I was looking for some fresh food on OzBargain and all I found was Meys Meats.
Elsewise, the food section is choc-a-bloc with processed junk food. Does this reflect the proportion of processed foods we are actually eating?
What are OzBargainers eating in a week in fresh vs fast foods? If lunch and dinner = 14 meals, what is your mix, and how can you afford it?
local grocers rather than large supermarkets for fruit & veg
This HEAVILY depends on locations. Plenty of places have prices much higher than the in-season fruits and veg at Coleworth
Does this reflect the proportion of processed foods we are actually eating?
Possibly, a large proportion of Aussies aren't eating healthy diets.
What are OzBargainers eating in a week in fresh vs fast foods? If lunch and dinner = 14 meals, what is your mix, and how can you afford it?
I went flexitarian a while ago and focus on eating whole plant based foods and ensure I get five serves of fruit and veg a day. Fruit and veg isn't that expensive (you can always get frozen anyway for things like berries and mixed vegetables) and it's worth spending more now than having to pay for medical bills later on. If I get fast food (usually once or twice a week) I'll normally opt for the healthier options, e.g. Grill'd Garden Goodness, KFC Crunchy Jalapeno Slaw or HJ's Plant Based Whopper.
Plant Based Whopper
Very processed plants. Time will tell if the meat patty is actually healthier that the processed plant stuff.
True, the main reason I get it is because it's plant based even though it's highly processed. The patty was developed in collaboration with the CSIRO so you would hope it's not terribly unhealthy.
It's interesting that there is an increasing perception that plant based implies healthier than animal based. Animal foods are, generally speaking, more easily absorbed, fats are more stable, proteins are complete, and plant based products are often less processed, etc. What would you rather for a saturated fat, tallow or hydrogenated vegetable oil?
The green marketing these days seems to conflate "healthy" and "environmentally friendly" in the minds of the public.
It's interesting that there is an increasing perception that plant based implies healthier than animal based.
If you’re referring to the Plant Based Whopper or plant based foods which can be ultra processed that’s fair enough. By definition ultra processed foods in general are not very healthy, even if they are plant based.
Animal foods are, generally speaking, more easily absorbed, fats are more stable, proteins are complete, and plant based products are often less processed, etc.
What’s more easily absorbed from animal foods? I know heme-iron is more easily absorbed than non-heme iron but your body doesn’t readily excrete iron (unless you menstruate) and high iron levels are detrimental to your health. Protein is more easily absorbed sure, but I’m not trying to bulk up and even if I was I would rather still stick to plants.
Animal fats are more stable because there’s more saturated fats in animal fat (except for omega 3 in fish) compared to plants which are inflammatory and detrimental to cell membrane fluidity. There are plants such as quinoa and edamame that have complete proteins but sure, not all plants have complete proteins which is why one should eat a variety of plants to meet their nutritional requirements.
What would you rather for a saturated fat, tallow or hydrogenated vegetable oil?
I personally try to avoid saturated fats/consume a higher intake of unsaturated fats where possible (due to the reasons mentioned above) and just because I prefer the odd UP plant-based patty here and there it doesn’t mean I’ll automatically cook all my other meals with hydrogenated vegetable oil just because it’s plant-based. I’d be using avocado oil or olive oil or EVOO instead of those options, depending on what I’m cooking. On the rare occasion (talking a few times a year) I decide to deep fry I opt for canola oil.
The green marketing these days seems to conflate "healthy" and "environmentally friendly" in the minds of the public.
Probably because many studies (not paid for by the agriculture industry) have shown eating a whole food plant based diet is better for both your health and the environment and with what’s going on across the planet in terms of biodiversity loss and climate change they’re pushing the message harder (even though in reality we’re actually screwed). Just because I said I think the Plant Based Whopper is the “healthier” option (on the occasion where I do get Hungry Jack’s) it doesn’t mean that ultra processed plant based foods are inherently healthy, obviously by nature they aren’t. And as I said, I’m flexitarian so I still eat meat here and there, I just choose to eat less.
What’s more easily absorbed from animal foods? I know heme-iron is more easily absorbed than non-heme iron but your body doesn’t readily excrete iron (unless you menstruate) and high iron levels are detrimental to your health.
Omega3s, i.e. DHA+EPA vs ALA
Vitamin K (K2 vs K1)
Heme iron as you pointed out
I'm sure i've read of many others but don't recall off the top of my head.
On the rare occasion (talking a few times a year) I decide to deep fry I opt for canola oil.
This is why i pointed out saturated fat stability. Frying with canola oil is a trap - canola contains omega 6 and 3 which is denatured by the heat, it's arguably healthier to cook with heat-stable saturated fats.
Plant oils can be more healthy, but very few people actually eat them in a healthy way exclusively (zero heating/cooking), even EVOO is denatured by cooking despite O9 being more stable.
Probably because many studies (not paid for by the agriculture industry) have shown eating a whole food plant based diet is better for both your health and the environment and with what’s going on across the planet in terms of biodiversity loss and climate change
IMO plant vs animal is a huge red herring. Plant monoculture farming is usually very harmful to the environment, especially annuals, and produces plenty of unhealthy food in spite of it being prepared 'whole', whereas pastoral meat farming is arguably good for the environment.
I'm sure i've read of many others but don't recall off the top of my head.
So do you think just because some nutrients are more easily absorbed that we should still eat animal products because of that? What about the "bad things" (for lack of a better term) found in animal products such as dietary precursors to TMAO?
This is why i pointed out saturated fat stability. Frying with canola oil is a trap - canola contains omega 6 and 3 which is denatured by the heat, it's arguably healthier to cook with heat-stable saturated fats.
Fair enough, it's a good thing I don't fry often then.
Plant oils can be more healthy, but very few people actually eat them in a healthy way exclusively (zero heating/cooking), even EVOO is denatured by cooking despite O9 being more stable.
So do you think people should not heat or cook their foods then? I mean when one says they're focussing on eating healthy it doesn't exactly mean they will go as far as to not heat up any of their food, that seems quite extreme.
IMO plant vs animal is a huge red herring. Plant monoculture farming is usually very harmful to the environment, especially annuals, and produces plenty of unhealthy food in spite of it being prepared 'whole', whereas pastoral meat farming is arguably good for the environment.
I mean sure, pastoral farming may be objectively better for the environment but that's not how most animals are raised for human consumption is it? And 80% of the world's soy that is grown is to feed animals [for our consumption] so it's not the most efficient use of land space either. Demand for meat is growing annually and it's clear that people won't give up meat or even try to lower their consumption of it, even now when I'm talking about eating a whole foods plant based diet you're trying to argue against doing so and advocating for eating meat.
My week is not complete without completing the holy trinity at least once
(KFC, hungry jacks, maccas)
dominos!!!!
That's the devil's work
.
Usually have a smoothie or oats for breakfast, homemade lunch full of veggies for lunch, homemade dinner too. Buy most my produce at Aldi or fruit shop. Grow some, wanting to grow more
I try to eat the whole bag of fresh candy before it start going stale.
I eat a lot of frozen vegetables. I do heat them up in the microwave first. But that's not really "fresh" is it?
Fresh food
Do you mean whole food, plant based?
That's my predominant diet, so nearly 100% (sometimes have a bit of fish/meat that the family is eating). My family eats more animal protein, but they eat a lot of whole grains, beans, and fruits and veg.
how can you afford it?
Dried wholefoods such as whole grains like oats and legumes are dirt cheap (oats bulk packs have gone down in price over the last few years). And the legumes are on special at one of my sources below, every now and then. Even not on special they are a much cheaper and healthier source of protein (some need to combine with whole grains to get complete protein).
For fresh food, you need a number of sources/stores and we're bless to be near many sources, which will be very cheap at a particular point in time (which is nearly all the time for us in combination), but not all the time.
Obviously you need to eat and cook flexibly, that is, seasonally and what's on special.
I grow nearly all of my leafy greens and am moving the family onto it.
PS: It's hard to post deals on fresh produce as it's seasonal, or isolated (traffic bait for a particular grocer) and rarely in the supermarkets as it's not their main focus. Could be with say Harris Farm, but they are mainly limited to NSW above the latte line and only have some weekly/weekend specials. And yes, most OZB'ers probably don't eat a lot of fresh produce.
fresh is very important for me. meat should be eaten within 48 hours of "production". fresh food is one of the tenets of being a cannibal.
Fresh food prices go up and down all the time, so what is a bargain worthy of posting? $6 blueberries is cheap in winter but expensive in summer
Processed food is pretty consistently priced so easier to tell if a bargain
Either have oats/protein shake for breakfast or bacon/eggs, usually salad and tinned salmon for lunch (wait for the salmon to go on 1/2 price at colesworth and stock up), then veges carrot, broccoli, pumpkin, squash, beans, peas, zucinni (sometimes it's our own produce but that's seasonal) and some meat either chicken or lamb or steak. Avoid HPF (highly processed 'food') as much as you possible can.
I always eat my pizzas fresh. Its terrible reheated.
Next day room temp is tasty (not deep pan)
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Cold out of fridge next day hit different waking up Sunday 2pm hungover
Did you catch Aaron Chen on Shaun Micallef's Origin Odyssey last week? Great show…
The type of comedy really resonates with me
What do you define as 'fresh' food? Going by definition, all food in the supermarket is technically decaying. In fact, much of it is frozen from over a year ago.
Try to find local grocers rather than large supermarkets for fruit & veg. The quality and availability varies on a weekly basis but the prices are significantly cheaper.
If you want really fresh, there's pick-your-own orchards/farms to indulge in, as well as regular farmers markets for fresh produce.