested in operating machinery rather than anything else.

FF to recent years, looking a bit 'Jeremy Clarkson', drifting into T2 diabetic territory and i've started to grow more and more of my own, the more I learned, the more I realised the huge difference between mass produced F&V and my organic stuff. The things you uncover about the chemicals used, how the soil is lifeless and abused it's no wonder it tastes of nothing and so many people don't want to eat it.
Many people push growing your own as a money saving exercise, if you're a working man it most definitely isn't, it's expensive. Good food is expensive, it always will be, you want crap buy cheap just the same as anything else. If you're retired, house husband/wife which means you have an alternative income then that changes a bit. What I mean is this; purely from a money perspective then it's better to put another hour in at work at your hourly rate and buy it, than an hour in the garden to grow it. There is of course much more to it than that, as said ^ quality, but also sense of achievement and enjoyment. It's great to be able to go into the Polytunnel/greenhouse/garden and pick some fresh produce, take it back to the house and cook it. Instead of eating sweets or crisps i'll eat a cherry tomato because it's just as good in terms of taste. It isn't easy, you have to want to do it and/or enjoy it.

I can get a big mac n fries for £1.99 and it's shite. It's fast, tastes good and I enjoy it, but it is utter rubbish. Rubbish is cheap.

When we cook we generally put lots of flavouring on to make things taste better. When you buy a really decent piece of steak or prep some good F&V you find you don't need to do that, the basic ingredient speaks for itself.

We have the odd one or two family or friends gatherings here in Summer and often i'll put out two plates of one type of F or V, one will be mine, one from the Supermarket. I'll ask which they prefer and 10/10 will go for the organic everytime. We even put two plates of raw carrots or toms on the buffet table and said nothing. At the end of the day all mine had gone, the plate of supermarket stuff still had some on it.

If you want fresh tasty carrots and parsnips let me know, i'll send you some for free, just pay the shipping. If it gets you understanding decent food and even growing it it will be worth it. I'll write more in my thread later

How are you getting on at your altitude and latitude? And your soil?

 

[LKSF]

Great post and you certainly hit the nail on the head regarding home grown against commercially produced.
We have the same with our meat. Our grass only dexters are head and shoulders above the commercial grade. Even shop organic meat can be a marketing exercise rather than grass fed. We are lucky that we have a few other local producers that we will happily have their pork and lamb.
I see in your later post you mention T2D. Have you looked at reducing your carb intake? I was diagnosed as pre T2 and have got down to normal levels after cutting carbs. It is quite scary how many carbs are in some vegetables and fruit!
One of the key things about grow your own is you eat good quality when it is in season. Especially important when you look at fruit and veg. We are genetically hunter gatherers. Can gather tomatoes in the winter when they have all been eaten. Gorge in the summer and famine in the winter.
A lot to be said for “What did the agricultural revolution do for me?”…….make you fat and unhealthy!!

Yes I had to change my diet immediately, as you know if you don't the results can be quite serious with loss of eyesight and lower limbs. I don't know if you were offered a day course on it or if they still do it, back when I was diagnosed it was called 'Desmond' and it was well worth a day off to go do it. I know i've sited diet as one cause, but you can also be genetically prone to it and not enough exercise doesn't help either.

It was on that course I was taught that there is healthy veg and less healthy veg, but interestingly the line is drawn where it grows; above ground or below ground. Root veg such as carrots and parsnips have more sugar in them than say a lettuce or a cabbage, so we have to be careful not to eat too much of one to keep the balance right. I would say that most humans would put some root veg in their top 5 favourites, the reason is we're drawn towards sugar and savoury foods.

I agree that we should eat more seasonal foods, but also (to a lesser degree) take advantage of what air freight has brought us in the form of food from abroad. This just helps keep thing interesting, affordable and healthy, Winter toms and bananas etc should be seen as luxury foods maybe. We live longer now for many reasons, but one is perhaps that we have access to a good varied diet all year round if we choose.

As you've pointed out within the category of 'food grown in the ground' is a sub category of 'unhealthy food grown in the ground'. These are potatoes and anything produced from grain. They're classed a junk food so whilst we should carry on eating them, they should be small portions less often. I believe these have been historically created and grown in large quantities to provide cheap food for poor people, have lost that label and stuck with us. Ireland for instance was once a very poor country so they grew and ate piles of potatoes. It filled them up cheaply.

 

[LKSF]

Well said that man! Totally on your page with growing your own, in modern times we have to work longer hours to make enough to buy the expensive mass produced modified force grown food, but we have come to know no different! Houses are built now without vegetable patches!

They are, that's where the allotment comes in
Mass produced food is cheap though Mick, once you grow your own you realise this. On the run up to Christmas LidlAldi and others were selling a kg of veg for 50p, that's ridiculous. That is why we have dead and sterile soils in fields, everything fed and sprayed with chemicals. Farmers are forced into it to stay in business. It's a big subject and there is no easy answer, although the whittling down of farming subsidies to next to nothing hasn't helped. I believe farmers should be heavily subsidised as an incentive to grow better crops.

 

[LKSF]

How are you getting on at your altitude and latitude? And your soil?

It's been hard work and continues to be so. We get the same weather as surrounding areas, just that bit worse. It'll be 2 - 3 'c cooler up here and the wind 10 to 20mph stronger. I've got the same problems as anyone else, they're just amplified! The first year or two of turning any land into something decent to grow in are always difficult, just to differing degrees.
I'll write about it in my thread later, if you want to know more detail then just ask there.

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

It's been hard work and continues to be so. We get the same weather as surrounding areas, just that bit worse. It'll be 2 - 3 'c cooler up here and the wind 10 to 20mph stronger. I've got the same problems as anyone else, they're just amplified! The first year or two of turning any land into something decent to grow in are always difficult, just to differing degrees.
I'll write about it in my thread later, if you want to know more detail then just ask there.

I will ask more in the thread, well done, and keep up the good work!

 

[V8Druid]

Interesting.
Personally I detest Veg...bad I know

I detest most veg cooked .... will eat any of it raw - cooking it completely buggers up the tastes
nicely cooked spuds and a few green beans - blanched - that's it ....
but raw - let me at 'em - Pam's veggies from her boxes are superb - rarely make it into the house if I'm told to go pick some

 

[V8Druid]

Tbf eat fresh probably 4 times a week sometimes more. I enjoy a takeaway but way prefer home cooked

can not recall the last time I had a take away .. has to be many years ago

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

I detest most veg cooked .... will eat any of it raw - cooking it completely buggers up the tastes
nicely cooked spuds and a few green beans - blanched - that's it ....
but raw - let me at 'em - Pam's veggies from her boxes are superb - rarely make it into the house if I'm told to go pick some

Raw Carrots, lettuce, onions, mushrooms! What else would you want to eat raw?

 

[sjs5060]

Interesting.
Personally I detest Veg...bad I know
She's got me slowly into butternut and a few carrots now...maybe the odd pepper...

But obsessed in meat .
Amount of time I look at takeaways etc and say right give me less ££ and I'll go down a buy decent meat instead. Get most of ours for last few years from local farm shop who gets it all local if not their own cattle.

Not much beats simple steak chucked on the grill.

Last Sundays effort.
Bit of Rib,4hrs later.
View attachment 55603

Then tomohawks for family bash
View attachment 55604
Not cheap but worth every mouthful.

don’t know how far up in lancashire you are, but if you get down this way give https://www.thegreencow.co.uk/ a visit. Andy & lyndsey are great people who do their own cattle and pigs. Best bacon I’ve had form anywhere & the beef is always perfect.
They do mail order as well if anyone else wants to try them.

 

[V8Druid]

Raw Carrots, lettuce, onions, mushrooms! What else would you want to eat raw?

peas, beans, cauliflower florets, broccoli, mange tout, ...... peas are my favourite

 

[bobthebuilder]

Raw Carrots, lettuce, onions, mushrooms! What else would you want to eat raw?

runner beans are absoloutly gorgeous raw fresh off the row

 

[Storrsy]

Totally agree with most on this thread. I live at 1400 feet above sea level and it always rains so not the easiest but try to grow some stuff every year. You get to work out what does well and what doesn't. Runner beans, carrots, potatoes, onions and raspberries are generally the best. Don't have much luck with Tomatoes even in the greenhouse- the season just doesn't seem long enough.
Raw veg is great. Aside from spuds and parsnips can't think of much that I don't prefer raw, kale cooked is utterly rank in my opinion.
So true though about the time it takes. I generally spend an hour every evening during the summer months tending to veg but I view it as a hobby that produces something rather than trying to save money, my dad always grew our own veg growing up and so the taste difference has been ingrained into me

 

[Furniss]

When you're working time is money though. Whatever your hourly rate is it'll buy a lot of F&V, it'll just be not as good as your own and that is one way of looking at it.
That's how I came unstuck, i'd stay at work to earn more, then grab a takeaway on the way home as I cba to cook because it was too late.
Well, that and a Chinese was more tasty than something from the Supermarket

Good thread - lack of time means apart from a small patch our food (in the main) comes from small local bio producers, some comes from older retired or people with the time, often bartered with things we're equipped to do quickly.
Taste is another level.

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

peas, beans, cauliflower florets, broccoli, mange tout, ...... peas are my favourite

All agreed I suppose there scope for raspberry and green bean flan great stuff