Feeding Frenzy

By JJ

September 10, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

I hate boxed/pre-packaged food. It is loaded with all kinds of crap we don’t need in our bodies.

I prepare 99.9% of my meals fresh. The other .1% is delivery. If you count chinese as “boxed” then that’s the only box I do…….

By ahb

September 10, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

I was fortunate to come from a line of very good cooks and I continue today in my home with preparing meals from ‘scratch’. However, I also get pressed for time and too have turned to top quality pre-packaged items. I will use boxed cake mixes and add ingredients to to make for a wonderful end product!

By kar

September 10, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this

I’ve actually had good luck with ramen and other instant oriental-style noodles. You can use the supplied soup base or use your own with sodium-free broth, five-spice powder and fresh garlic or dried Thai peppers. Then add fresh tofu, bok choy or snow peas, eggs, onions & other leafy green vegetables. There’s so many at the ethnic markets from the baby bok choy to shanghai cabbage to watercress or snow pea tips.

Sometimes I’ll add some frozen shrimp for the last few minutes or the fish cake slices. The one thing I HAVE to have are the flowering garlic chives. A more delicate flavor than regular onions and more attractive to have the flowers/buds.

Then garnish with fried shallots/onions/garlic that you can pick up in store, a dash of lime if you want to go SE Asia and a splash of sesame oil if desired.

Basically, I’ll primarily use the packaged noddles and improvise the rest. It’s a great way to add leafy greens since you can add as many as you can fit into the bowl.

By Becky

September 10, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this

I don’t do a lot of box cooking..I’ve had people laugh at me at the grocery store for things that I’m buying..They look at me & say, you still cook from scratch? As Kar said, if I do make something from a box, I make it “my” own..I always change/add/delete something..

Have a story about Hamburger Helper..Worked with a guy once that was 22, he married a 17 year old & she called him one day at work to tell him that she was going to cook some Hamburger Helper for dinner, but she couldn’t finish cooking it,because the ground beef wasn’t in the package..Honest to goodness, this is a true story..

By Mattie

September 10, 2008 3:33 PM | Link to this

I never buy boxed mixes, unless I’m out of town. My kids do love Hamburger Helper, and they will make it themselves. I would love to hear what others consider good at Trader Joes. I do buy lots of frozen name brand foods at Kroger or Publix, but I never know what the quality will be like at Trader Joes. Are the chicken and beef entrees good?

By Lissa

September 10, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this

My husband and I are all about boxed foods. We rarely ever make anything from scratch. We just don’t have time. We both work full-time and are both tired by the end of the day. Neither of us feels like or enjoys cooking. In the few short hours from the time we get home (6-7) to the time we have to go to bed (10-12), there’s little time for cooking, especially factoring in errands, laundry, etc, let alone actually relax from working all day. Hamburger Helper, Lean Pockets, taco kits, and soup are staples in our home.

Kudos to all of you who cook from scratch. My guess would be that most of you who do so much cooking are stay-at-home-wives/moms - not that there’s anything wrong with that mind you. Just please don’t thumb your noses at those of us who do not have that kind of time on our hands. Hey - at least cooking something is better than eating out every night!

By HCR

September 10, 2008 4:11 PM | Link to this

As far as box kits for dinner, a pre-packaged taco box kit is usually about it. I do reply heavily of the stouffer’s frozen lean cusine pizzas. They can be bought on the cheap on sale and they keep in the freezer for 10,000 years.

By CA

September 10, 2008 4:15 PM | Link to this

I work full-time, don’t get home until 7:00 or shotly thereafter and cook from scratch. I try to cook every night finding that it is my favorite way to relax from a day at work or playing in traffic. On my weekends, I even make homemade jams and pickles, and in a few weeks I will teach myself how to make pasta from scratch. Obviously from scratch pasta will be a weekend treat, but cooking from scratch during the week isn’t too hard to do.

By Jesse's Girl

September 10, 2008 4:30 PM | Link to this

Cheezits.

By Jessie

September 10, 2008 4:40 PM | Link to this

Instant wild rice can kick up a meal in a hurry. I like to use it with grilled chicken breast. They make pasta boxes with different flavors but I’m always leary of the sodium content. *************************************Why does one particular poster always have to be so crass and try ruin a nice forum?

By Brill

September 10, 2008 4:41 PM | Link to this

I am a 45 year old man who loves “The Helper” However, it is horrible health-wise, as are about all prepackaged dinners. My Dr. would give me the evil-eye, sorry Dr. Verbitsky ! I promise to stop eating that junk.

By Becky

September 10, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this

Lissa, if it’s works for you & your husband, that’s great..I know quiet a few people(women) that don’t like to cook..I though love to cook..I’m with CA in the fact that I love to make jams, jellies & pickles..As other’s have said though, if you evert think you want to try cooking, buy a box pizza kit & make the dough & put your own topping on it..A lot cheaper & better than one that you order..Mark, please go away..

By Becky

September 10, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this

Jesse’s Girl, do you cook? I would of thought that you would & that you are a good cook?

By Lissa

September 10, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this

It really all comes down to what you enjoy doing. Unless it’s a dessert or special occasion, I look at a cooking as a boring chore (much to my mother’s dismay!). It’s no fun and takes too long. I have other things to do. My husband looks at it the same way. If he had his way, we’d eat ramen and cereal most nights!

For people like us, boxed dinners are great. Sure, they’re not the healthiest option, but they are cheapier and healthier than fast food.

By Lissa

September 10, 2008 5:14 PM | Link to this

It really all comes down to what you enjoy doing. Unless it’s a dessert or special occasion, I look at a cooking as a boring chore (much to my mother’s dismay!). It’s no fun and takes too long. I have other things to do. My husband looks at it the same way. If he had his way, we’d eat ramen and cereal most nights!

For people like us, boxed dinners are great. Sure, they’re not the healthiest option, but they are cheaper and healthier than fast food.

By Janet from Tucson

September 10, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this

Trader Joe’s frozen mac & cheese is as good as many homemade I have had. I mainly cook from scratch, but I do sometimes “cheat.” My kids didn’t know what Hamburger Helper was before they left home. When I cheat, I am more likely to get a refrigerated pasta sauce or pesto and use it with a protein cooked fresh or previously left-over and some sort of starch, e.g., pasta, rice, etc. Put it with a fresh salad and a properly cooked veg and there you go. Just watch what is in that sauce and how much of that and the starch you use.

By Heather

September 10, 2008 6:03 PM | Link to this

I like the trader joe’s ravioli’s in their refrigerated section. You can make a quick sauce to go with these or use something from a jar. I cook almost daily, but LOVE the mushroom ravioli’s they have. I make a cream sauce for the mushroom ravioli’s out of shallots, garlic, some pancetta, maybe fresh mushrooms. Add 1 small container of heavy cream and 1 container of creme fraiche, a splash of vermouth or vodka and you will look like you did something spectacular. parsley too The pot stickers (frozen section)at Trader Joe’s are awesome too.

By joey

September 11, 2008 7:06 AM | Link to this

Take some Hamburger Helper, any variety. Cook as directed, but double the meat, un-drained. Add a big dollop of Crisco shortening. Add 1 cup of salt per serving. Add 1 pound of lightly fried bacon, un-drained. Sprinkle a large bag of pork rinds on top. Top with 12 fried eggs, with the yolks runny. Serve to your obese husband sitting in front of the TV, and the fat kids who appear catatonic in front of their video games. Now, you can relax and dish up a couple of Blue Bonnet, half gallons of ice cream just for you. Ummmmmmmmmmmmm! That’s eatin!

By elizabeth

September 11, 2008 8:09 AM | Link to this

We never eat things from boxes or frozen. Its packed with chemicals and preservatives. We cook organic and from scratch. I own my business and I work about 60 hours a week….cooking from scratch can be done with planning.

By Elizabeth

September 11, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this

I should also add that I really, really enjoy cooking, its almost therapeutic for me. My mother never enjoyed cooking and so we ate out a lot. I make it a priority to plan our meals because after a long day at work, there is nothing better than coming home to a good dinner. Just my 2 cents!

By Becky

September 11, 2008 8:30 AM | Link to this

Lissa, I’m just the opposite..My mother was a really good cook..Of course, she wasn’t a fancy cook (think cooking like Paula Deen)..But with 10 children & any 8 at home, cooking wasn’t something that she had time to do a lot of..I on the other had, love to cook & if I win the lottery, I’ll quit my job & do more cooking..I would love to do a sort of meals on wheels type deal.

No box meals aren’t always the best for you,but as with everything, you can offset some of the bad in other ways..

By JJ

September 11, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this

I’m a single mom with a full time job, and I cook every night. But, I get home at 4:30 and have plenty of time.

For those of you who don’t cook, and get home late, I would be happy to come and cook for you. My child is off to college next fall, and I will need something to keep me busy.

And, those who get home late, and don’t have time, or don’t like to cook, try cooking a few things on Sunday and freeze them. I makes soups and/or chili on Sundays while watching football. One huge pot of soup will last over a week, and I freeze some too for when we are on the go.

I also cook a huge batch of pancakes on Sunday a.m. and freeze them in stacks of three. My daughter gets them out in the a.m., zaps them in the microwave, and eats them in the car on the way to school (butter only, no syrup, but she likes them that way anyway.)

Anyone want a personal chef? I’ll be happy to come an prepare dinner for you!!!! Provided you live in NE Atlanta…….preferrably the Suwanee area…….

By Stacey

September 11, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

I love to cook and on the weekends I do cook from scratch but during the week I often do “Semi-Homemade” as Sandra Lee says. I don’t like the boxed hamburger helper nor mac & cheese because it tastes like medicine to me. I often doctor jarred pasta sauce by adding fresh onions, garlic, mushrooms and peppers. My sister tells me that if I’m adding all of that anyway I may as well make it from scratch! LOL I also use a lot of reduced fat & sodium canned soup and broth as the base for sauces and gravies.

By ATLmom

September 16, 2008 9:10 PM | Link to this

I don’t have the energy most nights to put much thought into dinner, but I just make simple suppers rather than going for the box. Grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, wild rice was on the menu tonight … good but easy. Some weeks I just stock up at Trader Joe’s though. I love the marsala sauce (just toss with chicken) and the tortellini and the boxed soups.