Nutritional value of ready-made meals

[WWGD]

Moderator's note: This thread is an offshoot of https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/basic-cooking-physics.966819/

. The best bet is to not eat TV dinners in the first place.

I cook all week long, need to chill home on weekends.
I

 

[WWGD]

Practice, dear boy, Practice.

You know, @JT Smith may not have eaten any of these TV dinners recently. True that in their beginnings, these dinners were cardboard-like, but technology has advanced enough that some of them are, IMO, pretty amazing, albeit me not being a gourmet by many reasonable standards.

 

[sophiecentaur]

You know, @JT Smith may not have eaten any of these TV dinners recently. True that in their beginnings, these dinners were cardboard-like, but technology has advanced enough that some of them are, IMO, pretty amazing, albeit me not being a gourmet by many reasonable standards.

There is a significant amount of 'hair shirt' involved about convenience meals. Likewise about dishwashers too.
Home made gives bigger helpings too!

Edit: Who remembers those truly vile Vesta freeze dried Curries from the 70s?

 

[WWGD]

There is a significant amount of 'hair shirt' involved about convenience meals. Likewise about dishwashers too.
Home made gives bigger helpings too!

Hair shirt? Sorry, I am not hip to your kids' new slang.
Re portions, you are right, but this is a double-edged sword, as when food is too easily available ( like, having it at home) one may eat way more than necessary ( even when allowing for some over-eating). I was drinking almost a full bottle of soda at one point , had it next to my chair. Amazingly, I cut down by serving myself and then storing the bottle a measly 20 feet away from me. The cost of breaking my comfort by getting up, walking 20 ft and back somehow dissuaded me often-enough from refilling my cup.

 

[jedishrfu]

And the Robot answers:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hair shirt

hair shirt
a garment to induce some degree of discomfort or pain as a sign of repentanceand atonement
My brother sinner, even though I completely understand your need for purgation, there isn't a man among us with half a conscience who doesn't keep a hair shirt as a permanent part of his wardrobe.

 

[JT Smith]

I was shooting for humor mostly. While I'm not a stranger to convenience food it's true I haven't eaten anything called a "TV Dinner" in a long, long time. Is anything actually labeled that anymore? I'd be curious to see a link or two to TV dinners that you think are worth eating.

As for the amount of time I usually just cook things until they're done. Is it not possible to test one for doneness?

 

[jedishrfu]

I was shooting for humor mostly. While I'm not a stranger to convenience food it's true I haven't eaten anything called a "TV Dinner" in a long, long time. Is anything actually labeled that anymore? I'd be curious to see a link or two to TV dinners that you think are worth eating.

As for the amount of time I usually just cook things until they're done. Is it not possible to test one for doneness?

Nowadays that would be a Netflix dinner ;-)

 

[WWGD]

Nowadays that would be a Netflix dinner ;-)

What would a YouTube dinner be like, if anything?

 

[jedishrfu]

What would a YouTube dinner be like, if anything?

Mostly popcorn.

 

[gmax137]

I even like the chicken if the sauce is not too blue...

 

[WWGD]

But then you need to cook it...Under Pressure. Haha.

 

[JT Smith]

I typed in TV dinner at amazon. The results took me back to my childhood. Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes, Hungry Man meatloaf, Velveeta cheese bowls. All basically forms of dog food. Even the Tasty Bite Indian meals are like cheap canned food. I guess I am a snob. Only so many meals in a lifetime...

 

[WWGD]

I Only so many meals in a lifetime...

And so many minutes to be spent: cooking or doing otherwise. Still, have you actually tasted them? It is not new types of food but new ways of preparing, freezing, etc. But, ultimately up to you.

 

[JT Smith]

Still, have you actually tasted them? It is not new types of food but new ways of preparing, freezing, etc. But, ultimately up to you.

I've tasted those that I listed above. Of course it's possible that Hungry Man meatloaf frozen dinner has improved in recent decades, to that I cannot attest. But I doubt it. It's certainly possible to have higher quality frozen dinners. I'm just not aware of which ones those are. Maybe you can point one or two out?

As for the time required, it's a fallacy that food quality and food preparation time are correlated. Shopping time may increase though.

 

[berkeman]

Maybe you can point one or two out?

 

[JT Smith]

That doesn't look too bad. I wonder what it tastes like?

It's not really a dinner though.

 

[berkeman]

It's not really a dinner though.

Why not? I eat that kind of stuff often for dinners (whether from a pre-made meal or I make it from scratch)...

 

[JT Smith]

Why not? I eat that kind of stuff often for dinners (whether from a pre-made meal or I make it from scratch)...

190 Cal is less than 10% of an average adult male's caloric needs. If that's "dinner" then you're either on a very restrictive diet, you're a tiny person, or you eat most of your calories at breakfast and lunch. A more typical dinner would include some sort of grain perhaps (rice, pasta) and be on the order of 600-700 Cal, at least. So what you've got there is a side dish. Or a snack. It's not a dinner.

 

[WWGD]

As for the time required, it's a fallacy that food quality and food preparation time are correlated. Shopping time may increase though.

I meant one will spend less time/effort cooking by putting a dinner in the oven, leaving it there and picking it up when ready than by cooking it from scratch.

 

[berkeman]

or you eat most of your calories at breakfast and lunch.

This.

 

[WWGD]

This.

But tricky to time eating so that you're not desperately hungry by 9-10 p.m. Or then having the discipline to eat something reasonable to calm down hunger.

 

[berkeman]

so that you're not desperately hungry by 9-10 p.m.

LOL, I get up at 0500 to get ready for work. I don't get hungry late at night. You kids!

 

[kimbyd]

LOL, I get up at 0500 to get ready for work. I don't get hungry late at night. You kids!

One interesting thing I've found over the years as my diet has shifted: you can get used to pretty much any dietary schedule. I used to crave breakfast. After skipping many breakfasts due to various constraints, I've gotten used to skipping breakfast entirely and usually don't get hungry until around noon. But I'll often eat twice as much during lunch as my colleagues.

Also, all the complaints about one meal being better than another are bull. There's no science behind them. Do what fits in your schedule.

 

[kimbyd]

The best bet is to not eat TV dinners in the first place.

This is a really, really common view. But I really doubt there's anything behind it. It seems to come from more of a knee-jerk judgment.

The main complaint I see levied against pre-made meals seems to be salt content. But there really isn't any relationship between high salt intake and bad health outcomes (see here for a recent meta-analysis showing this), though there are huge health risks associated with getting too little salt.

You might have to be careful about missing certain important nutrients. Fiber is a big one that most of these meals lack. But I seriously doubt that you're causing any harm to yourself by eating these meals, as so many in society seem to believe.

 

[JT Smith]

While one could debate the nutritional merits of frozen dinners it's not the reason that I avoid them.

This isn't really about physics anymore. If this were a carefully moderated forum and I were a moderator I'd lock this thread.

 

[kimbyd]

While one could debate the nutritional merits of frozen dinners it's not the reason that I avoid them.

This isn't really about physics anymore. If this were a carefully moderated forum and I were a moderator I'd lock this thread.

Either way, I would definitely suggest not telling people to avoid them. Food preferences can be a hot-button issue for a wide variety of reasons, and it's really best to let it be most of the time, even if intended in a joking manner. Especially online where you really don't know the person's relationship with food, and especially where it is less obvious whether or not you are being serious.

I mostly find the nutrition aspect interesting because so much of what society thinks about nutrition is baseless.