It was way past lunchtime, but was the time for mine and MW's lunch today.
So we shared lunch together with lovely friend too:
HM bread, scrape of mayo (I've run out of spread). slice of cheese and sliced tomatoes with salad greens. Delicious.
It was a lovely treat to sit down and catch up.
After my chum left I sat down to read through blogs, and I started to wander off the beaten track a little - clicking on the sidebar and reading blogs that others' follow too, that I may not have read before - lots of whom are listing shopping done this week.
I was surprised at the number of bloggers who buy snack foods as regular shopping items.
The 'weekly shop' of a couple of people looks more like the 'treat' shopping I do in Christmas week!
Mind you, over the years, I have visited relatives' and friends' houses where it is normal to have a kitchen cupboard totally dedicated to: crisps, chocolate, biscuits and cake bars. And carton drinks that I'd only ever buy if we were going on a long journey or someone was going into hospital!
I buy a multipack of crisps at Christmas, we have them to dip into things with a raw veg and hummus type meal.
We have chocolate as a treat every now and then: I might have some Maltesers when I go to the cinema, GD sometimes gets a Creme Egg from MW.
Biscuits are bought in when we are going to get house guests to stay, so they can have a biscuit with a cup of tea.
Cake is HM - I make fruit cake from Sept to Dec, which is munched on by MW avidly! I then make dessert a couple of times a month.
We certainly don't have these highly processed treats regularly - or they wouldn't be treats!
Even yogurts aren't regular features in my fridge.....
But I've seen packets of things like prawn crackers, doritos, mini cheddars and chocolate buttons in cupboards that kids can help themselves to freely.
Surely this isn't usual?
As always, your thoughts are welcomed.
I'm afraid it's pretty usual over here. I was guilty when the kids were growing up, but now that it's just the two of us, I try not to keep it around. It's so expensive and not good for us!
ReplyDeleteProbably is usual. None or very little ever finds its way into our house except the odd occasion when I know a guest might fancy some crisps or something similar. Nearly everything we eat that can be made at home, is made.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I'm with you on this one, and with Jan (above) since the kids flew the nest. Cakes are HM unless I see a crazy offer. As regards leftovers, they reckon 1/3 of food gets thrown, but not here at Flutterby mansion! They get served up again else -e.g. if enough, chicken becomes a curry the next night, risotto the next, and the carcass turns into a soup base. Thrift seems a no-brainer to me, and part of my contribution to the family kitty. Thanks for your thought-provoking post. Have a great week, Chris x
ReplyDeleteSince I've been meal planning we've cut down dramatically on snacks. I'll buy a few packs of crisps once a month or so for my son, but he now has far less than he used to. I buy no more than 2 packets of biscuits a month for the 2 of us and it seems like plenty. We certainly never had a cupboard full and no child of mine would've been allowed to help themselves to snacks without asking first! :)
ReplyDeleteOh it is usual in lots of homes I think.
ReplyDeleteBut not mine to a great extent, we usually buy a 'treat' or two for the weekends with my spends, for example Lovely Hubby has two bottles of beer and a bag of crisps for this weekend while he watches all three of the Six Nations rugby matches, and I have a can of cider (or two) and a box of Maltesers, I will be reading while he watches, I'm not a great fan of men with odd shaped
balls....although it links nicely to your last Blog post :-)
Some of the 'diet' and lifestyle type shows on the television though show folk with drawers and whole kitchen cupboards devoted to chocolate bars, crisps and canned drinks, not good or healthy as a regular thing in my opinion and as you say, how is it a treat if it's an every day occurence!!
The worst thing is I think that some folk let children help themselves from these cupboards whenever they want to and then wonder why they won't eat their evening meal with the family.
Maybe I'm old fashioned!!
Sue xx
Sue xx
No crisps, bikkies etc. here, except Christmas and maybe birthdays. All cake & desserts are homemade and inrequent (which makes them much more popular!). I am also quite glad my lasagne is home made this week. I dont feel eating horse is any way worse than eating cow (ask the cow for an unbiased opinion there)but I would prefer to know it up front. I would also prefer to know if I am getting an Bute in my lasagne. Old fashioned cooking is the way to go!!
ReplyDeleteNo crisps here either! I'll admit to picking up the occaisional packet of Lidl Ginger Nuts and making my own yogurt, but if you want a treat it's going to have to be a piece of fruit or a bowl of porridge:-) I've seen people use the salad tray in the fridge for chocolate though! Just eating my eccles cake made with the leftover pastry trimmings...now that's a treat!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with it as 'normal' and it was still normality for me even 5 years after I moved out from my parents' house as it was all I had known. Add to that the fact that those snacks and treats are the 'easy option' (in that they don't need any more preparation than opening a packet)... and many people just aren't educated about health, nutrition - or balance.
ReplyDeleteIt's only in the last year as I have been educating myself on food and nutrition that it's now a no-go in my household except on special occasions or when I fancy baking. Our 'Normal' is now what was normal in my Grandparents' day. We stick with simple, natural, as un-messed-with-as-possible food and it shows.
All the best.
Hannah xx
none of that here, just real food
ReplyDeleteIf I don't buy them, we don't eat them. Most of my shop now is vegetables and fruit with the occasional roast plus fish.
ReplyDeleteLove from Mum
xx
My cupboards used to look like that but these days unless I get them free from a freebie coupon all our occasional treats are home-made. I make a batch of muffins at least once a week for snack foods, usually made of homemade applesauce or frozen bananas that got past their prime. Much cheaper and much healthier!
ReplyDeleteWhen the children were young I kept a huge storage tub filled with snacks that I doled out. It had some chips, but more crackers, dried fruits, nuts, etc. Now that the oldest is on his own and daughter is the only one at home we keep a snack basket. It has nuts, a few pieces (individual) of candy, crackers, dried cranberries, and rice cakes. We buy an occasional package of cookies as a treat, but most of our items are homemade.
ReplyDeleteLast nights "snack" was homemade chocolate sheet cake with sliced strawberries (from the freezer). That will be our snack for the next few days.
No, not usual for me. Yes, sometimes biscuits and crisps, but to be regarded as treats. The latest food scandal has highlighted the problems with convienence food. Cooking from scratch makes much more sense. As a vegetarian, I concur with Lizzie's comment above. For me it's just as wrong to eat a cow as a horse. However, if you do eat it,you should at least know what you've paid for.
ReplyDeleteI used to buy crisps etc when my kids were little and took pack up to school. I love crisps so it is fatal for me to buy them. I try to resist temptation when shopping.
ReplyDeleteI have always cooked from scratch, it saves money and you know what you are eating. Today I made burgers from mixed beef and pork,onion, mixed herbs a little grated cheese and an egg to bind them. They were delicious and there was 4 to freeze for another day.
We buy crisps regularly - MrEH takes a pack with his lunch most days and they're my favourite treat food so I grab a pack occasionally too. I pretty much never buy sweet biscuits though - savoury crackers are a different matter - but cakes and biscuits are home made if we want them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what others hbave said about it being worrying that in so many homes it's acceptable for kids just to help themselves to food. Growing up I would have been hauled over the coals had I just helped myself to food from the cupboards!
Will admit to having a couple of these items in the house, in the filing cabinet, at the back, for when my son has friends over for games (15 yr olds). So many of them, dont eat this or that or just look at you when you present them with real food as if "what's that". I actually had one, ring his mother to bring something over, and she did! I didnt want my son to be embarrassed so i need keep small supply hidden away. I make the best home made pizza and they can take their stodgy processed pizzas and shove them!.
ReplyDeleteI do have a 'goodie' drawer! But it's woefully empty! I do buy crackers type crisp things for the teen boy's packing, but it's always whatever is on offer! It also contains whatever discount choc biscuits for HG lunch bag. He takes them to have on stand by incase the day turns out long ago. But all the Xmas chocs and things go in there too!
ReplyDeleteMy children NEVER helped themselves. In fact snacking was banned! Otherwise how would they feel naturally hungry?! I on the other hand will scoff it if it's there! So I don't buy it!!
I must confess to loving chocolate, but I don't buy it unless it is on special and a block can last quite a while.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to do homemade, but as we don't eat desserts and snacks all that often, it only happens when I'm in the mood to do it.
When my kids were small, I baked frequently. I would often have goodies cooling on the rack waiting for the next batch and the first would just disappear. I rarely had any trouble with our three boys eating their evening meal either. They wore out two refrigerators in about five years. Their appetites were legendary. Main reason being, they were outdoor kids; not sitting in front of either the idiot box or computer games. They would much rather be out riding their bikes, building forts or doing other 'boys own adventure' type things.
Not normal to me, but then I don't have kids, and I think a lot of families with kids do see it as normal to buy in snacks.
ReplyDeleteI was born in the 70s, and I understand from recent TV programmes on the subject that we were the first generation to be targeted by companies with pro-snack messages in ads, so we've grown up thinking snacking is normal, whereas previous generations just didn't do it.