It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
you believe the statement?

<http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
717,0,7359675.story>

"This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
almost unchanged for 10 years."



--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of
St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew;
sometimes in a pickle."
Where are my pearls, Honey?

Melba's wrote on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:20:18 -0500:

> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...sun-cooking-sc
> hools-20100 717,0,7359675.story>

> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals
> are going to be prepared in one form or another by someone in
> the house," says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst of the
> NPD Group, where he has followed Americans' eating and
> drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average American gets
> about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's almost
> unchanged for 10 years."

I wonder what they are counting as restaurants? A large number of
Americans eat lunch in cafeterias, in other words, say, 48x5 =240 meals
a year. A good fraction of those may be school kids and they probably
eat closer to 200 of course. For myself, even if I am retired, I eat in
a restaurant at very least once a week, most often lunch. I have to add
to that, the prepared food I may take home, often salads from a salad
bar. I wonder how frozen entrees and canned soups are counted?

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:

> I wonder what they are counting as restaurants? A large number of
> Americans eat lunch in cafeterias, in other words, say, 48x5 =240 meals
> a year. A good fraction of those may be school kids and they probably
> eat closer to 200 of course. For myself, even if I am retired, I eat in
> a restaurant at very least once a week, most often lunch. I have to add
> to that, the prepared food I may take home, often salads from a salad
> bar. I wonder how frozen entrees and canned soups are counted?


I have to wonder too about what they are counting as restaurants. When
I was working I ate lunch or dinner in restaurants every day, four days
a week 46 weeks a year. I also went to coffee shops for my coffee
breaks twice a day most days. When I was still working my wife and I
usually had lunch or dinner in a restaurant at least once a week.

Now that I am retired I still go out for coffee every day. I have one
meal a week in a restaurant.

On Jul 18, 7:35*am, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> *Melba's *wrote *on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:20:18 -0500:
>
> > <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...sun-cooking-sc
> > hools-20100 717,0,7359675.story>
> > "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals
> > are going to be prepared in one form or another by someone in
> > the house," says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst of the
> > NPD Group, where he has followed Americans' eating and
> > drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average American gets
> > about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's almost
> > unchanged for 10 years."
>
> I wonder what they are counting as restaurants? A large number of
> Americans eat lunch in cafeterias, in other words, say, 48x5 =240 meals
> a year. A good fraction *of those may be school kids and they probably
> eat closer to 200 of course.

The number does seem suspect for exactly the reason you gave, school
and workplace cafeterias. I know that my family exceeds the 200
number, though my wife brings down our average a bit because she lives
just a few blocks from her job, and comes home for almost all of her
meal breaks.

> For myself, even if I am retired, I eat in
> a restaurant at very least once a week, most often lunch. I have to add
> to that, the prepared food I may take home, often salads from a salad
> bar. I wonder how frozen entrees and canned soups are counted?
>
I imagine that canned soups and frozen entrees are considered "to be
prepared in one form or another by someone in the house."
>
> James Silverton

--Bryan

"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
> you believe the statement?
>
> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
> 717,0,7359675.story>
>
> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
> be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
> Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
> Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
> American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
> almost unchanged for 10 years."

Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast food
place drive through and I see much more prepared foods at supermarkets.
As for 200 meals a year, that is on the light side if you go out to lunch
every day at work. We eat out usually one a week for dinner a couple of
times a month for breakfast and I think we are on the lighter side of eating
out. I can see where a lot of couples would easily top that 200. I'd also
guess that it may be down the past year or so, but unchanged in 10 years
seems a stretch.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote

>> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>> you believe the statement?
>>
>> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>> 717,0,7359675.story>
>>
>> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are
>> going to be prepared in one form or another by someone in the
>> house," says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group,
>> where he has followed Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25
>> years. "The average American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a
>> restaurant and that's almost unchanged for 10 years."
>
> Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast
> food place drive through and I see much more prepared foods at
> supermarkets. As for 200 meals a year, that is on the light side if you go
> out to
> lunch every day at work. We eat out usually one a week for dinner a
> couple of times a month for breakfast and I think we are on the
> lighter side of eating out. I can see where a lot of couples would
> easily top that 200. I'd also guess that it may be down the past year
> or so, but unchanged in 10 years seems a stretch.

Not only do I like to eat out, if I count how many times we order
chinese food or pick up a sub, or stop for breakfast on the way
to shopping or whatever, I don't have any trouble believing the
200 number. Sometimes we go long stretches with never eating
out, then we have stretches where there isn't much cooking going
on here.

Forget when we were working, every lunch was a meal out.

nancy

"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
news:AbD0o.416840$_m6.378841@hurricane...
> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote
>
>>> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>>> you believe the statement?
>>>
>>> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>>> 717,0,7359675.story>
>>>
>>> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are
>>> going to be prepared in one form or another by someone in the
>>> house," says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group,
>>> where he has followed Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25
>>> years. "The average American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a
>>> restaurant and that's almost unchanged for 10 years."
>>
>> Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast
>> food place drive through and I see much more prepared foods at
>> supermarkets. As for 200 meals a year, that is on the light side if you
>> go out to
>> lunch every day at work. We eat out usually one a week for dinner a
>> couple of times a month for breakfast and I think we are on the
>> lighter side of eating out. I can see where a lot of couples would
>> easily top that 200. I'd also guess that it may be down the past year
>> or so, but unchanged in 10 years seems a stretch.
>
> Not only do I like to eat out, if I count how many times we order
> chinese food or pick up a sub, or stop for breakfast on the way
> to shopping or whatever, I don't have any trouble believing the
> 200 number. Sometimes we go long stretches with never eating
> out, then we have stretches where there isn't much cooking going
> on here.
>
> Forget when we were working, every lunch was a meal out.
>
> nancy

I nearly always took my lunch to work. I'd prepar it at home so it
certainly didn't add to up 200 meals out a year. I did the same thing with
every job. I'd have to say I eat out except maybe 6-8 times a year for
dinner. Rarely for lunch.

Jill

jmcquown > wrote:

>"Nancy Young" > wrote in message

>> Forget when we were working, every lunch was a meal out.

>I nearly always took my lunch to work. I'd prepar it at home so it
>certainly didn't add to up 200 meals out a year. I did the same thing with
>every job. I'd have to say I eat out except maybe 6-8 times a year for
>dinner. Rarely for lunch.

If I don't plan ahead and brown-bag it, I will usually end up eating
two meals out (lunch and dinner) each day I work at a customer's site
(which could be as many as three times a week). This adds up to
a pretty unacceptable level of expense, even if I mostly enjoy
the places I end up dining; so I try to limit it (with only
partial success).

Steve

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> jmcquown > wrote:
>
>>"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
>
>>> Forget when we were working, every lunch was a meal out.
>
>>I nearly always took my lunch to work. I'd prepar it at home so it
>>certainly didn't add to up 200 meals out a year. I did the same thing
>>with
>>every job. I'd have to say I eat out except maybe 6-8 times a year for
>>dinner. Rarely for lunch.
>
> If I don't plan ahead and brown-bag it, I will usually end up eating
> two meals out (lunch and dinner) each day I work at a customer's site
> (which could be as many as three times a week). This adds up to
> a pretty unacceptable level of expense, even if I mostly enjoy
> the places I end up dining; so I try to limit it (with only
> partial success).
>
> Steve


We apparently had very different jobs

Jill

Has anyone noticed a geographical difference in home cooking v. eating out? I doubt I get 100 restaurant/pre-prepared meals per year. Most people that live where I do (western WI) cook at home most of the time. I visit my brother in Houston, TX and it seems everyone is going to restaurants daily; while the Viking stove stands idle. I visit my folks in Pheonix and I can't get over the restaurant traffic. From Sonic to steaks; these places are packed all the time.

Maybe I'm off, here, but might it be more a northern/souther thing, a rural/urban thing, or an "I'm just a Bozo" thing?

On 7/18/2010 12:39 PM, Gorio wrote:
> Sqwertz;1506089 Wrote:
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:39:47 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> -
>> Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast food
>>
>> place drive through -
>>
>> But there's rarely anybody inside.
>>
>> I used to work at Burger King in the early 80's when I was in high
>> school. On a typical summer weekend at lunch or dinner time, we
>> would have 4 registers going with 8-10 people in each line,
>> including the two-window (pay and pickup) drive-through.
>>
>> Nowadays you'll see 14 in the drive-through and 3 people waiting
>> to order inside. Lines like that are unheard of these days.
>> There were less fast food options back then, though.
>>
>> -sw
>
> Has anyone noticed a geographical difference in home cooking v. eating
> out? I doubt I get 100 restaurant/pre-prepared meals per year. Most
> people that live where I do (western WI) cook at home most of the time.
> I visit my brother in Houston, TX and it seems everyone is going to
> restaurants daily; while the Viking stove stands idle. I visit my folks
> in Pheonix and I can't get over the restaurant traffic. From Sonic to
> steaks; these places are packed all the time.
>
> Maybe I'm off, here, but might it be more a northern/souther thing, a
> rural/urban thing, or an "I'm just a Bozo" thing?


Oddly enough, I've lived in both Wisconsin and Texas... and you are
right. People in the Houston area eat out a lot more than people from
the North. I'm betting that the Houston area has more restaurants per
capita than any state in the North. That helps keep prices down which
makes eating out more affordable.

George L

You bet. The choice down there is great. I can't get over all the great eats in Houston. That Argentine steak place was a nice surprise. Jeez!! Even great etouffee (sp?). Some great Cajun/Creole places and delish seafood. Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)fish is great. My bro also catches flounders that are good.

I think people in WI tend to go out to drink, whereas Houstonites tend to go out to eat.

"Gorio" > wrote in message
...
>
> George Leppla;1506328 Wrote:
>> On 7/18/2010 12:39 PM, Gorio wrote:-
>> Sqwertz;1506089 Wrote:-
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:39:47 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> -
>> Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast
>> food
>>
>> place drive through -
>>
>> But there's rarely anybody inside.
>>
>> I used to work at Burger King in the early 80's when I was in high
>> school. On a typical summer weekend at lunch or dinner time, we
>> would have 4 registers going with 8-10 people in each line,
>> including the two-window (pay and pickup) drive-through.
>>
>> Nowadays you'll see 14 in the drive-through and 3 people waiting
>> to order inside. Lines like that are unheard of these days.
>> There were less fast food options back then, though.
>>
>> -sw-
>>
>> Has anyone noticed a geographical difference in home cooking v. eating
>> out? I doubt I get 100 restaurant/pre-prepared meals per year. Most
>> people that live where I do (western WI) cook at home most of the
>> time.
>> I visit my brother in Houston, TX and it seems everyone is going to
>> restaurants daily; while the Viking stove stands idle. I visit my
>> folks
>> in Pheonix and I can't get over the restaurant traffic. From Sonic to
>> steaks; these places are packed all the time.
>>
>> Maybe I'm off, here, but might it be more a northern/souther thing, a
>> rural/urban thing, or an "I'm just a Bozo" thing?-
>>
>>
>> Oddly enough, I've lived in both Wisconsin and Texas... and you are
>> right. People in the Houston area eat out a lot more than people from
>> the North. I'm betting that the Houston area has more restaurants per
>> capita than any state in the North. That helps keep prices down which
>> makes eating out more affordable.
>>
>> George L
>
> You bet. The choice down there is great. I can't get over all the great
> eats in Houston. That Argentine steak place was a nice surprise. Jeez!!
> Even great etouffee (sp?). Some great Cajun/Creole places and delish
> seafood. Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi)fish is great. My bro also catches flounders
> that are good.
>
> I think people in WI tend to go out to drink, whereas Houstonites tend
> to go out to eat.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Gorio

I'd be interested to see the health statistical differences between the two.
Does Texas have more problems with diabetes, high blood pressure,
cholesterol, heart problems than Wisconsin? Is the obesity rate higher? In
adults? In kids? Just curious.
-ginny

In article >,
Gorio > wrote:

> Sqwertz;1506089 Wrote:
> > On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:39:47 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> > -
> > Unchanged in 10 years? I see the lines getting longer at the fast food
> >
> > place drive through -
> >
> > But there's rarely anybody inside.
> >
> > I used to work at Burger King in the early 80's when I was in high
> > school. On a typical summer weekend at lunch or dinner time, we
> > would have 4 registers going with 8-10 people in each line,
> > including the two-window (pay and pickup) drive-through.
> >
> > Nowadays you'll see 14 in the drive-through and 3 people waiting
> > to order inside. Lines like that are unheard of these days.
> > There were less fast food options back then, though.
> >
> > -sw
>
> Has anyone noticed a geographical difference in home cooking v. eating
> out? I doubt I get 100 restaurant/pre-prepared meals per year. Most
> people that live where I do (western WI) cook at home most of the time.
> I visit my brother in Houston, TX and it seems everyone is going to
> restaurants daily; while the Viking stove stands idle. I visit my folks
> in Pheonix and I can't get over the restaurant traffic. From Sonic to
> steaks; these places are packed all the time.
>
> Maybe I'm off, here, but might it be more a northern/souther thing, a
> rural/urban thing, or an "I'm just a Bozo" thing?

Where in western Wisconsin? Are there any good restaurants in town?


--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of
St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew;
sometimes in a pickle."
Where are my pearls, Honey?

I don't live in a town; but LaCrosse and Onalaska have some decent Greek, Thai, Pork, Mediterannean, and my big treat is the rack of lamb at the Freighthouse. Just enough to tickle the tongue. Where I live, though, the real allure is in the freshness of the ingredients and not the descent of the cooking style.

Coming from Milwaukee, and Quito, Ecuador prior, I knew I would be somehwat disappointed. There are some nice places, though. PM me for a list if you wish to hang out in this neck of the woods.

On 7/18/2010 7:20 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
> you believe the statement?
>
> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
> 717,0,7359675.story>
>
> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
> be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
> Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
> Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
> American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
> almost unchanged for 10 years."
>
>
>
Not in this house, probably less than 100 meals a year outside the house
for us. I'm just to lazy to want to get dressed in long pants and a
sports shirt just to go eat some food I could cook myself. And I would
have to wear real shoes too instead of my Crocs.

George Shirley wrote:
> On 7/18/2010 7:20 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>> you believe the statement?
>>
>> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>> 717,0,7359675.story>
>>
>> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
>> be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
>> Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
>> Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
>> American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
>> almost unchanged for 10 years."
>>
>>
>>
> Not in this house, probably less than 100 meals a year outside the house
> for us. I'm just to lazy to want to get dressed in long pants and a
> sports shirt just to go eat some food I could cook myself. And I would
> have to wear real shoes too instead of my Crocs.


Perhaps it's just another example of Colorado Casual, but there are few
nice restaurants I can think of in the entire state where you couldn't
wear shorts and Crocs. I am often surprised at the sporty dress when we
go out for a special dinner. (When we moved here 26 years ago I wrote
to Eastern friends that dress code for cocktail parties seemed to be
shorts, hiking boots, and a backpack.)

gloria p

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:23:00 -0600, "gloria.p" >
wrote:

>
> Perhaps it's just another example of Colorado Casual, but there are few
> nice restaurants I can think of in the entire state where you couldn't
> wear shorts and Crocs. I am often surprised at the sporty dress when we
> go out for a special dinner. (When we moved here 26 years ago I wrote
> to Eastern friends that dress code for cocktail parties seemed to be
> shorts, hiking boots, and a backpack.)

No matter what you wear, your money is still green.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:44:39 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

> Not in this house, probably less than 100 meals a year outside the house
> for us. I'm just to lazy to want to get dressed in long pants and a
> sports shirt just to go eat some food I could cook myself. And I would
> have to wear real shoes too instead of my Crocs.

I think the word "restaurant" threw you off. McDonald's is a
"restaurant", so is the local coffee shop and donut shop (if there's a
place to sit and sip coffee with your donut), even Noah's (bagels) has
seating.... when they let you sit and eat, it's a restaurant.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On 7/18/2010 7:20 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
> you believe the statement?
>
> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
> 717,0,7359675.story>
>
> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
> be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
> Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
> Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
> American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
> almost unchanged for 10 years."

I don't know. That's almost 4 meals a week pp..... we don't eat out
that often unless we are on a trip. If you count meals eaten on a
vacation... we do way more than that.

Here lately, we aren't going out as much as we used to. Why pay for
something that you can do better at home. I hardly ever order steak in
a restaurant... they are seldom as good as the ones we make on the
grill. Becca makes Mexican food so well that eating in a local
restaurant is often a disappointment. We both are enjoying making
Asian food and experimenting with that.

When we do go out, Most of the time I like to order things that we don't
uaually make at home.

George L

"George Leppla" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/18/2010 7:20 AM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>> It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>> you believe the statement?
>>
>> <http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>> 717,0,7359675.story>
>>
>> "This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
>> be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
>> Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
>> Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
>> American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
>> almost unchanged for 10 years."
>
> I don't know. That's almost 4 meals a week pp..... we don't eat out
> that often unless we are on a trip. If you count meals eaten on a
> vacation... we do way more than that.
>
> Here lately, we aren't going out as much as we used to. Why pay for
> something that you can do better at home. I hardly ever order steak in a
> restaurant... they are seldom as good as the ones we make on the grill.
> Becca makes Mexican food so well that eating in a local restaurant is
> often a disappointment. We both are enjoying making Asian food and
> experimenting with that.
>
> When we do go out, Most of the time I like to order things that we don't
> uaually make at home.

Pretty much the same here, but then I am not American
--
--
https://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/

George Leppla wrote:

> Here lately, we aren't going out as much as we used to. Why pay for
> something that you can do better at home. I hardly ever order steak in
> a restaurant... they are seldom as good as the ones we make on the
> grill.


I agree with you about steak, but I think I'd be much happier to eat at
home if I didn't have to do 100% of the shopping, prep, cooking, and
cleanup. (His mother didn't raise him right.)

gloria p

On 7/18/2010 11:25 AM, gloria.p wrote:
> George Leppla wrote:
>
>> Here lately, we aren't going out as much as we used to. Why pay for
>> something that you can do better at home. I hardly ever order steak in
>> a restaurant... they are seldom as good as the ones we make on the grill.
>
>
> I agree with you about steak, but I think I'd be much happier to eat at
> home if I didn't have to do 100% of the shopping, prep, cooking, and
> cleanup. (His mother didn't raise him right.)
>
> gloria p

He doesn't know what he is missing. I like to cook... but I like to
cook with someone even more. We go shopping together and clean up
together. It isn't a matter of his and her jobs... we both are the
kind of people that when we see something that needs to be done... we do
it. When you share chores, they get done a lot faster and with a lot
less effort.

And it is fun.

George L

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:32:29 -0500, George Leppla wrote:

> On 7/18/2010 11:25 AM, gloria.p wrote:
>> George Leppla wrote:
>>
>>> Here lately, we aren't going out as much as we used to. Why pay for
>>> something that you can do better at home. I hardly ever order steak in
>>> a restaurant... they are seldom as good as the ones we make on the grill.
>>
>>
>> I agree with you about steak, but I think I'd be much happier to eat at
>> home if I didn't have to do 100% of the shopping, prep, cooking, and
>> cleanup. (His mother didn't raise him right.)
>>
>> gloria p
>
> He doesn't know what he is missing. I like to cook... but I like to
> cook with someone even more. We go shopping together and clean up
> together. It isn't a matter of his and her jobs... we both are the
> kind of people that when we see something that needs to be done... we do
> it.

well, i'm a lazy slob, so when i see a job that needs to be done i try to
ignore it as long as possible.

your pal,
blake

On Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:55:59 -0400, blake murphy
> wrote:

> well, i'm a lazy slob, so when i see a job that needs to be done i try to
> ignore it as long as possible.

I like your attitude, blake! Ignore it long enough and it might go
away.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:53:46 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

> When we do go out, Most of the time I like to order things that we don't
> uaually make at home.

There's only one place where we order what we make at home (a steak
and we don't cook many steaks - so it's a treat), but we only go there
on the way home from a car trip.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:20:18 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>you believe the statement?
>
><http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>717,0,7359675.story>
>
>"This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
>be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
>Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
>Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
>American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
>almost unchanged for 10 years."

That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
sauce ain't cooking.

"brooklyn1" > wrote
> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
> sauce ain't cooking.

Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home cooked.
After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I see
more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now that
may be replacing some restaurant meals.

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in
:

> Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as
> home cooked. After all, you do have to push a couple of
> buttons on the microwave. I see more and more of the frozen
> entr‚e or complete meal in a bag stuff now that may be
> replacing some restaurant meals.

I have not eaten a frozen meal since I was married to my first wife
and the extent of her culinary talents consisted in choosing the
Stouffer's selection for the evening meal, then heating it in the
oven.

Since I retired, we eat at home more often. In the last couple of
years, our dining out consisted mostly of stopping by a pho house
on the walk home, especially when the weather was abysmally cold
during the most recent bus strike.

Since I went on Weight Watchers (because it's more fun if you
watch), I have cooked most meals. We have gone out four times in
five weeks. And it's not that we can't afford it.

Yesterday, I made a mushu pork in the crock pot.

"Michel Boucher" wrote

> Yesterday, I made a mushu pork in the crock pot.

That sounds good! Can you pass me the recipe you use? I love my crockpots!

"cshenk" > wrote in
:

> "Michel Boucher" wrote
>
>> Yesterday, I made a mushu pork in the crock pot.
>
> That sounds good! Can you pass me the recipe you use? I love
> my crockpots!

Sorry, not the Mushu recipe (I can post that too if you want), but
anyway, it's from the Weight Watchers Momentum books, Slow Cook It:
165 All-New Slow Cooker Recipes, page 60.

Hoisin Pork Rolls

Prep, 25 min.
Slow cook 2 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients

60 mL water
35 mL hoisin sauce
30 mL dry sherry
30 mL low-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic gloves crushed through a press
25 mL cornstarch
5 mL grated peeled fresh ginger
5 mL sugar
625 g pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into matchstick strips
250 g sliced mushrooms
500 mL matchstick carrots
125 mL drained canned bamboo shoots
500 mL loosely packed shredded romaine lettuce
125 mL coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
125 mL thinly sliced scallions
4 22 cm fat-free flour tortillas

1. Whisk water, 15 mL hoisin sauce, sherry, soy, sauce, garlic,
ginger and sugar in 5- or 6-L slow cooker until smooth. Add pork
and mix well. Stir in mushrooms, carrots and bamboo shoots.

2. Cover and cook until pork and vegetables are fork tender, 2-3
hours on high, 4-6 hours on low, stirring once halfway through
cooking time.

3. Combine romaine, cilantro and scallions in medium bowl. Spread
each tortilla with 5 mL remaining hoisin sauce. Top each with
generous 175 mL pork misture and romaine mixture. Fold in sides
and roll up.

NOTE: If the sauce gets too thick, add 15 mL hot water to the slow
cooker when stirring the pork mixture halfway through the cooking
time in step 2.

COMMENTS:

1. I have no garlic press so I crushed them under a blade and
chopped them fine.

2. I used much more than 5 mL of grated ginger.

3. For mushrooms I prefer cremini.

4. I did about 900 g of pork. It turned out fine.

5. Couldn't get bamboo shoots (the store was out). Next time.

6. We used Weight Watchers whole-wheat tortillas. Had a devil of a
time finding them but I knew they were out there.

Per serving (1 rolls): 388 cal., 6 g fat, 57 mg chol., 1 g sodium,
8 g fibre, 35 g prot.

Points value: 7.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:48:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> "brooklyn1" > wrote
>> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
>> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
>> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
>> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
>> sauce ain't cooking.
>
> Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home cooked.
> After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I see
> more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now that
> may be replacing some restaurant meals.

i think the difference between 'from a restaurant' and 'not from a
restaurant' is pretty clear.

your pal,
blake

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:03:54 -0400, blake murphy
> wrote:

> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:48:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> > "brooklyn1" > wrote
> >> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
> >> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
> >> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
> >> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
> >> sauce ain't cooking.
> >
> > Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home cooked.
> > After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I see
> > more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now that
> > may be replacing some restaurant meals.
>
> i think the difference between 'from a restaurant' and 'not from a
> restaurant' is pretty clear.
>
I certainly would not call a frozen entree bought in a grocery store a
restaurant meal. It's convenience food. Frozen meals prepared at
home are not restaurant food either.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

sf > wrote:

>On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:03:54 -0400, blake murphy

>> i think the difference between 'from a restaurant' and 'not from a
>> restaurant' is pretty clear.

>I certainly would not call a frozen entree bought in a grocery store a
>restaurant meal. It's convenience food. Frozen meals prepared at
>home are not restaurant food either.

Yep, I think that's a clear distinction.

It's a little less clear if you buy prepared foods from a
grocery store and eat them there. But probably, it counts as
a restaurant meal. (The state taxes/regulates such activities
as though they are a restaurant.)

Steve

sf wrote on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:06:38 -0700:

>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:48:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
> >> "brooklyn1" > wrote
> >>> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home
> >>> are purchased pre-prepared from the frozen foods section,
> >>> packages off the shelf, delis, and take outs... very few
> >>> meals are actually prepared at home anymore other than to
> >>> open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred sauce ain't
> >>> cooking.
> >>
> >> Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals
> >> as home cooked. After all, you do have to push a couple of
> >> buttons on the microwave. I see more and more of the frozen
> >> entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now that may be
> >> replacing some restaurant meals.
>>
>> i think the difference between 'from a restaurant' and 'not
>> from a restaurant' is pretty clear.
>>
> I certainly would not call a frozen entree bought in a grocery
> store a restaurant meal. It's convenience food. Frozen meals
> prepared at home are not restaurant food either.

But neither are they "home-cooked" food!

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:03:54 -0400, blake murphy
> > wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:48:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>> > "brooklyn1" > wrote
>> >> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
>> >> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
>> >> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
>> >> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
>> >> sauce ain't cooking.
>> >
>> > Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home
>> > cooked.
>> > After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I
>> > see
>> > more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now
>> > that
>> > may be replacing some restaurant meals.
>>
>> i think the difference between 'from a restaurant' and 'not from a
>> restaurant' is pretty clear.
>>
> I certainly would not call a frozen entree bought in a grocery store a
> restaurant meal. It's convenience food. Frozen meals prepared at
> home are not restaurant food either.

True, but that can account for the no change in eating habits in the last 10
years. Instead of restaurants, they are "cooking" a prepared frozen meal in
the microwave. Look at the amount of shelf space they have in the frozen
food section. If they were not selling, they would not be there.

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:48:10 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
> wrote:

>
> "brooklyn1" > wrote
> > That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
> > pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
> > delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
> > anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
> > sauce ain't cooking.
>
> Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home cooked.
> After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I see
> more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal in a bag stuff now that
> may be replacing some restaurant meals.

I think they are counting working stiff lunches.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On 7/18/2010 9:48 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> Good point. They may be counting some of the frozen meals as home
> cooked. After all, you do have to push a couple of buttons on the
> microwave. I see more and more of the frozen entrée or complete meal
> in a bag stuff now that may be replacing some restaurant meals.

We don't buy frozen dinners, but my oldest son eats them for lunch.
They make it easy for people to monitor their sodium, calories and they
are good for portion control. If I wanted to do Nutrisystem, Jenny
Craig or a system like that, frozen entrees that you can buy locally,
would give you more options at an affordable price. I can see why the
stores are packed with them.

Becca

In article >,
brooklyn1 > wrote:

> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:20:18 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
> >It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
> >you believe the statement?
> >
> ><http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
> >717,0,7359675.story>
> >
> >"This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
> >be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
> >Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
> >Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
> >American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
> >almost unchanged for 10 years."
>
> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
> sauce ain't cooking.

Yes; the article continued with a similar comment.


--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of
St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew;
sometimes in a pickle."
Where are my pearls, Honey?

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:14:15 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article >,
> brooklyn1 > wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:20:18 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >It's the last sentence in the paragraph that caught my attention. Do
>> >you believe the statement?
>> >
>> ><http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...-schools-20100
>> >717,0,7359675.story>
>> >
>> >"This country cooks. Something like 70 percent of all meals are going to
>> >be prepared in one form or another by someone in the house," says Harry
>> >Balzer, chief industry analyst of the NPD Group, where he has followed
>> >Americans' eating and drinking patterns for 25 years. "The average
>> >American gets about 200 meals (a year) from a restaurant and that's
>> >almost unchanged for 10 years."
>>
>> That's because more and more meals consumed in the home are purchased
>> pre-prepared from the frozen foods section, packages off the shelf,
>> delis, and take outs... very few meals are actually prepared at home
>> anymore other than to open the package and heat. Pasta with jarred
>> sauce ain't cooking.
>
>Yes; the article continued with a similar comment.

I didn't read the article, didn't even click on it, didn't have to...
from the title and the comments I knew exactly what it would say.