Because Soozy, not everyone can cook from scratch and not everyone WANTS to, and the attitude from some that you are somehow failing if you do not cook from scratch is condescending.  The posts on here are proving me right....  This if *I* can do it so can you attitude is patronising... Don't question folk; if they don't want to or cannot do it, stop giving them a hard time.  Live and let live.  People are still good parents even if they DO give their kids pre-cooked  food!  And they aren't going to end up obese just coz the parents don't 'cook from scratch!'

But Cupcake - there are so many easy recipe books out there now and ready meals are so expensive and so massively bad for you so why do people still use ready meals?

And I am sorry if I am condesending but this is so important - obesity is a real problem in this country and a lot of it does stem from people's inabllity to cook.
Perhaps its because a whole generation did not learn and now are frightened of the kitchen -which is completely understandable.

I get where you're coming from Issy, and you're entitled to your view..  All I am saying is if some people cannot or don't want to cook from scratch, people should just leave them alone.  Assuming that everyone who has food that is not 'cooked from scratch' is going to end up obese is ludicrous IMO.

Yes, I agree. It's time we got the Home Economics/Cookery lessons back in the schools 

I agree Gypsie. She didn't get to that size overnight.... surely the parents could control what she was eating when she was younger....

I agree too Baz.

Ah, you're being a victim again. This should be fun *grabs popcorn*. I didn't make the popcorn from scratch by the way I'm one of those really lazy fast food types.

Well looking at her mother she was a salad dodger and most probably used the same portion control on her daughter as herself....

I'm just keeping it on line with the OP. if people want to use convenience foods (full of fat and unsatisfying) then it's small wonder kids fill up and look for taste with arificially flavoured snacks - ergo - we have more obese kids in this country now than ever before.

I'm not being condescending just saying that cooking a bit of meat and veg and having fresh fruit in the house really isn' t too difficult or expensive. Just my opinion - which is obviously opposed to yours.

I'm not being patronising at all - we all have opinions.

Having just read the Sun article it seems she is at least concerned enough about her problem to do something about it. There's a lot of talk about exercise though and not much mention of what kind of diet she is on. Exercise won't help at all unless she cuts out all the crap food she's been eating.

Fast food: I can make meals in 30 minutes or less from scratch I'm not buying this 'who has the time to cook?' nonsense.

I think that's about it. Kids eat what they are given to eat and most kids would prefer to eat rubbish given the chance.

Buy a George and you can cut the time to about 10 mins and get rid of any fat at the same time

Zactly AKT....

Exactly Kaytee..

I've cooked two dinners tonight from scratch - the prep was less than fifteen minutes. My husband has a lamb shank casserole (in the slow cooker) and I have spag bol.

It's not difficult - it's not expensive. I think some of the younger generation simply do not know how - for the love of God these yucky frozen meaLS ARE TASTELESS, expensive and simply not satisfying.

I know people work yah de dah but .................it really and truly doesn't take much longer and tastes 150% better and you get more and it's less fattening - I'm not being patronising _ I honestly think some younger folks don't know how and go for the easy option.

I used to work in adult ed with parents of young children. I was totally gobsmacked when one of the young mums told me she'd bought a ready prepared jacket potato with cheese at an astronomical price. I saID why not do it from scratch .................she looked at me like I wAS MAD. Her kitchen consisted of a microwave and deep fat fryer ................................if she is anything to go by - it's small wonder that obesity in kids is on the increase.

I agree Longcat,if she were anorexic she'd be pitied,instead she's criticised and ridiculed....Lord knows what is going on  in her life that food is her comfort.That aside ,as parents we can control what our kids eat in the home,outside or at school we've less control.

It takes no time to do a baked potato in the microwave and grate a bit of cheese and costs pennies

A lot of kids prefer to eat rubbish if thats whats on offer because it's full of salt/sugar and msg.............highly addictive toxic crap. If they are bought p on proper food it's a different story. Unfortunately once they get the whole fatty/sugary fix there is no going back.

Aww Kaytee,microwave spuds are rank,not dry and fluffy at all.

I fully accept that but ..................why go and buy one that's ready prepared? It was probably full of additives. Why are some young mums afraid of potatoes and other vegetables? It's almost like they are alien to them.

Definately not as nice as oven-baked, but if you need a quick fix for a hungry child, you can scoop the potato out, mix it with the filling and put it back...job done, instant meal and no nasties included

I have no idea why anyone would do that Soozy.....Maybe some young mums wouldn't eat veg when they were young and don't give them to their children now. Not many children would readily scoff a plate of greens....well mine wouldn't, I had to *hide* them

I used to do my kids Hassleback potatoes,they called them hedgehog potatoes and my grandson calls them the same.Dead easy to do and cooked in about 30/40 minutes.

my kids would not be impressed with a ready meal..   and to be honest there is no way I could afford to feed us all on convenience food.     

Sproot - both my kids do/have done home economics at school.   I think its mandatory now (in years 7, 8, 9)..    my boy learned how to make a roux sauce a couple of weeks ago.

But..  I think we pick up cooking from our upbringing..   I was brought up on home cooked food..  so when I left home its what I did.   The first time I cooked a roast dinner I was in Leeds, my family were down in Essex..    I rang my mum about 15 times as I cooked it, asking for advice.

 Don't get me wrong..  there is the odd night when one of them will have a frozen pizza..   the other will want macaroni cheese..   and hubby & I will do something for ourselves, but generally we all eat the same meal together, it would be uneconomic for that meal to be ready made.

I am not sure what to make of this debate... What are you talking about when you talk about 'cooking from scratch?'  To me that means if you have chicken and veg pie, then you cook the meat first; from fresh chicken.. not frozen, and then peel all the veg, and boil them, then make the pastry and so on and so on.  And if you make apple and blackberry pie, you bake or boil the fruit and then you once again make the pastry...  If someone actually does all this, then they must have a lot of spare time...so how are we defining 'I cook from scratch' exactly? 

I tend to mix a bit... sometimes I make a spag bol or a chilli con carne or a curry from fresh meat and boiled rice, and I do stick baked potatoes in the oven, and I do get fresh fish, and I do some healthy non microwave stuff.  But then I will get asda's own pizza sometimes, and I get frozen chips.  It's just chips pre-cooked ... 

And I certainly would not make or produce my own meat and veg pies, and would buy them frozen, and I don't know anyone who 'would' cook their own stuff like this... most would buy frozen....  For goodness sake, most people buy 'some' frozen and pre-cooked food.  But they probably cook from scratch sometimes too.  I find it hard to believe that someone would cook EVERYthing from scratch and never ever ever use anything that has previously been frozen.  I have kind of mixed it up over the years and done maybe 60% fresh, (and more or less from scratch,) and 40% pre-cooked or frozen, and my 2 kids are both slim and healthy.  Then again we do have wholemeal bread and skimmed milk and healthy cereal....and they walk about 15 miles a week..I def couldnt live on microwave meals though as some of them are full of crap... but tbh we do have them about once a week... so shoot me! 

I do those all the time Lee, I never have bought a ready meal. I rarely bake spuds these days because Mr Kaytee doesn't like jackets much and Miss Kaytee has her own cordon bleu chef at home

Personally I don't eat a lot of pies but when I do - I prepare the filling and then use frozen pastry. I know my limits - can't beat frozen pastry. I would never, ever consider a frozen pie - they are rank.

Nice changeover Cup Cake  You can now come in with a new take on it. Do yo go into a telephone box and do a quick twirl

I make all my own pies and pastry, shop bought ones are rank and I grow my own veg..you make time, if there was no such things as ready meals you would'nt let yourself or your family starve, you'd get on with it....

I'm really not good with pastry. I think yo need a light touch - I'm a bit heavy handed. Even with frozen pastry - I do make good pies.

ready rolled pastry is bloody amazing though!!

a recent discovery of mine..     there were a couple of weeks when I first discovered it when I would wrap everything in the stuff!

Oh I see you have joined the 'if someone doesn't agree with me, I will accuse them of using multiple ID's' club soozy..... Give it a rest FFS.  it's boring now and most people are sick to death of that old chestnut.  I haven't said anything up til now, because i find the whole 'subject ridiculous.  it really pathetic and childish.  Seriously....  Just let it go for goodness sake.. you and the other 'minority' of people who accuse me of being cupcake and cupcake of being me and several other people, need to change the record.  You're sounding a bit silly and childish now....  

Sparkles 'cooking from scratch' doesn't literally mean making all your own ingredients. People are just pointing out it's healthier and a lot cheaper to cook your own meals than to eat ready meals all the time (and of course it tastes much better). There's nothing sinister in it.

I don't eat meat pies and I make all my fruit ones from scratch from my garden trees and bushes. I pick it and freeze it to use over the winter......but I do use the Jus-Rol, I can't be bothered to make my own pastry any more

I know... I was just posting my opinions Prom, like eveyone else..    And trying to define 'cooking from scratch.' 

Same here.    It's so much easier to use pre cooked pastry. 

Isn't pastry really fattening? I don't know of a 'healthy option' pastry

I think people literally meant making your own meals as opposed to buying ready made ones. Most of the stuff I make... spag bol, chilli etc really doesn't take long at all. Stew you can have making itself while you go around doing other stuff. Anything complicated you can make at the weekend when you're more relaxed and have more time.

If you want to have two ID's on here you really do need to have a totally different style of writing. Cupcake and Sparkles are identical - they are never here together.

I really was never gonna mention it but it is a bit silly when Sparkles comes on congratulating Cupcake on her wit and cleverness. I'm not out to cause trouble but seriously do stop it. It makes you look silly (and childish) - I have no problem with you - don;t want an argument - just saying - we are not stupid.

It's not pre-cooked, just a nice slab ready to roll out, especially the puff pastry