Good home cooking or ready made meals!!

[RATTER15]

Do you eat ready made meals in a packet or do you cook a healthy meal.

I have noticed that the poorer the person the more junk they seem to eat which probably costs them more than eating a good home prepared and cooked meal. is it just laziness, poorly educated or preference or just don't have the time?

[Kirstyhev]

Personally I love cooking and use fresh produce daily to make a healthy meal. However, I find that alot of the ready meals always have special offers on them e.g. BOGOF, 3 for 2 etc, which to a poorer person will seem more appealing than say the fresh fruit and veg aisles which very rarely promote any type of special offers.

[whiffey]

I am very lazy, but don't use ready meals. If I cook a curry, I'll do enough to freeze down around 4 large servings. Tomorrow I am going to put a half-leg of lamb in the slow cooker along with chopped carrot, swede, turnip, and all immersed in red wine. That should sort out most of next week from the freezer.

I know what you mean about junk. It costs little more to buy extra lean steak mince rather than ordinary mince. I rarely see people reading labels to find out fat content etc. I can't see the point in trying to save money on food. My beer budget dwarfs it anyway.

[spudqueen]

I nine times out of ten cook a meal from scratch. The only times I don't I might buy a pizza or we might have a take-away. I know what you mean about the poorer people eating junk, I think a lot of it is down to poor education. And by this I don't mean necessarily school education but what they learnt from their parents. This non-cooking, just heating things up thing is then passed down to another generation who haven't learnt to cook.

[learntojive]

I cook too most nights, I love to see the kids tucking into a healthy meal with vegetables.
I went to catering college so I do know about food, I think most people who use convenience foods maybe just wouldn't know where to start in the kitchen.
I try to make extras each night and freeze a portion for my hubby to take to work at the weekend, but sometimes if there isn't any left I'll get him a ready meal. They are very expensive and no wonder they're so low in calories - you get a tiny portion (compared to my portions anyway)
I buy a large chicken and easily get 3 generous meals out of it, very economical and delicious - but I suppose if you didn't know how to joint it or how long to cook for etc it wouldn't be that straight forward.
They don't seem to do home economics at school now like we did though, I left school able to cook allsorts, a full meal and the basics, my daughter is 13 and all she's made so far is biscuits.

[learntojive]

...me again with a other thought.
If I haven't time to cook a proper meal if I've been at work and not got organised, or been out - I wouldn't buy a ready meal anyway. I'd do something simple like jacket potato and tuna, or egg and beans on toast - it's quick & easy, and much healthier than convenience food

[shaneystar2]

Apparently low-earning households, pensioners and those with no earner eat more fresh veg and fruit etc and fresh green vegetables than high-income households.
Lots of people are cash rich and time poor hence the boom in ready meals .
My aunt is loaded but still eats ready meals from time to time .At ninety ,a small ready roast dinner is more than enough for her as a hot lunch.I would hardly call that laziness more convenience for an elderly lady on her own who certainly knew how to cook a proper meal in her younger days when catering for a family .
I live on a lowish fixed income so I would be classed as relatively poor but we don't eat junk food and ready meals.
Neither am I poorly educated or lazy .
How can you tell who is poor and not poor ?
Can you see inside their wallets ?
I must go my gruel is getting cold .