Ludicrous "convenience" foods

[inmysparetime]

Chatting about pre-grated cheese got me thinking about "convenience" foods that are actually not that convenient. What foods have you seen in shops that are just as much effort as but twice the price of normal food?

if you are paying extra to have the meat cut up then I get what you mean. My butcher just does it for free.

Stuff that's already chopped up or grated is great if you can't hold a knife very well.

Frozen veg is great if you never know whether you are going to have the energy to cook or not, sometimes during a bad spell the veg is rotten before you can use it.

Microwave rice or mashed potato is much easier to make if you can't lift a pot full of water.

Doyouthink - yes, and everything tastes good when you're camping so you don't notice minor variations in taste. We have even been known to enjoy readymade pancakes in a tent, with maple syrup and freshly cooked bacon.

A friend of mine once ate chicken korma cuppa soup in a bothy in Scotland in a storm. She formed the mistaken impression that it was was delicious and rushed out to buy some more as soon as she got home....

Frozen spinach is great and so is frozen garlic.

The garlic is in the Asian section on frozen goods and comes in ice cube tray form. The ingredients are listed as such;

Garlic.

It is 90p for the equivalent of 50 bulbs. Pop a cube out and stir in. I use garlic a lot but used to throw bulbs away because they went soft and sprouted or gave them to DH to grow in the greenhouse.

"I'm sure once I eventually learn how to make tomato sauce I will wonder why I used jars for so long."

Fry a chopped onion and a chopped clove of garlic in some olive oil until soft. Add a tin of tomatoes and a bit of water, a pinch of sugar and some seasoning. Simmer for about 20 mins. Job done.

doesnt microwave mash go watery or am I doing it wrong? sorry to butt in been watching and does anybody still use smash?

Bunbaker if you put in a really cheap joint of meat and cook for a long time bolognaise italian style!

Can you still buy smash? It reminded me of wallpaper paste you could probably use it to hang wallpaper as well

you can still buy smash

I saw whipped cream in M&S a while back. Already whipped up like.

I once saw some 'omelette mix' in a supermarket (quite a while ago now, I don't think it caught on) - no prizes for guessing what it contained...

Oh I saw that too pollywolly, in Tesco. How weird.

So if you had omelette mix and pancake mix, you'd just need milk to make pancakes...

smash is great if you want to make instant fishcakes (open a tin of tuna/other fish mix with smash and warm water then fry)

my dad puts Smash into fishcakes too. I guess the glueyness actually helps it hold together!

I live in America, which is the mecca for strange convenience foods. My absolute favourite has to be the Smuckers Uncrustable - a ready made peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Oooh yes, America- home of <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/3468571595_3e2928fe8d.jpg&imgrefurl=ihatemymessageboard.com/2009/04/23/a-whole-chicken-in-a-can/&h=375&w=500&sz=131&tbnid=mWVUGLr7qE3eyM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=122&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dchicken%2Bin%2Ba%2Bcan%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=chicken+in+a+can&docid=JSo54Rlg99bzfM&sa=X&ei=HgczT62VN8mA8gP53eztBg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAA&dur=905" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chicken in a can

Canned whole chicken! WTAF?! How big is the can fgs?

Ready-made peanutbutter and jam sandwich? Anyone seen the ingredients list?

I always use lazy garlic, ginger and chilli
Tinned toms and puree
Micro rice
Buy grated cheese when I'm going to use a lot (fajitas or lasagne) - if just for sandwiches or jacket potatoes I tend to just grate. Hate it though :)
PILs have instant tea for when they go walking - otherwise what would you do with a tea bag?

Bloody hell, that's not an ingredients list, it's a full length novel.

I admit to have been a complete wanker on mumsnet over the years, starting threads complaining about the lazy mofos who buy ready grated cheese, batter mix and aunt bessies frozen roast potatoes.

I was suitably flamed on all these threads.

I don't give a fuck anymore

I still can't be arsed with grated cheese (why is it powdery and dry?) batter mix (it's the work of minutes to make your own) and frozen spuds (texture is strange).

But I have my own cheats - I often buy mash from teh chiller cabinet, as quite frankly the thought of peeling, boiling and mashing a bag of spuds would be enough to tip my over the edge on a working day.

I also have never made a pudding in my life, so always buy those.

on shaky moral ground with e.g. microwave burgers.

Why is convenience food a moral issue?

Some people value having someone do it for you enough to hand over money for all kinds of things. As long as you are not exploiting anyone in getting them to do it for you (are the people chopping those onions paid a fair wage?) then what is the problem?