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Interesting conversation with neighbours


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Flippin' eck!! My OH moans about the beef here enough as it is, let alone serve him up scraps! Unless it disintegrates on your tongue then its "TOUGH" and boy does he bang-on about it!

I have suggested I buy it pre-digested in future, then he won't have to make too much effort. Grrrrr
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[quote user="Christine Animal"]   Anything you talk about they have to say how much it cost, where you can get it cheaper, etc.  The French are struggling the same with prices, but they don't go on about it so much.   [geek]  [/quote]

Like banging on about saving €5 an hour trying to drive down the prices of artisans/business people (like gardeners) who also have to make a living to pay the increased prices, no matter whether they're Brits or not! 

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The English supermarket is probably the best place on earth to shop now. Our nearest store here in the Charente is an Intermarche; it is grubby, shabby and the food is frequently off. Last week they were selling gone-off prawns, and I complained although I did not demand a refund. Nothing was done. There are also no special offers here in France like the BOGOF in the UK, the most you seem to receive is a little slip of paper at the checkout telling you that if you buy a further twelve tins of confit between 9am and 9:05am on a certain day you will receive five percent off.
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Sad to say the difference is enterprise, I'm sure someone will explain why Tesco or Morrison's aren't eyeing France,
Likewise teenagers eating crap; good food within budget is out there, but not necessarily teen fashionable, especially if you won't prepare it.
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Etoile wrote:   Our nearest store here in the Charente is an Intermarche; it is grubby, shabby and the food is frequently off.

Don't use it; you don't have to, it's not compulsary.

 Last week they were selling gone-off prawns, and I complained although I did not demand a refund. Nothing was done.

Why did you not demand a refund, also why did you buy food that had "gone off"? Or are gone- off prawns a local delicacy?

There are also no special offers here in France like the BOGOF in the UK,

Not true, there are not many; but there are some.

Why do normally sensible people get into this mind set, if service is bad or products are not up to standard, it 'aint rocket science, don't buy them or don't deal with the store. It's no good complaining about expensive prices, paying them and accepting low standards, if you do; nothing will ever change. I can only speak about the area I know well, and there; all the supermarkets and food stores  are excellent, they have to be because there is lots of competition. This doesn't necessarily mean they are cheap, but the quality is good.

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The problem in France is lack of competition amongst food retailers.

When I travel to the UK, I cannot believe the choice of supermarkets, such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Asda, Co-Op, M&S food, Waitrose, Aldi, etc. In my area of France you have Carrefour and Aldi to service a catchment area that in the UK, would be serviced by all the aforementioned.

Interestingly, Carrefour are the largest supermarket company in the world, but they have avoided the UK market because of the intense competition!
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Just to add, that the Geant/Petit Casino supermarket and convenience stores have been acquired by Carrefour I believe, leading to a severe lack of competition in many areas of France. Something that probably could not occur in the UK, due to the anti-competition regulators, the equivalent of which I not sure even exists in France.
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Just wondering how long 'competition' will work. In Oadby, a very small suburb/town in East Leics - they built a huge Sainsbury's about 8 years ago, then a huge Asda which will be followed next year by a huge Waitrose , all on the edges - the shops in the town centre are struggling, including a largish Coop- and charity shops abound to take the place of shops that can't be let. Who will eventually win - and lose (well I know the answer to that one I think). Every UK town is turning into clones- same shops, same cafés, same restaurants, same pubs - same everything - and it is a real tragedy. I'd readily give up 2 for the price of one c**p chickens and 2 for 1 to stop this trend.

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[quote user="Sprogster"]The problem in France is lack of competition amongst food retailers. When I travel to the UK, I cannot believe the choice of supermarkets, such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Asda, Co-Op, M&S food, Waitrose, Aldi, etc. In my area of France you have Carrefour and Aldi to service a catchment area that in the UK, would be serviced by all the aforementioned. Interestingly, Carrefour are the largest supermarket company in the world, but they have avoided the UK market because of the intense competition![/quote]

Close to me there is an incredible choice of supermarkets for a town of only 9000 people, Intermarché, Super U, Carrefour, Lidl, Aldi, Netto and more, but as for competition, you are having a larf!

With the exception of the hard discounters the prices are sky high, even at the others you have to stay on top of each individual price and shop in all 3 as each item will be 30-40% more expensive in two out of the three.

One thing common to all of them is meat, fish, fruit and veg that self composts on the journey home and a total lack of service, indifference and barely concealed hostility to the customer, although to be fair this is a characteristic of the indigenous population.

One shop that stands head and shoulders above all of them is a recent Arab run epicerie bang in the centre of town, they are open 7 days a week from 8am till 10pm are friendly and have good fruit and veg that would make the best primeur jealous (our only primeur closed its doors two years ago) most people however refuse to even check out their shop [:(]

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Going back to the kids, their families and what they eat in France. I don't think its much different to the UK these days when it comes to cheap mass produced food like battery farmed chickens etc. OK perhaps they don't have shows like we have in the UK where you see how these animals are reared often in the most distressing conditions. A lot of families buy these foods simply because they can't afford to buy anything else. Yes I am sure they would love to buy free range chickens etc but the bottom line is they are far too expensive when you live on such a low budget. It does grind on me a bit when you get these people standing up like Oliver in the UK, and some here in France, talking about quality is better than quantity and think of the animals. Well if they want people to eat quality natural things then they can put their hands in their pockets to fund the difference, I mean its not as if they don't get paid for their 'advice'.
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Food is cheaper in the UK, but fresh fruit and veg has no flavour. When here in France my children always comment on how nice the cucumber is and how tasty are the tomatoes and why do the green beans taste juicy? When in the UK if i buy the organic stuff it doesnt improve. I tend to buy my fruit and veg at Lidl because it does taste better, despite it being transported halfway across Europe. I still dont buy those ready meals which are so easily available in the UK, they just taste awful. So I cook stuff from the raw ingredients. Since returning to the UK in 2005 I once bought a supermarket Lasagne and have never again. M&S occassionaly do something nice, but I still prefer to buy the raw ingredients and make it myself. As a result my children do eat a wide variety of stuff and I still have one picky child, but by all accounts my friends tell me he is not.
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[quote user="woolybanana"]

Having lived in HK for a while, I can tell you that the Chinese do spend a lot of their income on food and are often fat. In China itself there is a major obesity problem.

Limited food budget means often buying unhealthy food. Poor Westerners eat cheap food, say the cheapest ranges offered by the supermarkets which are often packed with sugar and salt and other sh** that I wouldn't even give to my dogs, knowingly anway.

[/quote]

Me too Wooly, the reason the Chinese are getting fat is down to the American food chains on virtually every other street corner. Same as the UK and France will follow as real food prices rise. The reason why, the food is loaded with sugar and salt because that is the only flavour it has. The sugar causes the insulin levels to rise dramatically as the body tries to deal with the sugars, that then means the body metaboblism changes and when the sugar has been dealt with the body drops into a low so then demands more and the receptors in the body gets used to the constant sugar and then requires more and more to satisfy the thirst for the hit (just like any other drug) this sugar is converted into fat. Et voila a nation of fat people with diabetic tendancies.

A book reccomended to me by Powerdesal of this forum explains it in much more detail and is a brilliant read.  "Protein Power" by Dr Michael & Dr Mary Eades.

I have gradually lowered my sugar intake and don't eat junk food, After a few months I found some foods far too sweet which goes to prove you can let you body recover and the sugar receptors now require far less sugar than previously. Anyone wanting to loose weight or lower their cholesterol should read that book not pop statins.

 

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Quillan, I'm convinced it's possible to eat more healthily without it costing more. People who buy cheap and lots of 2 for 1 often waste an awful lot. Add pulses and veg in season, and most can afford to eat much better quality meat - in lesser quantities, which is better for health anyway. But I'd agree that it takes a bit more time and effort - at least at the beginning. Tons of local fruit go to waste every year both in UK and France - because many people can't be asked to pick it, for instance. How much cheaper and better can you get than a good crumble with local, in season fruit.

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So it's the well-off chinese people who are getting fat, not the poor, who couldn't afford to eat at the American food chains.

Same applies to poor Indians who I have seen on a recent visit.

The problem of obesity with "poor" westerners is explained by lazy, or uneducated shopping and cooking habits, not the extortionate price of fruit and veg.

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[quote user="Swissie"] How much cheaper and better can you get than a good crumble with local, in season fruit.
[/quote]

Now your talking, I can smell it cooking [:)]

I hate supermarket meat as it's all water injected to plump it up, when you cook with it the water runs out of the meat carrying the flavour with it. The grass fed sussex meat I usually buy draws the flavours into the meat and often requires a little extra water or sauce. I may pay more for the meat but its all meat not water sold to me at meat prices and doesn't shrink by nearly 50% after cooking.

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[quote user="Swissie"]I am a westerner, not poor, not un-educated, a fair and imaginative cook- who eats lots of fruit and veg, little sugar and a low GI diet - and I am medically obese, despite being extremely active.
[/quote]

Please don't take this the wrong way, how many years did it take to get like that compared to how long you have been working at changing it? Also genetics play a big part and our metabolic rate does slow as we get older.

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[quote user="zarathustra"]I recently bought a slow cooker, and that does a great job of making cheaper cuts of meat tender and tasty.
[/quote]

Me too, one in France, for obvious reasons and on in the UK because some cheeper cuts have more flavour.

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My mum and dad were always very lean bordering on the thin- and so are my brothers. I am always on the go, so no couch potato here. Sadly an underactive thyroid went undiagnosed for a very long time, and now losing weight is a very difficult battle. If you are a couch potato who eats lost of fast sugars and fats- it is 'easy' (! yes I know ..!) but if you are very active and eat low GI, etc - it is well not... I am trying to eat more slowly and address portion control. Wish me luck.

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Swissie, you're NOT obese.  And Pat is right, a lot of it is down to your genes.

But, you're right about portion control......that's the one that's so easy to overlook. 

And, of course, we do wish you luck. 

Hey, got an idea, why don't you go and stay with Wooly for a while?  He's obviously got hold of some formula that works?[:D]

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"I'm a little teapot, short and stout

Here's my handle, here's my spout"

etc.  Can't remember the rest but I hope the song doesn't describe you, Théière?[:D]

Don't mind me, I'm just tired and I have toothache and my mind is wandering after a paracetamol.

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