Several years ago I had a GE stove and oven. It was constantly being repaired. I had a 4 year warranty so it was not a big expense, but I was upset at the number of times I had to call a repair man to service it.

I aksed him outright" Do many people who own this GE model have as many service calls as I do?"

He said...

" Most people don't even USE their ovens. They don't cook. Obviously you use yours."

Too, true, Nannam... my oven went out about 6 years ago... I now have a large toaster oven... with just my daughter and I... it serves a purpose.

Choose to be blessed!!  : )

I have pretty much always cooked everything from scratch. Mixes are for when I am sick or extremely tired usually. Since moving to Egypt I found that there is a WIDE range of mixes for pretty much anything. I never even knew you could get dried eggs, a cake mix for everything, white sauce mix, apple pie mix, you name it mix!

The US sisters I would meet were astonished that us Brits bake cakes from scratch and not from a box. Even more so at the potato wedges, things like lasagne and even burgers are made from scratch in my household. (Yes, the VERY occasional McD is had though)

I have never really liked fast food and have over the years slowly eliminated processed foods.  Over the past 2 years I have replaced most of my foods with organics.  I know they cost a bit more but this is what I do to help save costs.  If you or a friend have a Costco membership, there are many bulk organic products there that can be purchased at a very low price.  The organic chicken and hamberger is the same price per pround as I pay for conventional in the grocery store.   I have a local coop that I go to every week and purchase only the fresh fruits and vegies that are on sale.   At my local coop I can get organic oranges, berries and melons at the same price as the conventional products in the local grocery store when they are on sale which is often.   I think of the chickens running around free and not in cages when I pay a little extra for eggs and the cows that don't have to suffer with multiple hormone injections when I buy the milk.   Remember, organic fruit, vegies and meat all taste much much better than the conventional which makes my meals much more satisfying so I don't find myself craving other foods.  Good luck on finding your ways to eat healthier on a budget.

People think organic veggiess are better for you, they are not.  They have the same vitamins, minerals content as non organic. They have to be washed the same also.  The only reason for buying organic is that it is better for the envirnonment.  I also buy organic when ever I can.  Also people are against GMO (genetically modified).  As in vegetable oil, they modify the protein of the plant to resist diseases, the oils (fats) that are used are not modified. 

I have a little fantasy on the go where everytime I reject a convenience food and cook instead, a little bell goes off in the CEO's office and there is much quaking in boots and gnashing of teeth.

Pesto?  Baked beans? Tinned beans? Other than those sort of things, no convenience foods.  Ding!

Opening sentence is rude and scientifically inacurate for about 3 reasons.

I recently started topping air-popped popcorn with extra-virgin olive oil; a dusting of granulated garlic, salt, and rosemary pulverized together into a powder; and a tablespoon of Dr. Pitcairn's Healthy Powder (a mixture of nutritional yeast, kelp powder, lecithin, powdered eggshell, and dulse [my addition] that I'd made up in bulk for my dogs, who have since died).  The result is something that has a little bit of the taste I associate with the store-bought flavored potato chips that have been my downfall in the past.  And thus a craving has been satisfied--healthily, no less!

Blunt... but true... but why does it need to be sugar coated... we are, apparently, several generations who rely on convenience foods instead of cooking for ourselves... and our ever expanding bodies are living proof...

Notice I'm saying 'we' and not 'you'... I fall into this category... I have no one to blame but myself for my current situation... plain and simple...

I was refering to the earth straining to support all the fatties.  I actually agree with the Jamie Oliver quote.

Original Post by: rulabo

Blunt... but true... but why does it need to be sugar coated... we are, apparently, several generations who rely on convenience foods instead of cooking for ourselves... and our ever expanding bodies are living proof...

Notice I'm saying 'we' and not 'you'... I fall into this category... I have no one to blame but myself for my current situation... plain and simple...

Sadly for me, I mostly got myself fat the old-fashioned way:  by eating far too much lovely, calorie-laden food that I had prepared myself.  I hardly ever bought processed/prepackaged food of any kind (except for those cursed garlic-and-onion potato chips).  Never went out to eat.  Rarely drank anything but water.  I cannot blame high-fructose corn syrup of McDonald's for my girth.  I cooked just about every morsel that went into creating it.

For me the convenience issues revolve around breakfast and lunch at work. I have made compromises on breakfast, something tasty, filling and mostly nutritious but in reality I still like the bad stuff better. 

Lunch is more of an issue in that I don't mind the same thing every day for breakfast but for lunch I like variation. There are so many choices for quick and calorie rich, nutrition poor meals around me that it boggles the mind. Within 5 minutes of my work there are 7 burger joints, 4 sandwich shops, 2 quick asian restaurants, 3 fried chicken places, 1 fake mexican fastfood, 1 fake Italian fastfood, 1 BBQ shop and if I make a call 10 minutes before lunch there are 3 pizza joints available.

If you didn't counted that 21 restaurants and if I had more then 30 minutes for lunch I could add a dozen more.  

Now, if any of these places made a meal like I cook at home, I would no longer bring in my lunches. And if I am going to go through the pain of cooking my own food I am going to cook it from scratch so I at least can be knowledgeable about what I am eating. 

And here's a little hint about my past, 4 months ago I didn't cook my own meals and I was 30lbs heavier with a number of nagging health issues. 

Or, rather, "or McDonald's."

Every week during the months of May-October I go to the local farmers' market and purchase fresh produce. One of the vendors there offers dried herb packages to mix with greek yogurt for a vegetable dip.  They are all naturral and go great with the veggie tray I make up for the week. I snack on it when I get hunger pains and it's not meal time.

Their website is www.amarissawoods.com Check them out! Awesome products!