barnsleymat

I've noticed exactly the same, when I worked at the University mornings tea and afternoon tea (break time for any working class person reading this) was just a mad scramble for my overweight colleagues to fill their faces with cakes, buns and pastries. When it was one of their birthdays they it was expected that whoever birthday it was they had to bring in cakes etc for everyone. I never took part in any of this as I'm not a sugar crazed greedy git.

They thought I was such a weirdo for being a healthy eating vegetarian, they never tired of asking me the same old question like 'what do you eat'.

Back to the original point, Kiwi's seem to have it programmed into their heads from birth that food here is of amazing quality and far superior to anything us 'Poms' are used to, these are the very same kiwi's that shop at the big yellow health food chain Pak 'n' Save where fruit is unaffordable and the cake and biscuit section takes up a third of the store. We've gone back to basics in our house, we buy mainly fresh foods and cook from scratch, there's very little option left as the supermarkets are filled will over sugared crap foods that the Kiwi's seem to love especially washed down with 4 gallon bottle of nuclear colour energy drinks.

sazzle1979

I have to show this post to my husband he will die laughing! :-) thank you barnsleymatt you have brightened my day

jmh

I think Britain benefits from being part of the EU which means that European food influences and produce still made using traditional methods, e.g. French cheese, are readily available in the supermarkets. Having said that, I wouldn't have bought much fresh food in Tescos where it was cheap junk. I only visited Tescos for non food items.

NZ seems to have got a lot of food influence from the US, which produces novel food categories made with god-knows-what.

I had digestive issues in the UK and found that cutting out bread and reducing grain-based carbs really helped. Apparently the wheat produced today is different from what most of us grew up with, which is why we are seeing more gluten and wheat sensitivities today. The current tests offered by the GP do not test for all the possible problems that wheat can cause, so it would be worth cutting it out to see if it helps. Many find that they can tolerate traditional wheat varieties better.

I generally try to eat good quality food that is not processed. Having said that, I too have put on weight.

If you can get BBC iplayer you might find a series that's just finished called Back in Time for Dinner an interesting watch. It shows the development of the current diet in the UK from postwar rationing to the year 2000.

madao

We eat far better here than the UK. Way less ready meals and processed foods. Pretty much just meat and vegetables so you cant go too far wrong.

Sainsburys, Tesco etc there were aisles and aisles of easy option ready meals, currys, chinese, pizza etc I just dont see here.

My parents visited for the first time in March and couldn't believe there are fruit & veg shops, butchers and fishmongers everywhere aside from the supermarkets. Also that the prices were generally cheaper or on par than the UK - my dad couldn't stop going on about the price of fillet steak and his favorite bottle of wine being about a third less here.

I understand there are still "things" in use here that are banned elsewhere so probably good reason to be cautious but I think there are the same issues between what the USA and the UK find acceptable too though so I guess it will be the same no matter where you live.

Charismatic

Did lasagne traditionally contain Pony?

Mad cow in beef, e-coli in Welsh school dinners, Salmonella in farm eggs...I don't think food standards where that much higher in the uk.

barnsleymat

Where did your mam n dad do the big shop? Harrods?

Every visitor we've had over from the UK has commented on how expensive supermarket shopping is here, when we arrived 4 years ago it shocked us. I've just started a new job where I work with Canadians and Americans and they say the same. We were actually on about the high price of living here as I'd just had another mind blowing Double Glazing quote today.

Anyway, it's nearly F&V silly season when show offs leave their Porsches in the garage and just show off buy walking around the supermarket with a basket full of tomatoes. How the other half live.

madao

I was just as surprised. We've been out the UK so long we dont know or remember prices to fairly compare now. They usually shop at the local Sainsburys but my dad is a Sunday car boot fair and hardcore Aldi kind of guy too, frustrating cheap at times, but he's adamant prices were on par and not pricier as we'd initially thought. Perhaps he was being polite lol

They were here in the summer though and I agree about the tomato prices. When we lived in Wellington, not too long after we arrived, I remember Nicola wanted tomatoes while we were shopping at the market on the waterfront. It was only after we had selected, paid and walked off I did the conversion and realized what 3 measly tomatoes had just cost.

madao

Also, on a Off Topic side note, we are also looking a double glazing. There was an advert for this company on TV tonight who retrofit existing frames....

Retrofit Double Glazing - NZ Wide Installation | RetroFit

Granted needs more research on the process / quality. Apparently they don't just fix another layer of glass over existing windows but using the existing frames should save some $$.

jmh

Ooops, yeah I forgot about that.

I think the food chain is the world over. I'm trying to grow more of my own food.

MrsFychan

we used Rylock/Fletchers and yes they take the old windows away and fit new double glazed into the frames. If you do go for it take the extra couple of hundred on the thermal break. we didn't and still get a small amount of condensation on the inside

jmh

As I often point out, things out here in South Auckland are much cheaper. When I hear prices quoted on here I'm astonished. There are some really good markets out here that provide fresh food for good prices. There are some pricy ones too for people who like that sort of thing.

Always buy in season though. Off season fruit and veg is often imported and thus very expensive.

Chocoholics

Tempting, I like the look of those $$s in the bo$$ocks we would be making up!

The whole thing is weird though as I am not an unhealthy eater, we almost never eat processed foods here and we don't eat out that often. Just can't figure it out. I'll let you know if I do!

MrsFychan

wonder if its the water?

Charismatic

They are adding a filler to the water? I don't want anything adulterating my Raro.

bourbon-biscuit

We have a veg shop in town that is very cheap - defo cheaper than I was able to shop for in Devon / Dorset / Somerset. However, it is very seasonal; my friend and I let each other know when certain produce has dipped below the line. For example: Otago apricots first hit the shelves at about 7.99 a kilo but if you wait, they will get as low as 2.99; asparagus eventually gets low enough to buy by the carrier bag full; tomatoes go from nearly $10 per kilo to $2.99; corn eventually hits 50c a cob, etc). I have never bought an out of season strawberry in NZ and the kids get excited when strawberry time comes around. There is a month or two in late winter/ early spring when I get fed up with winter veg and start to fantasise about the season-less supermarkets of the UK. But then spring comes and before long we are gorging on stuff that is much more expensive in the UK and for most the year a poor cousin taste-wise.