You're preaching to the choir here. I am in complete agreement (not about the bread, though - I'm still eating bread).

I attribute it to the "dumbing down of America." It's simply amazing what folks can't do for themselves any longer.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.......

Breeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaad.

My precious.

Are you sure there were eggs in those "scramblers"? There was someone at my store the other day giving sample of a product. A little cup of chopped peppers and onions, salt and pepper. You add an egg of your own, shake it, and microwave it. Three dollars for about two tablespoons of chopped vegetable matter in a disposable cooking cup. Arrgh.

A lot of people want to pop something in the microwave and call it breakfast...or dinner. I guess I'm old school, I like to cook my meals....well, most of them. I'm all for convenience once in a while, but I agree. Eggs? Really?

I remember when frozen TV dinners were the rage. I do hope that those meal delivery services may get people to think about and try cooking again.

Oh no,Matthias,it had eggs. I double checked because I thought "surely not." They also offered a ham and cheese omelet.....REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?

I can see those products being used as work time lunches where your only cooking facility is the microwave.

Fun2BHere, I can see some stuff used in that way. Like I said,some of the more complicated to make foods are more practical to buy already prepared. I just don't see scrambled eggs. It takes no time at all. If you wanted scrambled eggs for lunch,why not scramble them at home and pack them up and take them to work with you?

I'm sure I was served one of those scrambled egg things at a roadside diner in England years ago. It was part of a chain there called The Little Chef. I ordered scrambled eggs, thinking that should be difficult to screw up. I was wrong.

I can’t stand the smell of cooking food in the morning but I never minded zapping something if I had to eat early. I’ve been drinking protein drinks for breakfast since the middle of Dec when I went back to low carb but even those I can’t stomach until I’ve been up a few hours.

Lets not talk about bread,OK? LOL

When I have to get up and leave the house before my stomach has even waked up, I find I can down a couple of deviled eggs. The day before such an ungodly early morning, I make deviled eggs. The family loves deviled eggs any time of day, so any extra are appreciated by them too.

To me eggs are one of the easiest food to prepare, so not something I would buy. I figure if someone wants to spend their money on convenience food..it's really none of my business. We all have our priorities.

I make up eggs 4-5 at a time and freeze them in tiny containers. some days I just pop one out of the freezer and by the time I'm ready to eat, it's thawed out.

I buy some entrees but not breakfast foods. Seems silly. My rant is it's so cold! Makes my waistline look like I have 3 belly buttons instead of one. Gravity is he'll too.

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I get disgusted that low carb, gluten free, low fat stuff along with fake wheat bread has taken up so much shelf space on the bread aisle that one can't even find a decent loaf of rye bread. There are so many varieties of bread that are no longer available due to the silly diet crazes. Ditto on poultry replacing beef and pork products like breakfast sausage, bacon and cold cuts. If I eat chicken or turkey it will be freshly roasted. I want it to stay out of my kielbasa, my salami and my bologna.

I don't even like the way restaurants do eggs much less eat frozen ones. It takes me about 4 minutes to scramble or fry eggs. About 6 minutes to make an omelette.

I thought a similar thing years ago about frozen PB&J. What?? Besides the fact that it sounds awful, if your kid is old enough to microwave that, he's old enough to make a sandwich.

A popular dish here is “bubble and squeak”, which is made from the chopped up and refried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. I nearly fell over when I saw frozen bubble and squeak in the frozen food section: it will be a cold day in he// when I buy leftovers! And even DD, who didn’t enjoy cooking much when she first moved out of home, was very disparaging at the thought of frozen roasted potatoes-“It’s not like it’s rocket science, Mom” was her comment.

Trader Joe's has already peeled hard-boiled eggs. Come on now! I can see if you are passing through, on the way somewhere this would be a quick go to, but who can't think ahead enough to boil your own eggs?

They may be selling it in the store, but how many people are really buying it? I can see demand for some of the items mentioned, but others are pretty specific and would only appeal to a select buyer.

I guess I could see someone bringing frozen eggs to work for first snack. Usually, you have a microwave to cook and that is it. While I often make my own breakfast foods like breakfast burritos and kolaches at home to freeze for easy grab 'n go, they are very time consuming. There isn't a lot of reward with a house full of people who can down in one day what take me lots of time in advance planning and preparation.

I could see buying preboiled eggs if you are walking through and want a quick healthy snack.

I've never been a fan of the frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I've seen them in kid's lunches at school. For some of those kids,that may have been the healthy part of the meal because I have also seen kids just drink their Gatorade and eat the chips. There may not have been anything else in the lunchbox.

I think most of us that cook every day would be real surprized at how few families ever have a balanced meal at home. Have new super market cashiers ask me what a common vegetable is. Not just the kids, have had older people be unsure of what to look up. Assume they have never had it to eat.

Years ago DH took a chicken salad sandwich to work for lunch. Was asked which deli he got the nice looking sandwich from? Said brought it from home. Response was you can make that at home? If you talk to young adults many exist on take out of some sort. Parents don't seem to be teaching children to cook .

I once saw individual potatoes wrapped in foil labeled "ready to bake". I thought they already were. Pricey too, as I recall.

I have seen the already peeled hardboiled eggs at 7-11. Someone I knew tried one. He said it was like eating rubber.

Years ago I was checking out at the grocery store, and the cashier asked what I was going to do with the bag of elbow macaroni. Mac and cheese, of course. She looked puzzled, and said "you can make that? I guess she had only ever had the boxed kind.

People are not cooking like they used to. I rarely go down the frozen aisles (unless I'm buying ice cream and that's at the front so I still don't go down the aisles) but when I do . . . OMG, I can't believe what they're selling . . . and how many frozen potato things are for sale (tots, fries, hash browns and who knows what else -- I think the frozen potato choices have more shelf space than other frozen vegetables). And frozen vegetables -- no long are they peas and green beans, etc., but they are sauced and buttered and in small serving packages so that they are pricey for a cup or two of vegetables. Sigh. I DO buy frozen vegetables sometimes (when I run out of fresh and don't want to go to the store or when I want peas (because you can't buy fresh peas here) but mostly buy fresh -- it's a cheaper way to eat that's for sure. I think to the younger generation convenience is more important than cost and if they buy the frozen eggs and microwave them, they are "eating at home" rather than "eating out" by stopping at McD on the way to work.

It is amazing to see one entire side of an aisle of ice cream The various forms of frozen potatoes take up more than half of the frozen vegetable aisle. I see this because I do buy some frozen vegetables -- often better than the old 'fresh' produce in the Midwest winter. I never enter the Poison Food aisle: Sugar water sodas on one side and salt saturated snacks on the other.

I admit to buying frozen buttermilk biscuits. It's *convenient* to take two out of the bag and bake them in the toaster oven while I'm cooking meat and veggies.

skibby -- Those foil-wrapped potatoes, "Ready to Bake", remind me of the chicken parts that my grocery proclaims are "Hand Cut". (If there is another way to cut up a chicken, I don't think I'm ready to hear it.)

If I were single I'd buy that stuff.

As for the person complaining about the bread - some of us HAVE TO avoid gluten for health reasons. I've found incredibly difficult to find gluten-free bread among the bread on shelves; typically, I have to purchase it frozen. It's not just a "diet craze" so...

adella, it is even worse than that... I was a lunch lady... and we got packaged PB&J sandwiches on the menu ever so often. NOTHING to cook for us lunch ladies...

Moni who like to cook from scratch!

I'mstillcholecat - I'm sorry if you have Celiac Disease. Of course there should be some alternative products available for you. But the aisles around here are full of stuff simply catering to the gluten free craze pushing aside many things that were once available for the rest of the population. That is what I object to. They are simply catering to a trend, a fad diet, not providing a nice alternative for less than 1% of population who needs the product.

Since the late 60's frozen convenience foods have been expanding. I don't buy it except a few things..but there are many households with both parents working which make convenience foods...convenient. Less and less families think about their health or the children's when it comes to food but more about getting everyone fed and fed fast. At least that's my opinion from listening to parents talk at school. I would much rather scramble eggs myself but I'm not rushed to get out the door. Most things are made fresh in my house....I made my own bread (no bread machine) up to about a year ago when RA made it dang near impossible than I started buying it at a little family owned bakery in town. I like no preservatives or other junk in bread...cute'ish story..the boys used to want store bought sliced bread so I bought a loaf of Wonder. They both hated it. They could taste the preservatives which they wernt used to and thought it was like a sponge. LOL. I've actually been thinking about making bread again and having the boys kneed it. Anyway.......anyway....well now I forgot what I was going to say...LOL

I'll admit that I've started buying more frozen prepared food since Trader Joe's came to town. I'm single and cook for my grandson - I prepare fresh organic for him (except for Trader Joe's frozen black bean taquitos and Amy's black bean chili from a can). I feed him much differently than I want to eat (he gets lots of calorie dense food here because he's nutrition deprived at home), so preparing 2 different meals is just not something I'm interested in doing. I've started buying TJ's frozen organic riced cauliflower for me...it's so wonderful to just pour out a serving without having to cut up a whole cauliflower, cook, then rice and freeze it. I tried their grilled Mediterranean veggies, because cooking a whole eggplant, zucchini and then red peppers makes more than I want to eat at once. I'm not good about freezing things myself when I have extra like that.

Once in a while I buy Tj's Mandarin Chicken in the freezer aisle. It's yummy! I buy their precooked bacon, because my grandson loves it and it's so easy, and non-messy. I've bought their organic frozen pancakes, because, again, I don't want to make 3 pancakes for an 8 year old and I don't eat them. I could make a whole batch and freeze them myself, but I'm just not interested in spending my time doing that. I do that when I make him waffles, however.

Now that if confessed my convenience food sins, I have to say that I actually laughed out loud a few years ago when I saw frozen, cooked oatmeal. Really? You can boil water to make your own as quickly as you can heat that up in the micro. But who am I to judge?

Part of the convenience food thing is aimed at people like me. When I purchase fresh veggies that is all that I should be eating that week because they would spoil before I could use the whole thing. Most of the veggies on the salad bar are more for salads that fixing a meal for one. Most lettuces cause my stomach to be hyperacid so the salads are just not what I eat. With the price of fruits and veggies I want to eat all of what I purchase. Easy to say cook it in advance but I like my veggies so that they are not mush when I do warm them.

Matthias, I saw that commercial for I think it was peppers, onions and maybe cheese in a cup. You just add the egg to make a sort of omelette. I don't know how much they are but I am tempted to try them. I don't plan my breakfast any further ahead than after I wake up. If I buy the pepper, onion and cheese, no matter what it costs me, I'm lucky if it's still good when I want to use it. I usually end up using a just a bit and throwing the rest away. So normally I just have scrambled eggs plain. Would be nice to have the option. I meant to look for them last time I was at the grocery store but forgot. I will have to put it on the list. :)

I am old enough to remember when concentrated orange juice was frowned upon.

Concentrated orange juice is much better than this.

http://chicagoist.com/2013/02/10/simply_orange_is_anything_but.php

I don't think concentrated orange juice is much different than the "fresh" brands. It's also blended with ingredients from different sources and with the so-called "flavor packs".

Fruits and veggies are the ultimate in portion-able purchases. Except for items that are whole and large (like a big cauliflower or cabbage), with stuff that comes in smaller pieces, you choose a purchase of how ever small a quantity (in weight or in individual pieces) you want. Even melons can be bought precut in a smaller amount than a whole one. You want firm veggies? Cook them with a quick dunk in boiling water. A few minutes is enough for most.

The thing about prepared or processed food (whether frozen or not) is that with a few exceptions (like foods from places like Trader Joes or Whole Foods), you can't avoid eating stuff with too many and also potentially harmful ingredients you wouldn't have in home prepared foods. Too much salt, unnecessary sugar, etc. etc., Yes, convenience food has its place at times but I think those who try to be careful about what they eat try to minimize those times and places.

Colleen, my mother used to make Bubble and Squeak all the time. Unfortunately, we were horrible kids and didn’t like it and grumbled about it. We didn’t know what it was like to be hungry, like she had known, growing up in London pre-WWII, daughter of a widow. I hope now that she enjoyed eating her fill of her comfort food.

I feel like there are different distinctions of convenience foods. Plenty are just junk food, with a lot of unnecessary additives, salt, sugar, etc. But there are many healthy options, even in a regular grocery store. Amy's brand is a good choice, and they can be found anywhere and include low sodium options for people watching their salt. My local Target carries breakfast burritos that only use ingredients that I would use at home.

The only downside to these healthy brands is the expense, and people on a budget will often opt for the less expensive and less nutritious option.

Mama, my teen just made this with her 90 year old grandpa, and it turns out a nice medium density (not fluffy) boule type loaf with zero kneading. We’ve tried it a couple of times since and it’s not worth bothering with the fussy part of the second rise, just let it sit in a bowl. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread I know there are some talented bakers here but this is pretty good for a no knead loaf.

Frozen stuff I haven't seen it stores.

Strawberries in box. Frozen and chopped up.

I only see the whole frozen ones in a bag. More expensive. But if I am buying frozen ones they usually need to be chopped anyway.