Choosing what to eat

In terms of food shopping, I value fresh produce from the local markets, particularly from stalls that care to ensure that the fruits/vegetables they sell are tasty. They're not everywhere, so it does require some travelling effort, but it's well worthwhile. Lots of stuff comes from the main supermarkets as well.

In terms of eating out, there are lots of places around where healthy food can *probably* be bought (although you're never sure what exactly is in the food). Of course eating healthy stuff out will never be as cheap as grease...

I'm not a vegitarian but I like my meat to have had a good life. Pork reared outside, free range eggs (organic preferably), organic poultry if affordable (and free range if not). I eat quite a bit of fish and try to have at least one meat and fish free day a week and only eat red meat occasionally. I support British breeders and British dairy produce. Recently I've discovered that my food bill is a lot less because I've been buying more salad, vegetables and non meat mains. I generally buy good food which is quick and easy to cook unless I've got friends round when I make more effort. I use the local market quite a bit for fruit and veg as it's much cheaper. Try to eat fairly healthily when out with friends, never fast food or crisps.   It really upsets me the number of mothers on the bus who give their young children salty snacks or sweets going to and from school. No wonder child obesity is so high.  Surely they could give them breakfast - even cereal and some fruit when they collect them from school.

It really depends.  

I'm on a diet to lose weight, so that's a factor.  So is keeping to my budget.  

Am I in all day?  If so, I can get some nice fresh veggies for cheap and cook up.  

Am I out all day?  If so, I may have to grab something on the fly.  

The notion that everyone should be eating home-cooked meals of fresh veg all the time is, shall we say "housewife-dependent".  Let's actually say housespouse-dependent because this is the 21st century.  It is only possible if you have someone indoors picking up fresh food and preparing it.  If you and your partner are both working long hours then this introduces a time constraint, lest you have no life beyond work and sleep and the production of sustenance.  

Time is a factor, so is money.  Time pushes people towards ready meals and takeaways; and healthy fast food is expensive fast food.  For a fiver in McDonald's I can get nearly a day's calories; but for that same fiver I can buy enough boxed sushi for a snack's worth of calories.  That burger will last me until dinner, no problem.  If I get the sushi however then I'll either have to pay extra for a bigger lunch, or I'll be snacking again at more expense on the ride home.  Likewise I can get the world's worst bung-in-the-oven lasagne for under two pounds, supplement it with garlic bread for a quid, or spend close to a tenner on a healthy ready dinner.  

Food choices in London will not improve unless the cost of healthier fast food can be brought down; as the housespouse-dependent lifestyle is not in keeping with London norms and increasingly so, and as the rents are so obscene that nobody below forty can afford a darn thing in this city.  

Eating at home: living in London we have access to affordable fresh meat, vegetables and fruit - truely blessed!

Eating out: ditto - whatever you desire in a restaurant, and whatever your budget, it's on your doorstep.

I am not fixated with 'eating heathily', I eat what I like. I'm seventy and, with moderate exercise and a vaguely sensible diet - not too much carbs or fat - I am 'normal' weight for my age and height.

I have little sympathy for the fatties - they need to take control of their own lives and not just blame everyone else.

I describe myself an Ovo-Lacto-Pesco-Vegetarian.  In other words, my diet is largely vegetarian, including Eggs & Dairy, with the addition of some Fish (no more than twice per week: one oily Fish and one White Fish.)  Some meals are totally Vegan, but not the entire day.

I prefer my own cooking, so that I can prepare items precisely as I like . . . I detest over-cooked vegetables, for example.

Although I don't take Alcohol, when eating out, I enjoy the ambiance and common value-for-money offered at Public Houses ('Gastro-Pubs.')  However, I find it near impossible to find a Menu with genuine Vegetarian offers; instead, almost universally, one is confronted by the customary insulting cop-out — CHEESE.  The attitude appears to be based on the 'that'll do for them' principle!

What I seek is VEGETARIAN Food — not just ‘vegetable’ food.  A meal needs a central protein theme – whether it be pulses, nuts, grains or whatever – with vegetable accompaniment; not only with vegetables as the theme.

Above all, I like a decent working-class plateful.  So many establishments serve dainty concoctions in the middle of the plate, with more white ceramic showing than actual food — then charge a tidy sum for the privilege, and expect a handsome tip to round it out.  Even that wouldn't be so bad if one didn't also have to stomach loud music filling the room.  What's wrong with just the sound of diners conversing?

The great thing about living in London is the choice of food.

At home I try to consider my health and the environment - I don't buy fruit and veg wrapped in plastic, and I've recently started buying from my local greengrocer where you can use paper bags or nothing at all. I'm allergic to dairy, and so pleased that my local supermarket and coffee shop have rice/oat milk (which is not usually available when I visit my in-laws in Cornwall). I've also cut out processed meats and red meat, though my family are still 100% carnivores!

Having said that - it's great to have the odd takeaway.... probably about 2 a week. Chinese or Indian or Fish & Chips, and I hate to admit it since I banned my kids from eating it when they were growing up, but also the odd MacDonalds/KFC. At work in Greenwich Market, it's great to have the option of sushi, Ethiopian vegetarian curries, empanadas and vegan cakes during the day.

Generally I try to balance what I eat and have plenty of fibre and fresh veg, and try to reduce the amount of carbohydrates I eat. I've stopped drinking fruit juice in favour of eating a piece of fruit as there is very little fibre in juice (or making my own juices).

But I realise I'm lucky that I have the time to be able to buy from markets and small shops rather than relying on everything from supermarket shopping.

Access to healthy food is readily available. However, it costs more which is odd, considering organic food is described as avoding the use of man made pesticides or GMOs, using a farming system that cycles resources. So how come the food which has had more stuff added to it cost less then the food which is hasn't had additional things added to it?

I try and eat healthily at home. If I'm going out to it that's a treat and therefore I will eat whatever I feel like when eating out.

I live on my own after my wife died a few years ago and cook for myself every day. I do my best to follow a balanced diet but if I have to buy packaged food at a supermarket I often find that the pack portion is just too big for one person. I buy loose or at a market if possible.

I go to cafes less often than i used to.  This is probably mainly to do with cost.  I buy as much organic produce as i can and think of environmental factors more than my health.  I prefer to buy small amounts of produce that I know I'll use. Increasingly things are packaged in large amounts, in plastic. Ethical concerns are important to me too, but these are complex. I'm suspicious of large 'green' shops which have a lot of wastage and fly foods long distances. 

a)  Price

b)  Freshness, and how recently produced

c)  Organic, or free-range.   

d)  Local, or British-produced, rather than abroad.  Partly in consideration of long-range air flights and carbon emissions.

Imagine a city where the crime is under control, where transport flows efficiently with high levels of reliability and where the supply of housing bears a reasonable relationship to the demand of those willing to pay for it.

The Mayor should stick to his core responsibilities.  Food is supplied abundantly, with a wide variation of prices, quality and choice, without the need for a Mayor to do anything.   The Mayor exists primarily to address policing, transport and housing issues, not parts of the economy that are fairly well provided for by the market and a multitude of businesses big and small.  

I try to eat organic non genetically modified food and drinks, less dairy, little meat, mainly veg, fruit, fish, grains,, cereal. i splurge in the local healthfood shop and my main Tesco supermarket has a good range of organic fruit and veg. It is more expensive but it balances out financially by cutting out meat, except for the occasional BBQ. I choose organic food and milk because I believe it is healthier to eat products that have not been sprayed with pesticides I want to support farming practices that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly for our struggling planet. 

We like to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and cook most of our meals from scratch using simple unprocessed ingredients where possible. We buy organic when available and as we have family members with food allergies we appreciate the availability of non dairy and gluten free alternatives. Eating healthily is a lot easier in London than in most places because of the large variety on offer. 

I check if it contains any artificial preservatives and try to choose food that doesn't. I choose organic over non-organic for two reasons, firstly I want to minimise my and my children's pesticides intake, secondly I don't like idea of killing bees and insects with pesticides sprayed over the fields - plus poisoning children living in rural areas. I also check for sugar content, I choose products that have less sugar.