BBC Good Food

• Nicola

  18 June 2010, 12:07PM

  Nicola

  Worse than ready meals is when you see a trolley filled with multi-pack crisps, chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks and frozen pizza. Sometimes I worry what people think when they see my shopping though...I get a veg box delivered and also get most of my meat with that, so my shopping trolley rarely has anything fresh in it. Perhaps people think I never eat fruit or veg and am really unhealthy?!?! I probably shouldn't really care, but I judge other people on their shopping!

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• drusilla

  18 June 2010, 12:14PM

  drusilla

  I sometimes get the odd eye roll when I'm putting high-fat desserts into my trolley - even more so when it's my four-year-old who's picking them! He has to have a high fat diet, so needs to eat 50% more calories than other children his age. But you can almost hear onlookers thinking "She's not going to let him eat THAT, is she?" Meanwhile, they're ignoring the low-fat, healthy option, skinny whatevers that are underneath!!

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• Sarah

  18 June 2010, 1:32PM

  Sarah

  I'm sorry, but i have to disagree. I think this is so judgmental! I love to cook and make many meals from scratch - but i also have a life. Who cares if sometimes i use frozen pastry or use a white sauce from a jar. It's not about being 'plain lazy', it's about convenience. Cooking from scratch after work can take up a large part of my evening, sometimes i just have better things to do. I would hope your article is aimed at those shoppers who class a weeks shop as buying 7 microwave meals, and not ordinarry folk who sometimes take a few shortcuts.

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• StuartWalton

  18 June 2010, 1:45PM

  StuartWalton

  ... or you could just let people get on with their own lives. What has disastrously undermined so much food writing is this shudder of snobby horror at the habits of lesser mortals. Can you imagine not being able to go to your local supermarket without suffering the eye-rolling surveillance of some sticky-beak with a finely honed sense of superiority? Butt out!

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• Cassandra Amy Rose

  18 June 2010, 2:15PM

  Cassandra Amy Rose

  I remember once when I was 6 I was the lady behind us at the checkout had a packet of sweets in her trolly, and my friend and I were starring at it in such delight that she gave it to us once she had paid for it! But why give someone a dirty look just for buying a ready meal, it's not like they have done anything to you. And if they are buying a Waitrose ready meal then it can't be to bad!

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• Girl Flower

  18 June 2010, 3:24PM

  Girl Flower

  I cook most meals fom scratch, but do take the odd shortcut - I have no microwave so that's out of the question but jars of ready 'stuff' made do lurk at the back of my cupbaord for times when I really just dont have the time or energy and I don't feel guity about it. I also confess however to be VERY nosey and I do look in other peoples trolleys and baskets - I am normally envious of those with lots of wine, fresh pasta and chocolate puddings!

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• joefizz

  18 June 2010, 4:55PM

  joefizz

  I will never forget my trip to Lidl in Merthyr Tydfil (returning from a walking morning in the Beacons). My trolley was half full with all of their special offers on fruit and veg and the person in front of me AND behind me had chocolates, cakes & biscuits in theirs. They clearly had the same thoughts about me! What a weirdo! regards Joe

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• sharon johnson

  20 June 2010, 5:21PM

  sharon johnson

  as a mum recently widowed i am living on incapacity benefit and buy value ranges and supermarket own labels. I am upset when people look down at me and know that if they tasted my food they would be surprised. I can not afford to buy what i like but have learnt to change reciepies to suit my purse.I am sure many people on benefits have done the same but it would be nice to see more recipes for those of us on a tight budget

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• miniminx

  20 June 2010, 7:56PM

  miniminx

  i agree with all the snobbery comments above....let's have more blogs for the ordinary shopper, please (without the self-righteous judgement). and why mention which shop at all? at best it sounds elitist (as the 'top end' supermarket) and at worst, an endorsement.

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• StormyRaincloud

  21 June 2010, 10:09AM

  StormyRaincloud

  Nice if you can afford to shop at somewhere like waitrose, never mind admit to such blatant snobbery, the likes of which us 'normal' everyday folks can never adhere to. Truth is, even if I could afford to shop there, I wouldn't because of people like this. I don't look in peoples trolleys because I don't care what other people are eating. I'm healthy, my kids are healthy, that's all that matters to me. Get a life love.

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• Sue

  21 June 2010, 2:39PM

  Sue

  It doesn't bother me what people put in their trolleys, I'm all for people taking responsibility for what they put in their mouths. It also has to be said, I have little sympathy for them when they destroy their own health (doesn't mean I won't help them!). It's a sad thing - no-one in their right mind would put such low grade fuel in their car that it damaged the engine yet I see so many people happily shovel their bodies full of it.

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• Aileen

  23 June 2010, 5:52PM

  Aileen

  I love cooking, but these days I need to work up to 50 hours a week. At least I have a husband who enjoys it and constantly whips up delicious suppers for us. But I also have a friend who suffers from an auto-immune disease who hasn't got the energy at all to cook - hopefully she still has the right to eat!

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• MrsMiggins

  28 June 2010, 2:29PM

  MrsMiggins

  What a snobby article this is, and how sad that we have such narrow-minded judgemental people like this contributing to an otherwise brilliant website! Yes I use "cheat" ingredients when I shop. Sometimes all I have time for is a ready-made meal or frozen vegetables (which quite often have a higher nutrient content than fresh counterparts!). It's the difference between having something to eat or going without. I'm a single parent you see. I work two jobs, and am a foster carer as well, so I have a pretty hectic life. I always ensure I have plenty of fresh fruit and a varied, balanced diet, but that doesn't mean to say that - now and again - we will have pizza and chips (albeit home-made pizza and oven chips). Writer, get over yourself. Everything in moderation is all right by me. No one in my family is overweight, we're all healthy and happy and enjoy cooking together when we have the opportunity, but sometimes, you have to make do!

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• Mels Recipes

  8 July 2010, 2:00PM

  Mels Recipes

  I love trying to guess what people are planning to have from the food in their supermarket trolleys but I don't doubt that I get it wrong most of the time. I also work full time and agree with most of the comments here that 'everything in moderation' is fine. Paige - you are indeed lucky to have the time to cook from scratch every night but come on, do you? Really?

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• toastedgarlic

  13 July 2010, 2:06PM

  toastedgarlic

  Likewise, I enjoy trying to guess what's for dinner in other peoples houses based on what I see in their baskets, though here in Japan I might be wildly off-base. I do remember from my student days that it is perfectly possible to eat, tasty and healthy (if not exotic) stuff on a budget, and though I do secretly enjoy some of the excellent instant noodles available here, I do find it encouraging to see that someone is going to make a meal from scratch

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• ChroBot

  13 July 2010, 2:23PM

  ChroBot

  If you do need to make a quick dinner, why not save time by using one of Gordon Ramsay's Seriously Good Sauces? 10p from every bottle goes to Comic Relief. Seriously Good sauce by Gordon Ramsay has teamed up with Metro to find the best Gordon-a-likes in the country. You can win dinner for 2 at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. To enter visit: www.metro.co.uk/gordon-ramsay-seriously-good-sauces.

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• halle butt

  14 July 2010, 8:55AM

  halle butt

  I dont care what people eat or where they buy it, I leave that worry to Jammy Oliveoil. We cook from scratch and grow our own. My much younger and fragrant wife is Croation, she table pulls her "strudel" pastry for Burek and pitta's

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• Sarah

  9 August 2010, 4:13PM

  Sarah

  I am SO pleased i wasn't the only one to put a negative comment up about this article. It would have been nice to see some feedback from the author though...

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• Mrs Figg

  19 August 2010, 6:59AM

  Mrs Figg

  Not everyone uses supermarkets in person, they shop online. I always enjoy the 'replacement' item when they don't have exactly what has been ordered. Sometimes it gives you a chance to try something new.

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• vjforsy

  16 October 2010, 2:22PM

  vjforsy

  Although I do 'people watch' peoples trolleys and try to guess what kind of type of life they lead, I don't judge them on it. Being single, I often buy ready meals - why would I spend a couple of hours preparing a meal, when it's a small portion just for me - the cooking and washing up doesn't justify the time it takes to eat it! The difference though, dear author, is that should I be required to cater a lavish dinner party for a multitude of guests - I definately KNOW that I have the capability to do so. I can only assume that the author would collapse into a coma at the thought of anyone who dares to watch TV while they eat!

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