Dinners In The Boxes; A Question?

[CarolPa]

My neighbor used to complain about all of them in the family having some sort of allergy or medical issue...but she still used packaged foods and shortcuts. I told her if they wanted to eat stuff like Hamburger Helper she could help her family by measuring out the ingredients from her own spice cabinet and well-stocked pantry. She preferred the convenience. Whatever.

But you guys are all poor college students, right? Maybe you could appeal to the cost-effectiveness of making the meal from scratch. I searched for "homemade hamburger helper" and got a ton of hits. Skimmed over this one and it looks pretty simple for even a very novice cook. Hope this idea helps her...and you! Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe Skillet Dinner | Divas Can Cook

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

 

[GotGarlic]

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

The comments crack me up. "My 12-year-old son ate three helpings!" Of macaroni and cheese with beef. Did she not serve some veg to balance the plate? Lol

 

[GotGarlic]

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

I make a point of making extra servings of our dinners so DH can grab something out of the fridge and heat it up when he's hungry.

 

[CarolPa]

I make a point of making extra servings of our dinners so DH can grab something out of the fridge and heat it up when he's hungry.

That would make it a leftover, and DH doesn't eat leftovers. It can be made from a box, but it has to be made fresh. Perservative and all. He does not want any veggies with it, but sometimes I will mix in some frozen mixed veggies. He thinks they came in the box. LOL

 

[GotGarlic]

That would make it a leftover, and DH doesn't eat leftovers. It can be made from a box, but it has to be made fresh. Perservative and all. He does not want any veggies with it, but sometimes I will mix in some frozen mixed veggies. He thinks they came in the box. LOL

Jeez. He needs some serious retraining.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

The comments crack me up. "My 12-year-old son ate three helpings!" Of macaroni and cheese with beef. Did she not serve some veg to balance the plate? Lol

Having two younger brothers and remembering how they ate (and how much) from pre-teen through teen, I believe it's entirely possible that she made him eat vegetables with his first helping and he still had room for the extra two helpings of the mac and cheese.

As to the question presented by the OP, I think the best answer depends on two factors, your personality and hers. If you know she is open to help with cooking and really trying to get better at it, then I would tell her you weren't real fond of it. But, I would be specific with what you didn't like about it and what might have made it more to your liking so that it sounds less critical and more constructive. I would also encourage her to continue trying, to not give up since practice and experience are the only way to get better. Depending on the person I might even share some of my own experiences in cooking something that wasn't good and what I learned from them. Taking advice from someone is often much easier if you know that person has had failures of their own.

If you are confident in your ability to give advice without insulting, and your skin is thick enough to take a mild backlash if she doesn't like your advice, and if you are easily able to sooth hurt feelings if she is offended, then I would also say go ahead and be honest. But again, be specific and be ready to offer encouragement if she needs it. Also make sure she knows you are grateful for her efforts regardless of the how good her food is.

If you know she is not looking for advice or you are not confident in your ability to give it without sounding too critical, then for now at least I would hold back. Give yourselves time to become more comfortable with each other. Then you'll have a better idea of when you can give advice and when you just need to leave things be.

In any case, if she invites you over for the same meal again, I would be honest about my dislike of the food, but I would center the focus on myself. "I appreciate the offer, but for me the tomato flavor drowned out the rest of the food and I just didn't care for it. But if you are making something else another night, maybe we can eat together then?" Make sure she knows you don't object to her or her cooking in general, just to that particular meal.

I think you definitely were correct not say something that might embarrass her in front of her friends and that your instincts to talk to her about the food privately show a great deal of consideration for her feelings. Based on your responses to other people's advice, I think you're instincts are good and you should go with what you feel is right.

That's my best advice. I hope your next meal with your roommate is a better one.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

After I put up my post I spend way too much time travelling all over that Divas Can Cook! website! Alas, another night of short sleep. I had found "Divas.." a long time ago but forgot how entertainingly Monique can write.

Oh, and like GG said, your other half needs serious retraining. Tell him if you cook from scratch you can save a bunch of money (it is true) and you guys could put the savings away in an old canister until you have enough for a little get-away. He can focus on the fun while you're saving him from himself.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

The comments crack me up. "My 12-year-old son ate three helpings!" Of macaroni and cheese with beef. Did she not serve some veg to balance the plate? Lol

The kid probably plays sports. Probably inhaled half the veggies for dinner raw as he walked past his mom on his way to his room From around 6th grade through high school our son was know as "the stomach with legs". I learned that if I wanted to make sure the kid didn't disappear into his bedroom with an entire bag of a newly-purchased produce item I would weigh things up in 2 or 3 bags at the store, then hide the extras in the back of the bin.

 

[Hoot]

The only thing my first wife could/would cook was them Hamburger Helper messes that come in a box. Mrs Hoot and I were noticin' that those things were on sale the other day. She said that they might have improved over the years....maybe, but I ain't willin' to find out.... Not even if they were givin' it away.
Just my humble opinion. YMMV

 

[CarolPa]

Jeez. He needs some serious retraining.

I think he's one of those old dogs than cannot learn new tricks. LOL

Cooking Goddess - The thing with the boxes and pouches he eats is that he makes these himself for his lunch. So I can continue playing on the computer or reading my book and don't have to stop and fix lunch for him. If I start cooking it from scratch, I will just be making more work for myself. I made the home made mac and cheese one day when we ran out of the boxed mix and now it's my permanent job. LOL

Hoot- Hamburger Helper has not improved. It still has that pasty consistency and tastes like a lot of preservatives.

 

[CWS4322]

I think he's one of those old dogs than cannot learn new tricks. LOL

Cooking Goddess - The thing with the boxes and pouches he eats is that he makes these himself for his lunch. So I can continue playing on the computer or reading my book and don't have to stop and fix lunch for him. If I start cooking it from scratch, I will just be making more work for myself. I made the home made mac and cheese one day when we ran out of the boxed mix and now it's my permanent job. LOL

Hoot- Hamburger Helper has not improved. It still has that pasty consistency and tastes like a lot of preservatives.

Here's a link to the nutritional information for Hamburger Helper and similar types of means:

Hamburger Helper Nutrition Facts, Hamburger Helper Calories, Nutritional Information

Note: serving size is 1 cup prepared. So how many servings in the DH eating at lunch?

My counter argument would be that the additives in the boxed foods are not helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Cooking Goddess - The thing with the boxes and pouches he eats is that he makes these himself for his lunch. So I can continue playing on the computer or reading my book and don't have to stop and fix lunch for him. If I start cooking it from scratch, I will just be making more work for myself. I made the home made mac and cheese one day when we ran out of the boxed mix and now it's my permanent job. LOL

Carol, this is when the idea of "planned leftovers" comes into play. Make a big batch of mac&cheese, divide between two casserole dishes, then bake the bigger one and freeze the smaller. Voila! Dinner tonight, dinner for a night you don't want to waste in the kitchen, and enough leftovers for a lunch or two for DH. Of course when I did that for Himself I had to portion out the lunch part before he dug into that night's supper! Lots of things freeze well or make....oh wait, you metioned he doesn't eat leftovers, right? Ack! Retrain! RETRAIN!

 

[CarolPa]

Here's a link to the nutritional information for Hamburger Helper and similar types of means:

Hamburger Helper Nutrition Facts, Hamburger Helper Calories, Nutritional Information

Note: serving size is 1 cup prepared. So how many servings in the DH eating at lunch?

My counter argument would be that the additives in the boxed foods are not helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.

He is probably eating up to 2 cups. He doesn't worry about a healthy life style. If he doesn't get fat and doesn't get sick, he's OK. He really eats crap and is never sick. I eat so much healthier than he does, and I exercise, and I'm fat and have every ailment known to man. It's just not fair. I have a friend who eats the same way he does. Never gains a pound, and is never sick.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Here's a link to the nutritional information for Hamburger Helper and similar types of means:

Hamburger Helper Nutrition Facts, Hamburger Helper Calories, Nutritional Information

Note: serving size is 1 cup prepared. So how many servings in the DH eating at lunch?

My counter argument would be that the additives in the boxed foods are not helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I told my Mom that I was happy to fix her those boxed mixes and artificial sweeteners, in the long run she was saving me money. It would not cost me a dime to have her embalmed when she died. She started paying attention to what she was eating and feeding those around her.

 

[CatPat]

Thank you all! I appreciate all of these posts.

I am certain I made a mistake. She is not the roommate. She lives with her parents and I live with DA. I apologize for the confusion.

Your friend,
~Cat

 

[CarolPa]

Thank you all! I appreciate all of these posts.

I am certain I made a mistake. She is not the roommate. She lives with her parents and I live with DA. I apologize for the confusion.

Your friend,
~Cat

Cat, I checked back to your first post and you only said it was a classmate, not a room mate. We are the ones who misunderstood.

 

[CatPat]

It does not matter. I enjoyed this posting very much!

Your friend,
~Cat

 

[Mad Cook]

I don't mean to be too nosey, but what are your sensitivities to dyes? I ask, because my step-son asked us not to give his son anything with dyes. He has not been diagnosed with anything, but they notice he is more out of control when he eats foods with dyes. He's 5. They don't eat much processed foods, but he likes gummy worms and pop tarts and they have quit giving them to him. I found fruit roll ups and popsicles that do not contain dye.

E102 Tartrazine (Yellow#5 in the USA) is banned in the UK and several other European countries for food and drink use as it has been shown to cause hyperactivity in children. It is also known to cause hay fever, vision and breathing problems, anxiety, migraines, depression, sleep disturbances and general weakness. It is also harmful to an unborn baby therefore pregnant women are advised to avoid it.

Tartrazine is widely used in the USA. It's not only used on its own. It's used in conjunction with other colourings to make orange and green colours for food use. Even so-called "organic" foods may contain it Despite being a synthetic dye, tartrazine can legally be included in organic foods, because the USDA allows processed foods to be certified organic if they are 95% organic by weight.

 

[Mad Cook]

I have bookmarked that page and will go back and check it out. I have been trying to figure out how I could make these meals home made. My husband likes them. Mostly because when he's hungry he doesn't want to wait for a meal to be cooked. I got him away from boxed mac and cheese by showing him how quickly I can put together a cheese sauce and cook some macaroni. For lunch, he eats a lot of those packaged noodles and sauce, etc. They are quick. and he adds salt to them, too. He is one who adds salt to everything before he even tastes it. We are not poor college students....we are poor retirees. LOL

Poor students or poor retirees regardless, homemade is always cheaper and better. You want it quick? Have a day a month batch baking and making pasta dishes, casseroles, pies, etc., and freeze them down in one or two portions so you can just re heat when you want them. That way you know what went into them, you know how hygienic the preparation was and how long the dish has been in storage and you can always feed unexpected visitors or neighbours in an emergency.

And before you say it's easy for me to talk, yes, it is. I'm retired on a fairly limited income and I wouldn't dream of living on expensive "convenience" foods loaded with fat, salt and fillers with little or no nutritional value. Cooking your own has other hidden advantages. Research indicates that keeping the brain active helps to guard against senile dementia so all that meal planning, measuring of ingredients, up-scaling quantities, writing labels, etc., may keep your brain healthy for longer. My grandmother was still cooking a "proper" dinner for herself and one of her grandchildren everyday until 4 weeks before her death at the age of 89 and we're sure that the food itself and the planning and cooking that went into it was one of the things that helped to keep her fit for so long.

 

[Mad Cook]

carol, this is when the idea of "planned leftovers" comes into play. Make a big batch of mac&cheese, divide between two casserole dishes, then bake the bigger one and freeze the smaller. Voila! Dinner tonight, dinner for a night you don't want to waste in the kitchen, and enough leftovers for a lunch or two for dh. Of course when i did that for himself i had to portion out the lunch part before he dug into that night's supper! Lots of things freeze well or make....oh wait, you metioned he doesn't eat leftovers, right? Ack! Retrain! Retrain!

here here!!!!