Rustlers Burgers
- Thread starter BigM
- Start date
I think there's something else though; folks don't know 'how' to cook......and when they do, it doesn't look/taste like the food they're used to.
They don't even make salad now, or cut up for stir fry, they just buy a bag.
A bag of stir fry mix is £1......but a pack of mushrooms, a bag of beansprouts (or the set up to grow your own) peppers, courgettes, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, a head of broccolli (sp?
), carrots, etc., etc., can easily cost seven or eight times that.
And, while it's all very well us saying, "make it at home, make a batch and freeze it", but that's expensive to lay out at once, and, I know a heck of a lot of folk whose only freezer is the ice box at the top of the fridge.
To quote one neighbour on a budget, " I can't afford to buy ingredients for baking; what if it goes wrong ? biscuits for their packed lunch boxes are 8 for £1 in Farmfoods."
Different folks, different strokes.
As an unrepentant vegetarian....would I eat a Rustler beanburger ?
No,
'cos commercial beanburgers are truly vile concoctions. If I was really tired and hungry, not at home, still needing to get work done, no chance of picking up real food, would I eat one ?......still not sure, tbh 
I reckon I'd need to be really hungry, but sometimes food's just fuel, y'know ?
cheers,
Toddy
They don't even make salad now, or cut up for stir fry, they just buy a bag.
A bag of stir fry mix is £1......but a pack of mushrooms, a bag of beansprouts (or the set up to grow your own) peppers, courgettes, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, a head of broccolli (sp?
), carrots, etc., etc., can easily cost seven or eight times that.And, while it's all very well us saying, "make it at home, make a batch and freeze it", but that's expensive to lay out at once, and, I know a heck of a lot of folk whose only freezer is the ice box at the top of the fridge.
To quote one neighbour on a budget, " I can't afford to buy ingredients for baking; what if it goes wrong ? biscuits for their packed lunch boxes are 8 for £1 in Farmfoods."
Different folks, different strokes.
As an unrepentant vegetarian....would I eat a Rustler beanburger ?
No,
'cos commercial beanburgers are truly vile concoctions. If I was really tired and hungry, not at home, still needing to get work done, no chance of picking up real food, would I eat one ?......still not sure, tbh I reckon I'd need to be really hungry, but sometimes food's just fuel, y'know ?cheers,
Toddy
I agree with the "limited cooking skills" Rik. It is possible still to eat reasonably and healthily - and I would be very happy to provide some recipes, links and prices for anyone who needs help in this area (genuine offer btw). Tasty, balanced meals - stuff like chilli served on baked potatoes, lemon chicken on basmati rice, home made chicken and sweetcorn soup from the leftovers....
I agree, you need to learn to cook. Its also true that growing your own, shopping at markets at closing time, cooking in bulk, using leftovers and all the other things people used to do will help.
I'm not suggesting that people don't need to expend some effort - they do have to - but it needn't cost more to eat nutritious / healthy meals is my point.
I agree, you need to learn to cook. Its also true that growing your own, shopping at markets at closing time, cooking in bulk, using leftovers and all the other things people used to do will help.
I'm not suggesting that people don't need to expend some effort - they do have to - but it needn't cost more to eat nutritious / healthy meals is my point.
That's exactly how the Rustlers marketing people see it, and thus how they brand their burgers to 16-24 years olds on the go. Your post is spot on. It's all about convenience when you don't have time to cook, when you're not bothered, when you don't have the skills, when the wife/mother is away and it's a guilty pleasure etc etc.
I don't think they see these burgers as your everyday dining option (they're too expensive for that) but rather a once-a-week type thing.
But the problems comes when these 16-24 year olds do see it as an everyday thing, perhapse rurtlers are like pistols, the gun itself dosent kill it needs someone to load, cock and fire it, rustlers alone aren't bad for you it need the individual to load the microwave, heat and eat. do it repeatedly and your going down gangsta!
Red, I know what your saying, I could give out recipes galore but people on benefits these days can't even afford to go out and buy basics for the store cupboard, have you seen the price on things like lentils pearl barley, butter beans, tom purree, a bottle of lemon juice (or a fresh lemon) for your lemon chicken etc they simply don't have that money up front anymore to lay in the basics, but they can spend £4 on a big bag of chips, sausages and beans and feed for three days. I'm not pointing the finger at you Red but I honestly believe a lot of folk think people on benefit live well...they don't and its getting worse and worse. A friend of my daughters is now single since her partner left, she has a five year old and a one year old; couple of weeks back she broke down in tears. After paying her bit toward rent, rates, electricity and gas et al she had @£25 to last her 10 days to cover everything else including food, thats the reality of 2012 UK.
But, see on a dreich, cold day, when I've been up to my knees in mud, and talked myself hoarse trying to talk to 200 school kids, and there's an hour for lunch before I do it all again, I open up my packed lunch, and it's healthy, good for me food, and one of the Ranger's says, "We're going to Greggs, do you want soup and a pastry ?"
Heinz tomato soup and a cheese and onion pastry just really, really hits the spot
Maybe that's how folks think of those fast food things
cheers,
Toddy
p.s. Sorry Richard, this post was out of synch.
I agree with you, but I would add that it's not just folks on benefits who are really struggling to budget the way we might for food; lots of families in work are finding things very tight too.
M
Heinz tomato soup and a cheese and onion pastry just really, really hits the spot
Maybe that's how folks think of those fast food things
cheers,
Toddy
p.s. Sorry Richard, this post was out of synch.
I agree with you, but I would add that it's not just folks on benefits who are really struggling to budget the way we might for food; lots of families in work are finding things very tight too.
M
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and the sad fact is that supermarkets are throwing away tons of good food all the time. I stopped into Waitrose for some milk on Saturday night and got chatting with the fishmonger just as he was shutting up. I walked away with 6 Lemon sole, 2 huge trout fillets, 3 salmon steaks and 2 halibut fillets for about £5 for the lot as they were about to be thrown in the bin at closing time. Criminal waste.
.........good mince (or in my case tofu), kidney beans, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olive oil, few spices, and a baked spud, usually served with a salad too........what's not healthy about it ?
cheers,
Toddy
cheers,
Toddy
Its a damned sight more healthy than mechanically recovered meat and oven chips!
.........good mince (or in my case tofu), kidney beans, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, olive oil, few spices, and a baked spud, usually served with a salad too........what's not healthy about it ?
cheers,
Toddy
Mince in and of itself isn't exactly healthy. At least not the 80/20 mix that makes good chili. A leaner (97/3) mix would be but it doesn't really make as good a chili; or burger for that matter. Then there's the salt and butter.
For that matter, that's what's really the unhealthy bits of the microwave burgers; the salt and fat.
Mushrooms in chili? I may have to try that.
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I'm not saying that money is easy Richard, it isn't - for me too! My point was simply that its no more expensive to put together a healthy menu. I just bought 100+ lbs of really nice, large Maris Pipers for £15. Last year it was half that so of course there is inflation, but those two 50lb sacks will go a lot further than the equivalent spend on oven chips - in so many more ways. Cut into wedges and baked in their skins they have much better vitamins etc. than oven chips - cheaper and the effort differential is marginal.
Baked beans are cheap and nutritious - so I agree - take advantage - indeed put them in a chilli too
As for sausages, I would take that money, tour a fruit and veg market at closing time. I still do this and its amazing what you can get. Especially if its the day before the weekend. Pineapples for 10p, trays of toms for 50p, whole carrier bags of broad beans for 20p have all come my way in November.
We can disagree, thats fine, but I believe you can eat nutritious food cheaply - it just takes some effort and imagination.
Salt and butter? Not in my chilli!
No fats added at all - I brown the onions in the mince fat if I use mince - often its vegetable and I use a splash of veg oil. No salt added - a good shloop of chilli and some over ripe apples to thicken. Then whatever is cheap. I like peppers, toms and Fava beans - but I'll use what I can get cheaply.
I'm sure its not propper chilli - but toms, and beans and chilli peppers and random vegetables is good on toast, wedges, baked spuds or rice. If I'm out of chillis or someone doesn't like them I just make home made baked beans
Baked Field Beans by British Red, on Flickr
Red
Don't know that we have "Rustlers" over here but we do have that type microwavable burgers in the grocers' and in vending machines at C-stores. I gotta agree with the majority on here that the taste generally leaves LOT to be desired. And like the majority here, I agree they taste better when I'm very hungry and there's not really another choice.
Salt and butter? Not in my chilli!
No fats added at all - I brown the onions in the mince fat if I use mince - often its vegetable and I use a splash of veg oil. No salt added - a good shloop of chilli and some over ripe apples to thicken. Then whatever is cheap. I like peppers, toms and Fava beans - but I'll use what I can get cheaply.
I'm sure its not propper chilli - but toms, and beans and chilli peppers and random vegetables is good on toast, wedges, baked spuds or rice. If I'm out of chillis or someone doesn't like them I just make home made baked beans
Baked Field Beans by British Red, on Flickr
Red
I'm not sure there really is such a thing as "a proper chilli" Red. Everybody's got their own ideas about that. There's not even an agreement over whether beans should be included. That said the mince itself usually has about 20% fat content otherwise it's a bit dry for most of us. And let's not forget it's not uncommon to add shredded cheese on top of a bowl of chilli. (more fat)
I will generally add some cheese to a vegetable chilli but not to a meat based one for that reason . I like tortillas and crunchy salad with a meat based one...maybe a little sour cream
. I like tortillas and crunchy salad with a meat based one...maybe a little sour cream
My Captain on my last dark grey ship told the Naafi Canteen man to stop selling them immediately and to get them off the ship. The 'Can Man' tried to argue but the Bosses argument about the health and well being of the crew being paramount and he was the 'Captain so ya boo sucks to you won out'. Never tried one but have smelt one 'ready to eat' and waved the offer of a bite.
