"TV Chef" recipes are less healthy than "ready meals"

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Seriously.
According to a BMJ study by the NHS and Newcastle University that compared recipes from books by Jamie Oliver, Lorraine Pascale, Nigella Lawson, and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall against supermarket "ready to eat" meals.  The results?
No recipe or ready meal fully complied with the WHO recommendations. The ready meals were more likely to comply with the recommended proportions of energy derived from carbohydrate (18% v 6%, P=0.01) and sugars (83% v 81%, P=0.05) and fibre density (56% v 14% P<0.01). The recipes were more likely to comply with the recommended sodium density (36% v 4%, P<0.01), although salt used for seasoning was not assessed. The distributions of traffic light colours under the FSA’s food labelling recommendations differed: the modal traffic light was red for the recipes (47%) and green for ready meals (42%). Overall, the recipes contained significantly more energy (2530 kJ v 2067 kJ), protein (37.5 g v 27.9 g), fat (27.1 g v 17.2 g), and saturated fat (9.2 g v 6.8 g; P<0.01 for all) and significantly less fibre (3.3 g v 6.5 g, P<0.01) per portion than the ready meals.
Or, to translate this down
Neither the Chef's recipes, nor the supermarket meals complied with WHO guidelines. But the supermarket meals were "healthier".

I must admit I don't find this particularly surprising (and no, Paula Deen, I am not referring to you).  If you watch these chefs for mroe than the ritual entertainment value you do learn a lot.
Ok, thats a big IF, but if you actually do something based on the Chef's recipes, odds are that you have absorbed something.
And given the specifics of the chef's above, what you have probably absorbed includes
  • The importance of good ingredients
  • Conversely, the suckiness of additivies
  • Something about sustainability
  • The need for "balance" in your diet
  • The social aspects of cooking
And a whole host of other items, most of which you are not going to get in your Supermarket MRE.
So yeah, the study may not be have the best results, but thats OK...


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