Whatever happened to …

… TV Dinners?

It was one of those memes on Facebook and Ramona Meharg suggested that this would be a good topic for a Sunday morning post.

Thanks, Thomas Hawk – “https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/31841531405“

Now, it’s not like they’ve gone away. There are still products available in the local grocery story but, to be honest, I think the last time I had one was when I was in high school.

They were a special treat for us, growing up. Mom would buy them if we were going to be alone and needed a meal. You just put them in the oven and reheat and away you go. I have memories of soggy vegetables, really smooth whipped potatoes and dessert in the form of peach cobbler. (Which we always ate first…)

At the time, these were the only heat ’em up option that made it to our table. Now, there are all kind of quick meals and the microwave oven seems to have made so much difference. My wife is a label reader and the salt content is always one of the first things that she checks. The concept has opened a whole new industry in the M&M shops that are so popular. While the one we had in town has closed, the local Rexall store now carries their products.

My wife had her own spin on these when our fathers were living alone. She would package up our leftovers in little trays, freeze them, and deliver “grandpa dinners” for them to toss in the oven or microwave.

We’ve certainly come so far from the original TV dinner.

For a Sunday morning, your thoughts…

• Did you enjoy TV dinners as a child? Do you still today?
• Just what the heck is Salisbury steak?
• Why does the chicken dinner always have 1 wing, 1 leg, and 1 thigh? And they’re always exactly the same size? What happened to the white meat in the breast?
• Thinking about this has brought back a couple of company names – Swanson and Banquet – can you name another TV dinner maker?
• Just what qualifies as a “TV dinner”? In a recent tour of the frozen food aisle at Sobeys, I can find frozen Chinese dinners, frozen pizza, perogies, pot pies … Are they in the same category as the original TV dinner?
• When you look at the box and design, it seems to have been modelled around Canada’s food guide. Are they as nutritious as they look?
• Why are the various foods not allowed to touch each other? It’s not like you cook them separately in a TV dinner (although you do in real life if you’re cooking from scratch)
• I remember that the foil plate was always repurposed for things like paint trays after the dinner. Did you use them for anything else?
• Did you know that there’s a National TV Dinner day? It’s on September 10. How will you celebrate?

I’d love to read your thoughts about convenience suppers. How about leaving a thought or two in the comments? Ramona, you’re on the hook for this one.

This post is part of a series on:

https://dougpete.wordpress.com

If you read it anywhere else, it’s not the original.