Simply Sheep

The stores around here are making some good money on their "heat and eat", their "pre-prepped" and their "meal kits". Those things are easily 2-times the cost of getting the raw ingredients and making at home. I bought a "baked ziti and meatballs" heat and eat lunch the other day. Just put it in the microwave and eat. It was 2 cups of pre-cooked pasta, a cup (or less) of spaghetti sauce, 4 ounces of meatballs, and about 1 ounce of shredded mozzarella. It was pretty bland, I am not completley convinced there was meat in the meatballs, and the cheese was very light covering for my tastes.
It is sad to say, but 2 of my nieces are the "do not cook" type. But if they don't like to do it, is it so bad that they have alternatives available. One has a decent job, so she and her hubs buy the meal packs. Just assemble and cook - but the cost is outrageous. Easily 3x the cost of materials, but she likes the ease of not having to measure and portion everything out. But, there are no leftovers from a $40 meal pack for 2. For $40 I could cook at least 3 suppers and have leftovers for a week of lunches.
The last niece is only 13, so the jury is out on that one. It is promissing that she loves decorate desserts. So in order to decorate, she has to bake the cakes first. And, box cakes don't take frosting as well as homemade, so all her cupcakes are from scratch. She has potential, lol.

It simply boggles my mind when I see and hear how my peers shop and eat.

My DIL, NOT raised in the city, mind you, just helped me peel, core and cut up some apples today....she said she had never peeled an apple before and didn't know how to remove a core from one(she's 28 yrs old and has 3 kids and one on the way). Had to show her how to peel horizontally on the apple instead of vertically. It was a sadness to watch, but it explains why she won't cook for her family...she was just never taught to do so. Until she came into our family, she had never used any other seasoning in foods except for a tiny bit of salt.

They lived out in the country, but that didn't mean they had done anything in the way of food prep of any kind. But apples? I mean, that's pretty basic, isn't it?

It's a whole generation that has too much money on their hands, too many conveniences and too little real life skills and it's sad in a million ways. So many things are becoming lost now, but who in the world~with all these millions of cooking shows on TV~would have expected that something as basic as meal preparation would be a forgotten skill?

Cooking is something you watch on TV, for entertainment. Kind of like... just an other reality TV show. I bet that there is less than 1% of the viewers of these programs who actually roll up their sleeves and cook something that is inspired from watching one of these shows.

Perhaps, if I never cooked, or did anything outside the home... I too could have a home that looks like a Better Homes and Gardens home. Oh yeah... Hubby says we DO have a BH & G home. But, our home looks like the "BEFORE" picture!

It's ok if people want to "heat & eat" -- many have the $$, don't really know there is better in both flavor and nutrition. I just feel it is sad to see the commercial farmers, stores and the labs going to this type of eating. It's sometimes not even "real" food. I don't mean to criticize, just stating facts as to what I see and hear from customers. If they like and want that -- OK.

For me, and the next/ last 30 yrs of my life, I intend to continue to do my own growing, cooking, milking and egg collecting. It's what I enjoy, what I feel gives me the healthy life I have and won't make me a burden on another. Plus, I love my animals & they love me. Even when they destroy a fence, an apple tree, or eat all the collards -- I still love them. True forgiveness. Everyone needs to live well.

My niece agrees that home cooked tastes better, but she just doesn't like to do it. The pre-packaged is just her thing. Her brother however, loves to cook and makes most of the meals at their house. Even though he is still finishing his PHD in Environmental Science and raising 2 little kids, most of what he cooks is from scratch. His wife is a PHD (doctor doctor) so she only gets to cook once in a while. Her schedule is wacky and by letting my nephew cook, she gets more time with the kids

It boils down to priorities. We all have 24 hours in our day. It takes me about 30 - 45 minutes to throw a meal together, and that is usually starting with raw ingredients: thawed meat, veggies that usually need to be prepped before cooking. I feel that I am walking easy street if I can open a can or jar, or dump frozen veggies into a pan to cook instead of (possibly) picking them, washing, prepping, then cooking! Add the benefit of prepping a meal to include left overs to be served just like last night's supper... OR, using last night's supper to make an entirely new, and super easy meal. One of my faves in that department is using last night's meat loaf and potatoes to make Shepherd's pie that will then give us 2 more meals! Factor this in, and it is actually a time saver to cook at home instead of taking the time to stop at a store, fast food, or restaurant on the way home!

My life style is foreign to many, just as their's is to mine! To each his own.

I have one relative who takes pride in the fact that she "doesn't cook any more".

I cook real food. I raise real meat from healthy animals. I raise a garden. I wouldn't have it any other way.

We took 4 lambs to slaughter yesterday. They should be ready for pick up next week. I have enough of the meat sold to cover the slaughter cost, plus the gas to take them there. That means we get a lamb for the freezer and so does our DD and family. Our slaughter and processing is paid for by the meat sales. Win-win.