Packaged Food Diets?

hansmdude

I was going through peoples diaries looking for food ideas and I am amazed how many people eat nothing but processed foods, microwavable food, and anything that comes in a box or package.
It kind of reminds me of when I went vegetarian and the only thing that made me a vegetarian was not eating meat. The list of ingredients on some of those vegetarian products took up most of the packaging. It finally occurred to me, that the way I was going about being a vegetarian wasn't necessarily any healthier than just eating poultry or lean meats with vegetables.
Just remember, just because a package is labeled "Low Fat" "All Natural" "Heart Healthy" or whatever catch phrases are popular today, does not make them better than "real" food.
Just my thoughts... Eat whatever you want!!
Hans

yarwell

The inability to prepare and cook food seems to be a growing problem, in the UK we stopped teaching that for a few years.

hansmdude

I remember visiting Mom one year and of course the kitchen is where everybody congregates, anyway she's cooking away... I forgot what she was making, but you know it smelled good... she throws some butter in a pan and then an equal amount of flour and I say, "Oh, you're making a roux." (having watched the Food network enough.) Mom says, "a roux? I'm making gravy." after I explained what a roux is, she says in her heavy German accent, "Achh, I don't know these things, I'm just making the gravy."
Our parents knew what they were doing without knowing what they were doing, LOL

Laurend224

I make it a point to cook with my kids, but I'm a typical hausfrau, so I have the time to do it.

snowflake930

When I first started here, I would have pre-packaged/frozen "diet" meals. Then I began label reading. This ended very quickly. I have always loved to cook, so the natural progression was to cooking healthier. So many websites and recipes for lower calorie foods are available at our fingertips. Win/win situation for me. Tastes better and is better for you, and I enjoy the preparation and planning. I do work full time, long hours, and a 45 minute commute 1 way, but I grocery shop and cook on weekends and make enough to last the whole week. Packing individual portions and freeze for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Very rarely go out to eat at restaurants anymore either. It works great for us.

spamarie

If I have kids, one of my goals as a parent would be to ensure they can cook from scratch at least a little. They don't need to be a Michelin star chef. But fish pie or vegetable stew or a roast joint should be within everyone's reach. It's nice knowing what's in my food and tweaking recipes to my own tastes and needs.

Plus I get a real sense of satisfaction when I've cooked up a big batch of something, frozen it and know I have plenty of fast, go-to food for the week ahead that isn't going to ruin my weight loss effort.