No body has mentioned about pressure cooking. Great for cooking your beans etc. Also nobody mentioned the humble potato. They are only fattening if you use loads of butter and oil. I am Vegan,( Mostly plant based only ocassional processed food) for 5 years and vegetarian for over 25 years. I am 75 and am on no meds. Just because we get older doesn't mean we have to be ill. I am only vegan for the horror of animal agriculture. Doctors get hardly any training in nutrition which is really bad
Exactly. Adding carbs to oil or fat makes it worse. Instead, one can have a boiled/mashed potato and let it cool down completely, then it's safe to eat, COLQ
@Betty Amber potatoes are healthy when any oil, butter or cheese are added to them and when they are completely cold. Superfood can be sweetpotatoes and are best eaten baked in the over and cold too. U can make a research on that
Watching this podcast from South h Sudan. Being an aid worker, getting a balanced diet is challenging. But I am blessed to be a South Asian. So my go-to ingredients are peanuts, lentils, frozen spinach, frozen peas and canned tomatoes and another canned veg. I use dry mushrooms. Keep sushi nories and dry kelp in my luggage. Wherever I go in the world I take kefir seeds to make kefir, I also make fermented cabbage or vegetables I buy locally. I also keep chickpea flour which allows me to prepare a variety of meals. I have seeds for making microgreens at home. I lived alone most of my life and never thought it was challenging to cook for myself. After work it is my passion to nurture my kefirs and sprouts, getting foraged herbs and leaves to invent new recipes. When I go back to the UK I add offals to my diet and always buy cheap cuts of meat which I eat only once a week. Eating a simple meal with daal, brown rice and some greens with pickles is more satisfactory than eating expensive animal protein-rich foods. I have made my own diet, taking a bit from Japanese and Korean, from India, the middle east, Africa and from Europe. After work having a miso soup with some rice sprinkled with seaweeds, sesame seeds and salt with chillie flakes does not take much time. But it is nutrition and brings in diversity in meal planning.
Your diet looks very healthy indeed. Glad to know you can do it even when on the move. With the variety of plant based foods, the health giving properties of fibre will do wonders for your guts which help maintain overall health but this tends to be ignored and neglected by meat addicts.
Some easy things that I always do, hopefully can help a few people 1. In many recipes you can replace canned tomatoes with tomato paste. A tube of tomato paste contains about 3 times as many tomatoes as canned. The difference is the dehydrated water which makes it also more cost effective to transport. Also you can spend less time and energy reducing your dishes. Shorter cooking times also preserve the vitamins more. 2. Batch cooking, freezing, you should stay organised and defrost the food at room temperature ahead of time rather than using the microwave to defrost. 3. Figure out what you are wasting frequently and stop buying it 4. Eat the broccoli stems! The core of the stem is deliciously sweet 5. Frozen sweetcorn Vs canned. Frozen allows you to use as little or as much as your recipe requires. Frozen is also better for the environment if you go through a lot of it because cans take a lot of energy to produce
NEVER eat inorganic sweetcorn, it's the only thing pigs won't eat, it has a thing called BT toxin in it, that ruptures the insects stomachs, so what so you think that does to us? If there is such a thing as leaky gut, then could that be why?
I buy dried beans or chick peas and soak and cook the whole packetful. When drained and cooled I freeze them in a single layer in a suitable bag. Once frozen you can give the bag a bash and the pulses will separate. It is easy to take out as many or as few as you want. It works well with whole grains too. Canned pulses are handy but I prefer the flavour of home cooked ones.
Good idea. I do a similar thing with onions and celery. I cut a bag of onions put in a bag in freezer. Lay out flat. So I always have cut onions etc ready to use.
Thank you all so much - I am doing the Zoe intermittent fasting and as I am retired found using the spare morning time before my first meal at around 11 a.m. to do food planning and preparation such as a batch cook or fermenting, it gives me a challenge as I live alone. I am so grateful for all this useful support and I am more energetic.
Good for you ! I went Whole Food Plants at 70 and at 75 am getting good results. (outa obesity, off insulin, lower BP Rx) Especially at this time of life, I feel it';s important to get as healthy as we can, and to Simplify, & Pivot ! I found the simplest most effective way of eating and practice Pivoting, which is, if anything is not available I just Pivot to using something else, no worries ! Takes the worry out of eating and I translate it all into miles walked in Gratitude & Joy in the nearby City Wilderwood !(I.E.-Small city trails & nearby forest parks & paths). Stay Vertical, Ventilating, & Ambulatory....'cause these days, especially, THAT'S FREAKIN' GOOD ENOUGH! (and the other F word works even better there!)😄 Have a KOKO life! ! (KOKO means "KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON"!)🥰☯
Intermittent fasting has become a part of my life. I've been doing it for about 5 years now and it definitely saves money on food and I feel a lot better energy wise!
I advocate Rupy's brief comment about cooking being an act of self love and caring for yourself. So agree with this and is a powerful positive to get me cooking more.
I went through a period of poverty during the pandemic; I had no income, rent & tax debts, and very little money in the bank. I was forced to start using a food sharing app (OLIO), and cooking foods that I wasn't used to such as root vegetables, cabbage and lentils. I think I actually ate more healthily than ever before; red cabbage is really cheap and really healthy, same goes for root vegetables such as swede, and lentils. Tinned sardines are also fairly cheap (though they vary a lot in price; the most expensive ones can be 5x the price of the cheapest ones) and very healthy, same goes for baked beans. You can get brown bread for around 50p a loaf if you shop at the right time when discounts are applied, or free from OLIO. You can also save a lot by buying in bulk and freezing. All that's needed is common sense, a basic understanding of nutrition and the will power to overcome the desires that have been implanted in your brain by advertising.
A few years ago I ended 40+ years of vegetarianism. I'm surprised no one on the program has mentioned Frances Moore Lappe's cookbook Diet for a Small Planet, which offers recipes for COMBINING legumes, seeds, & grains to make complete proteins. A person CAN get enough protein from plants, but the miracle here is that adding a LITTLE animal protein GREATLY multiplies the protein available from the plants. You eat less animal and more plant without having to carry around an ideology. Delicious, too!
When I moved to a plant based diet I followed The Happy Pear vegan chefs and watched their TH-cam videos, I also bought their recipe books. I often batch cook using a large shallow casserole and I use a steamer for fresh and frozen vegetables. I find this method easy and convenient and the food is tasty and nutritious. I recommend this style of cooking to everyone.
Hi from Cape Town South Africa. Brilliant and must needed show! Have you been spying on my kitchen we Have implemented all your suggestions over the past 3 years. Even gone a step further and growing our own veg we now eat and create 90% of our meals from the garden. Hard work but rewarding when you see the price of food in the shop's.
For those without the freezer space, batch cooking for the week is an idea. The pasta sauce of day 1 can be spiced up for the chili with rice of day 2, then become a potato topper of day 3.
I’m a retired single. I usually always have at least 3 soups in my freezer, in one cup and two cup containers. So easy to throw in microwave when I don’t want to cook. They always have beans in them. Then I’ll have some broccoli/spinach along with them. So easy to make a big crockpot of healthy soup and freeze. Also gave up added sugars, flours and processed foods. Feel great and all of my bloodwork has been normal (had been high).
Thank you for this podcast. I've been batch cooking for years, because it's so economical. It's also fun to take out a batch from the freezer and decide what you're going to do with it for dinner - am I going to add some tomatoes, or some spices, have it with pea pasta or potatoes? The options are endless 🙂💚 There's a generation that does not know how to prepare meals economically, because of being brought up on highly processed convenience foods and takeouts. My mother is of that generation who always knew how to be thrifty with cooking, sewing, knitting, and some of that has rubbed off on me (although perhaps not the knitting, I'm rubbish😆). It feels quite sad that basic life skills could disappear. However with guys like you educating and re-educating people all may not be lost 🙂
Thoroughly agree particularly at the constant lie spread about that it is difficult when it isn't, and that processed food is cheaper. Just to take one example put a 1kg of potatoes next to 8 bags of crisps and tell me that processed is cheaper. The same goes for just about everything else except, the big exception, frozen veg. Even there you should buy the veg fresh and cheap in season, frozen out of season. Sort your pantry shelves into basics; pasta, rice, couscous, polenta, beans, lentils etc, then the supplemental flavours to spice them up, canned fruit and veg for out of season, or to build salads, and lastly cans/jars of protein which is mostly fish of many varieties. Make pasteurised sauces in jars as bases for more complicated recipes. Italian and Indian recipes work best with these.
Great video, thanks guys I came from a family of ten, to budget my Mum would have 2 meatless meals a week. Usually macaroni cheese, curried eggs, stir fried veggies with peanuts. Later I learnt the meat, eggs, cheese and milk protein is considered a whole protein and could be replaced with a combination of grains, beans, peas, seeds and nuts. As I made friends from different cultures and travelled my diet became more colourful and diverse and I developed a liking for international flavours and dishes. The simple and the plain are the most nutritious. Sugar, meat and fat aren't necessary to survive. I find them hard to give up but I'm slowly succeeding.
food is 2-4 times more expensive, that's 200-400%, when inflation is 8%, so work that out and then come back and tell me that the government and food industry care about us?
Slow cooker has been amazing for us. We buy the cheaper meats now fill the slow cooker and that batch becomes the base for many other meals. From one slow cooker batch we'll have fajitas the first night, I'll make up some lasagne with some of it, taco soup. Sometimes we just need to add bits to it on the day. Different spices make it a completely different meal and fresher veggies added give another texture. Because we'll often be adding something to the main meal; bread, a small side salad, rice, pasta, we usually get around 15 portions out of our slow cooker! Portion size is very important too. We often eat a lot more than we actually need to.
Thank you for covering the protein myth. I grind flax, chia and pumpkin seeds, keep it in a jar in the fridge and sprinkle it on any dishes. Also dried tvp soy mince is super cheap and convenient for adding to ragu.
I live on an island where everything is very expensive here on Martha’s Vineyard in the United States. The struggle is real. Our food is awful so trying to eat healthy. It’s very hard. Getting food from the farm is wonderful but extremely expensive and most people cannot afford it but somehow we have to find a way to support our businesses so all of us can survive.
Love this. I've learned to adapt to eating this way over recent years. I think a big problem is many people don't know how to cook and get put off when they see the celebrity cooking programmes on TV and think it's too complicated and expensive. Cooking and nutrition are not taught properly in schools anymore, very little timetabling is devoted to it in the secondary school curriculum. Both my children have gone through secondary school with out of date Food Tech being taught. It's stuck in the 1980's, as they're still being taught to use artificial sweeteners and margarine for example. Learning how to make cakes, pastries and fruit salad with sugar syrup for example. They're not taught how to batch cook, to make basic base sauces, or how to cook healthy meals on a budget (that you were talking about). Nothing helpful for real life. Would Professor Tim Spector would be interested at some point in approaching the UK's Secretary of State for Education, to advise them on updating and improving the secondary school curriculum for Food Tech?
I feel it would be way too expensive to do “ batch cooking “ in schools. However most recipes can be altered to cook more. I used to cook for up to 8 men plus my family at a time on a farm as my mother did. It’s certainly not difficult at all. Now I still never use an oven for only one meal and will cook often two meat meal bases. Sauce bases go for at least two to four meals with two being frozen. It’s a matter of planning and buying when produce is cheap. I think I got a shock when watching this to realise that so many don’t do it.
Any resourceful teacher will find a way of teaching the concept of batch cooking to kids who are prepared to learn. You could do, for example, a class-sized meal with different groups of kids cooking different parts of the meal then combining what they make at the end of the cooking time. To ensure all children get a range of experience you simply change each group activity from week to week.
@@susanloffhagen7788 I don't mean literally batch cook in school but the pupils learn how to do this by learning how to make a basic tomato sauce, mince sauce, vegetable sauce as a small portion (in class) but be taught that these can be multiplied in size to be frozen into portions and used for creating other dishes on other days. Or learn how to cook (in class) a small shepherds pie, curry, fish pie, chilli, soups and again understand these can be cooked in bigger sizes at home to divide up and freeze for other meals etc. The economising techniques you use could be taught too for example.
@@hea7055 Maybe the UK school I attended in the early 1970s was way ahead of its time, but I was taught how to buy, prepare and serve meals, planning for the nutritional and economical needs of the person you were cooking for. The GCE course I followed was called Food and Nutrition. Although I really disliked the teacher, who at the time seemed to be so critical of my efforts, I have used what she taught me to huge benefit throughout my life.
@@jemima9384 That's interesting. Sounds good what you learnt. This subject has changed over the decades in the UK schools. I studied what Food Tech is now, was then called 'Home Economics' in the 1980's at school. It wasn't that good. My Mum was a 'Domestic Science' teacher in the late 1960's-1970's, which seemed to be a lot better and was what Home Ec and Food Tech stemmed from.
Thank you so much for this, love eating the zoe way, and love to batch cook too, as a disabled person, I have cerebral palsy like a stroke, and frozen chopped vegetables onions or soffrito, and frozen Mediterranean veg is a lifesaver, and lots of canned beans too
I don't think you can go very wrong with home made soups. It is so easy to make and there is no end to the variety; they are so satiating and warming in the winter. I have become addicted and have one every lunch time. Some may say soup is boring but believe me, home made soup tastes totally different to tinned or packet. I even have it during the summer time and freeze extra portions. I have even had it for breakfast during the cold winters.
I had a go at making my own minestrone soup and it was absolutely delicious. I have forgotten how I did it now. I also have a delicious recipe for cauliflower soup made with a very small amount of butter,curry powder (tiny bit) and a very small amount of milk with water. It is absolutely delicious.
Part of learning to cook is tasting it! For example, discerning if you want more or less of each ingredient. Cooking is an art, only baking is science! Tasting soups as you cook it, is half the pleasure!
Great advice. Ready made food is usually way more expensive than cooking plant based ingredients from scratch. Let's hope cost of living crisis will nudge people towards healthier food. Good to dispel the myth that tinned and frozen veg and fruit are unhealthy. I've noticed that the supermarket own brand budget ranges of tinned peas and sweetcorn have no added salt or sugar. I eat sardines and mackerel tinned in water, tomato sauce or Olive oil. Supermarket own brands are good value.
I am already a fan of Dr. Rupuy's DOCTOR'S KITCHEN, but it was only by chance that I came across this video presentation. Thank you for sharing and uploading it on your channel. I will recommend you to other people and I will definitely watch this presentation again.
Three Onions, add tsp of garlic paste, ginger paste.Brown and caramelise, then add tomato puree and half tsp of turmeric powder.Add tsp Garam Masala.keep simmering. That's the base.It's called Turkha.It should be nice and reddy-brown.Add any main ingredient you wish. Indian food wasn't originally called Curry.That's a Brit thing. 'Lentil curry' is Dhal.
Thanks to Tim & his DIET MYTH I eat sauerkraut almost daily since his book came out in 2015. Plus kefir, artichokes and only lait cru cheese like Parmigiana Reggiano Merci Tim !!! Made a big difference in my health ❤
I love the way Jonathan and his guests (usually) keep the discussion lighthearted and entertaining, but at the same time providing oodles of useful information. It helps set the show apart from many others, which can be a bit staid.
If you are worried about cooking for one, cook for you and a friend, or a person who has just had surgery or a sick family member. This simple act of community is as nutritious as the food! 🥰
How about we all say a big thank you to our farmers who work so hard to bring produce to our mouths. Without them the supermarkets would have nothing on their shelves. Let's give them a big round of appreciation and not forget what they do for us.
So great. Thank you. Pay attention to spinach and mushrooms, they should not kept for several days because of histamine building up. No sugar/no sweet intermittend fasting or not snacking is good for the Budget and the health.
As a massive nightshade vegetable intolerance sufferer - it took me 20 years to identify -, I can see lots of people turning to them (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, aubergines, chilies, okra and goji berries) in an effort to eat cheaper and healthier. I wonder how many people might struggle with it and realise that they have that intolerance. We should talk about it more I think.
Yes, I’m sure many people will discover they are allergic to some FODMAPs - I’m on my own food journey in regards to these… Perhaps the Zoe folk could explore IBS etc… 🧐
I suffer form a lot of intolerances. Mostly fruit, many veg, dairy and a few meats. I’m surprised I’m still alive quite frankly haha. But eating healthy is something I avoid due to the pain it causes me.
They won’t investigate IBS because they are too hooked on ‘more fibre is better’. I have suffered with IBS for many years and only recently experienced relief from symptoms by removing plants from my diet.
Carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, onions, lentils, garlic, basil, thyme, and vegetable stock cubes. Make the perfect vegan winter soup/stew. To be the healthiest corpse in the graveyard eat this on a regular basis and enjoy.
“Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” is a great book that help me learn how to cook without a recipe. Since I’ve gotten it, my food has tasted better. I’ve been using healthier ingredients and there’s been much less waste because I know how to improvise and use ingredients on hand. It saves so much money when you can use ingredients you already have to make some thing good without relying on a recipe.
I'm retired living on social security at $1186 per month. I can't afford EVERYTHING organic and pastured but I do pay the price for anything on the EWG dirty dozen and/or grown by local farmers. I have found since I simplified my diet to strictly fresh whole foods, and COMPLETELY STOPPED eating prepared foods (restaurants, hotbar at grocery store, processed foods) I've saved enough money to afford quality meats and vegetables. (I have chickens for eggs)
I’m a diabetes nurse in an area of quite high deprivation. One of the problems I see with vegetarian diets is that they’re also high in carbohydrate because most of the legumes contain twice the amount of carbohydrate than protein, and then patients have (mostly large) portions of rice, pasta etc with their meals.
It’s eye opening to hear people don’t seem to generally cook for more than one meal. My mother and grandmother, or any other home cook I have ever known, always cooked more and are the left over the next day. I thought that was the norm.
Thank you very much for this. I live alone and have a busy job so batch cook at weekends, but have been then just eating the same meal for a few days in a row. I really like the idea of making a base and then adding different veg to increase variety and interest.
I boil 3 days worth of potatoes for two people.bring water to a boil with lid on to save heat.As soon as the water is starting to boil turn heat compleately off cover pan with oven gloves around pan ,use washing pad to join them.cover lid with extra oven gloves or towels.The potatoes will cook in their own heat.leave for ages until water nearly cold .check potatoes are soft by sticking a knife in one .if soft let them cool and transfer into a tub .then just microwave each day the bit you need.time saver and energy saver.Do this with veg too.use steamer pans on top if you have them
Having done a lot of informed choices about my diet and improved my metabolic health, I want to share my BIG nuggets of wisdom; 1) Whole unprocessed or lightly processed food like grassfed protein sources, raw milk, local veg, local eggs, etc. This has been a powerhouse of changing my health. 2) More veg and less fruit. After 50yrs of eating fruit, I acquired a fatty liver and gout flare ups. Fructose is poison in my body. 3) Red grassfed meats are not just about protein; they are rich in so many minerals. 4) Reduce carb intake and substitute with satiating unprocessed fats.
Totally agree. I wish the establishment would turn around this oil tanker of brainwashing advice that we need snacks. It did me in during my middle years. How DID I survive childhood roaming for hours happily with friends and only coming back at six for tea when I felt hungry.😅 I would say I always had access should I want it to bread and butter but usually didn't fancy that, surprise surprise!
@jomandy5688 eating continuously is contributing to hyperinsulinaemia which causes a great list of illnesses. At least if you don't eat between meals (like we didnt used to), your insulin gets a chance to fall intermittently.
I add cannellini beans or lentils to a minced beef stew which traditionally I only add potatoes, carrots and onions to (well, also tomato puree, herbs and stock etc). The addition of beans or lentils adds more protein and fibre. It's also a 'needs must'. Also, as the great Jack Monroe taught me in her wonderful cookery books (one of which is based on food bank tins to make complete meals which are delicious) ... Jack taught me to buy the cheapest baked beans and rinse off the sauce because they are cheaper than tinned beans without the sauce. Another thing I do, when frying onions, celery, mushrooms and herbs etc..., I set some of it aside for the next day and pop into the fridge. Then the next day I will use it to make the base for an omelette. I also make an absolutely delicious sardine omelette using a whole tin of sardines and four eggs. I like it with peas, onion and tomato puree, oregano too etc etc. I top the omelette with finely grated padano cheese (which I buy from chilled in supermarket and then I keep this in the freezer)... I live alone so the four egg sardine omelette is absolutely fine saved the next day because it is too much for one serving. Sardine omelette is really nice. There is a knack to cooking the sardines nicely, which involves 'drying it out' on the hob so the omelette is not too soggy. Peas go really well with this recipe, along with tomato puree. Jack Monroe also has a brilliant sardine and tomato soup recipe, which, again, requires a special way of cooking and I can tell you it really is delicious. This recipe will be free online on Jack's website. It is also in her foodbank book called TIN CAN COOK. Zoe should interview Jack Monroe as she has worked tirelessly to promote healthy eating on a very small budget. One of her other cookbooks is called COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP.
what a brilliant and timely discussion. Just finished Tims book which is excellent. I have an insta pot and thats a game changer so great for cooking dried beans and curries and whole grains
24:36 Remind your wife that it’s “Best before, not Poisonous after” That was the mantra that I grew up with. We often ate expired food because dad would salvage behind the grocery store for expired items. This was before food banks and we were poor. Most canned goods can be eaten well beyond the best before date. For home cooked foods, just package and freeze them and they’ll be fine for at least three months.
In my area southern Texas.... I find that a few staples have not changed price very much over the past 3 years: Fresh Bananas. Tomatoes. Cucumbers. Spinach. Leaf lettuce. Cabbage. Parsley. Frozen: Peas. Broccoli. Mixed vegetables. Canned: Tomatoes. Beans.
@David wolfe Yes, except for regular ground beef which is still around $3.99 a pound. But some important fruit and veggies are over the top right now. Lemons and garlic went up 50%. Turnips and rutabagas are $1.68 a pound. Boo hoo hoo for me!
@David wolfe Yes. Animal products have increased in price. But a lot of common produce also. Things like fresh garlic, lemons, berries, apples, grapefruit, melons, peppers, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, salad kits, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes all took a 30 to 40% price hike here near Houston. Ouch! .
If you have space, grow a lime and lemon tree. I’m in the U.K. and have one of each in pots. I hardly ever need to buy citrus. The bushes come into my little front porch from October to April. The lime leaves can be used in cooking too.
Spices (and knowing how to use spices, blooming etc) is also so important. They are not always expensive when you buy in bulk (and share with family for example). SUCH a difference in getting different tasting meals with just a few simple bases.
Sweat 3 crushed garlic cloves in olive oil in a large pan, add 2 tins drained cannelloni or even butter beans. Add 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped parsley,1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup pecorino cheese. Tasty.
Fresh red meat is very healthy if we cook it at home - without preservatives and other additives. Please be sure to differentiate between a bought pie and a home cooked one.
I don't understand why people worry so much a protein. I have been vegan 28yrs and its not been problem for me. So far despite the cost of food going up l am not finding it costs too much more. I eat a lot of lentils and beans l get them cheaper from Indian shops. I also use frozen vegetables and some tinned ones. When l look at the cost of meat and dairy l don't know how people afford them especially with those with families.
Another really interesting podcast with lots of good ideas. One big area that could be covered is cooking on a budget with children in mind, especially when they’ve been used to an ultra processed diet. If money is short you want to make sure your children will eat the food with the new style diet.
Atomic Shrimp raised a really good point about feeding yourself on a tight budget, namely the cost of your time. For someone on minimum wage who literally needs to work every hour they can to keep a roof over their head and the heat on, every minute spent cooking is a minute they can't be earning. A recipe that takes an hour to prep and cook has already cost them £11.44 before you start on the ingredients and cooking fuel. Worth bearing in mind when you find yourself thinking "Why don't they just cook from scratch?".
I found out that I can cook a pound of beans, any type, in 30 minutes in the instant pot. Very surprising, and this has really helped stretch the budget. If there are beans always cooked, there is always something to eat. You simply rinse a pound of beans, put them in the instant pot, then cover with water 2 inches higher than the beans, put the lid on, and hit the "bean" button. That is all there is to it. :)
It's time we all as grown ups become adults again and teach children how to cook properly at school as a vital skill, confidence with handling raw food as a lot of parents don't have the time or knowledge themselves x
@@luciafarthing564 I do know what a teachers life is like and they do an incredible job. I just think alongside academic subjects, at a base level of education, the children all need to learn to feed themselves and their families healthy food and manage their finances, I think many parents don't know how to do this. Skills in these areas could help with the load on the NHS and mental and social services in the future.
Maybe parents should learn how to cook first and teach their children. The best way and easiest way for kids to learn is their parents being the example. Parents can easily read cooking books, cooking blogs, cooking magazines, cooking videos. They have the finances and they are the ones who also do the grocery shopping and the cookingfor their kids.... My mum taught me how to cook and she was not a stay at home mum and we were not wealthy at all. We were 5 children 4 girls and one boy and we all had to learn whether we liked it or not. I love cooking so it was a breeze for me. But even my sister who hates it had to do it too. In the end that also helped my mum since the more we grew the more we would participate in cooking and other chores. So it's a win-win situation for the kids and their parents. When we were out of the house we all knew how to feed ourselves from budgeting the grocery shopping, to the grocery shopping list, buying the best deals at the supermarket, cooking the meal, meal prep etc... My mum thought it was as important as teaching us how to brush our teeth. Honestly I grew up thinking it was normal. If your own parents don't teach you that, who is supposed to teach you those skills. Neighbors.... Also she is Congolese and it's still normal for African families to teach kids how to cook. You don't get to choose since it's entirely part of raising a kid. But I grew up in France and later realized that even in France where we are so proud of our gastronomy it's not so much part of the culture anymore. Parents want kids, parents choose to have kids but they don't want to do the basic work anymore.
@@heredianna2496 I agree that's the way it should be, your family sound great and gave you fantastic skills for life, and there are still many families who's culture encourages this way of life, but unfortunately the prevalence of ready meals and instant gratification available to everyone now has encouraged a world where diabetes, obesity and mental health problems after the last few years are overwhelming our health services. For referance im 79 and live near London I still cook every day.
Indeed. I know so many families who simply never have a home cooked meal as the parents do not know the basics of cooking. One neighbour is complaining because the price of frozen pizza has gone up so much that her children go hungry.
I've always meal prepped like this. I'll cook 3 chickens, strip the meat, freeze it in meal size portions and make fajita's, curries etc. 51b mince cooked together then frozen in meal size portions, goes on to make mince and gravy, mexican tortillas, pies, lasagne, spag bog, the list is endless. I'll slow cook a large portion of chunked beef and make various meals out of it. I tend to bulk out with lentils, carrotts etc, it's the way I was taught to cook and now, I am so thankful I was taught this way by my Mum and Grandmothers.
Many people on a tight budget cannot buy in bulk as they simply can't afford to spend a big proportion of their weekly/monthly money on a single ingredient. There would be nothing left for other essentials. It means it is impossible to take advantage of bulk deals on groceries. I can't afford to buy 3 chickens or 5lbs minced beef at a time. I'm in my sixties and I have been cooking all my life so I do know how to cook cheap nutritious food.
My main 'trick' is to make a large thick basic soup / stew. Then when I reheat a portion, I add a few quick cooking items (sliced mushroom or garlic, some greens and so on).
Wow. Good to hear that cheese is ok now. Need to find the episode on that. We eat 85% chocolate after lunch and dinner. We have extra virgin olive oil every day. I pour it over my lunch. And we have free range eggs with beautiful orange yolks. When they are on sale, we buy lots.
I use a recipe app, Paprika that lets me store recipes, let's me do menu planning and will generate shopping lists and keep a pantry inventory. I only cook dinner/lunch a couple of times a week and I do batch cooking using an instant pot as much as possible. Then I vacuum seal and freeze the leftovers. Eating this way saves money and time. It results in less spoilage because I only shop for what I'll eat. And it gives me access to a variety of tasty and health meals. It also helps that I have a wide variety of spices, and kitchen equipment. If you can treat cooking as a hobby, rather than a burden, that helps too! I love to cook! I also have a waring vacuum sealer gun which has reusable bags and I seal anything that oxidation can spoil, this at leat doubles the life of most stuff in the fridge. I live alone and it's one way I avoid spoilage.
Exactly. I'm 40 years old and live in the center of beautiful Heidelberg Germany. I inhabit a flat with 2 students, to save money. I can walk to work (ICU nurse), but I have an old used bike for less then 200 bucks. I don't need to travel. Heidelberg is paradise. No car, no kids. I only work part time so I have enough money for my hobbies: Bouldering, Running, Gaming on Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Switch (when our house burns down, I can't lose those games, I own them in the cloud). Life is beautiful nowadays, why would I waste it at work. I only buy cloths when I really need them, mostly cheap. You can eat healthy for 5 bucks a day (coffee included). I consider whole grain pasta to be healthy, but you should have them split up in to maximum 2 meals a day, and with a good amount of healthy plant seed oils (I prefer olive). Other than that I eat nuts and vegetables. Only drink water, coffee, and tea without milk or sugar. If you're vegan have your vit.B12 and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids (like algae oil), maybe vit.D if you're a nightshift worker or not out in the sun much, and you're good. I'm 40 years old, athletic, everyone thinks I'm much younger. Take good care of your bodies folks and enjoy life 💟
I recently found out there are websites that give tips about what you can substitute with what so you don't have a whole array of spices you only use once a while or are stuck with it when you find the dish isn't according to your taste.. It has really helped me trying out new recipees
Love this video thank you! Valuable advice, I also add grated carrot and courgette to my speg bog chilli even my children don't notice it as it just cooks down and looks like mince meat.
Dried chickpeas are very cheap and are super easy to cook in the slow cooker. 1 cup per litre of water, 6 -8 hours. I cook up to 4 cups at a time e and freeze them in two cup bags.
When I first came across Dr Rupy I bought three of his books with Tim I bought a four book (amazon) deal (not read the twins one yet) I will now get Ruby's 4th thus evening up the score, maybe this is what my retirement is about? I'm certainly learning more of the 'various' different cultural basics and loving it and yes eating less meat and fish. Great to see you three together. losing potatoes, bread and pasta is really difficult for me though, instead of a fillet steak they are my new guilty occasional pleasures, how things change?
Great podcast as usual, I am just surprised to hear dr Tim Spector's comments about protein intake not being an issue at all. Both guests sound very confident on the topic, but new studies are coming, the old ones were quite badly set up, and apparently they are showing that a daily protein intake of 1,2 g/kg is needed to prevent sarcopenia. Resistance training is also essential, as doing aerobic training alone, even with a sufficient protein intake, is going to lead to muscle mass. The experts on the topic, such as dr Brad Schoenfeld and dr Stuart Phillips, actually recommend around 1,6 g/kg and even more, if doing resistance training. Given that we still need data, dr Spector's confidence on the topic surprises me, and dismissing recommendations as marketing isn't fair, given the evidence so far. I would love him to be right, because it would mean that we can reduce consumption of meat, fish and cheese, but there's no way that you are going to meet the above-mentioned targets by eating beans.
You absolutely can get enough protein per day on a vegan diet. I eat around 130g - 140g for heavy weight training 5 days a week, having previously been a meat eater. It just takes more planning, but you get a whole lot more variety with veggies. I use tempeh, tofu and plant phd protein powder (previously phd diet cows whey). 👍👍
@@foxInGloves Thanks for sharing this Fox. You are very well organised! As a food lover, I had serious issues w tempeh, and also tried some veg-sourced proteins and they were really hard to swallow. They also look to me like processed food, so I am still a bit skeptical about it. I do have some whey protein but try to minimise their use, and get real food. 130 g is a rather high target even on an animal and veg-based diet, and beans have ⅓ the protein that you can find on meat, cheese, peanuts, so I guess you'd have to assume a rather high amount of protein powder, to get to that target on a vegan diet. I do appreciate that many people are experimenting with this as it's certainly good for the planet.
@@luca6635 not everyone likes tempeh or tofu, it's definitely about how you prepare it for sure. Tempeh is fermented soya beans so not processed at all. I only have one, two max plant protein shakes a day (same amount previously when using whey). I also eat organic soba noodles made from soya which has more protein than chicken breast although does have minimal carbs. My protein intake is exactly the same as it was when eating meat for weight training, the only difference I suppose is a higher carb intake which isn't an issue when heavy weight training. I've seen greater gains on my lifting capacity. It's not for everyone and most people probably can get away with much less protein which makes it easier to make up daily intake. There should never be pressure to change the way you eat, unless you feel you could benefit from one or two meatless days a week.
Brilliant. But nobody mentioned steaming, where you are cooking two layers of foods one on top of another. Also, soya beans are the highest protein bean and can be soaked and added to cheap stews.
Surprised that the concept of omega ratios and inadequate dietary intake of omega 3 lipids is never mentioned. Not only are they critical essential nutrients, but are a weak link in fresh & cooked food preservation. Seed oils in general have not only higher levels of unsaturated lipids, but in western diets a major source of omega-6 fatty acids. These are responsible for pro-inflammatory prostaglandin cascades and should be recognised, along with lack of dietary fibre, as a major contributor of diet to disease processes and obesity. Strict Vegan and vegetarian diets are often deficient in omega-3s and fat soluble vitamins A, D,, E & K2
In Indonesia people leave the food out all day and then put it in the fridge at night. Then they will eat it 3 days later even if it has meat in it. Admittedly it has more spices in it, but my take away is that fears of food poisoning are severely over blown. Also, I have reheated rice many times without consequence. Just put your food in the fridge within a couple of hours of cooking and use within 3 days for meat and 5 days for no meat/dairy. You will be fine.
I've been "bulk cooking" all my life. I can not understand how anyone thinks cooking is difficult. There are countless recipes that just require you to roughly chop up the ingredients and put them in a pot in the right order. I use three sets of storage bottles, heating them in the oven and adding the food whilst hot so it is sealed. I use tall 700g passata bottles, short wide 700g Gherkin jars, both which hold 2-3 serves, and single meals in 360g tomato concentrate jars. Being glass they are easy to pasteurise, do not interact with the food and are tough. The sizes fit perfectly on fridge shelves. Write the date and what it is on the lid. Cooking for yourself is very cheap, satisfying and given the saved meals are reheated, very quick. Supplement with side vegetables and salads some of which can also be stored and served as needed. The fact that this needs to be said over and over again, shows just what a sad state we are in.
Good to see Michael Greger's book, How Not To Die, on Tim Specter's bookshelf. I'd love to see Dr Greger as a guest on the Zoe podcast as there are some interesting areas of disagreement between him and Zoe - such as using oil in the diet, even Extra Virgin olive oil.
My feeling is that eating healthily is cheaper than eating boxed ready meals and takeaways. My food spend averages £20 a month and I don't even own a microwave. I get by on discounted food and there's plenty of discounted fresh veg in the shops. But my heart always sinks when someone mentions virgin olive oil when talking about budget eating. Even regular oil in the shops right now is overly expensive for most tight budgets. I ration basic vegetable oil in my diet (probably better for me) but I also rely on one pan meals most of the time so it's always a balancing act.
@@debhulks Totally except basic olive oil is still £2.15 for 250ml whereas vegetable oil is £1.99 for a whole litre. When it comes down to basics and it's the difference between having enough to eat and having only a small amount to eat but better, I'm sure people go with quantity over quality. RIght now, when budgets are pushed, this really is the bottom line.
Extra virgin olive oils are freshed pressed. "Olive oil"may be highly processed/heated, as are most commercial oils. Look for an oil with more % of monounsaturated fats. Keep your cooking oils in the refrigerator ( coconut oil is the exception). A good mono oil will thicken. This is a way to tell if the labeling is correct, too. I have purchased EVOO that wasn't real and never bought those brands again. Polyunsaturated oils degrade extremely fast when opened so refrigeration won't hurt. ( That is in my brain from reading LIFE EXTENSION decades ago. I am grateful to Zoe for doing this research and offering solutions.)
Buying food for the whole month has actually helped me save money. Then I don't go buy anything unnecessary every time I'm in the store. I start with buying the different kinds of meat for the whole month and put it in the freezer, then cans of beans and dried stored foods and other storage able foods and spices. I always have tomato puree and coconut milk as my base. So some cans of coconutmilk. Then lastly the fresh veggies. This I may buy two times a month and the things that I may have forgotten. Also trying to eat as Lowcarb and low glycemic index as possible. That makes me less hungry and makes me want to snack less which also makes me save more money. (I was/am a comfort eater. Keeping it at bay this way.) I try to calculate my monthly consumption. And it has gone down with 100$ since planning it better. Still buying better foods. (Sweden)
Thanks for the information and recipes. I understand that plant-based iron is not as easily absorbed by the body as heme iron. What about recipes with vegetables / legumes that can increase iron intake?
May I put a word in for a pressure cooker. (Mine is electric so more expensive but it has an auto cut out which with my memory is helpful.) Since I boil dried beans in batches and make stews for the family it's been a worthwhile purchase in the longer run.
hello, Great topic for today's problems. I have a question. In years past there was always much discussion about incomplete and complete proteins. Is this something to be concerned about?
Are there Zoe real communities, a bit like the Action for Happiness movement? I am just thinking of cooking together opportunities, especially when baking -given rising energy prices and some people dont have access to real kitchens. Also there are lots of single people out there for whom cooking can seem just too much- though I do agree with Ru that it is an act of self compassion. And then we can start to say more about the time taking to mindfully eat and appreciate our ingredients and new shared skills- with a dash of science e.g. time for the brain to get the 'enough' signal so that we get the whole wellbeing hug. Thanks for all this scienced based inclusive chat. Lovi g it and sharing❤
Basic point, Batch cook for 6 helpings. don't keep 2 to eat today and put the rest in the freezer. Serve out all 6 on plates and put 4 plates of food in the freezer.
Allegra McEvedy wrote a great cookery book called Economy Gastronomy covering points like these….. including batch cooking a base recipe that can be given different flavours as you reheat portions…… worth a look
Can you get enough protein if you have tree nut and ground nut allergies - not intolerances, but allergies meaning they carry an epipen & can't consume tree & ground nuts OR beans , pulses (& many fruits & veg (oral allergy syndrome too)). It's rare but does happen - my offspring is one such individual. They currently rely on prescription vitamins & minerals.
When I went vegan three years ago I had to relearn to cook basically and found lots of lovely new recipes. My favourite is chickpea tuna 😋 I like to think I'm healthier now but who knows lol
Root veg like swedes and celeriac are lower in carbs that potatoes.Tofu, nuts and seeds for plant-based protein. Eggs, cheese, tinned fish, liver, kidney, heart, 20% fat minced beef for animal protein. All the green leafy veg you can eat! Frozen petit pois are lower carb than frozen garden peas. They are still pretty good value even if they are not quite so cheap. You might be able to use whole lentils too. It depends how low carb you need to go to control your diabetes.
Cumin seems to prevent food from going bad for quite a long time. Meat, pulses, fresh vegetables, soups... all last longer in the refrigerator (and out, for that matter) when the herb cumin is added.
For the length you can keep stuff I bought a new fridge and the answer is almost forever. set the temp to 2 or 3 C and I have used veg and salads a month beyond its use by date and they look and taste fine
No body has mentioned about pressure cooking. Great for cooking your beans etc. Also nobody mentioned the humble potato. They are only fattening if you use loads of butter and oil. I am Vegan,( Mostly plant based only ocassional processed food) for 5 years and vegetarian for over 25 years. I am 75 and am on no meds. Just because we get older doesn't mean we have to be ill. I am only vegan for the horror of animal agriculture. Doctors get hardly any training in nutrition which is really bad
I agree. I use my pressure cooker for soups and risotto as well as pulses
Exactly. Adding carbs to oil or fat makes it worse. Instead, one can have a boiled/mashed potato and let it cool down completely, then it's safe to eat, COLQ
@Betty Amber potatoes are healthy when any oil, butter or cheese are added to them and when they are completely cold. Superfood can be sweetpotatoes and are best eaten baked in the over and cold too. U can make a research on that
Tremendous, well done .
chana masala is my favorite thing to make in my pressure cooker personally.
Watching this podcast from South h Sudan. Being an aid worker, getting a balanced diet is challenging.
But I am blessed to be a South Asian.
So my go-to ingredients are peanuts, lentils, frozen spinach, frozen peas and canned tomatoes and another canned veg. I use dry mushrooms. Keep sushi nories and dry kelp in my luggage. Wherever I go in the world I take kefir seeds to make kefir, I also make fermented cabbage or vegetables I buy locally.
I also keep chickpea flour which allows me to prepare a variety of meals. I have seeds for making microgreens at home.
I lived alone most of my life and never thought it was challenging to cook for myself. After work it is my passion to nurture my kefirs and sprouts, getting foraged herbs and leaves to invent new recipes.
When I go back to the UK I add offals to my diet and always buy cheap cuts of meat which I eat only once a week.
Eating a simple meal with daal, brown rice and some greens with pickles is more satisfactory than eating expensive animal protein-rich foods.
I have made my own diet, taking a bit from Japanese and Korean, from India, the middle east, Africa and from Europe.
After work having a miso soup with some rice sprinkled with seaweeds, sesame seeds and salt with chillie flakes does not take much time. But it is nutrition and brings in diversity in meal planning.
Your diet looks very healthy indeed. Glad to know you can do it even when on the move. With the variety of plant based foods, the health giving properties of fibre will do wonders for your guts which help maintain overall health but this tends to be ignored and neglected by meat addicts.
This tour of your diet was fascinating! Thank you for your work and be safe.
Some easy things that I always do, hopefully can help a few people
1. In many recipes you can replace canned tomatoes with tomato paste. A tube of tomato paste contains about 3 times as many tomatoes as canned. The difference is the dehydrated water which makes it also more cost effective to transport. Also you can spend less time and energy reducing your dishes. Shorter cooking times also preserve the vitamins more.
2. Batch cooking, freezing, you should stay organised and defrost the food at room temperature ahead of time rather than using the microwave to defrost.
3. Figure out what you are wasting frequently and stop buying it
4. Eat the broccoli stems! The core of the stem is deliciously sweet
5. Frozen sweetcorn Vs canned. Frozen allows you to use as little or as much as your recipe requires. Frozen is also better for the environment if you go through a lot of it because cans take a lot of energy to produce
NEVER eat inorganic sweetcorn, it's the only thing pigs won't eat, it has a thing called BT toxin in it, that ruptures the insects stomachs, so what so you think that does to us? If there is such a thing as leaky gut, then could that be why?
I buy dried beans or chick peas and soak and cook the whole packetful. When drained and cooled I freeze them in a single layer in a suitable bag. Once frozen you can give the bag a bash and the pulses will separate. It is easy to take out as many or as few as you want. It works well with whole grains too. Canned pulses are handy but I prefer the flavour of home cooked ones.
Agreed. Having a pressure cooker also shortens the cooking time.
Good idea. I do a similar thing with onions and celery. I cut a bag of onions put in a bag in freezer. Lay out flat. So I always have cut onions etc ready to use.
Great advice
Everyone here is so smart with good ideas and just think they are right.
Thank you all so much - I am doing the Zoe intermittent fasting and as I am retired found using the spare morning time before my first meal at around 11 a.m. to do food planning and preparation such as a batch cook or fermenting, it gives me a challenge as I live alone. I am so grateful for all this useful support and I am more energetic.
Good for you ! I went Whole Food Plants at 70 and at 75 am getting good results. (outa obesity, off insulin, lower BP Rx) Especially at this time of life, I feel it';s important to get as healthy as we can, and to Simplify, & Pivot ! I found the simplest most effective way of eating and practice Pivoting, which is, if anything is not available I just Pivot to using something else, no worries ! Takes the worry out of eating and I translate it all into miles walked in Gratitude & Joy in the nearby City Wilderwood !(I.E.-Small city trails & nearby forest parks & paths).
Stay Vertical, Ventilating, & Ambulatory....'cause these days, especially, THAT'S FREAKIN' GOOD ENOUGH! (and the other F word works even better there!)😄 Have a KOKO life! ! (KOKO means "KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON"!)🥰☯
Intermittent fasting has become a part of my life. I've been doing it for about 5 years now and it definitely saves money on food and I feel a lot better energy wise!
I advocate Rupy's brief comment about cooking being an act of self love and caring for yourself. So agree with this and is a powerful positive to get me cooking more.
I went through a period of poverty during the pandemic; I had no income, rent & tax debts, and very little money in the bank. I was forced to start using a food sharing app (OLIO), and cooking foods that I wasn't used to such as root vegetables, cabbage and lentils. I think I actually ate more healthily than ever before; red cabbage is really cheap and really healthy, same goes for root vegetables such as swede, and lentils. Tinned sardines are also fairly cheap (though they vary a lot in price; the most expensive ones can be 5x the price of the cheapest ones) and very healthy, same goes for baked beans. You can get brown bread for around 50p a loaf if you shop at the right time when discounts are applied, or free from OLIO. You can also save a lot by buying in bulk and freezing. All that's needed is common sense, a basic understanding of nutrition and the will power to overcome the desires that have been implanted in your brain by advertising.
A slow cooker has really helped since my husband died. I batch cook and then freeze portions for one meal. Frozen vegetables are really useful too.
A few years ago I ended 40+ years of vegetarianism. I'm surprised no one on the program has mentioned Frances Moore Lappe's cookbook Diet for a Small Planet, which offers recipes for COMBINING legumes, seeds, & grains to make complete proteins. A person CAN get enough protein from plants, but the miracle here is that adding a LITTLE animal protein GREATLY multiplies the protein available from the plants. You eat less animal and more plant without having to carry around an ideology. Delicious, too!
When I moved to a plant based diet I followed The Happy Pear vegan chefs and watched their TH-cam videos, I also bought their recipe books. I often batch cook using a large shallow casserole and I use a steamer for fresh and frozen vegetables. I find this method easy and convenient and the food is tasty and nutritious. I recommend this style of cooking to everyone.
The happy pear are an amazing resource and inspiration! They've kept me vegan for years now. I highly recommend as well.
Hi from Cape Town South Africa. Brilliant and must needed show! Have you been spying on my kitchen we Have implemented all your suggestions over the past 3 years. Even gone a step further and growing our own veg we now eat and create 90% of our meals from the garden. Hard work but rewarding when you see the price of food in the shop's.
For those without the freezer space, batch cooking for the week is an idea.
The pasta sauce of day 1 can be spiced up for the chili with rice of day 2, then become a potato topper of day 3.
Genius.
I’m a retired single. I usually always have at least 3 soups in my freezer, in one cup and two cup containers. So easy to throw in microwave when I don’t want to cook. They always have beans in them. Then I’ll have some broccoli/spinach along with them. So easy to make a big crockpot of healthy soup and freeze. Also gave up added sugars, flours and processed foods. Feel great and all of my bloodwork has been normal (had been high).
Thank you for this podcast. I've been batch cooking for years, because it's so economical. It's also fun to take out a batch from the freezer and decide what you're going to do with it for dinner - am I going to add some tomatoes, or some spices, have it with pea pasta or potatoes? The options are endless 🙂💚 There's a generation that does not know how to prepare meals economically, because of being brought up on highly processed convenience foods and takeouts. My mother is of that generation who always knew how to be thrifty with cooking, sewing, knitting, and some of that has rubbed off on me (although perhaps not the knitting, I'm rubbish😆). It feels quite sad that basic life skills could disappear. However with guys like you educating and re-educating people all may not be lost 🙂
Thoroughly agree particularly at the constant lie spread about that it is difficult when it isn't, and that processed food is cheaper.
Just to take one example put a 1kg of potatoes next to 8 bags of crisps and tell me that processed is cheaper. The same goes for just about everything else except, the big exception, frozen veg. Even there you should buy the veg fresh and cheap in season, frozen out of season.
Sort your pantry shelves into basics; pasta, rice, couscous, polenta, beans, lentils etc, then the supplemental flavours to spice them up, canned fruit and veg for out of season, or to build salads, and lastly cans/jars of protein which is mostly fish of many varieties. Make pasteurised sauces in jars as bases for more complicated recipes. Italian and Indian recipes work best with these.
Great video, thanks guys
I came from a family of ten, to budget my Mum would have 2 meatless meals a week. Usually macaroni cheese, curried eggs, stir fried veggies with peanuts.
Later I learnt the meat, eggs, cheese and milk protein is considered a whole protein and could be replaced with a combination of grains, beans, peas, seeds and nuts. As I made friends from different cultures and travelled my diet became more colourful and diverse and I developed a liking for international flavours and dishes. The simple and the plain are the most nutritious. Sugar, meat and fat aren't necessary to survive. I find them hard to give up but I'm slowly succeeding.
No fat😢
Thank you for addressing the cost of living crisis. I’ve noticed that even ‘basic’ supermarket shops are getting pricey.
food is 2-4 times more expensive, that's 200-400%, when inflation is 8%, so work that out and then come back and tell me that the government and food industry care about us?
It's always the cheapest to cook yourself. And healthier with no unknown substances. And more hygienic.
Slow cooker has been amazing for us. We buy the cheaper meats now fill the slow cooker and that batch becomes the base for many other meals. From one slow cooker batch we'll have fajitas the first night, I'll make up some lasagne with some of it, taco soup. Sometimes we just need to add bits to it on the day. Different spices make it a completely different meal and fresher veggies added give another texture.
Because we'll often be adding something to the main meal; bread, a small side salad, rice, pasta, we usually get around 15 portions out of our slow cooker!
Portion size is very important too. We often eat a lot more than we actually need to.
Thank you for covering the protein myth. I grind flax, chia and pumpkin seeds, keep it in a jar in the fridge and sprinkle it on any dishes. Also dried tvp soy mince is super cheap and convenient for adding to ragu.
I live on an island where everything is very expensive here on Martha’s Vineyard in the United States. The struggle is real. Our food is awful so trying to eat healthy. It’s very hard. Getting food from the farm is wonderful but extremely expensive and most people cannot afford it but somehow we have to find a way to support our businesses so all of us can survive.
Love this. I've learned to adapt to eating this way over recent years.
I think a big problem is many people don't know how to cook and get put off when they see the celebrity cooking programmes on TV and think it's too complicated and expensive.
Cooking and nutrition are not taught properly in schools anymore, very little timetabling is devoted to it in the secondary school curriculum.
Both my children have gone through secondary school with out of date Food Tech being taught. It's stuck in the 1980's, as they're still being taught to use artificial sweeteners and margarine for example. Learning how to make cakes, pastries and fruit salad with sugar syrup for example.
They're not taught how to batch cook, to make basic base sauces, or how to cook healthy meals on a budget (that you were talking about). Nothing helpful for real life.
Would Professor Tim Spector would be interested at some point in approaching the UK's Secretary of State for Education, to advise them on updating and improving the secondary school curriculum for Food Tech?
I feel it would be way too expensive to do “ batch cooking “ in schools. However most recipes can be altered to cook more.
I used to cook for up to 8 men plus my family at a time on a farm as my mother did. It’s certainly not difficult at all. Now I still never use an oven for only one meal and will cook often two meat meal bases. Sauce bases go for at least two to four meals with two being frozen.
It’s a matter of planning and buying when produce is cheap. I think I got a shock when watching this to realise that so many don’t do it.
Any resourceful teacher will find a way of teaching the concept of batch cooking to kids who are prepared to learn. You could do, for example, a class-sized meal with different groups of kids cooking different parts of the meal then combining what they make at the end of the cooking time. To ensure all children get a range of experience you simply change each group activity from week to week.
@@susanloffhagen7788 I don't mean literally batch cook in school but the pupils learn how to do this by learning how to make a basic tomato sauce, mince sauce, vegetable sauce as a small portion (in class) but be taught that these can be multiplied in size to be frozen into portions and used for creating other dishes on other days. Or learn how to cook (in class) a small shepherds pie, curry, fish pie, chilli, soups and again understand these can be cooked in bigger sizes at home to divide up and freeze for other meals etc. The economising techniques you use could be taught too for example.
@@hea7055 Maybe the UK school I attended in the early 1970s was way ahead of its time, but I was taught how to buy, prepare and serve meals, planning for the nutritional and economical needs of the person you were cooking for. The GCE course I followed was called Food and Nutrition. Although I really disliked the teacher, who at the time seemed to be so critical of my efforts, I have used what she taught me to huge benefit throughout my life.
@@jemima9384 That's interesting. Sounds good what you learnt. This subject has changed over the decades in the UK schools. I studied what Food Tech is now, was then called 'Home Economics' in the 1980's at school. It wasn't that good. My Mum was a 'Domestic Science' teacher in the late 1960's-1970's, which seemed to be a lot better and was what Home Ec and Food Tech stemmed from.
Thank you so much for this, love eating the zoe way, and love to batch cook too, as a disabled person, I have cerebral palsy like a stroke, and frozen chopped vegetables onions or soffrito, and frozen Mediterranean veg is a lifesaver, and lots of canned beans too
I don't think you can go very wrong with home made soups. It is so easy to make and there is no end to the variety; they are so satiating and warming in the winter. I have become addicted and have one every lunch time. Some may say soup is boring but believe me, home made soup tastes totally different to tinned or packet. I even have it during the summer time and freeze extra portions. I have even had it for breakfast during the cold winters.
I had a go at making my own minestrone soup and it was absolutely delicious. I have forgotten how I did it now.
I also have a delicious recipe for cauliflower soup made with a very small amount of butter,curry powder (tiny bit) and a very small amount of milk with water. It is absolutely delicious.
Part of learning to cook is tasting it! For example, discerning if you want more or less of each ingredient. Cooking is an art, only baking is science! Tasting soups as you cook it, is half the pleasure!
Great advice. Ready made food is usually way more expensive than cooking plant based ingredients from scratch. Let's hope cost of living crisis will nudge people towards healthier food. Good to dispel the myth that tinned and frozen veg and fruit are unhealthy. I've noticed that the supermarket own brand budget ranges of tinned peas and sweetcorn have no added salt or sugar.
I eat sardines and mackerel tinned in water, tomato sauce or Olive oil. Supermarket own brands are good value.
I am already a fan of Dr. Rupuy's DOCTOR'S KITCHEN, but it was only by chance that I came across this video presentation. Thank you for sharing and uploading it on your channel. I will recommend you to other people and I will definitely watch this presentation again.
Me too...but nothing is 'by chance' onlinr anymore , its the ole 'algo'🙂
Three Onions, add tsp of garlic paste, ginger paste.Brown and caramelise, then add tomato puree and half tsp of turmeric powder.Add tsp Garam Masala.keep simmering.
That's the base.It's called Turkha.It should be nice and reddy-brown.Add any main ingredient you wish.
Indian food wasn't originally called Curry.That's a Brit thing.
'Lentil curry' is Dhal.
Thanks to Tim & his DIET MYTH I eat sauerkraut almost daily since his book came out in 2015. Plus kefir, artichokes and only lait cru cheese like Parmigiana Reggiano Merci Tim !!! Made a big difference in my health ❤
I love the way Jonathan and his guests (usually) keep the discussion lighthearted and entertaining, but at the same time providing oodles of useful information. It helps set the show apart from many others, which can be a bit staid.
If you are worried about cooking for one, cook for you and a friend, or a person who has just had surgery or a sick family member. This simple act of community is as nutritious as the food! 🥰
Grateful for these tips. Quit my office job to be a cleaner. Happier, but earning less. More lentils and beans. Less meat.
How about we all say a big thank you to our farmers who work so hard to bring produce to our mouths. Without them the supermarkets would have nothing on their shelves. Let's give them a big round of appreciation and not forget what they do for us.
I think Gov should support local farmers to help those on benefit with fruit and veg.
So great. Thank you.
Pay attention to spinach and mushrooms, they should not kept for several days because of histamine building up.
No sugar/no sweet intermittend fasting or not snacking is good for the Budget and the health.
As a massive nightshade vegetable intolerance sufferer - it took me 20 years to identify -, I can see lots of people turning to them (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, aubergines, chilies, okra and goji berries) in an effort to eat cheaper and healthier. I wonder how many people might struggle with it and realise that they have that intolerance. We should talk about it more I think.
Yes, I’m sure many people will discover they are allergic to some FODMAPs - I’m on my own food journey in regards to these… Perhaps the Zoe folk could explore IBS etc… 🧐
I suffer form a lot of intolerances. Mostly fruit, many veg, dairy and a few meats. I’m surprised I’m still alive quite frankly haha. But eating healthy is something I avoid due to the pain it causes me.
They won’t investigate IBS because they are too hooked on ‘more fibre is better’. I have suffered with IBS for many years and only recently experienced relief from symptoms by removing plants from my diet.
Carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, onions, lentils, garlic, basil, thyme, and vegetable stock cubes. Make the perfect vegan winter soup/stew. To be the healthiest corpse in the graveyard eat this on a regular basis and enjoy.
“Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” is a great book that help me learn how to cook without a recipe. Since I’ve gotten it, my food has tasted better. I’ve been using healthier ingredients and there’s been much less waste because I know how to improvise and use ingredients on hand. It saves so much money when you can use ingredients you already have to make some thing good without relying on a recipe.
I'm retired living on social security at $1186 per month. I can't afford EVERYTHING organic and pastured but I do pay the price for anything on the EWG dirty dozen and/or grown by local farmers. I have found since I simplified my diet to strictly fresh whole foods, and COMPLETELY STOPPED eating prepared foods (restaurants, hotbar at grocery store, processed foods) I've saved enough money to afford quality meats and vegetables. (I have chickens for eggs)
I’m a diabetes nurse in an area of quite high deprivation. One of the problems I see with vegetarian diets is that they’re also high in carbohydrate because most of the legumes contain twice the amount of carbohydrate than protein, and then patients have (mostly large) portions of rice, pasta etc with their meals.
It’s eye opening to hear people don’t seem to generally cook for more than one meal. My mother and grandmother, or any other home cook I have ever known, always cooked more and are the left over the next day. I thought that was the norm.
Thank you very much for this. I live alone and have a busy job so batch cook at weekends, but have been then just eating the same meal for a few days in a row. I really like the idea of making a base and then adding different veg to increase variety and interest.
I boil 3 days worth of potatoes for two people.bring water to a boil with lid on to save heat.As soon as the water is starting to boil turn heat compleately off cover pan with oven gloves around pan ,use washing pad to join them.cover lid with extra oven gloves or towels.The potatoes will cook in their own heat.leave for ages until water nearly cold .check potatoes are soft by sticking a knife in one .if soft let them cool and transfer into a tub .then just microwave each day the bit you need.time saver and energy saver.Do this with veg too.use steamer pans on top if you have them
Using residual heat is a great idea.
Having done a lot of informed choices about my diet and improved my metabolic health, I want to share my BIG nuggets of wisdom;
1) Whole unprocessed or lightly processed food like grassfed protein sources, raw milk, local veg, local eggs, etc. This has been a powerhouse of changing my health.
2) More veg and less fruit. After 50yrs of eating fruit, I acquired a fatty liver and gout flare ups. Fructose is poison in my body.
3) Red grassfed meats are not just about protein; they are rich in so many minerals.
4) Reduce carb intake and substitute with satiating unprocessed fats.
The first budget tip is NOT give up processed snacks for whole food snacks, it's give up snacking
Totally agree. I wish the establishment would turn around this oil tanker of brainwashing advice that we need snacks. It did me in during my middle years.
How DID I survive childhood roaming for hours happily with friends and only coming back at six for tea when I felt hungry.😅
I would say I always had access should I want it to bread and butter but usually didn't fancy that, surprise surprise!
One step at at a time is good
@jomandy5688 eating continuously is contributing to hyperinsulinaemia which causes a great list of illnesses. At least if you don't eat between meals (like we didnt used to), your insulin gets a chance to fall intermittently.
I add cannellini beans or lentils to a minced beef stew which traditionally I only add potatoes, carrots and onions to (well, also tomato puree, herbs and stock etc). The addition of beans or lentils adds more protein and fibre. It's also a 'needs must'.
Also, as the great Jack Monroe taught me in her wonderful cookery books (one of which is based on food bank tins to make complete meals which are delicious) ... Jack taught me to buy the cheapest baked beans and rinse off the sauce because they are cheaper than tinned beans without the sauce.
Another thing I do, when frying onions, celery, mushrooms and herbs etc..., I set some of it aside for the next day and pop into the fridge. Then the next day I will use it to make the base for an omelette.
I also make an absolutely delicious sardine omelette using a whole tin of sardines and four eggs. I like it with peas, onion and tomato puree, oregano too etc etc.
I top the omelette with finely grated padano cheese (which I buy from chilled in supermarket and then I keep this in the freezer)... I live alone so the four egg sardine omelette is absolutely fine saved the next day because it is too much for one serving.
Sardine omelette is really nice. There is a knack to cooking the sardines nicely, which involves 'drying it out' on the hob so the omelette is not too soggy. Peas go really well with this recipe, along with tomato puree.
Jack Monroe also has a brilliant sardine and tomato soup recipe, which, again, requires a special way of cooking and I can tell you it really is delicious. This recipe will be free online on Jack's website. It is also in her foodbank book called TIN CAN COOK.
Zoe should interview Jack Monroe as she has worked tirelessly to promote healthy eating on a very small budget. One of her other cookbooks is called COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP.
what a brilliant and timely discussion. Just finished Tims book which is excellent. I have an insta pot and thats a game changer so great for cooking dried beans and curries and whole grains
Love my instant pot
24:36 Remind your wife that it’s “Best before, not Poisonous after” That was the mantra that I grew up with. We often ate expired food because dad would salvage behind the grocery store for expired items. This was before food banks and we were poor. Most canned goods can be eaten well beyond the best before date. For home cooked foods, just package and freeze them and they’ll be fine for at least three months.
In my area southern Texas....
I find that a few staples have not changed price very much over the past 3 years:
Fresh
Bananas.
Tomatoes.
Cucumbers.
Spinach.
Leaf lettuce.
Cabbage.
Parsley.
Frozen:
Peas.
Broccoli.
Mixed vegetables.
Canned:
Tomatoes.
Beans.
I'm in southern California and I've noticed the same thing here. It's the animal products that have increased exponentially.
@David wolfe
Yes, except for regular ground beef which is still around $3.99 a pound. But some important fruit and veggies are over the top right now. Lemons and garlic went up 50%. Turnips and rutabagas are $1.68 a pound. Boo hoo hoo for me!
@@leighburville2717
17:13
@David wolfe Yes. Animal products have increased in price. But a lot of common produce also. Things like fresh garlic, lemons, berries, apples, grapefruit, melons, peppers, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, salad kits, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes all took a 30 to 40% price hike here near Houston. Ouch!
.
If you have space, grow a lime and lemon tree. I’m in the U.K. and have one of each in pots. I hardly ever need to buy citrus. The bushes come into my little front porch from October to April. The lime leaves can be used in cooking too.
Spices (and knowing how to use spices, blooming etc) is also so important. They are not always expensive when you buy in bulk (and share with family for example). SUCH a difference in getting different tasting meals with just a few simple bases.
Sweat 3 crushed garlic cloves in olive oil in a large pan, add 2 tins drained cannelloni or even butter beans. Add 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped parsley,1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup pecorino cheese. Tasty.
Fresh red meat is very healthy if we cook it at home - without preservatives and other additives. Please be sure to differentiate between a bought pie and a home cooked one.
I don't understand why people worry so much a protein. I have been vegan 28yrs and its not been problem for me. So far despite the cost of food going up l am not finding it costs too much more. I eat a lot of lentils and beans l get them cheaper from Indian shops. I also use frozen vegetables and some tinned ones. When l look at the cost of meat and dairy l don't know how people afford them especially with those with families.
Thank you for all the tips! I'll be experimenting more in the kitchen. I never tire of listening to good, sound, dietary advice.
Absolutely invaluable information.
Fine work from the team!
Another really interesting podcast with lots of good ideas. One big area that could be covered is cooking on a budget with children in mind, especially when they’ve been used to an ultra processed diet. If money is short you want to make sure your children will eat the food with the new style diet.
Hmm, when I was a child if I didn't eat what my mum cooked I went hungry.
Atomic Shrimp raised a really good point about feeding yourself on a tight budget, namely the cost of your time. For someone on minimum wage who literally needs to work every hour they can to keep a roof over their head and the heat on, every minute spent cooking is a minute they can't be earning. A recipe that takes an hour to prep and cook has already cost them £11.44 before you start on the ingredients and cooking fuel. Worth bearing in mind when you find yourself thinking "Why don't they just cook from scratch?".
I found out that I can cook a pound of beans, any type, in 30 minutes in the instant pot. Very surprising, and this has really helped stretch the budget. If there are beans always cooked, there is always something to eat. You simply rinse a pound of beans, put them in the instant pot, then cover with water 2 inches higher than the beans, put the lid on, and hit the "bean" button. That is all there is to it. :)
Can’t wait to start my Zoe experience. Fascinating. Love your podcasts/videos .
It's time we all as grown ups become adults again and teach children how to cook properly at school as a vital skill, confidence with handling raw food as a lot of parents don't have the time or knowledge themselves x
Parents seem to want to increasingly pass things on to teachers these days
@@luciafarthing564 I do know what a teachers life is like and they do an incredible job. I just think alongside academic subjects, at a base level of education, the children all need to learn to feed themselves and their families healthy food and manage their finances, I think many parents don't know how to do this. Skills in these areas could help with the load on the NHS and mental and social services in the future.
Maybe parents should learn how to cook first and teach their children. The best way and easiest way for kids to learn is their parents being the example. Parents can easily read cooking books, cooking blogs, cooking magazines, cooking videos. They have the finances and they are the ones who also do the grocery shopping and the cookingfor their kids.... My mum taught me how to cook and she was not a stay at home mum and we were not wealthy at all. We were 5 children 4 girls and one boy and we all had to learn whether we liked it or not. I love cooking so it was a breeze for me. But even my sister who hates it had to do it too. In the end that also helped my mum since the more we grew the more we would participate in cooking and other chores. So it's a win-win situation for the kids and their parents. When we were out of the house we all knew how to feed ourselves from budgeting the grocery shopping, to the grocery shopping list, buying the best deals at the supermarket, cooking the meal, meal prep etc... My mum thought it was as important as teaching us how to brush our teeth. Honestly I grew up thinking it was normal. If your own parents don't teach you that, who is supposed to teach you those skills. Neighbors.... Also she is Congolese and it's still normal for African families to teach kids how to cook. You don't get to choose since it's entirely part of raising a kid. But I grew up in France and later realized that even in France where we are so proud of our gastronomy it's not so much part of the culture anymore.
Parents want kids, parents choose to have kids but they don't want to do the basic work anymore.
@@heredianna2496 I agree that's the way it should be, your family sound great and gave you fantastic skills for life, and there are still many families who's culture encourages this way of life, but unfortunately the prevalence of ready meals and instant gratification available to everyone now has encouraged a world where diabetes, obesity and mental health problems after the last few years are overwhelming our health services. For referance im 79 and live near London I still cook every day.
Indeed. I know so many families who simply never have a home cooked meal as the parents do not know the basics of cooking. One neighbour is complaining because the price of frozen pizza has gone up so much that her children go hungry.
I've always meal prepped like this. I'll cook 3 chickens, strip the meat, freeze it in meal size portions and make fajita's, curries etc. 51b mince cooked together then frozen in meal size portions, goes on to make mince and gravy, mexican tortillas, pies, lasagne, spag bog, the list is endless. I'll slow cook a large portion of chunked beef and make various meals out of it. I tend to bulk out with lentils, carrotts etc, it's the way I was taught to cook and now, I am so thankful I was taught this way by my Mum and Grandmothers.
Many people on a tight budget cannot buy in bulk as they simply can't afford to spend a big proportion of their weekly/monthly money on a single ingredient. There would be nothing left for other essentials. It means it is impossible to take advantage of bulk deals on groceries. I can't afford to buy 3 chickens or 5lbs minced beef at a time. I'm in my sixties and I have been cooking all my life so I do know how to cook cheap nutritious food.
Me too
My main 'trick' is to make a large thick basic soup / stew. Then when I reheat a portion, I add a few quick cooking items (sliced mushroom or garlic, some greens and so on).
Wow. Good to hear that cheese is ok now. Need to find the episode on that. We eat 85% chocolate after lunch and dinner. We have extra virgin olive oil every day. I pour it over my lunch. And we have free range eggs with beautiful orange yolks. When they are on sale, we buy lots.
I use a recipe app, Paprika that lets me store recipes, let's me do menu planning and will generate shopping lists and keep a pantry inventory. I only cook dinner/lunch a couple of times a week and I do batch cooking using an instant pot as much as possible. Then I vacuum seal and freeze the leftovers. Eating this way saves money and time. It results in less spoilage because I only shop for what I'll eat. And it gives me access to a variety of tasty and health meals.
It also helps that I have a wide variety of spices, and kitchen equipment. If you can treat cooking as a hobby, rather than a burden, that helps too! I love to cook!
I also have a waring vacuum sealer gun which has reusable bags and I seal anything that oxidation can spoil, this at leat doubles the life of most stuff in the fridge. I live alone and it's one way I avoid spoilage.
Exactly. I'm 40 years old and live in the center of beautiful Heidelberg Germany. I inhabit a flat with 2 students, to save money. I can walk to work (ICU nurse), but I have an old used bike for less then 200 bucks. I don't need to travel. Heidelberg is paradise. No car, no kids. I only work part time so I have enough money for my hobbies: Bouldering, Running, Gaming on Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Switch (when our house burns down, I can't lose those games, I own them in the cloud). Life is beautiful nowadays, why would I waste it at work. I only buy cloths when I really need them, mostly cheap.
You can eat healthy for 5 bucks a day (coffee included). I consider whole grain pasta to be healthy, but you should have them split up in to maximum 2 meals a day, and with a good amount of healthy plant seed oils (I prefer olive). Other than that I eat nuts and vegetables. Only drink water, coffee, and tea without milk or sugar. If you're vegan have your vit.B12 and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids (like algae oil), maybe vit.D if you're a nightshift worker or not out in the sun much, and you're good. I'm 40 years old, athletic, everyone thinks I'm much younger. Take good care of your bodies folks and enjoy life 💟
Absolutely loving these podcasts! Thankyou so much :)
I do enjoy the summaries at the end!
Could I bring mushy peas back from history, excellent base for a quick soup, and incredibly cheap.
Split peas for me, I never quite got a taste for mushy peas.
I recently found out there are websites that give tips about what you can substitute with what so you don't have a whole array of spices you only use once a while or are stuck with it when you find the dish isn't according to your taste.. It has really helped me trying out new recipees
Love this video thank you! Valuable advice, I also add grated carrot and courgette to my speg bog chilli even my children don't notice it as it just cooks down and looks like mince meat.
When you batch cook and put into portions, don't forget to label everything !
Excellent podcast. Vegetables are absolutely the answer - jazzed up with herbs and spices, and a generous dollop of creativity and imagination! 😋
Dried chickpeas are very cheap and are super easy to cook in the slow cooker. 1 cup per litre of water, 6 -8 hours. I cook up to 4 cups at a time e and freeze them in two cup bags.
I use a slow cooker for jacket spuds coat with olive oil then wrap in foil. 30 mins to eat take foil off to crisp them up. Perfect
When I first came across Dr Rupy I bought three of his books with Tim I bought a four book (amazon) deal (not read the twins one yet) I will now get Ruby's 4th thus evening up the score, maybe this is what my retirement is about? I'm certainly learning more of the 'various' different cultural basics and loving it and yes eating less meat and fish. Great to see you three together. losing potatoes, bread and pasta is really difficult for me though, instead of a fillet steak they are my new guilty occasional pleasures, how things change?
Hi Alan, what a great way to spend retirement! Don't forget that you can still enjoy foods like potatoes, bread and pasta - it's all about balance💛
Great podcast as usual, I am just surprised to hear dr Tim Spector's comments about protein intake not being an issue at all. Both guests sound very confident on the topic, but new studies are coming, the old ones were quite badly set up, and apparently they are showing that a daily protein intake of 1,2 g/kg is needed to prevent sarcopenia. Resistance training is also essential, as doing aerobic training alone, even with a sufficient protein intake, is going to lead to muscle mass. The experts on the topic, such as dr Brad Schoenfeld and dr Stuart Phillips, actually recommend around 1,6 g/kg and even more, if doing resistance training. Given that we still need data, dr Spector's confidence on the topic surprises me, and dismissing recommendations as marketing isn't fair, given the evidence so far. I would love him to be right, because it would mean that we can reduce consumption of meat, fish and cheese, but there's no way that you are going to meet the above-mentioned targets by eating beans.
You absolutely can get enough protein per day on a vegan diet. I eat around 130g - 140g for heavy weight training 5 days a week, having previously been a meat eater. It just takes more planning, but you get a whole lot more variety with veggies. I use tempeh, tofu and plant phd protein powder (previously phd diet cows whey). 👍👍
@@foxInGloves Thanks for sharing this Fox. You are very well organised! As a food lover, I had serious issues w tempeh, and also tried some veg-sourced proteins and they were really hard to swallow. They also look to me like processed food, so I am still a bit skeptical about it. I do have some whey protein but try to minimise their use, and get real food. 130 g is a rather high target even on an animal and veg-based diet, and beans have ⅓ the protein that you can find on meat, cheese, peanuts, so I guess you'd have to assume a rather high amount of protein powder, to get to that target on a vegan diet. I do appreciate that many people are experimenting with this as it's certainly good for the planet.
@@luca6635 not everyone likes tempeh or tofu, it's definitely about how you prepare it for sure. Tempeh is fermented soya beans so not processed at all. I only have one, two max plant protein shakes a day (same amount previously when using whey). I also eat organic soba noodles made from soya which has more protein than chicken breast although does have minimal carbs. My protein intake is exactly the same as it was when eating meat for weight training, the only difference I suppose is a higher carb intake which isn't an issue when heavy weight training. I've seen greater gains on my lifting capacity. It's not for everyone and most people probably can get away with much less protein which makes it easier to make up daily intake. There should never be pressure to change the way you eat, unless you feel you could benefit from one or two meatless days a week.
Brilliant. But nobody mentioned steaming, where you are cooking two layers of foods one on top of another. Also, soya beans are the highest protein bean and can be soaked and added to cheap stews.
Surprised that the concept of omega ratios and inadequate dietary intake of omega 3 lipids is never mentioned.
Not only are they critical essential nutrients, but are a weak link in fresh & cooked food preservation.
Seed oils in general have not only higher levels of unsaturated lipids, but in western diets a major source of omega-6 fatty acids.
These are responsible for pro-inflammatory prostaglandin cascades and should be recognised, along with lack of dietary fibre, as a major contributor of diet to disease processes and obesity.
Strict Vegan and vegetarian diets are often deficient in omega-3s and fat soluble vitamins A, D,, E & K2
In Indonesia people leave the food out all day and then put it in the fridge at night. Then they will eat it 3 days later even if it has meat in it. Admittedly it has more spices in it, but my take away is that fears of food poisoning are severely over blown. Also, I have reheated rice many times without consequence. Just put your food in the fridge within a couple of hours of cooking and use within 3 days for meat and 5 days for no meat/dairy. You will be fine.
I've been "bulk cooking" all my life. I can not understand how anyone thinks cooking is difficult. There are countless recipes that just require you to roughly chop up the ingredients and put them in a pot in the right order.
I use three sets of storage bottles, heating them in the oven and adding the food whilst hot so it is sealed. I use tall 700g passata bottles, short wide 700g Gherkin jars, both which hold 2-3 serves, and single meals in 360g tomato concentrate jars. Being glass they are easy to pasteurise, do not interact with the food and are tough. The sizes fit perfectly on fridge shelves. Write the date and what it is on the lid.
Cooking for yourself is very cheap, satisfying and given the saved meals are reheated, very quick. Supplement with side vegetables and salads some of which can also be stored and served as needed.
The fact that this needs to be said over and over again, shows just what a sad state we are in.
Thank you for all the Zoe podcasts. They are all very interesting and helpful.
Good to see Michael Greger's book, How Not To Die, on Tim Specter's bookshelf. I'd love to see Dr Greger as a guest on the Zoe podcast as there are some interesting areas of disagreement between him and Zoe - such as using oil in the diet, even Extra Virgin olive oil.
My feeling is that eating healthily is cheaper than eating boxed ready meals and takeaways. My food spend averages £20 a month and I don't even own a microwave. I get by on discounted food and there's plenty of discounted fresh veg in the shops. But my heart always sinks when someone mentions virgin olive oil when talking about budget eating. Even regular oil in the shops right now is overly expensive for most tight budgets. I ration basic vegetable oil in my diet (probably better for me) but I also rely on one pan meals most of the time so it's always a balancing act.
I think virgin olive oil is mainly for flavour esp in salad dressings. Ordinary olive oil is cheaper and perfect for stir fry etc.
What does a typical meal consist of?
@@debhulks Totally except basic olive oil is still £2.15 for 250ml whereas vegetable oil is £1.99 for a whole litre. When it comes down to basics and it's the difference between having enough to eat and having only a small amount to eat but better, I'm sure people go with quantity over quality. RIght now, when budgets are pushed, this really is the bottom line.
@@francescachristy8761 For who?
Extra virgin olive oils are freshed pressed. "Olive oil"may be highly processed/heated, as are most commercial oils. Look for an oil with more % of monounsaturated fats. Keep your cooking oils in the refrigerator ( coconut oil is the exception). A good mono oil will thicken. This is a way to tell if the labeling is correct, too. I have purchased EVOO that wasn't real and never bought those brands again. Polyunsaturated oils degrade extremely fast when opened so refrigeration won't hurt. ( That is in my brain from reading LIFE EXTENSION decades ago. I am grateful to Zoe for doing this research and offering solutions.)
Buying food for the whole month has actually helped me save money. Then I don't go buy anything unnecessary every time I'm in the store. I start with buying the different kinds of meat for the whole month and put it in the freezer, then cans of beans and dried stored foods and other storage able foods and spices. I always have tomato puree and coconut milk as my base. So some cans of coconutmilk. Then lastly the fresh veggies. This I may buy two times a month and the things that I may have forgotten. Also trying to eat as Lowcarb and low glycemic index as possible. That makes me less hungry and makes me want to snack less which also makes me save more money. (I was/am a comfort eater. Keeping it at bay this way.) I try to calculate my monthly consumption. And it has gone down with 100$ since planning it better. Still buying better foods. (Sweden)
Thanks for the information and recipes. I understand that plant-based iron is not as easily absorbed by the body as heme iron. What about recipes with vegetables / legumes that can increase iron intake?
May I put a word in for a pressure cooker. (Mine is electric so more expensive but it has an auto cut out which with my memory is helpful.)
Since I boil dried beans in batches and make stews for the family it's been a worthwhile purchase in the longer run.
when tim says olive oil, celery, onions, etc I immediately thought of our italian ‘soffritto’ glad to hear it two minutes later...
hello, Great topic for today's problems. I have a question. In years past there was always much discussion about incomplete and complete proteins. Is this something to be concerned about?
Are there Zoe real communities, a bit like the Action for Happiness movement?
I am just thinking of cooking together opportunities, especially when baking -given rising energy prices and some people dont have access to real kitchens. Also there are lots of single people out there for whom cooking can seem just too much- though I do agree with Ru that it is an act of self compassion.
And then we can start to say more about the time taking to mindfully eat and appreciate our ingredients and new shared skills- with a dash of science e.g. time for the brain to get the 'enough' signal so that we get the whole wellbeing hug.
Thanks for all this scienced based inclusive chat. Lovi g it and sharing❤
Legumes are my best friends ,so versatile in cooking ! 😊
Dr Rupee glad yr sharing ur recipes thank you 🙏
Basic point, Batch cook for 6 helpings. don't keep 2 to eat today and put the rest in the freezer. Serve out all 6 on plates and put 4 plates of food in the freezer.
Very helpfull discusions. A lot of good hints. Thank you.
Allegra McEvedy wrote a great cookery book called Economy Gastronomy covering points like these….. including batch cooking a base recipe that can be given different flavours as you reheat portions…… worth a look
Can you get enough protein if you have tree nut and ground nut allergies - not intolerances, but allergies meaning they carry an epipen & can't consume tree & ground nuts OR beans , pulses (& many fruits & veg (oral allergy syndrome too)). It's rare but does happen - my offspring is one such individual. They currently rely on prescription vitamins & minerals.
This has been really helpful, thank you!
Slow cookers are great too.
Just opened a can of chickpeas with some spice and sliced some apple and enjoying it 😋
When I went vegan three years ago I had to relearn to cook basically and found lots of lovely new recipes. My favourite is chickpea tuna 😋
I like to think I'm healthier now but who knows lol
Ah tuna that classic vegan ingredient
@Harry McMahon dw there's no tuna in it, the chickpeas are in lieu of the tuna 😊
@@harrymcmahon6982 you add a sheet of nori to the chick peas to give it that Sea/fish taste, then blend. 👍👍
I would like to hear how I can do this as a diabetic. Most of the foods they are talking about are high carbohydrate foods.
Assuming your diabetes is type II, have you tried reversing your condition with a high fat, low (almost no) carb. diet? If so, how did you get on?
Root veg like swedes and celeriac are lower in carbs that potatoes.Tofu, nuts and seeds for plant-based protein. Eggs, cheese, tinned fish, liver, kidney, heart, 20% fat minced beef for animal protein. All the green leafy veg you can eat! Frozen petit pois are lower carb than frozen garden peas. They are still pretty good value even if they are not quite so cheap. You might be able to use whole lentils too. It depends how low carb you need to go to control your diabetes.
Cumin seems to prevent food from going bad for quite a long time. Meat, pulses, fresh vegetables, soups... all last longer in the refrigerator (and out, for that matter) when the herb cumin is added.
For the length you can keep stuff I bought a new fridge and the answer is almost forever. set the temp to 2 or 3 C and I have used veg and salads a month beyond its use by date and they look and taste fine