21. i am in my early twenties and i am full of scorn when confronted with the idea of "convenience" foods. i make wonderful dinners for myself in less than 15 minutes and all restaurant quality, but cost way less. it takes no time, or skill, to throw a meal together and you'd save money in the long run. people who rely on "convenience" foods are just plain LAZY.

Posted at 3:28PM on Sep 4th 2007 by sarah

22. As A Single Parent/Father To My 3 Daughters, And Full Time In The Working World, I Found That Most Of The Time With Convenience Meals Was Spent Browning The Ground Beef (Which I Might Add Is Used In A Lot Of Quick Meals I.E. Sloppy Joes, Tacos, Helper). To Save Time And Tried Energy, On Saturday After A Trip To The Market I Would Brown And Season A 5 LB Package Of Ground Beef And Store In Quart Size Zip Lock Bags. On Any Night Of The Week 20 Minutes And Dinner Is On The Table!

Posted at 3:48PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Bainterl

23. I disagree, you can not cook a meal from scratch in the same time you can fix a convience food, forget it , it isnt possible for most foods, it may be better for you and it may taste better but it is not faster. Stop trying to fill every ones heads with your lies, all the commentaries here on aol are the same from people that dont know there blank from a hole in the ground

Posted at 3:53PM on Sep 4th 2007 by metlcat

24. American's and their garbage!... It's no wonder more than half of America is OBESE!... Not only does it not take that much longer to prepare a meal from scratch it's healthier and it will taste 10 times better. Just cook, it doesn't take a genius, and everyone in your family will appreciate and respect you at least for tryinig.

Posted at 3:54PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Monique

25. Rachel Ray has a show on the Food Network called 30 minute meals(also cookbooks) Really good stuff fast, and whole meals in that time. Takes a few kitchen basics to do, but once you have the basics at home they go a long way to make all kinds of things.

Posted at 4:00PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Marilyn

26. The problem is Mom is working 40 hrs. a week, and then has to come home and hustle to get dinner on the table for all the helpless, starving members of the family. I'm not talking about moms with young children. When mom comes home to find dad and their 3 teenagers with all their asses parked on the couch awaiting mom to get home and start dinner... yep, there is a problem, alright. Mom should be walking in the door saying, "Something smells good! What did you guys pull together for supper?"

Posted at 4:04PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Angela

27. There is NO way the time to make a meal from scratch is the same a making a "boxed" or pre-prepared meal! It takes around 45 minutes for me to make stuffed pasta shells, but if time is very short, I will make on of those bagged frozen meals (the ones you stick in a pan and cook), and the time is nil! Not only is it faster, cheaper (spices are quite expensive), I can get alot of stuff done (like laundry, get school stuff ready) done while I am "cooking" as you do not have to stand over the stove while these bagged meal cook! Sometimes I wish my kids liked quick cooked meals instead of home made from scratch ones, it sure would make things a bit easier!!

Posted at 4:08PM on Sep 4th 2007 by jesi

28. It is all abount confidence. I have never had a cooking class in my life - and my friends are consistently impressed with what I make. I read a recipe, mull it around.. think about what I do and don't like about and make the change. I'm not scared to. If it tastes bad, you change it.

Take salmon, a frozen filet, coated in oil and some old bay seasoning. Baked for 20 minutes. Prep time - about 60 seconds. Green beans? Sure, grab a can (or some fresh ones - it takes seconds to snap beans), maybe some dried onion flakes w/ some ground pepper (and if you're bad - some real bacon bits out of a jar). Nuke 'em. (or if you have one of those nice microwave steamers)

So, moderately healthy (if you ditch the bacon).. tops you've got 5 minutes invested. And that's just one example. Tacos for 5 people takes me abuot 15 minutes to make. Lasagna? 15-20.. sure its 15-20 longer than frozen but i've yet to have frozen lasagna that was even remotely good.. just dump some italian sausage, hamburger mushrooms.. tomatoes.. salt pepper.. pasta and enough cheese to kill a guy and you're good.

Just have faith that it doesn't have to be perfect.

Posted at 4:55PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Wizairde

29. It's bad enough this artery clooging crap is fed to us,It keeps the cardiologists happy when it's time for an angioplasty better yet the big money maker, OPEN HEART SURGERY",

Posted at 4:59PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Mike Ingenito

30. I raise everything I eat. Veggies, fruit, beef, chicken, lamb, goat, eggs. Everything. When my husband & I eat out, which is next to never, we can tell the difference. There are ways to make home made meals & suppers once a month. It takes one day to shop & one day to cook. Also 1 day to plan. Out of a basic 30 day month, you use no more than 3 days. Easy to fit into any busy schedule if you plan 10 - 15 miutes per day to make up your shopping list. Everyone has at least that.
I get up about 4 am, feed all the animals, milk the goats, start a pot of chese, mix bread to rise & bake, water the veggies, fruit, tend to the chickens.
Then I have to work on keeping the house clean. My husband leaves for work about 2 pm on Sunday afternoons, comes home on Friday or Saturday nights.
I breed, birth, castrate, wean & take care of all of our animals. By myself. I am not tooting my horn, expexting a pat on the back or anything else.
We all make time for what is important for our individual lives.
I also work 30 hours at our local feed store each week.
We all need to do what is best for us. But home made everything is best for everything & everyone.

Robyn

Posted at 5:01PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Robyn

31. I salute Hamburger Helper- you saved my life! It is my hope that all Americans in every kitchen would serve you for dinner, even on Sundays- you are worthy! I love you, cheesy noodle pile. Spoon full after spoon full you have sustained me through heart break, job changes and even the canceling of The Practice. I love your box. I love your bag. I love your simple instructions. You are a good companion, a faithful friend, a sixth food group. Good things do come in small packages. I'm sorry others do not recognize your importance and lie about your taste- they will be punished! Keep on keepin on!

Posted at 5:03PM on Sep 4th 2007 by timm

32. Right on angelacommet #28...........Everyday its the same here waiting for me to come home and cook! I would fall out of the door if dinner was ready when I got home! I disagree with the ones that say cooking from scratch takes longer. There are plenty of meals you can do in 20 - 30 minutes! Its all about common sense and planning. Pasta pf any kind is quick~~

Posted at 5:22PM on Sep 4th 2007 by MJ

33. Cook up a bunch of loose chop meat and keep it in the fridge, same with some kind of pasta. Good for a week. Look around the supermarket. Ragu cheese sauce is good (and this is coming from someone who hates salty tasting foods). Spend a day just chopping up veggies and fridge them for salads or a quick stir fry and at the end of the week put what's left in a pot with some seasoning and maybe chunked up raw chicken and boil yourself a soup. You'd be amazed what you could find for a really quick meal if you really look around the supermarket

Posted at 5:25PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Nancy

34. Had to comment again.........make your own mac and beef with less fat,salt and other crap. We are talking health.not just being quick. Nuking a meal in 3 minutes does not a meal make. Put some love into it. Don bescared of food

Posted at 5:27PM on Sep 4th 2007 by MJ

35. Beef noodle hamburger helper is fantastic!!!..I dont care about the calories, additives or any of that...I can make an entire box and scarf it down....and I weigh the same today at 45 yrs as I did as a college hockey player..which proves you can eat whatever you want, as long as your willing to get off your ass and take a run around the block now and then to burn off those junk calories we all crave.

Posted at 5:35PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Jeff

36. I occasionally cook conveniance foods but not as much as I used to. My young children actually prefer the "real" stuff to the junk. If you plan ahead, like the day before, thawing meat is not a big deal. You take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge for the next day. If it's not fully thawed you use the defrost feature on the microwave. Left-overs are also a much better alternative to conveniance foods. My kids love to eat the leftover homemade spaghetti sauce (that was made on Sunday) during the week. They prefer that to jarred sauce anyday. Canned veggies are just as good and they only take about 1 minute in the microwave, or there is the ever popular easy to make from scratch "chicken helper" - cooked chicken breasts, minute rice and cream of mushroom, chicken, or broccoli soup. Much healther and better tasting than the stuff in the box!

Posted at 6:02PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Rosanne

37. SO MUCH nutrition is lost in packaged foods compared to fresh foods it is really like you are paying (whether more or less than fresh foods) for trash that will give you and your family health problems. Time and money limits for fresh foods are understandable, but in the end making your own meals will save you both, and your life (not to mention the environment because of garbage)! Seriously, I highly recommend it, you will love it!

Posted at 6:17PM on Sep 4th 2007 by tryingtohelp

38. For me convenience foods are just easier due to the expiration dates on many foods. I live with just my son (16) and, quite honestly, I do try to cook homemade healthy meals. But most nights he is not around to eat when the meal is ready. I, of course, not truly feel like making a huge meal for no one to eat. Of course, when you're only buying for 2 people and live in an apartment with a small freezer, you can't really stock up on the huge packages on meats when they're on sale. (The smaller packages are always more expensive!) Further, if there are leftovers -- and there always are when I make homemade, by the time someone goes to eat them, they're usually spoiled. Fresh fruit always goes bad because we can't eat it fast enough. Finally, between working and going to school 3 nights a week, I really don't have a lot of extra time to grocery shop more than once a week. Convenience foods don't go bad in between shopping times and although I could freeze the homemade foods, again we have the problem of a small freezer.

Posted at 6:24PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Marj

39. What really amazes me are the comments. I do both, convenience and from scratch cooking. I bake my bread from scratch, but I use package mixes for cakes. I do pies of all kinds from scratch, because most already prepared pies, frozen and otherwise use lard as the shortening base. I would only use lard as axle grease! LOL A lot depends on my mood at any particular time. I do pizza from scratch, the dough in my bread machine, but my bread from scratch is manual, not bread machine. I personally think a bit of common sense is needed here, it's not rocket science guys!

Posted at 6:29PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Paul Harris

40. The big caution for these meals is SALT. Most of these convenience foods contain very high amounts of salt, even those labeled 'lite.' I know from experience these foods are capable of pushing the blood pressure high on their own. Better to pay a little more, take a little more time and cook your own fare!

Posted at 6:32PM on Sep 4th 2007 by Cheri