Feed a family nutritionally well for <€132 a week

ch750536

Hi. I'm doing this as I'm taking a nutrition course. Would be great if someone else would like to join me.

http://feedfamilyfour.blogspot.ie/

Basically trying to not eat low grade food, nutritionally empty but also not spending a fortune. Brownie points earnt for good organic food.

marizpan

These are all vegan meal plans, worth a mention :-)

LeinsterDub

ch750536 wrote: »

Nutritionally we did really well though.

Dinner
Hula Hoops 4 €2.95 12 €0.98
Roll 1 €3.50 12 €0.29 :eek:

ch750536

No, only mine are vegan. My wife eats fish, kids eat anything but what they are supposed to.

ch750536

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Dinner
Hula Hoops 4 €2.95 12 €0.98
Roll 1 €3.50 12 €0.29 :eek:

Was between us all & over the day, just makes it a bit easier. Nutrition is based over the whole week also and not just the individual days or even meals.

papu

ch750536 wrote: »

Was between us all & over the day, just makes it a bit easier. Nutrition is based over the whole week also and not just the individual days or even meals.

What are the Macro Breakdowns and calories ? Doesn't seem like an awful lot of nutritious food

coffee_cake

what is "high in nutrition"
Seems high in sugar, the smoothies

I don't know how to do any of that on a vegan diet anyway. Feeding the family on a load of eggs, chicken fillets, rice, mixed veg etc would be fine

Stribach

Couple of nice meals low cost high taste
Omelette with chopped chorizo,diced mushrooms and cherry tomatoes sweated down in pan first then added to omelette mix finish under grill serve with a baked potato

Boil some pasta add a jar of chunky veg and tomatoe sauce quick and easy

Two favourites in our house of four!

ch750536

papu wrote: »

What are the Macro Breakdowns and calories ? Doesn't seem like an awful lot of nutritious food

Example

Doing this on a daily basis is nonsense. Your body handles and stores different elements in different ways. I'll be summarising calories. I'll handle the macros after a few days to see what is missing from the diet and replacing, so day 2 is not massively important. Day 5 is the key.

ch750536

bluewolf wrote: »

what is "high in nutrition"
Seems high in sugar, the smoothies

I don't know how to do any of that on a vegan diet anyway. Feeding the family on a load of eggs, chicken fillets, rice, mixed veg etc would be fine

Compared to the average diet. You have to remember 2 things.

• These are 2 kids, 7 & 9
• This is done on a budget.

So getting the kids to consume healthy nutritious food is always going to be relative for someone like yourself.

My own belief is that chicken & pork is not fit for human consumption. A conversation for another day maybe.

Berry smoothies not fruit, so lower in sugar 120 cal per glass (I may even start adding honey). There is a lot of rice already. Loads of mixed veg.

ch750536

bluewolf wrote: »

what is "high in nutrition"
Seems high in sugar, the smoothies

I don't know how to do any of that on a vegan diet anyway. Feeding the family on a load of eggs, chicken fillets, rice, mixed veg etc would be fine

We do give them meat, just not much. I believe 1 portion of meat a day is fine, perhaps even excessive. The kids also have a meal 3 times a week at their grans which always has meat so I have to take this into account. Sometimes it may appear that they are vegan but they really aren't.

Mellor

ch750536 wrote: »

Berry smoothies not fruit, so lower in sugar 120 cal per glass (I may even start adding honey). There is a lot of rice already. Loads of mixed veg.

Berrys are fruit.
That 120 cals, is essentially all sugar. Adding honey is more sugar.

Whats this;

http://veganate.blogspot.ie/2014/06/day-1-30-nutritional-summary.html

Over 30 days, the main source of calories was bread, the second hula hoops. Nearly 30% between them. Please tell me there's a mistake there.

It's also appears to still be a staple of the meal plan.
I take you point that nutrition should be looked at weekly, not just daily. But if you are eating hula-hoops and a roll everyday, it doesn't matter how you look at it.

ch750536

Mellor wrote: »

Berrys are fruit.
That 120 cals, is essentially all sugar. Adding honey is more sugar.

Whats this;

Over 30 days, the main source of calories was bread, the second hula hoops. Nearly 30% between them. Please tell me there's a mistake there.

It's also appears to still be a staple of the meal plan.
I take you point that nutrition should be looked at weekly, not just daily. But if you are eating hula-hoops and a roll everyday, it doesn't matter how you look at it.

Yep, that was a learning curve from the first month of becoming a vegan, 'cold turkey' style. Basically I decided to be vegan all of a sudden. The knowledge gap was huge so the void was filled with nonsense food. Things have settled well, read the blog to see this. The intent of that link was to show that I am keeping reasonable track of nutrients by way of example.

At the moment, moving in to this challenge, I have another curve to work through, cost vs nutrition. Balance & variation I know and understand but doing this for the right cost can be tricky. I think if you look at what happens in week 2 you will get a better picture of what I mean.

I believe that having a nutritious diet is easy for any adult with an open mind. I believe a reasonably nutritious diet for a family is possible. Kids throw all kinds of issues into the mix.

ch750536

Mellor wrote: »

Berrys are fruit.
That 120 cals, is essentially all sugar. Adding honey is more sugar.

Sugar is needed in any balanced diet. The benefit in berries in a smoothie vs fruit is that there are fewer calories and a different mix of nutrients. Kids eat bananas, apples, oranges etc at school but wouldn't eat berries as they don't like them as much & they are messy. Berry smoothie solves both of these issues.

ch750536

Mellor wrote: »

Berrys are fruit.
That 120 cals, is essentially all sugar. Adding honey is more sugar.

Whats this;

Over 30 days, the main source of calories was bread, the second hula hoops. Nearly 30% between them. Please tell me there's a mistake there.

It's also appears to still be a staple of the meal plan.
I take you point that nutrition should be looked at weekly, not just daily. But if you are eating hula-hoops and a roll everyday, it doesn't matter how you look at it.

The only bread we have now is bread I bake myself. Organic spelt, honey, water & yeast are the only ingredients. I make 12 average sized rolls every 2 - 3 days.

Wood

You should read "The Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith. While your at it don't force your choices on your kids.

Ireland has some of the best meat products in the world. The chicken is second to none worldwide if bought from a reputable source. Saying one portion of meat per day is excessive is complete nonsense, we are omnivores.

But, you think hula hoops and sugar are okay? carry on. :rolleyes:

Mellor

ch750536 wrote: »

Sugar is needed in any balanced diet. The benefit in berries in a smoothie vs fruit is that there are fewer calories and a different mix of nutrients. Kids eat bananas, apples, oranges etc at school but wouldn't eat berries as they don't like them as much & they are messy. Berry smoothie solves both of these issues.

I never said zero sugar is the target. I'm just pointing out that a reliance on fruit can lead to high quantities of sugar. Do you have a macro breakdown for a week of this plan?

ch750536 wrote: »

The only bread we have now is bread I bake myself. Organic spelt, honey, water & yeast are the only ingredients. I make 12 average sized rolls every 2 - 3 days.

I only commented on the info provided.

ch750536

You're coming across as an angry Mellor. Nothing personal here, just info. I know you didn't have all the facts so I supplied them. I don't expect anyone to explain themselves other than the guy who opened himself to criticism, me. I'm also very open to the fact that while a lot is known about nutrition there is still a lot of opinion. What is right for Bob is not right for Bill.

Macro breakdown on day 2, no, not worth it. By day 7 yes, I will be looking in more detail as per the example I gave earlier. This will be me looking over the foods each of us have eaten and checking we are covering everything.

Aimeee

ch750536 wrote: »

The only bread we have now is bread I bake myself. Organic spelt, honey, water & yeast are the only ingredients. I make 12 average sized rolls every 2 - 3 days.

Slightly off topic, would you mind pming or posting recipe for the rolls please.
Usually do a loaf without yeast, would like to try something new.

ch750536

Aimeee wrote: »

Slightly off topic, would you mind pming or posting recipe for the rolls please.
Usually do a loaf without yeast, would like to try something new.

Dead simple:

Bowl of 300ml warm water
+squirt of honey (trial & error - taste)
+quick yeast (5g)
Stir until honey is mixed.
Add 500g organic spelt.

Mix & play for a few minutes till 1 consistent blob.
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Open & play with it.
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Open, add a little oil (makes it crusty)& play with it.
Place onto greased something & shape for what you want (rolls or loaf etc)
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Warm oven up (180 ish)
Put in oven till cooked.

Most important part seems to be how warm the warm spot is. Make sure it goes from covered warm spot straight into the hot oven.

Eventually I'll have my own starter but my fridge is a little small.

coffee_cake

Are these breakdowns an average for the kids or everyone. For an adult 250g carbs a day seems high. The order is bread hula hoops potatoes nuts beer... that isn't something I'd really call nutritious

ch750536

bluewolf wrote: »

Are these breakdowns an average for the kids or everyone. For an adult 250g carbs a day seems high. The order is bread hula hoops potatoes nuts beer... that isn't something I'd really call nutritious

Look at the dates & read what I have already said about the EXAMPLE

coffee_cake

I did see it was an example and I did check your blog which has waffles sausages bread rolls and hula hoops on a recent log

ellejay

ch750536 wrote: »

Dead simple:

Bowl of 300ml warm water
+squirt of honey (trial & error - taste)
+quick yeast (5g)
Stir until honey is mixed.
Add 500g organic spelt.

Mix & play for a few minutes till 1 consistent blob.
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Open & play with it.
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Open, add a little oil (makes it crusty)& play with it.
Place onto greased something & shape for what you want (rolls or loaf etc)
Cover with towel & leave in warm place for 1 hr.
Warm oven up (180 ish)
Put in oven till cooked.

Most important part seems to be how warm the warm spot is. Make sure it goes from covered warm spot straight into the hot oven.

Eventually I'll have my own starter but my fridge is a little small.

pm sent, didn't want to drag off topic.

ch750536

bluewolf wrote: »

I did see it was an example and I did check your blog which has waffles sausages bread rolls and hula hoops on a recent log

Vegan sausages, home baked spelt rolls.

Mellor

ch750536 wrote: »

You're coming across as an angry Mellor. Nothing personal here, just info. I know you didn't have all the facts so I supplied them. I don't expect anyone to explain themselves other than the guy who opened himself to criticism, me. I'm also very open to the fact that while a lot is known about nutrition there is still a lot of opinion. What is right for Bob is not right for Bill.

No anger behind any of my comments. Not sure what exactly gave that impression. Hard to convey tone in text sometimes.
I'm just giving my opinion on what you've posted so far. As you said, opinions differ. The macros so far would be far from what is call nutritious - I'm sure you wouldn't approve of elements of my diet.

Macro breakdown on day 2, no, not worth it. By day 7 yes, I will be looking in more detail as per the example I gave earlier. This will be me looking over the foods each of us have eaten and checking we are covering everything.

I didn't realise you were only two days into this plan, I thought it was a continuation of the last challange.

ch750536

Mellor wrote: »

No anger behind any of my comments. Not sure what exactly gave that impression. Hard to convey tone in text sometimes.
I'm just giving my opinion on what you've posted so far. As you said, opinions differ. The macros so far would be far from what is call nutritious - I'm sure you wouldn't approve of elements of my diet.


I didn't realise you were only two days into this plan, I thought it was a continuation of the last challange.

Link - That's where I should be linking to.

niamh.foley

bluewolf wrote: »

what is "high in nutrition"
Seems high in sugar, the smoothies

I don't know how to do any of that on a vegan diet anyway. Feeding the family on a load of eggs, chicken fillets, rice, mixed veg etc would be fine

it depends one what kind of Smoothies, you are talking about one you buy pre-done yes are loaded with Sugar, but if you make your own Smoothies with homemade Coconut or Almond Milk you can liimit the sugar.

ch750536

I've moved on to frozen berries for the smoothies as they are cheaper. There are much more tarty though. Anyone else found this?

Animord

FYI Frozen berries are still on a boil notice.

the groutch

still alot of crisps, or as it was today Dorito's involved.