The Single Man's Guide To TV Dinners

yokimbo writes "The Food Network had a show about TV dinners and how they're prepared, their history, etc... But, what about the useful information, like how they taste? Ray Cole has your solution at The Single Man's Guide to TV Dinners. Although, I think he needs to visit Web Pages That Suck." (Of course, TV dinners don't scream out the way ramen does for improvement and improvisation.)

fav tv/ at the computer meals and approx cooking t

[shione]

hot dog + cheese (2 minutes nuked)

Ramen noodle (cooking time 2 minutes nuked)

frozen lasagne (10 minutes nuked)

grated cheese on bread (5 minutes toasted)

pasta mix (12 minutes nuked)

potato salad straight out of the tub (instant!)

and of course the chips and biscuits

Actually, a pretty good way to lose weight

[ahertz]

Over last summer, instead of going out or cooking food for myself, I had a TV dinner almost every night, and it helped me lose a lot of weight. Why? Portion control. If you're counting calories, it's dead easy with these - just read the label. Plus, if you're like me, you always feel like you have to clean your plate. With one of the low-calorie tv dinners (Lean Cuisine is especially good tasting, compared to the others), you can - and still not overeat.

So, if you're looking to lose a few pounds, I highly reccommend them.

Re:The amount of time guys waste on this stuff ...

[LarsWestergren]

Agreed. Once you are getting a bit better it is great fun. For me, it has ceased to be a chore, and feels more like a time to relax, be a bit creative.

Also, this topic is a great opportunity to copy and paste some fun links.

The worst breakfast ever: "Swanson, producers of some of the world's fattiest TV dinners, is seeking to take over the breakfast market with a new line of microwaveable morning meals. It's called the 'Hungry Man All Day Breakfast,' [x-entertainment.com] and it's threatening to turn people into manatees."

For those who like Mystery Science Theatre 3000, here is a similar take on edibles; The Gallery of Regrettable Food [lileks.com]

Re:TV Dinners are So 1950s

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, good tips there. However, my main problem is cleanup. Everything single thing you're doing requires cleanup. Clean the grill, clean the pans, clean the bread machine.

Ugh, too much time. That's why a lot of people choose pre-made meals. Pop, eat, and go. No mess, nothing to clean up.

Do you know how this stuff is made?

[xyote]

Nobody I know who has ever worked in a processed food plant will ever eat the stuff. When pressed for a reason they just say "You don't want to know". I suppose it's somewhat analogous to restaurants where you don't want to know what goes on in the kitchen. But with restaurants you can at least select on the external quality of the place. With processed food the same places that make the upscale stuff also make the cheap crap you wouldn't feed to your dog. Dogs will eat anything and come to think of it, so will geeks, so maybe this really isn't an issue.

The more I think about it....

[MtViewGuy]

There is a REAL need for high-school and adult-education classes to teach how to do basic real cooking and more importantly, how to store multiple portions for later eating!

Kitchen appliances should be your friend, not your enemy. You'll be amazed how just with basic knowledge of cooking skills you could create quite an amazing variety of decent meals. For example, go to the Campbell Soup Company website and there are a huge number of delicious recipes you can make using Campbell's Condensed Soups as a base.

Also, you may want to invest the time and money on decent food storage; when I was living away from my parents I would make a huge pot of chicken a la king, store the portions in small Tupperware bowls, and put them in the freezer for later use over rice and/or toasted bread. You can nowadays do the same with pasta sauce, especially with the new generation of Tupperware containers that are tolerant of the acidic nature of tomato-based pasta sauces.

It's just an extension of the old proverb "Teach a man how to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime."

Re:No TV dinners

[cybermace5]

You're not thinking clearly. You gauge how long stuff lasts and shop accordingly. For example, you buy half-gallons of milk instead of full gallons, because the gallon would go past date before you could use it up. Or maybe you're a big milk drinker and won't have that problem. The same goes for eggs; there are quite a few sizes, and they don't last all that long. So if you run out too quick, you buy more the next time you're at the store. Things like lettuce and other fresh vegetables need to be eaten within a few days or a week. So the lettuce can be used three days in a row, for hamburgers, BLTs, and then taco salad. The tomato gets used for the hamburgers and BLTs. If you have celery sticks, within a week you need to use the remaining ones in chicken soup. Sure, it takes more thinking than throwing processed slop in the microwave and chowing down, but you ARE eating healthier food.

Re:Something for everyone!!!

[AlphaPB]

Hm, the problem is that food is heavy. Even the freeze-dried camping food (which has the added complication of needing a source of hot water to prepare it).

For an average 180 lb. male doing strenuous activity for the whole day, not looking to have a net deficit of calories, it might take 5000+ calories a day. Camping food's efficiency is measured in calories per ounce. Anything having a calorie/oz. ratio greater than 100 is considered alright. The freeze-dried stuff usually has a ratio of around 100-120.

This means that a soldier or hiker would need about 50 ounces, or 3 pounds of food per day, not including the water that's necessary to prepare it. I know nothing about military supply trains, but for long-distance hiking, people hate carrying around extra water. Thus food preparation usually happens near water sources. My estimate is that each pound of freeze-dried food requires about a quart (or liter) of water to prepare, which means that carrying all that water would push the pounds of food per day to about 9 pounds.

Of course, all this water talk is moot if by camping food you meant dry trail mix, goop and the like. Yuck. But I guess that's always a possibility, carrying around 3 pounds of peanuts, cereal and berries for each day out in the field.

Re:Lettuce Frenzy!

[sydb]

Don't knock it! A well rounded medley of salad vegetables with a sprinkling of herbs and spices (chilli flakes and caraway seeds, for instance) can be very morish!

Re:TV Dinners are So 1950s

[canadian_right]

Cleanup after dinner only takes 15 minutes, and I cook and clean for myself and three kids.

Clean as you go. If you chop something up, wipe up the cutting board as soon as you are done. Cooking sauce and it spatters? Clean up the mess before it has a chance to get cooked onto the stove. Give most dishes a quick rinse as soon as possible. When doing the dishes, let them air dry. Its less work and healthier (the average dish rag is a great home for bacteria). When I do the dishes I let the dishes soak for a few minutes before washing to soften up food.

And home cooking is WAY cheaper than any pre-cooked gook. Home cooking has better nutrition, taste, and generates less garbage.

It is just plain laziness to not cook. It's easy, healthy, economical, and good for the environment.