Supermarket Slobs!

[Fish]

Just nipped in to my local supermarket and the amount of ppl that have their trollies stacked high with processed pre-cooked CRAP has shocked me.....is it just me or does it 'seem' to be easier to wack something in the oven for half hour, dish it up and serve...why???

Is it really such a massive effort to prepare veggies and glaze some fresh meat to cook in the oven?? who actually said that if you cook from scratch that it has to be gourmet style...

Slow cookers are so easy to use and once you have everything in it (choice of meat,veg,herbs,veg stock..) cook on high for 7+ hours all day you will have yummy hearty meals that contain ONLY what you have put in them!!!!! Any 1 else see this or are the ppl in my home town going to the dogs?

 

[Constance]

When I had the greenhouses, I had a young woman working for me who was quite plump, which was surprising to me, because she was a hard worker. One day she brought something (don't remember what) to work in a grocery bag, and I later found her itemized grocery receipt in it. It was sixty dollars of nothing but chips, sodas, candy, doughnuts, dessert cakes and other junk.

 

[Selkie]

Yes, it is easier! People are becoming more lazy by the day. Many just don't want to use that thing between their ears and have to think about a menu, the ingredients to fulfill the menu, find everything they need 9in the supermarket, do the preparation, cook it, and then clean up afterward.

The idea of actually cooking, terrifies most people!!! Now, they can just visit the freezer section, come away with a load of prepared meals, quickly microwave them, and throw away the container/tray, leaving no dirty dishes behind.

Whose fault is it? Parents of the '60s & '70s. Many didn't spend time in the kitchen with their children, teaching the skills to run a household, nor personal values. Instead, they let their children do whatever they wanted, which was run amok, learn all about drugs and sex, which was a lot more fun than learning to make an apple pie, wash dishes, weed a flower bed or perform preventive maintenance on an automobile. The kids of those days never had a sense of responsibility or sensibility impressed upon them. And by the way, I was of that rebellious generation but I had firm, loving parents (loving meaning teaching what I should know to be a good adult and have self respect.)

Lazy begets lazy, and now we're seeing the fruit of that sloven behavior. But this is just my opinion.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Wait just a cotton picking minute there, Selkie. I am one of those children of the 60's/70's (born in 1954), and I managed to learn about apple pie and washing dishes AND sex and drugs.

 

[Andy M.]

In the post war in the US, the food industry began introducing prepared/processed foods. I can remember the fuss over TV dinners, Hamburger Helper, etc. It was a national movement to embrace the ease of dinner preparation by using these products. TV was full of them. That made many lazy. It was just too easy and "look, it's the in thing to do".

 

[Poppi G. Koullias]

I have been guilty of buying dubious ready meals when, after a long day's working I can't be doing with cooking. After a 12 hour shift repairing/customising bikes I just don't feel like going home to cook. My feet ache, my head aches and I'm usually covered in engine oil. And British supermarkets, they offer huge choice, whereas in my country, there is so little. The British supermarkets brand "budget meals" which are disgusting, admittedly. But then, some families on tight budgets can not afford the high cost of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and meat many others take for granted, are on higher income.

So, I see the same in my local Sainsbury's, young mothers buying "crap food". But, they only need to be informed that really, nourishing food can be bought on a budget. Like pulses and reduced-price veg, fruit and bread at the end of the store's trading day.

But people have habits, just the same as their shopping lists are so written. It matters none what age they are. Old habits never die.

However, in my country, most of my people are poor and grow their own although fruit and veg is cheap to buy. Melons are 40 cents kilo, same with oranges and most fruit bar exotic imports. Meat is always fresh, averagely priced, but like dairy produce - limited. Most families have a resident pig, goat and lamb being fattened up for Christmas and Easter. But we shoot our own turkeys and partridge.

 

[Secundinius]

I've noticed this as well. It's quite disturbing that the chances are, most of the people you see buying this stuff probably grew up watching either mom or grandma cooking from scratch in the kitchen.

I'm just as guilty of the bad-food-shopping-list as anyone else, but now that I am trying to change that I'm noticing it a lot more. People walk right past the veggies, even though you have to walk through them in every market I've gone in, and they go right for the pre-cooked products from the deli/hot foods section or the "tv dinners" in the frozen aisle. It's concerning how lazy we are being when it comes to food and the effects it has on our lives and how ignorantly we lap up all these ads (at least here in America) about how food that is proven to be bad "really isn't" according to "professionals." (Corn Growers Association, in case someone didn't get the referrence)

I'm not extremely PC when I see someone park right next to the door, waddle in and grab a "power cart" (if they don't have their own) and get nothing but the high fat-low content prepared meals, bags upon bags of chips and several combined gallons of soda. What's even worse is when their chubby 8-year-old is sitting on their lap, going along for the ride. I do try to keep the peace by only thinking things and not just loudly blurting them out, though there have been times...

Sad fact is, our society has evolved into a high paced mess where people worship the almighty dollar, spending their waking hours trying to earn as many as they can and when it comes time for anything else, they need to take shortcuts because they have no time left. In come other people worshipping the almighty dollar and they make all of theirs off these people by selling them the most convenient "meals" they can.

Sorry for the long read. I'm not exactly sparknotes friendly with some of my posts. This is something that definitely gets on my nerves as well. My fiancee and I constantly discuss it and how we want some land when we move out to grow our own foods. It's a shame that people actually continue to do these things in spite of knowing how harmful they are.

EDIT: Selkie, I am a 26 year old male, who learned how to do laundry at 5, cook at 7, and sew and iron at 10. Though I fully understand and agree with your statement, applying more to my generation then the one before it, I am proof that there are exceptions to the rule.

 

[bakechef]

I work in a grocery store and it is quite shocking to say the least.

Many people have this idea in their head that to eat healthy is very expensive, and they have to switch to all organic items. So they continue to buy pure processed crap, thinking that it is cheaper. Many don't see the more reasonable middle ground, buying ingredients and making meals from them, fresh meat can be had quite cheap, if you are a saavy shopper, dry goods such as pasta, rice, beans couscous, are dirt cheap in their unprepared form. It is really easy where I live to get plain frozen veg for a dollar or less a pound when on sale, those are the times to stock up.

Then there are those that see tv chefs cook and get discouraged beecause the dishes that they see on tv could cost 30 dollars or more to make when buying specialty ingredients.

I would love to teach a cooking basics class, just to show how easy and inexpensive cooking can be if you know how to cook from scratch, instead of a bag, box or bottle.

 

[babetoo]

i am guilty of eating a couple of prepared meals in a month. am cooking for just me. sometimes i just don't want to mess with it. i buy mostly lean q's for the occasional meal.

for most part i cook from scratch. i grocery shop on line, so have no clue about what others buy.

 

[Poppi G. Koullias]

I've noticed this as well. It's quite disturbing that the chances are, most of the people you see buying this stuff probably grew up watching either mom or grandma cooking from scratch in the kitchen.

Sad fact is, our society has evolved into a high paced mess where people worship the almighty dollar, spending their waking hours trying to earn as many as they can and when it comes time for anything else, they need to take shortcuts because they have no time left. In come other people worshipping the almighty dollar and they make all of theirs off these people by selling them the most convenient "meals" they can.

Only "budget-type" ready meals are bad because the meat is oftne injected with water to plump it up (as in the case of chicken breast), and otherwise, very cheap cuts of meat and terrible ingredients are added to things like sausages, packed out with rusk.

I suppose that my working up to 70 hours a week might be seen to be excessive, but work has to be done as I own a motorbike garage and I can not afford taking on more staff. So I go home with my Sainsbury's Cumberland Pie/Fish Pie ready meal, feed my boy and feed myself. But I am a high earner, so can afford to buy high quality ready meals, and suppliment it with fresh fruit for desserts. You earns your money and you spends it likewise.

If, however, I was a stay-at-home-wife, my culinary life would be far different.

At weekends, eating is far different. Everything is cooked. One is relaxed and happy; less stressed. Boy's face is filled, dishes are consigned to the dishwasher and then I'll join my family and watch TV.

Society will always be a high paced mess. It's the sign of the times I'm afraid, and eating has often to be on the hoof.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I've noticed this as well. It's quite disturbing that the chances are, most of the people you see buying this stuff probably grew up watching either mom or grandma cooking from scratch in the kitchen.

I'm just as guilty of the bad-food-shopping-list as anyone else, but now that I am trying to change that I'm noticing it a lot more. People walk right past the veggies, even though you have to walk through them in every market I've gone in, and they go right for the pre-cooked products from the deli/hot foods section or the "tv dinners" in the frozen aisle. It's concerning how lazy we are being when it comes to food and the effects it has on our lives and how ignorantly we lap up all these ads (at least here in America) about how food that is proven to be bad "really isn't" according to "professionals." (Corn Growers Association, in case someone didn't get the referrence)

I'm not extremely PC when I see someone park right next to the door, waddle in and grab a "power cart" (if they don't have their own) and get nothing but the high fat-low content prepared meals, bags upon bags of chips and several combined gallons of soda. What's even worse is when their chubby 8-year-old is sitting on their lap, going along for the ride. I do try to keep the peace by only thinking things and not just loudly blurting them out, though there have been times...

Sad fact is, our society has evolved into a high paced mess where people worship the almighty dollar, spending their waking hours trying to earn as many as they can and when it comes time for anything else, they need to take shortcuts because they have no time left. In come other people worshipping the almighty dollar and they make all of theirs off these people by selling them the most convenient "meals" they can.

Sorry for the long read. I'm not exactly sparknotes friendly with some of my posts. This is something that definitely gets on my nerves as well. My fiancee and I constantly discuss it and how we want some land when we move out to grow our own foods. It's a shame that people actually continue to do these things in spite of knowing how harmful they are.

EDIT: Selkie, I am a 26 year old male, who learned how to do laundry at 5, cook at 7, and sew and iron at 10. Though I fully understand and agree with your statement, applying more to my generation then the one before it, I am proof that there are exceptions to the rule.

Though my parents, especially my mother, never took the time to teach me how to cook anything, my stepfather taught me to fry bacon and eggs. while my Dad taught me to make Aunt Jemima pancakes, with sausage, boiled dinner, cook a steak in a cast iron pan, etc. I had a keen interest in learning how to cook and watched as my grandparnets made country-fried steak, thanksgiving meals, waffles, meat and potatoes, and grilled cheese. I wathce dmy mother make all of the down-home foods such as baked beans, spaghetti, chili, chicken and dumplings, date filled cookies, etc.

But it was a personal desire to excell in cooking that pushed me forward. There are others like me, who disdain unhealthy, prepaired foods. And there is a whole, world-wide movement, called the "slow foods movement" that rebels agains our "gotta have everything and gotta have it now" societies. I believe that it is greed that is causing the lazyness. We want it all, and are willing to work rediculously long houjrs to get it. Our emplyers want high profit and push us to work those rediculously long hours at relatively low wages. The people who sell us things, recognize that desire in our civilization to have everything and work to make available to us everything we want, and invent new things for us to desire, and then work with the media to convince us that life isn't complete with whaterver it is that they created. It's truly a viscious circle that has entrapped a great many people.

It is those people who come to realize that material things don't bring happiness, and that loving relationships, and caring about others does. It is those people who love their families intensely, who want to make great and healthy food for them. When a civilization is based on caring about the needs of others, that civilization is healthy, and strong, and thrives. When it is based on personal greed, then it is destined to fail, and for its members to be unhealthy in body, in thoughts, and in actions.

I don't like where our civilization is going. But each of my children follow a path that will fulfill their lives, and give their children the best chance of growing up healthy, happy, and with self respect and dignity. And that's how I work to make the world a little better place, by starting a legacy of loving families who care about each other, and so take the time to try to do things to the best of their abilities for each other, and for their communities. That's my answer to our runaway civilization.

And yep, I know that my way isn't the only way. But in my opinion, it's the best way I know. Let's here it for the Slow Food Movement.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Caslon]

hey! $5 Fridays. A roasted chicken!

some slaw, potato salad ready made

A bottle of red wine

 

[taxlady]

I see the grocery carts overfilled with junk all the time.

I admit, that when we are really busy and have the money, we buy some convenience foods. But, we read labels and are very picky. Heck, you can even get convenience foods at the health food store. But, when it's not too often, it's easy enough to have something like Italian sausage (from my favourite Italian butcher) on organic whole grain hot dog buns.

Most of the time we would rather make a giant batch of pasta sauce and defrost it for a quick meal or a giant batch of stew or something else along those lines.

 

[silentmeow]

Growing up my Mom cooked fantastic meals from scratch. Nothing fancy but good food. Dad was in WWII so we also grew up eating everything on our plates, no wasting food! For snacks we had apples and popcorn was a real treat. I don't remember eating all the time when I was growing up. Now I see kids everywhere stuffing their faces all the time. When we sat down to the table we were hungry and we ate! I started gardening when my kids were little because of the math/money. I could buy one bag of frozed beans which would last one meal for the same price I could buy a package of seeds. The seeds gave me 40 some gallon bags of beans in the freezer. The real plus is that they are pesticide free. I read somewhere that to have a healthy diet one must shop around the outside walls of the grocery store. When I think of that it really makes sense, veggies...dairy.....meats! It's the isles that get you every time!

 

[Zhizara]

Laziness

Yes, it is easier! People are becoming more lazy by the day. Many just don't want to use that thing between their ears and have to think about a menu, the ingredients to fulfill the menu, find everything they need 9in the supermarket, do the preparation, cook it, and then clean up afterward.

The idea of actually cooking, terrifies most people!!! Now, they can just visit the freezer section, come away with a load of prepared meals, quickly microwave them, and throw away the container/tray, leaving no dirty dishes behind.

Whose fault is it? Parents of the '60s & '70s. Many didn't spend time in the kitchen with their children, teaching the skills to run a household, nor personal values. Instead, they let their children do whatever they wanted, which was run amok, learn all about drugs and sex, which was a lot more fun than learning to make an apple pie, wash dishes, weed a flower bed or perform preventive maintenance on an automobile. The kids of those days never had a sense of responsibility or sensibility impressed upon them. And by the way, I was of that rebellious generation but I had firm, loving parents (loving meaning teaching what I should know to be a good adult and have self respect.)

Lazy begets lazy, and now we're seeing the fruit of that sloven behavior. But this is just my opinion.

Excellent post, Selkie!!

What's a real shame is that many of the packaged boxes and mixes that these people think of as cooking are much more work than doing it from scratch. Some of these people will begin to add other ingredients and realize that it's fun to modify the prepackaged dishes and go on to buying and cooking their own pasta or rice and gradually begin to really cook.

What they don't realize is that reading the directions on the box is the same as reading the directions for a recipe.

Hamburger Helper is nothing but a small amount of noodles and a packet of seasonings.

As a teenager, I tried to imitate Hamburger Helper by cooking noodles, browned hamburger and a can of whatever cream of soup we had. Different spices for different tasting dishes and I ended up with a whole repertoire of meals. It tasted better and was just as easy. I had so much fun making simple stroganoff (just add some sour cream and maybe a small can of mushrooms) and the like, that I found out that cooking was creative and could be easy. We named the recipe GOOP. I still love to make simple one dish meals/casseroles.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

We named the recipe GOOP. I still love to make simple one dish meals/casseroles.

I make my own GOOP or GLOP. Usually made when I'm cleaning out the fridge before a shopping trip.

 

[mollyanne]

"He who is without sin cast the first stone". I'm uncomfortable with the pethora of judgemental comments in this thread. I can say I have never looked in other people's carts to see what they are buying. I have never looked in someone's grocery bag, read their receipt, and cast judgement on what they are buying or why they are plump. Maybe they're buying it for a invalid friend. Maybe their stove is on the blink...or maybe their kitchen is being renovated. When I go to a grocery store I'm on a mission and I'm all about me, my family, and friends. I don't pay any attention to strangers there...why would I? Am I the only one?

I know you're laughing at my seemingly naive statements...yes, the supply of processed food is there because the demand is there, but my point is that we have no business judging strangers in a grocery store. It's arrogant. No?

Furthermore, I see improvements...in America anyway (i'm not familiar with other countries). Educational materials and mass media attention have reached many. More people know about processed foods, exercise, portion control, pyramid w/dailyrequirements, when to eat, why to eat, what to eat, etc than ever before. The awareness is there. It's the other factors that are too many to mention here...will-power, stress, physical issues, and emotional issues are at the top of the list.

Maybe they just lost 100 lbs but they're having a bad day and are feeling weak for one day. Anyone here ever had a bad day?

Some people have more of those issues than others so give'em a break.

 

[Andy M.]

I agree with most of what's been said here. BUT...

We all need to get over this.

The very people we are calling lazy or stupid, etc. are sitting at home wondering why idiots like us take the time to cook everything from scratch when there are perfectly good alternatives available. They're saying that they could cook from scratch too if they had all the time in the world but THEY have to work for a living...

 

[Zhizara]

Goop Glop

I make my own GOOP or GLOP. Usually made when I'm cleaning out the fridge before a shopping trip.

And haven't you noticed that some of these are the most fantastic dishes and so rare because you can't really duplicate them because the ingredients are what you have left over at that particular time.

GLOP. I love that. Somehow it sounds tastier.

 

[Zhizara]

I agree with most of what's been said here. BUT...

We all need to get over this.

The very people we are calling lazy or stupid, etc. are sitting at home wondering why idiots like us take the time to cook everything from scratch when there are perfectly good alternatives available. They're saying that they could cook from scratch too if they had all the time in the world but THEY have to work for a living...

Personally, I don't care so much what other people do. The piled up carts of junk just make me cringe at the thought of spending so much money. I pride myself on being able to make wonderful meals on less money leaving me free to buy other things.

I feel sorry for them if they don't learn the satisfaction of making something really good, but I presume buying convenience foods leave them time for some of the other satisfactions life has to offer.

I think we can all admit this is an interesting post that evolved from "Yikes, look at the junk" to commentary on where our society is headed.