Store-bought yogurt is such an innocuous thing to complain about! I make my own because I prefer the taste, but if I liked the taste of store-bought I would switch in an instant. In general, buying store-bought things with just a few ingredients is fine.

I do judge UMC families who rarely cook and continuously rotate a selection of take-out and frozen food. Cooking should be something like laundry or dishes - you just do it. People should be disciplined instead of lazy.

I make my own Mac and cheese occasionally and that stuff is NOT better for you. Like 3 kinds of cheese and toasted breadcrumbs. It's tasty. Cheap and good for you it is not.

Anonymous wrote:Is it better that I buy the Annie’s organic boxed Mac and cheese rather than Kraft?

I love the Annie's brand, too. It tastes better to me, and the nutrition stats are marginally better. I wouldn't feed it to my kid for every meal, but it's hardly killing them.

I love a good troll post as much as anyone so this has at least been amusing.

On the serious side, I get infuriated about the lack of definition around "processed" that people use as a sword to shame other parents. I have a "processed" nazi in my extended family. She lectures us constantly (well, no, she is always "just asking" about particular choices we make) about our "processed food." Like, frozen pancakes that our kid eats with peanut butter and maple syrup. I mean, it's (organic!) flour and a little bit of sugar and eggs. Hardly a killer. But to my relative, it's "no pancake for you!" It's "processed" so it's bad.

But the frozen breakfast sausage, pre-jarred Alfredo sauce, or whatever else she feeds her family, somehow it's a different definition of "processed" to her.

Because that “healthy” stuff tastes like cardboard.

I want to poison my children. And I am too lazy to care about them or their health, so I feed them easy garbage.

Is that what you wanted to hear, OP?

Look, my teen and toddler are straight up mean when they get hungry. I do not have time to be fiddling around making my own cheese, yogurt, etc. I do not live in Little House on the Prairie for a reason.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry I had to step away to boil the Buitoni tortellini, heat up the Rao’s and bake the New York Bakery garlic bread. But the Rao’s says it’s homemade on the jar so it’s all good!

This is a typical dinner in our house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What foods aren’t processed? Everything you buy at the grocery store has been through a process to bring it there. Do you live on a farm and grow all your food yourself?

I mean if it has a lot of ingredients you can't pronounce then it's probably not that good for you. If it has a lot of sugar or sodium it's probably not that good for you. Foods that have these things tend to be more processed than produce. Not that complicated.

This is such a lame cop out. If it has a lot of ingredients you can’t pronounce, it just means you’re scientifically illiterate. Nothing more.

You sound like a sad person.

You're right, it doesn't mean much by itself, but it is a marker of being very processed, which is often associated with a lot of added sugar and/or sodium.

Oh no! Your food might have the dreaded dihydrogen monoxide!

Seriously are you just trolling?

Like I make my own pizza sometimes. If I were to order a pizza from the store, it takes 5 minutes. If I make my own pizza there's a solid 2 hours of work in there and I have to start the night before. And no I don't make my own mozzarella or something ridiculous like that. I'm not obtuse enough to ever criticize people for NOT making their own pizza because stuff takes time.

It's in our rivers!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious? It takes no time to make homemade foods. Even yogurt can be easily made for less and it's healthier and you can control the quality of ingredients. I don't understand why anyone would buy a frozen waffle or granola bar.

I don’t think you understand what the word “time” means.

+1. Op is a troll or stupid or both.

+1

Is it better that I buy the Annie’s organic boxed Mac and cheese rather than Kraft?

Thanks for the mom shaming I didn’t know I needed today! I buy processed granola bars and pre made food because my toddler decided on a whim what he’ll eat one day and not the next. Or because I’m working full time with no childcare throughout the pandemic and my mental health matters too. Selfish, amirite??

Oh man, of course this is in the infants/toddlers thread... just wait OP...

Sorry I had to step away to boil the Buitoni tortellini, heat up the Rao’s and bake the New York Bakery garlic bread. But the Rao’s says it’s homemade on the jar so it’s all good!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What foods aren’t processed? Everything you buy at the grocery store has been through a process to bring it there. Do you live on a farm and grow all your food yourself?

I mean if it has a lot of ingredients you can't pronounce then it's probably not that good for you. If it has a lot of sugar or sodium it's probably not that good for you. Foods that have these things tend to be more processed than produce. Not that complicated.

I’m the pp you’re responding to. Thanks for taking the time to explain but I was just being facetious.

It sounds like I correctly identified you as a moron.

NP. I don't think you know what moron means. Or facetious. I can't tell if you're trying to be snarky or can't read the room or are just rude.

Talk to someone who works in the industry, all food you get at a grocery store is considered "processed."

+1. I love it when people take posts literally and can’t see any nuance in them. The first pp above was just taking issue with the OP’s description of not feeding kids processed food without acknowledging that all food is processed and therefore it’s stupid to say you don’t feed your kids processed food. The next PP didn’t understand that and felt the need to explain what junk food is lol.