Food & nutrition thread

[Rocket Spud]

Everything originates from it, it is the fuel, we can't live without it, it's absolutely vital to our well-being and we ought to strive for the know how....

So why is it i'm not completely sure what to do with pork mince I'm 40yrs old and i don't really know what to do with it. I got it discounted and that was a huge factor in my buying it. I know how to heat it but what do i combine it with... ? Why is it i feel that someone from the 19th century had a better idea of what to do. They would probably heat it with an onion, a seasonal veg and a herb and be done with..... but we're better than that! Yes, i can Google it but i shouldn't have to - it's pork mince for christs sake! My 'argument' is that i should know what to do with it.

Can anyone help me? Help ourselves. Food and how to prepare it should be a big topic of conversation, as well as the good and bad. Discuss forevermore until we get our nutrients from a pill or something.

[biscuits]

Butter is also better to use than margarine.

[Merry]

People probably were much better at understanding how to use basic ingredients and seasonal food in the past. With imported food and convenience food there's so much choice that it can be a bit overwhelming.
Also a lot of adults don't teach their children to cook anymore, maybe out of being too busy or maybe because they never learned themselves? I was never taught to cook at all, not even how to use basic tools like tin openers. My mum can't cope with anyone using "her" kitchen, she still screams at my dad if he tries to get something to eat, she has a weird, controlling personality.
I'm rambling, sorry.

I cook a lot from scratch but am not very confident to try new things. This week I'm gonna try doing some spiced cauliflower steaks with a warm chicken salad. I'll let you know if it turns out edible.
I use cauliflower in curry, but have never tried making it as steaks before.

Don't know much about pork mince, but the way I cook I tend to think of traditional ways you combine food, so pork tends to go with apple and I'd probably put some herbs that you might associate with pork, like sage or oregano and make burgers or meatballs or something.
New things are always hit and miss.

[Chess&Junkfood]

I've been eating more vegetables recently. Although I'm still eating the pot noodles of course! But as for the vegetables, I've been steaming them. Mainly for nutritional reasons. And also just for the fun of it.

"Vegetables are generally a great source of vitamin C, but a large amount of it is lost when they're cooked in water. In fact,*boiling reduces vitamin C content more than any other cooking method. Broccoli, spinach, and lettuce may lose up to 50% or more of their vitamin C when boiled"

[Rocket Spud]

Originally Posted by Rocket Spud

So why is it i'm not completely sure what to do with pork mince

Ragu.

[Mo34]

^ Nice Was it good?

I've made meat balls with pork mince before. And I know some people mix pork mince with beef mince for things like shepherds pie - I think to bulk it out as pork mince is cheaper.

[Rocket Spud]

Yeah, it was, thanks, and so simple too, little ingredients. I almost left it too late to use. Meatballs would've been good and the shepherds pie idea too, which i've never done, but it was one of those big 700g packs and so i wanted to use it in one go and slow cook it.

[Mo34]

Ah yeah your slow cooker.

I still haven't got round to getting one (not sure I've got room for one ) but I do think it would be a very handy thing to have. Probably less messy and stressful too.

[Rocket Spud]

Well they are cheap and it could make some things you already do simpler and less messy, like you say. You'll also find other things you can do with it, but it's never going to be essential.

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Mo34

Ah yeah your slow cooker.

I still haven't got round to getting one (not sure I've got room for one ) but I do think it would be a very handy thing to have. Probably less messy and stressful too.

The thing I really like about a slow cooker is that you can make something early on in the day when you're not as tired.

[Mo34]

^ Yeah that would be handy. It's when I'm tired I tend to eat rubbish instead of cooking as I just think - meh I cant be bothered.

[biscuits]

^ I seriously regret google image searching them.

TERRIFYING.

[Rocket Spud]

^ I've got a picture for you Give me 5....

[Rocket Spud]

Check it...

:O :O :O

[Marie8]

I have low iron levels and am borderline anemic and need to eat more iron rich foods. I don't like fish. I'm not vegetarian but I'm not a big meat eater. I'll eat beef, spinach and lentils which I believe are high in iron.

These are some meals I can come up with but struggling to think of anything else:

Bolognaise (beef, spinach and red lentils)
Pasta with a tomato sauce with spinach added
Fruit smoothie with spinach added (I wouldn't use yoghurt as I was told dairy affects iron absorption but could use a dairy free one, or oat milk or something)

Please let me know if anyone has any other ideas. I suppose just eating better in general and cutting down on dairy and caffeine will help.

[biscuits]

Originally Posted by Rocket Spud

Check it...

:O :O :O

What are they called then?

Nightmare Makers?

[biscuits]

Originally Posted by Marie8

I have low iron levels and am borderline anemic and need to eat more iron rich foods. I don't like fish. I'm not vegetarian but I'm not a big meat eater. I'll eat beef, spinach and lentils which I believe are high in iron.

These are some meals I can come up with but struggling to think of anything else:

Bolognaise (beef, spinach and red lentils)
Pasta with a tomato sauce with spinach added
Fruit smoothie with spinach added (I wouldn't use yoghurt as I was told dairy affects iron absorption but could use a dairy free one, or oat milk or something)

Please let me know if anyone has any other ideas. I suppose just eating better in general and cutting down on dairy and caffeine will help.

Spinach has a higher iron content when cooked, but it gives me a fuzzy tongue!!

How about a spinach omelette?

Do you like tofu? You can add it to stir fries.

Chickpeas - hummus, falafel, chickpea curries

Bean chilli - you can put a variety of beans in

A handful of iron rich nuts

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds into salads and mueselie (I can't spell sorry haha)

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Marie8

I have low iron levels and am borderline anemic and need to eat more iron rich foods. I don't like fish. I'm not vegetarian but I'm not a big meat eater. I'll eat beef, spinach and lentils which I believe are high in iron.

These are some meals I can come up with but struggling to think of anything else:

Bolognaise (beef, spinach and red lentils)
Pasta with a tomato sauce with spinach added
Fruit smoothie with spinach added (I wouldn't use yoghurt as I was told dairy affects iron absorption but could use a dairy free one, or oat milk or something)

Please let me know if anyone has any other ideas. I suppose just eating better in general and cutting down on dairy and caffeine will help.

Cutting down caffeine probably will help, it's worth knowing that tea stops the absorption of iron. I remember because I was very anaemic after my first baby and had to take tablets and I wasn't allowed tea within an hour or so of taking them, instead I was told to take them with fresh orange as I think that helps absorption.
I remember eating lots of steak and spinach and other green veg like kale, I was suppose to have a transfusion but refused to stay in hospital any longer, so relied on the tablets and diet and my iron levels came up to a reasonable level after about three weeks.

[Merry]

Originally Posted by Laurel

Here's a one:
You are meant to be eating 0.75 per kg of your bodyweight of protein a day.

I am 90kg, I need about 50-70g of protein a day.

How much protein have I had today? 5g

Whaaaat??
How do you work out how much protein you eat?
I always seem to be craving protein, but it's more expensive and more time consuming to eat higher protein meals I think.

[Laurel]

Well it's 0.75g per kg you weight. But I've heard another saying 1g per kg you weigh.

For women I think it's about 46-48g of protein. Milk & milk products contain a lot of protein. Eggs. Beans. Lentils.

[Dougella]

Originally Posted by Laurel

Here's a one:
You are meant to be eating 0.75 per kg of your bodyweight of protein a day.

I am 90kg, I need about 50-70g of protein a day.

How much protein have I had today? 5g

Yep, very true. I hope you didn't only eat 5g of protein that day?!

Lots of things contain protein, obviously meat and fish but also beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, eggs, quinoa, nuts and seeds, dairy products, soya products like tofu, also whole grains and some green veggies.

[biscuits]

An active person will need to consume more protein than the recommendation - hence the protein shake revolution.

[Laurel]

oh right, I did hear women were the main consumers of protein shake.

[biscuits]

^ nuh-uh. Men use them more - the protein powders are mainly marketed at men.

Women tend to use different protein powders to men because of the calories. They also add folic acid and vitamin b to the ones specifically aimed at women.

[BFG_]

Reading earlier posts on this thread about quantity of protein needed per day I should be consuming 85.5 grams of the stuff. Nearly 2 chicken breasts every day. Probably about the amount I eat.

[Rocket Spud]

Originally Posted by Laurel

oh right, I did hear women were the main consumers of protein shake.

Originally Posted by biscuits

^ nuh-uh. Men use them more - the protein powders are mainly marketed at men.

Women tend to use different protein powders to men because of the calories. They also add folic acid and vitamin b to the ones specifically aimed at women.

I think this was a joke ...

I've started eating cans of tuna as a side to lunch. Plenty of protein in those and i like the taste.

[biscuits]

[pahaha - I can't believe I didn't even see that! ]

[biscuits]

Originally Posted by Rocket Spud

I've started eating cans of tuna as a side to lunch. Plenty of protein in those and i like the taste.

Rocket spud... are you my cat?

I've recently started eating fish again. Bloody love a tuna and cucumber crusty roll. Although it's becoming incredibly more difficult to buy a single crusty roll. I'm going to open a Lonely Farts convenience store that sells single serving items for people who just want items for one person. Loaves of bread for one with maybe 12 slices of bread etc.

[genovese]

Originally Posted by Rocket Spud

cans of tuna

Switch to mackerel, more nutritious & less mercury.
Should sleep better too.

[Chess&Junkfood]

Originally Posted by godfather genovese

Switch to mackerel, more nutritious & less mercury.
Should sleep better too.... with the fishes!

*Kneels and kisses Godfather Genovese's ring*

Oops! Wrong ring!