Comments on: There’s No Time For Frozen

By: Capital Cooking

Capital Cooking — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:21:06 +0000

I agree. Trish’s book is pretty. Haven’t tried any of the recipes yet.

By: Who’s That Eating? | Endless Simmer - A Food Blog

Who’s That Eating? | Endless Simmer - A Food Blog — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:26:09 +0000

[...] Who’s that eating? Cast your guesses in the comments below. The first correct guesser wins a copy of Trish Magwood’s Dish Entertains: Everyday Simple to Special Occasions. (Read gansie’s glowing review here). [...]

By: Yvo

Yvo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:01:28 +0000

Alex… if you want to go this route. I go to school and work fulltime too. My point was against those who tell me they don’t have time AND act like I have all the time in the world to eat well. Since you’ve never said to me “Oh my god, I would love to eat as well as you do, I just don’t have time like you do” the comment wasn’t directed at you, but if you’d like me to turn the light on you, so be it. As I mentioned in my original comment, I just make certain choices to ensure I eat as well as I’d like to during the week as I can given my time crunch. Does it ever happen that I don’t make that goal? Yes – I’d be lying if I said this past semester (my first back in school) there weren’t nights that I just didn’t eat (getting home at 11:30, midnight, will do that) and went to sleep (from being tired), or ate potato chips for dinner instead. The point I was trying to make is simply that those nights, sleeping was a bigger priority to me than it was to eat well. Studying can be a bigger priority for you, as you said, and I don’t have a problem with that (it’s really none of my business). I also said in my original comment that I had no issue with frozen food (though I do choose differently – I have heard of the frozen foods you’re talking about, they just don’t happen to be in my freezer). I have an issue with people who act like I have all the time in the world (I feel like I’ve said that many many times already). You seem to have an issue with people who think your priorities are wrong – which I don’t. So… I think that’s the end of this misunderstanding.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:55:13 +0000

@Yvo – I know it wasn’t, but I really don’t have the time or energy to cook beautiful, healthy meals every day, and neither do a lot of other people. And you noted yourself that you were getting up on a soapbox. So it bugged me. Clearly.

By: erica

erica — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:39:55 +0000

i have cut most canned/boxed foods out of my life (though my freezer is usually full of several kinds of leftover soups, falafel patties, vegi burger patties, hummus, blah blah…), but i will most likely never bother to make tater tots or fried spring rolls, and for those I am very thankful for the freezer section

By: Yvo

Yvo — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:21:44 +0000

@Alex – Ummm… I think you misunderstood my comment? It wasn’t directed at you.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:40:57 +0000

@ Yvo – it’s also important to me to eat well, and I’m very conscious of what I put in my body (being a vegetarian and a medical student to boot.) And as much as it bugs you that people assume you have “all this time to cook,” it bugs me that people assume that others can choose what they do with their time to the same extent that you can. For instance, it’s not infrequent that I don’t have any groceries in the house because my grocery store is only open 9-8 and I’ve been at the hospital until after 9 every night this week. So the situation arises that I have an exam in two days that I’m going to spent 35 out of the next 48 hours studying for, and I’ve run out of groceries. So I could go to my local sushi or sandwich place and get some great fresh meal for $8-$20, or even better, prepare myself a good meal at home that will take 20 minutes, plus 40 minutes getting home and back to the library or the hospital. But instead, I spend 5 minutes warming a meal and eat it either in front of my desk with my books or with friends in the cafeteria, because I’d rather spend that hour with good company than standing, alone, in my kitchen for a meal that’s probably no better for me than the no-preservative Indian lunch I’ve brought with me.

I could probably plan a little better and go to the grocery store earlier in the week, but fresh produce really requires you to eat it within a couple days of when you get it, right? And I’d rather eat something frozen than something I paid $3/pound for and then had to cut rot off of.

So yeah, you could say it’s a matter of priorities.

By: Mrs. L

Mrs. L — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:57:57 +0000

I have several “frozen” meals here at work. For when I’m busy and I left lunch on the table at home and half an hour doesn’t give me time to run to a fast food joint. But that frozen meal means “fast” and easy to me, not “spend time putting it together and cooking it for 20 minutes”. Also there is just a small microwave at work. That’s it. So I’m not really sure who these meals are supposed to be for?

By: Yvo

Yvo — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:02:51 +0000

Tia – thank you. You are what I think is what should be the norm – it really bugs me when people tell me they don’t cook because they don’t have time, energy, blah, blah, blah. No, you have the time, you just prioritize it differently.

Also, I am not against frozen food AT ALL, but I choose differently. As someone else mentioned, not all frozen food is bad for you. When I am really crunched for time or feeling lazy, I have frozen dumplings (I pay a little extra for the kind that’s handmade/homemade/home-packaged, so it’s less preservatives) and frozen udon in the freezer. I use chicken stock or lately, miso paste and whip up miso udon with some dumplings – and usually, I’ll have some sort of leafy greens that I can throw in there for veggies, or some sort of vegetable… if even that isn’t going to work, I throw in frozen veggies and have a really delicious meal that took me 15-20 minutes to put together.

Sorry to get on the soapbox, but I really hate when people assume I have all this time to cook and eat well – no, I just make a point to do so, because it’s important to me.

By: Tia

Tia — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:44:18 +0000

I am a full-time student and momma of 2 kids ages 7 & 9. I think it is a matter of priorities. I never buy pre-made frozen meals; if I am in such a hurry that I can’t cook we will grab take-out but in an attempt to cut back on this I make meals that can be partially cooked and then try to keep at least 2 of them in the freezer at all times. My kids’ favorites are lasagna and cranberry chicken. I just toss them in the oven and bake ‘em for 45 minutes. This gives us time to do homework and make a salad and we still get to sit down and eat together.