On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 01:46:32 -0400, Siobhan Perricone
> wrote:

>On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 15:20:46 +1000, Alan
> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 04:12:08 GMT, Steven O. > wrote:
>>
>>>I am accustomed to eating foods that I like, and making them quick and
>>>dirty. (I do NOT have time to cook.)
>>
>>You have to make the time to learn to cook. It's simple, quicker than
>>take-out or TV dinners, and will add fifteen years to your life.
>
>Why can't you just answer the man's question instead of trying to force
>your lifestyle on him? Contrary to what you're claiming, cooking does take
>time, effort, energy, and planning. When you're not used to it, learning
>how to do it takes more time, as well, as the cooking itself taking longer.
>
Hi Siobhan

I can't "just answer the man's question" because I'm 12,000 miles away
and don't buy at his supermarkets. But I reacted to his comment that he
didn't have time to cook. You and he can both disagree with me, OK, but
to me that's just an excuse. Simple as that. Cooking is much simpler
than many seem to believe - it's not some mystic science. From fridge to
plate an omelette takes five minutes including the time it takes to make
some coffee and pick some herbs in the garden - or the window-box.

>>I can cook a steak dinner, with steamed or braised veges, quicker than
>>you can de-frost a TV dinner. So can you.
>
>This isn't totally true. A frozen dinner takes around eight minutes,
>freezer to microwave to plate (depending on your microwave, and including
>decision making time). Unless you're talking about a thin steak

Actually, not thin but small - as it should be if he's cooking for a
healthy heart. Eight minutes from fridge to plate, done medium. However,
I accept that preparation time etc may take a little longer with veges,
but that is a matter of planning and timing.

> it will
>take longer than that to cook. Another point, a decent steak, one that you
>can cook in ten to fifteen minutes and still have it come out edible, is
>much more expensive than a frozen meal. On top of that is the time and
>electricity/fuel it takes to cook the steak and the side dish.

You are serious? What size steak are you cooking? Obviously fresh food
must be much more expensive in the States than I saw last year. And TV
dinners much cheaper.
>
>Besides, who are you to judge what is right for this person, and to claim
>you know what's better for him?

I don't judge anyone. I offered some advice he may not accept - as you
didn't. But I offered it honestly based on my own experience, including
a short time travelling your country. If you don't cook it yourself, you
are trusting the manufacturer's honesty in the ingredients list on the
pack. Sadly, my experience from my glucometer is that manufactured foods
often raise my BGs way above expectations based on their ingredients
list.

>Isn't this the sort of thing we struggle
>with all the time from people who aren't diabetic telling us what's right
>for us and what isn't?

No - I offered advice based on experience; he can ignore it, read it, or
debate it. But when questions are asked on usenet, you don't get to
choose what answers will be offered to you. Only which ones you will
read or act on.

And to the OP - I'm sorry, but I can't suggest which pre-prepared foods
to buy; I don't buy them here so I certainly can't suggest what to buy
in DC. But if you want some simple and basic recipes that you can cook
yourself when you have some free time, and put in the freezer for
zapping later, google up my name here on alt.food.diabetic. If you can't
find them, I'll re-post them.

There aren't a lot, but from memory there's napoli and bolgnaise sauce
for pasta, lo-carb pizza, beef burgundy, chili crab and some breakfast
ideas. You'll also find plenty of much better recipes posted by others.

Bon appetit.


Cheers, Alan, T2 d&e, Australia.
Remove weight and carbs to email.
--
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.