TTC

[flyawaystray]

In my state, Medicaid pays for birth control/family planning stuff .

I get Medicaid and food stamps because I am on SSDI and SSI. I am childfree and intend to stay that way for the rest of my life. I don't hate children, I just have no desire to have my own. If I wanted to, I could get sterilized. My boyfriend decided it would be better if he got the snip and his insurance will pay for it. It's nice knowing that if I wanted to get a tubal, it would cost me nothing.

I may also be the in the minority with receiving aid and not wanting children.

[hapamama]

Wouldn't a basic white sauce or cheese sauce work instead of the canned soup in TTC? I'm not saying white or cheese sauce is a health food, but at least if you make it yourself, you are in control of what goes into it. :)

Making your own white sauce is pretty easy and doesn't take that much more effort than having to scrape the Cream of Crap soup out of the cans.

I found a recipe for Chickenetti made from scratch on pinterest and tried it. It's pretty good.

[jenny_islander]

If you're absolutely crammed for time, cream-of soup only takes a few seconds to add and produces no pots to scrub. The shortcut I posted earlier only takes 10-15 minutes to put together, about half the time of classic white sauce, but that is 10 minutes some people don't have, and the pot may have to be soaked before it's scrubbed.

I still don't ever want to eat cream-of soup again. I used to, but making my own sauces has completely put me off the taste of the canned stuff. I stock up on decent-tasting pizzas from the supermarket when they go on sale and serve those when I am too tired to cook.

[already hungover]

I'm 25 and had home ec for a trimester in grade 7. We did cooking and sewing. I'm not sure if the junior high I went to still has a home ec program.

[bookiewookie]

Making your own white sauce is pretty easy and doesn't take that much more effort than having to scrape the Cream of Crap soup out of the cans.

I found a recipe for Chickenetti made from scratch on pinterest and tried it. It's pretty good.

For the past couple of Thanksgivings, I've made green bean casserole where all of the usual canned components (mushroom-based white sauce and fried onions) are made from scratch. It's pretty tasty and not difficult at all. I'm not really sure how it stacks up to the traditional (for lack of a better word) casserole since we never used cream of mushroom soup growing up and I don't think we ever had green bean casserole either.

Here's the recipe, if you're interested: food52.com/recipes/7875-homemade-green-bean-casserole

[OkToBeTakei]

If you're absolutely crammed for time, cream-of soup only takes a few seconds to add and produces no pots to scrub. The shortcut I posted earlier only takes 10-15 minutes to put together, about half the time of classic white sauce, but that is 10 minutes some people don't have, and the pot may have to be soaked before it's scrubbed.

I still don't ever want to eat cream-of soup again. I used to, but making my own sauces has completely put me off the taste of the canned stuff. I stock up on decent-tasting pizzas from the supermarket when they go on sale and serve those when I am too tired to cook.

Sorry. What a load of crap. What absolute essential part of life with there being 24 hours in a day precludes somebody from taking 10 minutes to make a sauce or wash a pot. That type of excuse is just that in my view. Excuses.

[August]

Sorry. What a load of crap. What absolute essential part of life with there being 24 hours in a day precludes somebody from taking 10 minutes to make a sauce or wash a pot. That type of excuse is just that in my view. Excuses.

First, Jenny, white sauce doesn't take 30 minutes to make. Even for mac and cheese where you start by chopping an onion and end by cooling it and adding shredded cheese it's no more than 15 minutes. And normal gravy or normal plain white sauce is only 5-10.

Second, Takei, you don't have kids, do you? With kids ten minutes easily makes the difference between a massive hors long nightmare evening meltdown because they go past hunger and getting something in their stomachs. I would never ever use a tin of creamed soup to save time, but often I cook spaghetti (6-8 min) instead of Gemelli (12-13 min) because time is just that crucial.

[August]

In my state, Medicaid pays for birth control/family planning stuff .

I get Medicaid and food stamps because I am on SSDI and SSI. I am childfree and intend to stay that way for the rest of my life. I don't hate children, I just have no desire to have my own. If I wanted to, I could get sterilized. My boyfriend decided it would be better if he got the snip and his insurance will pay for it. It's nice knowing that if I wanted to get a tubal, it would cost me nothing.

I may also be the in the minority with receiving aid and not wanting children.

It's been my understanding that it is really really hard to find a medicaid provider who's accepting new patients?

[OkToBeTakei]

First, Jenny, white sauce doesn't take 30 minutes to make. Even for mac and cheese where you start by chopping an onion and end by cooling it and adding shredded cheese it's no more than 15 minutes. And normal gravy or normal plain white sauce is only 5-10.

Second, Takei, you don't have kids, do you? With kids ten minutes easily makes the difference between a massive hors long nightmare evening meltdown because they go past hunger and getting something in their stomachs. I would never ever use a tin of creamed soup to save time, but often I cook spaghetti (6-8 min) instead of Gemelli (12-13 min) because time is just that crucial.

I do have a child, I also work, regularly entertain, just you know generally have a busy-ish life most days. But I'm one of those parents that ignores meltdowns even when cooking for all my nephews and nieces and dinner is late. That is what the garden is for :lol:

No child ever died waiting an extra 10 minutes for dinner. Saying that we tend to eat any time from 6pm to 10pm and plan the day around it. The grouchier food deprived nephew and niece normally get to chomp on the raw veggies or salad while waiting.

Maybe some are not as willing to turn a deaf ear to whinging and plonk some ready made shit on the plate, I'm not one of them. I once stopped making dinner once, so fed up with the whinging and told the kiddos ..you know what we'll get take-out pizza. Amazing..from phone to delivery was 45 minutes but strangely they forgot how hungry they were :think: :lol:

[yewchapel]

Sorry. What a load of crap. What absolute essential part of life with there being 24 hours in a day precludes somebody from taking 10 minutes to make a sauce or wash a pot. That type of excuse is just that in my view. Excuses.

What about people working 3 jobs just to keep body and soul together? A tin of soup is so much easier and quicker than making it from scratch, that much should be obvious.

Plenty of people are both time-poor and cash-poor, and just because you have not been in a situation where you can't spare an extra ten minutes doesn't mean nobody else is in that situation. Unless you have been in that situation, you have no right to judge.

Not everyone has the money to stock up on 'decent-tasting' (taste is subjective!) from the supermarket, and not everyone (especially in the US) has access to a supermarket. Good for you that you have the time and energy to make your own sauces etc, but not everyone else does, and that's not a moral failing. I'm willing to criticise the Duggars over their eating habits - they have money, time and resources - but certainly not willing to criticise poor people who struggle to put food on the table and keep up with their healthcare payments.

[flyawaystray]

It's been my understanding that it is really really hard to find a medicaid provider who's accepting new patients?

I never had an issue finding a doctor in the provider directory that accepts new patients.

[OkToBeTakei]

What about people working 3 jobs just to keep body and soul together? A tin of soup is so much easier and quicker than making it from scratch, that much should be obvious.

Plenty of people are both time-poor and cash-poor, and just because you have not been in a situation where you can't spare an extra ten minutes doesn't mean nobody else is in that situation. Unless you have been in that situation, you have no right to judge.

Not everyone has the money to stock up on 'decent-tasting' (taste is subjective!) from the supermarket, and not everyone (especially in the US) has access to a supermarket. Good for you that you have the time and energy to make your own sauces etc, but not everyone else does, and that's not a moral failing. I'm willing to criticise the Duggars over their eating habits - they have money, time and resources - but certainly not willing to criticise poor people who struggle to put food on the table and keep up with their healthcare payments.

What about reading the rest of the thread, before posting a ludicrously emotive judgy post about me being judgy huh?

The discussion surrounded education, cultural differences, social welfare, food deserts, geographical location and public transport or lack of. Along with time constraints, work/life balance and poverty.

If you care to read you will see that many feel all or some of these things contribute to lack of 'fresh' 'homemade' 'produce'. For example whilst in the US buying tinned soup may be more economical in cost, it is not where I live. The availability of 2 carrots an onion and a bag of lentils will cost roughly the same as a tin of soup and feed more people. The preparation time would be chopping your veg and waiting for it to cook. Maybe not quite as quick as opening a tin and heating it up, but not some intensive labour gourmet meal. (granted a good stock would help, but hey we are talking basic.)

Sure I have the time. Cooking is also a passion for me. I would say though and again if you choose to read previous posts convenience food in the UK tends to be more expensive so despite what my financial circumstances are NOW I would still resent paying more for a convenience food I can make myself cheaper. As described here that is not the case for everybody dependent upon where they live and the other issues mentioned above.

I could care less if somebody chooses to eat a tin of soup over making their own for whatever reason that may be. The whole point of the thread was posters figuring out why this was. I post from my demographic, which I posted up thread. Compared to say the person who works very far from home and travels daily and is 3 miles from a very expensive convenience store our lifestyles are obviously going to differ.

As August said

The poverty and deprivation here are more extreme in addition to the cultural non-cooking. There's not only a very low minimum wage, but there's no social safety net. You get food stamps, plus a few patchy aids here and there. So there's no education or health care to keep you from having tons of kids, care for them is expensive and substandard and not subsidised.

This would not be the case in the UK. It makes for more understanding of some of the cultural food differences we comment on here. That pet is not judgy, that's just a difference. In the UK most of the needs mentioned above including a fairly good public transport system exists so choosing to buy and eat convenience food is a choice, rather than a necessity. The time issue and three job scenario is just a small percentage and not indicative of a majority. So basically it comes down to many factors.

So you can say it's ok to have a McDonalds because it's cheap and quick and that's a choice. For me I would rather buy a potato and bake it with some cheese and some supermarket coleslaw. Choice.

[yewchapel]

Actually, I have read the entire thread. And even in the UK, things like public transport, while making things easier, don't solve all the problems of poor people. When I was really, really poor, no way could I afford public transport in my area and had to walk everywhere (to the jobcentre, to social services, to the council housing offices). That takes up energy. Also, for some of that time I was in B&B accommodation and *couldn't* bake a potato, because the only cooking resources I had was an electric kettle. That's it - no fridge, no hob, no oven, nothing. I had a lot of tuna out of the can and pot noodles, not even you could blame me for turning to fast food because it was the only way of having a hot meal I could afford. Was buying convenience food in that case a real choice, as opposed to a necessity? And I'm lucky enough to know how to cook - plenty of people have been brought up in homes where nobody cooked, so how are they expected to know that lentil soup is cheaper to make than to use a can? There are many many factors involved here.

Sure, public transport and the NHS make things much much easier in the UK, but real poverty still exists here and I know because I have been there. I wasn't making a 'ludicrously emotive judgy post', I was talking from my own experiences. Have you ever had to live in a single room with no cooking facilities beyond a kettle? Have you ever had to walk everywhere because you can't afford anything else and wear holes in your shoes, and not be able to afford replacements? Have you ever had to walk through snow in a thin cardigan because you can't afford a winter coat? And I only had to look after myself, I can only imagine how hard it is to do that when you have kids.

[OkToBeTakei]

Actually, I have read the entire thread. And even in the UK, things like public transport, while making things easier, don't solve all the problems of poor people. When I was really, really poor, no way could I afford public transport in my area and had to walk everywhere (to the jobcentre, to social services, to the council housing offices). That takes up energy. Also, for some of that time I was in B&B accommodation and *couldn't* bake a potato, because the only cooking resources I had was an electric kettle. That's it - no fridge, no hob, no oven, nothing. I had a lot of tuna out of the can and pot noodles, not even you could blame me for turning to fast food because it was the only way of having a hot meal I could afford. Was buying convenience food in that case a real choice, as opposed to a necessity? And I'm lucky enough to know how to cook - plenty of people have been brought up in homes where nobody cooked, so how are they expected to know that lentil soup is cheaper to make than to use a can? There are many many factors involved here.

Sure, public transport and the NHS make things much much easier in the UK, but real poverty still exists here and I know because I have been there. I wasn't making a 'ludicrously emotive judgy post', I was talking from my own experiences. Have you ever had to live in a single room with no cooking facilities beyond a kettle? Have you ever had to walk everywhere because you can't afford anything else and wear holes in your shoes, and not be able to afford replacements? Have you ever had to walk through snow in a thin cardigan because you can't afford a winter coat? And I only had to look after myself, I can only imagine how hard it is to do that when you have kids.

That is a fairly pointed and unique situation. I assume it was a stop gap to being housed as yes I am aware of the homeless situation and it's shortfall. If you had children it would not have been the same situation.

Yes I said that there ARE many factors involved of which I listed some above. Fact remains compared to some other scenarios yours would be short-term compared to say the social welfare system in the US. I believe you have mentioned you now attend university and live with your parents during holidays making your experience a temporary one. The welfare system here is not perfect and young people definitely fall through the gaps. Jobseekers allowance, crisis loans, clothing grants, the possibility (remote with a long wait for a single young person granted) of social housing, free accessible healthcare, whilst not always immediate are at least available in the UK. Strangely food poverty is on the increase in the home-owning seemingly wealthy who due to the economy are struggling financially due to say job loss, poor housing market to sell and are the biggest uptake of charity food banks.

Your issue seems to be that you perceive I judge those who choose to eat fast food. I actually do not judge anybody but my personal choice would be a bowl of soup and a sandwich which to me IS fast food and greatly cheaper than most 'Fast food' meals if you mean chain restaurants.

I'm not interested in a have you did you type of debate as it is all just so much an emotive way of debating. Your situation is unique to you and if you wish to see the bigger issues only through your own experience then it is really quite pointless. My situation has differed over many years, yes I have been food poor through poor decisions when younger. I've also never lived for long periods in the US and their situation is vastly more complex.

To go back on topic really, OUT WITH unique situations when you do have access to cooking facilities there are healthier and cheaper ways to eat than relying on convenience foods but as others have said and you mentioned the skills have been lost over a generation, prior to the market being saturated with easy, quick and mainly rubbish nutrition wise food, people were extremely inventive. It's a tough one for sure. For most there is an element of choice involved even your situation you could decide where to buy a hot meal. True food poverty as in the third world famines, kind of puts in to perspective the amount of choice we do have.

[FJismyheadship]

LadyBlue, we are kind of combination. WIC provides solids at 6 months, but she will want what you are eating too. My babysitter made chicken and dumplings one night when she had the baby, and she gobbled it right up. I ate a barbeque sandwich one day and gave her bits of the bun since the meat was too big.

I do puree and freeze fruits and veggies like someone else said. That way when I am out of jarred stuff, I have plenty more. I am actually about to put some chicken in the crackpot. Sometimes she eats spaghetti with us.

What goes well with pineapple? I have frozen pineapple purees but I think the pineapple is too strong.

[BlondeAgent007]

pinapple and banana go well together. You can leave them frozen and puree together with a dash of OJ before serving. It's like a smoothie :)

ETA you can opt out OJ for milk

[church_of_dog]

... about to put some chicken in the crackpot.

See what happens when we spend too much time reading about crackpots? :lol:

[bananacat]

I hate how all these threads turn into a holier-than-thou like using a can of cream soup is akin to poisoning your child and only truly good people would never use it. Yes, it's unhealthy and not very tasty, but for god's sake, it's a can of soup not a can of arsenic! Sometimes people do things that are convenient and it's not the end of the world. I hate food snobs.

[Arete]

And I can't stand people who think cooking from scratch is something only rich, privileged people do, so I guess it sucks to be both of us.

Honestly, a lot of people use convenience foods because they were never taught how to make fresh. It is OK to give suggestions on how to replace some convenience foods with fresh, or to point out that a pound of lentils, a bag of carrots, an onion and a clove of garlic are both cheaper and more nutritious than 2 cans of soup even in the big bad US. Educate people and let them make choices, but do not sell this bag of goods that merely trying to point out alternatives is indicative of not having compassion for the poor.

[BlondeAgent007]

I think there's some irony to be seen in some people spending ten minutes writing out responses to why people (or they specifically) don't have time to make a white sauce, when in the time it took to write it out, they could have made a white sauce.

[yewchapel]

OkToBeTakei - crisis loans, clothing grants and similar funds have now been scrapped in England (don't know about the rest of the UK) under the current government. Yes, my situation was temporary but it still lasted 7 years or so, and that's still 7 years of poverty. Extreme poverty existing elsewhere in the world does not mean that poverty in the UK (and other developed countries) does not exist. It does. Children still die of malnutrition here. And things are much worse here now under the current government than they did when I was in dire straits.

And my points about 'have you experienced xyz' was to make the point that unless you've had nothing - and even with the safety net we have in the UK, there are still people who have nothing or next to nothing - you can't know what it's like to live in such situations. I have lived in those situations.

[August]

First, Jenny, white sauce doesn't take 30 minutes to make. Even for mac and cheese where you start by chopping an onion and end by cooling it and adding shredded cheese it's no more than 15 minutes. And normal gravy or normal plain white sauce is only 5-10.

Second, Takei, you don't have kids, do you? With kids ten minutes easily makes the difference between a massive hors long nightmare evening meltdown because they go past hunger and getting something in their stomachs. I would never ever use a tin of creamed soup to save time, but often I cook spaghetti (6-8 min) instead of Gemelli (12-13 min) because time is just that crucial.

I just made a meal involving gravy. The point from adding flour to cooked was five minutes, and it's just chemistry, you can't say an inexperienced cook would take any longer. I had to brown onions for this recipe and that was a solid extra ten minutes from chopping to done, probably should have been fifteen for best taste.

[FJismyheadship]

See what happens when we spend too much time reading about crackpots? :lol:

Hahaha I didn't even see that. Auto correct wants Crock Pot... but I thought it was one word?

Bananas sounds good. I will try that later. Sounds like that would be a good breakfast.

Can I just say I am madly in love with my Baby Bullet? It makes such nice thick purees... not chunky, just THICK. The jarred ones are too thin. I can't win with them... you go up to Stage 3 and it has chunks, but stage 2 is runny... I just add cereal to them.

Is it okay to add regular milk to potatoes? I made Sweet potatoes and want to add cinnamon and milk, but don't know if that's okay or not cause of the whole NO MILK FOR A YEAR thing. I would think it would be list in cooking, but I could be wrong.

By the way, I have nothing against chunks... its just sometimes they are too big and I would rather make it chunky and know she can handle it than open a jar and her cough on it every few bites.

[OkToBeTakei]

And I can't stand people who think cooking from scratch is something only rich, privileged people do, so I guess it sucks to be both of us.

Honestly, a lot of people use convenience foods because they were never taught how to make fresh. It is OK to give suggestions on how to replace some convenience foods with fresh, or to point out that a pound of lentils, a bag of carrots, an onion and a clove of garlic are both cheaper and more nutritious than 2 cans of soup even in the big bad US. Educate people and let them make choices, but do not sell this bag of goods that merely trying to point out alternatives is indicative of not having compassion for the poor.

Precisely.

Choice.

Somebody who is not aware of the nutritional value of some convenience food when presented with facts or skills to make it cheaper or more nutritious may still prefer to use it. That is their choice. It is not food snobbery to try and eat a healthy nutritious diet no more than taking exercise or choosing not to drink or smoke is snobbery or shaming those who do.

Seems like you can't point that out without being a snob, what chance trying to educate and give people choices if that is the attitude.

[OkToBeTakei]

OkToBeTakei - crisis loans, clothing grants and similar funds have now been scrapped in England (don't know about the rest of the UK) under the current government. Yes, my situation was temporary but it still lasted 7 years or so, and that's still 7 years of poverty. Extreme poverty existing elsewhere in the world does not mean that poverty in the UK (and other developed countries) does not exist. It does. Children still die of malnutrition here. And things are much worse here now under the current government than they did when I was in dire straits.

And my points about 'have you experienced xyz' was to make the point that unless you've had nothing - and even with the safety net we have in the UK, there are still people who have nothing or next to nothing - you can't know what it's like to live in such situations. I have lived in those situations.

Actually no, individual councils still have crisis loans facilities in England as well as in Scotland. Local welfare provision.

I would be very interested in any reputable statistics which do not involve neglect/abuse to further your claim that children die of malnutrition in the UK routinely? Or adults for that matter.