I decided to can the rest of the frozen mixed vegetables. When all was said and done, the 24 lbs. yielded 23 half pints and 32 pints. With what I had left on the shelf, that will do for now.
This evening I was looking through the grocery delivery catalog. Each page in the catalog has two columns. There is one column devoted to just cookies and another for candy. Nearly an entire page listed the frozen meals and entrees. And about a column and a half for canned soups. Same for boxed foods like mac and cheese or scalloped potato mixes. And nearly an entire page for soda pop and bottled energy drinks. But there was less than a column for fresh vegetables, the same for fresh fruit and only 10 items listed for fish, and most of them were the frozen kind where there is more batter than meat.
This service is for Seniors. I was told that the catalog was put together going by what people had ordered in the past. I am surprised that more of my vintage don't cook from scratch. We are retired. We have the time. And most of us were raised by mothers who made nearly everything from scratch. Many of us gardened or had parents who raised vegetables. When I was growing up, small family farms dotted the countryside. Folks raised chickens and hogs and had a milk cow or two and raised one or two steers for butchering. Unless your Mama was a really bad cook, the food we ate was good tasting and healthy.
I wonder what happened. I know that there are some who just don't like to cook. I have days like that myself, especially if I am busy. But truth be known, I would much rather eat my homemade baking powder biscuits than those that come in a cardboard tube from the store, even if it does take a little time and effort to make them. Same with homemade bread. And homemade soup that simmers all day on the back burner rather than just opening a can and heating that up.
I don't know. Maybe I should have been born into my grandparents generation. Sometimes I don't think I fit too well in this one.
The Last Gasps...
1 hour ago
Or just maybe the store makes more money by selling packaged foods rather then fresh foods. You're fortunate that you have family and friends to help get the high nutrition, less processed foods.
ReplyDeleteCheers, SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
Modern life got a little too convenient.
ReplyDeleteSJ...You are probably right. And I will admit to using packaged foods now and then. I guess it just irritates me that the choices for fresh are so limited, but I could buy from a whole page worth of dog food. Or microwavable food. :) Or perhaps it is just a bit of nostalgia creeping in, remembering the great meals Mom (and Dad-he was a great cook) used to make.
ReplyDeleteBW...I think you're right. I think what got me going on this kick was cheese. I can't order the sliced cheese I usually buy because it isn't in the catalog. It comes from a local dairy and is made from real dairy products as opposed to the packaged, individually wrapped slices that's made of things I can't pronounce. Makes me long for Mom's pot roast with potatoes and carrots or Dad's chicken and dumplings, made from scratch. :)
ReplyDeleteEveryone is different, I guess. My wife grew up, FORCED to cook and keep house for her large family from small childhood. In reality, she had no childhood. She hasn't wanted to cook since her son left the house 27 years ago. She does usually, but she hates it. Thankfully she's a good cook. I would cook, but she refuses to eat anything I cook, not because it's bad, but because I'm treading on HER turf. Go figure! lol
ReplyDeleteGorges...I know that not everyone likes to cook. I like to cook if I have people to feed. Cooking for just me...not so much. I guess one of the things that irritated me was sheer volume of processed and convenience foods available in the catalog, but so few fresh foods and meats. I can understand why your wife doesn't like to cook. I dislike housecleaning because that's how I spent my Saturdays from the time I was big enough to hold a scrub brush. I do it. I just don't like it much. :)
ReplyDeleteIt IS disgusting that you should be given so few healthy options, just because other folks don't care. I DO notice that the candy aisle is always packed with older folks. I think some older folks lose a lot of their taste buds, leaving them searching for flavor. At least it seems to me that folks like sweet, sour and salty more as they age.
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI'm like you. I would much rather make a meal from scratch than use all of the "boxed meals" from the grocer that are filled with nothing but chemicals and preservatives. Sure it's convenient and fast, but definitely not healthy nor nutritious. I do most of the cooking around my house and for the most part every meal is prepared from scratch and especially this time of the year nearly all of the items served come from my garden.
This morning I canned up a bunch of fresh peaches and made peach jam all from my 100% organic and non-sprayed tree. A bunch to go yet, and hopefully I beat the birds to most of it, but I really don't mind sharing.
Jim
Gorges...I was talking earlier today with my grocery delivery guy. He wanted to know how I liked the new catalog system, and I told him I thought it was long on packaged convenience foods and short on fresh choices. He told me that most of the Seniors he delivers to order mostly convenience foods. Guess they don't want to bother cooking any more. Me...I will order what I can and just keep on doing what I am doing. :)
ReplyDeleteJim...My idea of convenience foods is to open a couple of jars of my home canned food for a meal. I guess people just don't want to take the time to cook any more. Part of the fun of retirement for me is having the time to cook a meal from scratch. I miss having a garden, but it is still possible to eat well. It sort of scares me to read the labels on food. So much of it is chemicals with names I can't pronounce!
ReplyDeleteI envy your peach tree. I think I would be in Heaven to be able to can my own peaches. Reminds me of when I was a kid and we had apple trees. The ones from the store couldn't hold a candle to our own. :)
We don't do much cooking from scratch. Neither of us are much on meals really. We just put something in the crock pot and eat when we feel like it usually.
ReplyDeleteHarry...Lots of people eat that way. I do the same sometimes, depending on how busy I am. I was just surprised when I realized just how much of the catalog was devoted to convenience foods and how little to fresh. I'm not one of those people who get their knickers in a twist over the unavailability of organic grass fed pampered beef. After all, I have been known to have a couple of cookies and a cup of coffee and call it breakfast. I guess I just would have liked to have a few more choices that weren't so full of chemicals. And I didn't realize that few people besides me still like to cook from scratch. :)
ReplyDeleteWe buy very few convenience foods. But I have noticed lately that the so-called fresh vegetables for sale are not really that fresh. The carrots are small, the celery isn't crisp and try to find a bag of apples. Can't wait until the farm down the road opens up it's apple orchards.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't seem to matter what store I go into. They are all the same.
Chickenmom...Here it is kind of hit and miss. Sometimes the produce is good and other times, not so much. When I want to buy fresh fruit or vegetables for canning, Son goes to the
ReplyDeleteSt. Paul Farmer's Market, where the produce is excellent and the prices fairly reasonable. It is a bit too far away to use weekly, though.
We have several apple orchards close by. Some are of the tourist trap, pick your own variety with a restaurant and gift shop or pony rides or other amusements for the kids. Prices there are outrageous. But there are a couple of smaller Mom and Pop orchards where we can get excellent apples at decent prices. Sometimes they sell "seconds" in bulk that just aren't as pretty and those are great for canning applesauce or sliced apples. I love the little Mom and Pop orchards. :)
So, if I remember right, isn't this a service run by volunteers? I don't know about you, but I can get a little grumpy and vocal with my opinion at times. Maybe a little constructive feedback is in order.
ReplyDeleteOr, maybe an option to pay a little extra processing fee to order if you don't order from their catalog. Pay for the service since buying something not in the catalog may take them more time and effort.
I'm of the school that it doesn't hurt to ask, the worst that can come from it is that they'll say no.
So sorry you can't just order what you want. And I can't believe others aren't facing the same thing. Just my two cents, SJ in Vancouver BC
SJ...I'm right there with you on the grumpy and vocal. I had a chat with the person who takes my orders. When groceries were delivered this week, the delivery guy was surveying all the customers about their opinion of the catalog, so I didn't hold back. And I called the office to register my complaints. I made sure they understood that even though the fee I pay for this service is a small one, the whole idea is that they are there to make life a bit easier for Seniors, particularly those who can not do their own shopping. We who are on fixed incomes need to be able to take advantage of all sales...not just those catalog items. Right now I have to use the catalog with no exceptions. But I am hoping that if they get enough complaints they may go back to their old way of ordering.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky in that I have kids who are willing to shop for me if I can't get what I want through the service. But many do not have anybody to help them this way and I made sure that was part of the opinion I gave them.
I'm pretty sure they got an earful this past week. My delivery guy was telling me about one lady who was upset about vinegar. The only size bottle listed is 1 pint. Me...I buy it by the gallon, especially when I am ready to can pickles or relish. And so does the lady who complained.
I will keep using the service because I can still get many items I order regularly. And I don't want my kids to have to do all of my grocery shopping. But I'm thinking this service may live to regret messing with the system. If it ain't broke - don't fix it. And us old folks aren't shy about telling them just that. :)
I have noticed the stores, be it Marketplace or Walmart, its geared towards a faster life style now. Now with Hannah working at the store bakery all dough comes in frozen, they thaw and bake. Disney is now that way too. They used to bake everything on property, now its all frozen or done off property. Even a local caterer orders rolls from the market.
ReplyDeleteRob...I guess that's what comes with a fast paced lifestyle. Everybody running here and running there. I've noticed that even the sale sheet for Cub has more convenience food than it used to. I don't like it. But then, I'm old and grumpy. :)
ReplyDeleteI will be 70 in two weeks, but I still cook. About 15 years ago, I was in a group of about a dozen women. Remember, I was about 55 then. One of the women said to me after I made a comment, "Linda, do you mean you still cook?" I was shocked to be asked. They all admitted to having given up on cooking.
ReplyDeleteLinda...I turned 70 in June. I am amazed to discover that most of the women who use this grocery service don't cook either. They order frozen dinners and hamburger helper and mac and cheese in a box. I will admit to enjoying a fast food sandwich when I was out and about or a restaurant meal when one of my kids would take me out for a special occasion. But when it comes to cooking from scratch, I do believe, at least in my area, I am a cult of one. :)
ReplyDeleteI guess I shouldn't be surprised. Talking with older ladies in my neighborhood, I have found that nobody but me preserves food by canning any more. Nor do any of them bake their own bread. But they are quick to complain that their Social Security don't stretch far enough. I have to be careful, but the money I save by cooking makes it possible for me to do other things I enjoy. I think I will just continue doing what I am doing.