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What packaged food do you think is the most ridiculous?

2K views 47 replies 39 participants last post by  umefey 
#1 ·
When you go grocery shopping, what foods make you say, "Come on, people, is this *really* necessary? Is there anyone who is actually lazy/stupid/culinarily challenged enough to buy this?"

My personal all time most ridiculous packaged food (although there are a lot to choose from) has to be that precooked pasta and sauce in plastic that you heat up in the microwave. I think it was called Pasta Anytime, as opposed to the vast amount of time it takes to make pasta yourself. Thank goodness someone took all the work out of boiling water and opening a jar!
 
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#3 ·
Definately the individually shrink wrapped potatoes. Saves you from having to wash the potato and wrap it in saran wrap before microwaving it. Oh, please...

Close second, I recently saw Wheat Thins packaged in individual serving bags (nothing new there,) being advertised as "100 calorie packages!" or something like that. People are really willing to pay the same amount of money for 1/4 the amount of product, just to have it pre-portioned for them??? It's *that* difficult to count out sixteen crackers yourself???

Any convenience food that's packaged in a volume that is totally out of touch with their purported "serving size". Something that provides 2.3 servings in a package is just dumb. Why not either change the supposed serving size (there is, after all, nothing forcing them to consider a particular quantity to be a serving,) or change the volume of the box so it rounds to a whole number? Clearly, the answer is that they can make the number of calories and fat appear lower than it actually is. They know that the box of couscous that says "2.5 servings" will really be eaten by two people as two servings. But, most people will glance at the back of the box and not bother to do the math themselves, so they'll think they're eating 20% fewer calories and less fat.
 
#7 ·
WOW, They make this stuff? I KNEW there was a reason I only perimeter shopped at the grocery store (bread and grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, all the things only on the perimeter of our grocery store).
Ok I sometimes go doen the frozen aisles for popsicles. :LOL

May I never have to enter those aisles! I might go into shock of all the prepackaged laziness.
 
#8 ·
Anything involving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich being made 'E-Z-ER' tops my list. How hard is it to make one of those things? Do you have to study physics firrst???Um..no. So why do you need pre-made frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I mean, couldn't you make some ahead of time yourself and wrap them up and tuck them into the fridge?Is it really THAT hard to make one?? Why do you need peanut butter or jelly to come in a pre-wrapped slice? Do you not own a butter knife? If you don't, I will get you one, I promise.

I see a lot of stuff that is icky and just walk on by with a shake of my head.

I am always amazed at what people buy at the store that is supposed to be "healthy'..like those fruit snacks that start with Corn syrup as the 1st ingrediant. And do they actually contain any 'fruit'..um, NOPE. So how the hell can they be both fruit and a snack? They are CANDY people...candy. And Capri sun is NOT juice.

Yuck.
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by chersolly
Those pre-packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches look nasty. Come on, make your kid a PB&J sandwich; it has to be the easiest thing out there to make.

These work very well for Max and Jack...I am deathly allergic to PB which they of course love. If I was packing their lunch before the uncrstables came out they would never get PB&J now I can just through that in the lunch box and not have to worry about sending myself into severe anaphylactic shock. hey can still only eat them at school but it makes them happy to be able to have that every once in a while (they only eat at school once every few months)
 
#10 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by CajunMama
Those frozen crockpot meals
the crockpot isn't easy enough!!!

The baby carrots in individual containers- because it takes too much time to take them out of the bag
:
I think the point of those is to send them in lunchboxes and it could have a novelty value and maybe your children might want to eat them. But not my child because she hates carrots. I did buy the pre-packaged ones that had dip on one end once, and she did give it a fair shake, but in general she hates them.

All the packagings and wrappings pain me these days, and I hate buying things that are double and triple wrapped. Yogurt just bugs me and I keep thinking I need to start making my own.
 
#14 ·
Even when you peripheral shop, you still have to look at the shrink wrapped potatoes and the packages of precut green peppers, broccoli, etc. that cost a dollar for 5 slices when a whole pepper costs maybe 75 cents.

Side note - those plastic wrapped potatoes really bother me. I don't think that shrink wrap stuff is made out of a safe enough plastic to microwave. And I know Saran Wrap is not. I think about all those people eating potatoes that have just been cooked in a toxic chemical steam bath and it makes me feel a little ill.
 
#15 ·
How about any of the frozen dinner thingys. I swear my mom would get them now and than when I was little and I would never eat them because they tasted so bad.
I got DH some like a year ago for him to take to lunch (super on sale) well he tasted it and KNEW why it was on sale.

Its all convenance, who cares about taste or price.

I can make ANY food you can get in a fast food place on from the freezer section at the store, much cheaper and tastes to much better. DH loves Naked burrito bowls. Oh my are they so easy to make and freeze for him.

ok I'll stop
 
#18 ·
I have never had one but DH eats those plastic wraped potatos all the time. He cooks his meals on the truck (18 wheeler) and does not have the advantages of a sink and running water. He gets those potatos because it is much easier for him than having to either wash a bunch at home or take his potato into the truck stop to wash. Due to his lifestyle on the road there are a lot of things that he eats that would make a lot of people here cringe.
 
#19 ·
Pre-cooked bacon? Pre-cooked and peeled hard boiled eggs? (o.k., I can see these for people who have arthritis or some other issue relating to the actual actions for peeling an egg because it can be a pain, but I doubt there's enough of these persons to constitute a market so that means that other non-afflicted people must be buying them too, you know?)

What about bubblegum flavored yogurt? Or jello packs? And, I confess that I get a little unhinged when it comes to bread machine mixes. At 4-5 dollars a pop, why not just head to the bakery and buy a nice loaf?

Let's see, then there's colored catsups (purple? green? really???), those Margaritaville shrimps (how hard is it to throw some old bay into the pan?), any frozen garlic bread product, and...oh, I could go on but basically I guess you can say that there's an awful lot about the supermarket that bugs me! And yet I seem to spend an awful lot of time there.
 
#20 ·
I used to get those premade rice & noodle packaged things, but have been since enlightened. Have you seen the amount of sodium in those suckers? Like 50% of your RDA in one serving. Hope I haven't hardened the old arteries for life...

I'm amazed at how crappy frozen pizza tastes. And how little cheese they get away with on top---WTF? I make my own dough once every couple weeks & freeze it--some spaghetti sauce & cheese--there it is. With some pre-cut store bought peppers for $4/pound...
 
#22 ·
Maybe I shouldn't be on this thread since I admit I like some prepackaged foods, but I put in another vote for Uncrustables. Those are just weird to me! But I do see jenaniah's point if you are allergic to PB, but you know the vast majority of parents probably are probably not suffering from allergies....
Ok, judgmental rant off.


I've never seen a peanut butter slice...that's really odd sounding.

I do like Apple Dippers, though, lazy mama that I am. :LOL
 
#24 ·
I occaisionaly get a packaged rice deal thingy to go with a meal, like the boxes of spanish rice to go with burritoes etc. But one time I was in a hurry, I grabbed a package of spanish rice and brought it home to cook it. When I opened it up, it was ALREADY cooked, all I had to do was reheat. I kinda freaked over it, but I did heat it up, just to try. Well, I tried it, then threw it all in the garbage. It tasted so discusting.

Cereals really get me too, as does those frozen waffles with chocolate chips! People really give this stuff to their kids for breakfast? Also, individually packaged yogurt is so stupid IMO. If you want the flavor, they have big containers of flavored yogurt for half the price.

I also hate spending more on a label. I was actually muttering about this in the store yesterday. I wanted olives. The commercial brand and the store brand were like a .50 cent difference! For stupid olives! I'm not going to spend extra money on a label, how ridiculous.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by wemoon
Also, individually packaged yogurt is so stupid IMO. If you want the flavor, they have big containers of flavored yogurt for half the price.
*grumble* I had my daughter totally loving homemade plain yogurt. Then we went on a car trip and I lazy-ed out and brought along some Stoneyfield Farms Yo-Baby. Now she won't *touch* yogurt unless it comes out of one of those little cups. Peeling the lid off is an important part of the whole process... ARGH
 
#26 ·
I work at a grocery store and a lot of people buy those uncrustables, and I really dislike them. I also hate when I see an overweight family buy nothing but junk. I had one family b buy about $80 worth of chips, pop, candy, and lunchables. ug, and you wonder why your kids are fat. It is sad.
 
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