I was thinking of doing a food article to help busy moms prepare fast dinners from a box based on a survey of what teenagers themselves said was good stuff. But, there's good news on the home front. When I asked my students to list five of their favorite meals prepared from a box, including frozen foods, they stared at me. Encouraging them, I gave some examples. "You know," I said, "macaroni and cheese, Hamburger Helper?" They still stared at me. Then they started chiming in, "My mom always cooks real food."
I was kind of incredulous. "You mean no frozen food or macaroni and cheese?" I asked in disbelief.
"I don't know why my mom would do that when she can prepare just as easy a meal using good, fresh, healthy food," said one sensible young man. Gotta love that, I thought. Still, hard pressed to appease my request, they did come up with a consensus.
Number one agreement with everyone was Stouffer's Lasagna. Having attended a football dinner - and those football moms really know how to cook - I can also add Sam's Club lasagna to the list as being very edible. And, my family's personal preference, Prego Vegetable Lasagna. Add a tossed salad with Italian dressing and some good garlic bread, and you're in business.
Beyond that, it gets kinda hazy. One young man said hands down it's Cheesburger Hamburger Helper - two boxes all to himself on his birthday, even if his family takes him out to dinner earlier. No sharing that with his siblings. There was a general concurrence, too, that Rice a Roni is verging on stupendous.
Frozen pizza was also on the list, as well as chicken wings, and of course, macaroni and cheese still seemed to be a fave. Then came mention of things no self-respecting mom would consider - Ramen noodles, for instance. Even the kids said too much MSG.
So, from what started out as a simple survey, I now had a sociological dilemma on my hands. Are moms are really cooking more, or are people going out to eat more, or are teens just not home to eat that often? I did some research. If my students are any indication, according to a report in American Demographics from buzzback.com, today's teens are truly more health conscious than those of the past. They want to eat well to feel good about themselves, and even though they may not achieve their goal completely, they are trying. That's encouraging.
One thing is for sure, that technological wonder of previous generations that helped working moms feed a hungry family, the boxed dinner, is not quite so appealing to this generation. Now that I think about it, I don't think I have seen so much as a Shake and Bake or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese commercial in awhile. But I do see a line of people standing in front of the deli counter all the time. Hmmm...sandwiches, anyone?
5 comments:
Great, positive news concerning all things family meal related. I'm glad to hear that at least your students' families aren't settling for meals in a box.
Personally my own family has slipped into a semi-rut of eating out more than we should. With two children, and my wife and I both working, it often seems easier to pick up dinner on the way home from work versus spending the time to prepare a meal. That said though, when we do eat at home (about half the time) we typically prepare non-frozen/non-boxed meals. I'd like to say we do it for the health and nutritional value, but more often then naught we do it for the taste value.
An interest of mine, as I've gotten older, has been, based on the busyness of the average American family nowadays is the younger generation losing the skills and/or information to cook? I've informally surveyed people in my own age bracket (25-35) and have found a large number don't know how to prepare a lot of the meals their parents and grandparents use to prepare. Then recently I saw a documentary about barbecue pit bosses that are passing away and regretting that they didn't pass on their barbecuing skills to the younger generation within their families.
I need to make time to pursue a project I've wanted to do for a couple of years now, and that's record the various recipes and procedures of my wife and own family members.
Really enjoy the blog!
Oh, that's a fabulous idea! Do record the recipes. Your kids will appreciate it! My son used to love to cook when he was little and he wrote the recipes down in a very bad 2nd grade script that I absolutely adore looking at everytime I come across it in my cookbook. For me, it brings me instantly back to what he looked like and how he sounded as a little 7 year old boy. It makes my heart ache in a good way to think of that little boy and my 25-35 year-old age bracket self...enjoy it immensely - it sounds like you are!
Thanks for your opinion. You have a refreshing perspective!
Melony
I can exist on Rice A Roni and ramen noodles, but I miss peanut butter so much!! When is it coming back?!!
Dear Studet ID;
Did you try Smucker's all natural, I guess? You are right, bread is practically worthless without peanut butter. Good news, though, I saw a few jars of Skippy, I think, or maybe Jiff, on Wal Mart's shelves yesterday!
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