Heather says:
Last week, the kids, dogs, neighbors’ dogs, and phone plotted and flawlessly executed a brilliantly coordinated endeavor in which every hour, on the hour, someone or something was loud or in need of a potty break. Of course, I do believe Mr. Heather may be the brains behind these episodes as they only seem to occur when he has the rock solid alibi, “I was at work, why are you blaming me?” </shifty eyes> Likely story indeed. So Wednesday I threatened bodily harm* if I couldn’t escape from the lunatic asylum the Solos household had become.
*To the Internet Watchdogs Promoting Perfect Parenting, this statement was written with humorous intent and should be read with the understanding that Heather has license to exaggerate for comedic effect*
As my favorite flavor is free, I headed to the library. Typically my tastes run to lighter fare, fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy. This time a non-fiction book caught my attention:
Stuffed by Hank Cardello with Doug Garr.
I’m not sure why this book caught my eye, I suppose it was the tag line “an insider’s look at who’s {REALLY} making America fat.” As many of our regular readers know, I’m a little bit of a nutrition nut, so maybe that partially explains why I could not put this book down. I tortured Tim reading passages aloud. I suppose it’s always exciting when you find someone who shares your soapbox. While I highly recommend this book to readers of Home Ec 101, I don’t necessarily agree with his proposed solutions, even if I am very intrigued by some.
One particular passage struck a chord with me. Hank Cardello described the creation of the Swanson’s TV Dinner as a turning point in the American diet:
Though Swanson did not invent the frozen food concept, its multiple compartments and use of leftover food changed the way the food industry made money and the way America ate its meals. Almost overnight, it seemed that millions of kids were plopped in front of the black-and-white televisions with the aluminum pan in front of them. A few slices of bland turkey in gravy with some cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes, and perhaps the sorriest-tasting – certainly the sorriest-looking– peas on the planet. It wasn’t very appealing, but it was convenient, and the postwar generations quickly and steadily bought into this new concept of convenience foods. Mom and Dad had the evening out, and the babysitter stood in as cook and waitress. In its first full year, more than 25 million tins were served in living rooms and kitchens across the nation. A phenomenon was born, and in one single moment, the face of food in this country began to shift.
. . .the story of the Swanson TV dinner holds the real key to understanding why we’re so fat. The TV dinner marked a lot of firsts: the first time that we embraced en masse convenience over cuisine; the first time that it was better to be easy than to taste good; the first time that a prepared (frozen) meal was served ready to heat and eat at home.
This is a huge part of what I am fighting against with Home Ec 101. It’s been at least three generations since this shift occurred, and homemade food now seems to be the exception. (Before some of you interject and say that you cook healthily, think hard about your friends. Are you the crazy health nut of your circle? I am.) Many of my peers consider convenience meals to be cooking. The idea that meals can be prepared without opening a box or dumping in a can of Cream of Something is met with outright hostility, “That’s too much work, Heather.”
I am dismayed by the idea that most American households spend half of their food budget on restaurant fare.
That’s just insane. There is a cost to all of this perceived convenience. We have expanding waistlines, a decreasing life expectancy, and our debt is out of control.
Do I want restaurants to fail? Of course not, those people, like Mr. Ivy, are working to feed their families and I want them to be succesful.
Before leaving the traditional work force, I spent ten years in the restaurant industry. I’ve worked in a variety of establishments from my first job waiting tables at Waffle House to my last cooking for a high-end steakhouse with a few bars thrown in-between for good measure. I’ve had both the corporate and family owned experiences. I worked both front and back of house, sometimes in the same establishment. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that when money is involved, it may be naive to believe that others always have our best interest at heart. There are many good people working for the corporations, but at the end of the day it’s revenue that drives decisions.
I believe a part of the solution lies in education and encouragement. If someone has spent much of their young life subsisting on boxed macaroni and cheese, Ramen noodles, and drive through fare, it is daunting to change, but regular people can prepare healthy food for their families. I have three small children and I know cooking for the family is not always fun, sometimes it is a giant pain in the ass*. I’m right there in the trenches with you, my friends.
*Oooh, Heather cussed, I’m telling.*
I don’t have the whole solution, but what Ivy and I have envisioned, here at Home Ec 101, is a forum where beginners are comfortable asking questions. I need your help, Home Eccers, don’t be shy. We love answering your questions and I guarantee someone else needs to know. Ask for them. Even the questions that don’t turn into posts help shape the direction of this site.
So tell me, what do you need to learn?
[...] Sunday’s Soapbox: A look at Stuffed [...]