What ready-made foods do you buy in the supermarket?

I don’t usually buy any.

When you say ready made, do you mean what is sold at or near the deli counter? That perishes quickly? Or, are you talking about all packaged food?

Whole Foods’ hot foods section is pretty good.

I mean packaged stuff, for microwaves, or just stuff that is ready made to eat that only requires heating.

@tom_g What stuff do you buy in that section? I’d like to see the specific stuff you guys buy.

I just noticed you said ramen noodles, so I assume everything packaged. I buy several Stouffer’s frozen foods, and some canned soups. The only other frozen I buy sort of regularly is InnovAsian sticky rice, which is fantastic for a time save, frozen veggies, and frozen pizza. Oh, and there is one Bertolli frozen food dish I buy. Ramen noodles I probably buy a dozen a year. Boxed mac and cheese at the most a dozen a year. Dried Spaetzle and pasta, are we counting those? My husband regularly makes pancakes on the weekends with a box mix, not sure if that counts? Probably I make about half our food from scratch, true scratch all whole ingredients, the other half is completely prepared or I do very little to cook it.

@JLeslie good point, but I dont mean any of the deli section stuff. I mean packaged stuff for heating and eating.

@JLeslie yes great stuff- What kind of frozen foods do you buy? (besides the sticky rice, frozen veggies and pizza)

Stouffer’s I buy chicken a la king, lasagna, breaded chicken and mashed potatoes. Macoroni and beef, stuffed peppers, pepper steak (not sure that is what it is called) Swedish Meatballs, Cranberry Chicken lean Cuisine, and every so often I try a new one.

Soups I buy Campbell’s green pea, cream of mushroom (for cooking), veggie beef, chicken and stars. Progresso Lentil. Every so often I buy a southwest flavored soup or minestrone style.

Pizza I buy Celeste when I can get it, which is rare. Walmart or Freschetta self rising and regular. Totinos party pizza at times. Mostly cheese only in all pizza brands, maybe ⅓ of the time pizza with pepperoni or sausage or some sort of combination.

@robdamel – Oops, sorry. The stuff I get there is the stuff that is still hot (not packaged). It’s like the salad bar, but you just for hot foods.

For example, I will occasionally get their Indian food. It’s not bad. They make a pretty good Chicken Tikka Masala, Palak Paneer, and many vegetable and bean dishes.

Also, their soups aren’t too bad most of the time, and you can always make yourself a pretty decent salad to go with it.

Very few.

We’ll get the occasional frozen pizza (which we almost always “doctor up”), but once you learn the basics it is healthier and doesn’t take any more time to prepare things from scratch.

One real convenience, however, is fresh rotisserie chicken. It’s “real” food that you don’t have to take the time to cook and it can be used as is, or in pretty much any recipe that calls for cooked chicken.

@YoBob It doesn’t take more time to prepare from scratch? That usually is not true.

Well it depends for example spaghetti carbonara takes about 5 minutes to prepare (assuming you use fresh pasta) and about 5 minutes to microwave. If you use fresh noodles and can chop quickly you can knock up a stir fry in less than 10.

@JLeslie – Nope. A good cook can prepare darned near anything in under an hour. Heck, Iron Chiefs can prepare 5 dishes worthy of the finest restaurants in the world in that time.

Now, look on that box of frozen Lasagne and see how long it takes to heat up in the oven….

@Lightlyseared – Regarding fresh pasta. I have found that I can make a fresh pasta dough from scratch and have it ready to drop in boiling water in less time than it takes for the water to come up to temperature. Plus, as you point out, once boiling the fresh pasta cooks in less time than the dried. So… bottom line is it actually takes less total time to make the fresh version.

The local place here has some pretty good fried chicken. Better than I could do and much cheaper than the fast food places.

@YoBob :So… bottom line is it actually takes less total time to make the fresh version.”

Only if you know what you’re doing lol.

@YoBob some things do take the same amount of time, but many don’t especially if you include all prep and clean up. The Iron chefs do not clean their pots and pans, and they have a helper(s) usually.

I make dinner in less than half an hour all the time. 5 dishes in an hour no problem, not including cleanup.

Lasagna is 15 minutes for the pasta, and another 5 to layer. Oh, and did we make the sauce from scratch? And, don’t forget if we are cooking up the ground beef, or slicing the veggies, but that can be done while the pasta is cooking. Then cook the whole thing for 40 minutes, then clean up. Way longer than microwave stouffers “large” size, not the family size.

@YoBob As far as fresh pasta, I rarely use it, because of the cholesterol. Some Italian dishes are meant to be made with dried pasta.

@JLeslie – Quite true about the clean up. OTOH, that’s what dish washers are for. ;)

I guess there is also kind of a grey area between from scratch and pre-prepared. Yes, I often use canned sauces, soups, and other convenience products as a part of many of those “from scratch” dishes.

Udi’s gluten-free pizza crusts. Pamela’s GF baking and pancake mix. Box of cereal once in a while. That’s about it!

@YoBob You put the lasagna pan in the diswasher?

@JLeslie – Yep.

Spray with non stick coating (or rub with oil) before putting in the “stuff” and it comes out quite nicely, and even if it doesn’t it’s nothing a nice leisurely pre-soak in the sink won’t take care of.

@YoBob Still, you have to count the time. Microwave frozen, throw out the container. Done. Let me state clearly though, I am not arguing for frozen food, just talking the realities. It is more of a reality the smaller the family. If it is a single person or couple, I think the time differential is bigger than cooking for a family.

Thanks guys. I am in Brazil, where the supermarkets have absolutely no variety. I miss all that junk stuff from the USA :(

Our claim to fame. Junk food.

@JLeslie – I just really don’t see that much difference between sticking a pan in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes and tossing a container in the trash. They both pretty much involve opening a door and depositing the container within.

In any case, it all boils down to what works best for you. For me I don’t find preparing fresh to be all that time consuming. OTOH, I enjoy cooking so my perception of time/effort might be a bit skewed.

@YoBob Unload the dishwasher. It all adds up. Especially if someone can barely get the time to eat period, because they are shuffeling kids from soccer to piano lessons, or work on their feet all day and are completely exhausted when the get home. That isn’t my situation, I cook my husband lunch four days a week from scratch (some of it is semiscratch) but I am just saying I empathesize with those who feel squeezed for time.

When the wife’s away: everything.

If I’m low on broth/stock from the freezer stash, I’ll buy a couple boxes of Organic chicken or beef broth.

I buy ramen noodles and a box of mac and cheese about once every two weeks for my daughter, because she likes them and they’re a nice treat for her. Tortellini, too… I haven’t mastered the art of fresh pasta, so I buy frozen tortellini or ravioli. (Lasagna, I buy the noodles and make that on my own)

Before we met, my husband ate out of boxes/cans and freezer packages… I’m a big proponent of making as much from scratch as I can, so there aren’t too many ‘convenience’ type foods that I buy.

(I have a half of a home made veggie lasagna in the freezer, in one of those disposable paper type containers, best of both worlds)

Frozen foods are as follows: Stouffers Mac and Cheese(the best on the planet).

Frozn Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits. They taste better than homemade.

Key Lime Pie.

@john65pennington Do you buy the flaky layered biscuits?

Frozen foods- tator tots, pizza, fries, corn dogs.

Ramen noodles are a must.

I always have frozen cheese pizza’s on hand and then I add fresh mushrooms or broccoli or red bell peppers to them.

I like Trader Joe’s frozen enchiladas, cannelloni, veggie meatballs and quiche

Then I like to get some of those Tasty Bite Indian meals in the vacuum pouches.

And I always have frozen waffles like Van’s Whole Grain Waffles

And usually some soup like Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato Bisque and Thai Kitchen Rice Noodle Soup and Trader Joe’s Organic Vegetable Broth for which I use as a base for most of my homemade soups.

And I love Stouffer’s new Farmer’s Harvest Whole Grain Vegetable Lasagna

And Gardenburger Riblets

And Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Recipe Crumbles and Grillers Prime Burgers and Fake Bacon

Of course I always have bagged greens in my fridge to make a salad, to put on a sandwich or to throw on top of a baked pizza!

Frozen Di Giorno pizzas.

Flash frozen hamburger patties.

Au Gratin box mix potatoes.

Rotel salsa.

Now and then for a treat, I like canned Ravioli.

@Neizvestnaya That just reminded me, I used to love those canned tamales!

@Kardamom: Oh no!!! I forgot to put those on my list, I love them too but there’s a weird scary feeling in hearing them loose from the can and to separate them from their little cradles of stiff orange death-fat.

@Neizvestnaya Exactly! There’s those nifty little orange globules and then you hear that thunka thunka sound when you shake the can!

I wish they made a vegetarian version of those things. I used to love them when I was a little kid!

And don’t forget the congealed sauce

Mac and Cheese. I love that shit. Our supermarket also has ’‘homemade’’ meals though, that you just have to reheat. Macaroni with sauce and meat, I get that often, makes a nice little dinner, and actually does taste homemade, too. (they have all sorts, but I usually grab the macaroni.)

And yeah, ramen noodles too, but those are usually a last resort thing lol. Also, they fill me up way more if I eat them uncooked. I just sprinkle the flavour powder in the bag, shake it up and crush the noodles, then just eat it like chips lol.

Produce.

Beans, I can never get the flavour of canned beans in tomato sauce when I try at home, and chicken and beef broth. I make a lot of soup.

I’m with @Kardamom . Most of the ready made food I buy is the best quality I can find. We especially love various brands of Lasagna.

Garlic bread (though I make it far better).

@everephebe you don’t buy ANYTHING that’s a convenience food?

Oh yeah, also canned Herdez salsa casera. Yum.