What's with our kids and box cookin'?

[Phil]

I look in many a shopping carts these days and laugh. Young people buying nearly everything prepared for them in a box. There is a whole gereration out there that has never tasted home cooking because they, or their parents, were "too busy" or too lazy. It's a real shame that kids think mac 'n cheese comes in a box. They have never eaten scratch biscuits, waffles, or devils food cake. How about a real homemade soup that began with chicken stock that took three hours to make? Many years ago while walking down a fairway with a friend, he mentions that his wife makes a mean lasagna. I said that sounds good, what does she put in it. He begins by saying, "well she starts out with a jar of Ragu....". Oh, boy. I know there are short cuts that we all have to take, it just knocks me out that the new generations think fast food is, well, good food. Guess I've reached the "old codger" time in my life. And another thing, this rap @#%^ they call music, .....!!!!!!

 

[Andy M.]

...Guess I've reached the "old codger" time in my life...

Sounds like you have, Phil. I'm guessing your parents had the same complaints about rock and roll that you have about rap.

However, I have noticed the same thing about a lot of the shopping carts I see in the market. As hard as I tried, my daughter is like that. Her favorite soup is Oodles of Noodles.

Don't get me started about cream of mushroom soup.

 

[texasgirl]

I used to buy the boxed dinners myself. I was 16 when I got married and had my first son and didn't really know how to cook, except for basic stuff. Now, I will only buy stuff like hot pockets and things like that for lunches at work. I will still buy like the packaged noodles that are flavored or the instant potatoes that my boys love.

As far as the music, I listened to a lot of the rap. What I can't listen to is what they call heavy metal. I listened to Ozzy and ones like him. The ones now, make noise and scream and I can't understand a word they are saying at all!!

 

[Michelemarie]

I would love nothing more than to be able to cook "from scratch" meals every day - unfortunately, my life does not offer that luxury. I enjoy cooking and have to "plan" to do it ahead of time, then usually freeze extras too. I would be lying if I pointed the fingers at the others in the market, because I am guilty of some of the easy stuff, cream-of-anything soup with chicken, pasta and butter, and yes, top ramen. I do put my foot down on fast food stuff though, McDonalds is a treat for us. I think the kids like alot of the packaged stuff because they see their friends with it, too. Very impressionable. My daughter has a couple of friends that dine with us, and even some of my easiest throw together meals impress them.

As the mother of 13-year-old, some of this music is horrid. But I was a huge AC/DC fan in my day, and I hear the words now and cringe. I pick and choose my battles with that, no vulger or sexual lyrics allowed. Thank goodness she seems to be passing the rap stage - we actually like some of the same music, including christian as well as pop.

 

[Phil]

Well, you know better....

I would love nothing more than to be able to cook "from scratch" meals every day - unfortunately, my life does not offer that luxury.
As the mother of 13-year-old, some of this music is horrid. But I was a huge AC/DC fan in my day, and I hear the words now and cringe.

.... and I too, use some things to speed up the process. I've had my share of instant stuff. At least we're tryin'.
Oh, and I had a rock band in the sixties. Stopped playing in 1968. You could actually humm the tunes 'cause they had melodies

 

[pdswife]

I think the younger generations cook from boxes because that's what their parents did. Two parents...single moms... what ever. They worked hard all day and still had to come home and cook meals for the family. You do what you know. My son does a combo of semi-home made and "open a can" He's a pretty good cook concidering that most of his meals were boxed. I cook mostly from scratch these days but, I have tons of time. Music wise... can't stand rap. I can't understand what they say and when I can pick out the words, they are not to nice. I'm country all the way.

 

[corazon]

Guess I've reached the "old codger" time in my life

It isn't an old codger thing, I'm 25 and I make most everything from scratch. There are a few execeptions. I don't make my own tomato sauce but I buy good quality, homemade sauce from an italian deli. For some reason making tomato sauce scares me, don't know why. And while I like and make ice cream, it would be pretty hard to pull off triple chocolate dove ice cream bars.

A couple weeks ago I made mozz sticks for the first time. In conversation with the checkout gal, I mentioned this. She seemed very impressed and almost couldn't believe you could make them at home from scratch! Like it was only the frozen food companies that could make them. I giggled on my way out.

One thing is for sure, I want my children to know what real food tastes like. And I'll bet my boys will have a hard time finding wives that can cook as well as I.
And to quote Calvin & Hobbes
"six minutes in the microwave?! who has that kind of time?"

 

[licia]

Another thing I've noticed is that people can grow up almost never seeing real food. Some of the stuff for babies doesn't look like food, the little dinners for toddlers and olders doesn't and even older kids eat stuff that doesn't look like it was ever fresh stuff. No wonder they cook stuff from boxes.

 

[Phil]

How old are ya'....

I think the younger generations cook from boxes because that's what their parents did. Two parents...single moms... what ever. They worked hard all day and still had to come home and cook meals for the family. You do what you know. My son does a combo of semi-home made and "open a can" He's a pretty good cook concidering that most of his meals were boxed. I cook mostly from scratch these days but, I have tons of time. Music wise... can't stand rap. I can't understand what they say and when I can pick out the words, they are not to nice. I'm country all the way.

...don't answer that, I'm teasing. Rachel Ray has some good tips if folks would TVO her program. However, all those short cuts are expensive. Prepared salad, packaged herbs, etc. I'm not much for country, went to school and know Dan Seals. You may remember him from England Dan and John Ford Coley of the 70's. Danny went to the country side in the 80's.

 

[buckytom]

yup, a bunch of old codgers...

lol, i heard a comedian recently say that he listens to a lot of rap music.
mostly at intersections.

i hate to say it, but rap, and hip hop, and the genre gets a bad, well, rap. it's almost kinda funny when i hear the same folks who only 40 years ago supported devil's music (rock and roll), and couldn't understand why their parents were such squares.

and that was the same for their parents with big band swing and jazz, and so on, and so on.

rap/hip hop are in exactly the same position in society today, some of the only differences being that lyrics have taken over where a melody once stood, and the whole thing is carried (not-so-simply) by percussion, electronic and otherwise. removing an obvious melody only serves to reaffirm the importance on the lyric, is what i'm trying to say.

it has all of the same qualities of social commentary as any good 60's song, but it's just not what parents and elders are used to hearing and definitely do not approve of.

hmmmm, that sounds strangely familiar. like a generational echo.

 

[Andy M.]

Moving back to the food aspect of the thread...

Has anyone else noticed that supermarket checkout personnel can't identify the produce they're trying to check out? Many times I have had to tell a checkout person what they were holding so they could look up the UPC and ring it in. And I'm not talking about exotic stuff.

 

[ronjohn55]

I actually rebelled against the boxed stuff. Had a lot of it growing up, and frankly, didn't like most of it.

As for the rap - I put this out here strictly as a datapoint I found interesting. A while back I was reading one of the articles about John Lennon's death (it was right around that time). It was an interview with, I think, one of the people from Rolling Stone that Lennon had been talking with for an article or something when he was shot. In the interview I read, the person was asked who they thought John Lennon would be listening to today. The answer was surpirsing to me. Based on his attitudes and approach to making music, the person in the article guessed that if he were alive today, John Lennon would be a fan of......

Eminem.

John

 

[texasgirl]

Moving back to the food aspect of the thread...

Has anyone else noticed that supermarket checkout personnel can't identify the produce they're trying to check out? Many times I have had to tell a checkout person what they were holding so they could look up the UPC and ring it in. And I'm not talking about exotic stuff.

I get that with the younger ones.

 

[buckytom]

imagine all the slim shadys
living life in peace

you might say it's 9mm
but it's not the only ones

you might say i'm a dreamer
or i'll have to cap you in the buns...

 

[texasgirl]

imagine all the slim shadys
living life in peace

you might say it's 9mm
but it's not the only ones

you might say i'm a dreamer
or i'll have to cap you in the buns...

 

[pdswife]

LOLOLOLOLOLO OLOLOLOLOLOLOL OLOLOLOLO oh bucky.... you're great.

 

[kadesma]

I do most of my cooking from scratch..But, in a pinch I'll use canned soup, if I've none in the freezer..I was told by my girls that I'd made a huge mistake, I didn't teach them to cook, I did it for them, thus they have been FORCED to go to foods my way and pick up dinner..You know, pay someone else, then you go in grab a bag and follow the directions on how much, of each thing and how to cook it, They pay someone to do this, of course when I made a little rejoinder, I was told, but Mom, you never worked!!! You never had a JOB!!!! Oh, okay 4 kids, 8-1/2 acers, a huge garden, diapers up to my eyebrows, cows to feed, dogs to feed, oh heck I admit it I played all day, you should see all the books I read and movies I saw, and days sitting by the pool drinking lemonade and iced tea were sooooo boring Yeah right So, I guess, I should have showed em how to open a box They did'nt need help cooking from bags I have to say though both of them are trying to learn from me, one has a good eye for it and is going to be very good at it, the other, well let's just say she is trying HARD!!

kadesma..

 

[Constance]

Kadesma, I was a stay at home mom until my youngest started first grade. I also had a huge garden, and took in sewing for extra money. I did everything from making wedding and prom dresses to coats, curtains...you name it.
I got to read books while nursing my babies...LOL!
I never used convenience foods because I couldn't afford them.
Now that I don't get around so well, and have more money, I do use some boxed things: Bisquick for shortcakes and pancakes, instant mashed or au gratin potatoes, packaged rice mixes like Uncle Ben's and Rice-a-roni, Stove-Top stuffing mix, refrigerated pie crust, Grands canned biscuits, Prego or some of the better brands of Spaghetti sauce, canned soups, and certain dried seasoning mixes, like Good Season's Italian Dressing mix, Lipton's onion soup or ranch dressing mix, and Tone's garlic/herb seasoning. I also make a lot of cakes that start with a boxed cake mix.
But...my food never tastes boxed or canned. I adjust the seasonings and add fresh ingredients to make them taste better.
I don't buy boxed or frozen dinners, as such. Can't stand hamburger helper, the Lipton mixes, or a lot of that other stuff.
I do still make Kraft mac & cheese for the grandkids sometimes...they love that stuff. I think it's a kid thing.

 

[kadesma]

Moving back to the food aspect of the thread...

Has anyone else noticed that supermarket checkout personnel can't identify the produce they're trying to check out? Many times I have had to tell a checkout person what they were holding so they could look up the UPC and ring it in. And I'm not talking about exotic stuff.

All the time now Andy, lots of time they even just ask me the price! I got a beautiful head of frisse free because the fellow did'nt know what it was or how to spelll it (I'm not sure if I did either) I even told him the price, he didn't know how to weight it either !!!


kadesma

 

[kadesma]

Connie, I use foods that are ready to go now and then..Depends on my time and as you said the little grand kids want mac and cheese, then heck, I give them what they like. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Right now, I'm taking advantage of having some time to just enjoy myself in the kitchen. I truly love to cook, but, I also know, that with my hands hurting me the way they are, I'm going to have to allow the kids to help. I've already given over the carving of the turkey or a roast to my s-i-l..I can do it but, I hurt afterward..So, I'm being selfish and just running to the end of my rope trying recipes and making bread..Before I might not be able to do it all anymore. Who knows, it could be years or it could be next month.

kadesma