I was a Lean Cuisine connoisseur in college :)

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Frozen food! Man I remeber those icey popsicle sticks, those were the best. The green bean and mash potato flavored ones were awesome!

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I'm still a Lean Cuisine connoisseur! Not to mention frozen pizza and healthy choice meals with the random Amy's organic burritos thrown in. Who's got time to cook nowadays with work/commuting, etc?

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Why is everyones perception of cooking your own food time consuming? Sure, some dishes take considerable time...but there are plenty of things that take 30 minutes or less...even more that you can make a lot of a freeze yourself.
Of course, we all chow down on the "easy"/frozen food now and again..but that has got to get expensive, no?

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I'm a huge fan of the new "spa" line from Lean Cuisine. They feature whole grains and brown rice! (Unheard of healthiness in frozen meals! Fiber?? What's that?!)

Sodium is still pretty high, tho' :(

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Frozen dinners are ideal for my 88 year old dad who lives alone, doesn't know how to cook, and can't drive to a restaurant. At least he's getting a balanced meal in 8 microwave minutes.

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Cooking *is* time-consuming, even the so-called 30-minute meals. You have to plan your shopping so you have the right ingredients, actually shop (frozen is often at Walgreen's or convenience stores, while fresh food requires a trip to a real grocery or the farmer's market), make sure everything is defrosted that needs to be (and also fresh, if it may go bad), do all the prep (usually underestimated), pay attention to the meal while it cooks (as these usually require stirring while you saute), and then clean up an array of prep materials afterwards (there are always pans, even if you wash as you go). Oh -- and make sure you've timed all this to your partner's work and commuting schedule, unless you like your dinners either overcooked or after 8 p.m.!

And after all that, you're still limited to bits of things saute'd together, with some noodles or rice, as you can't roast much in 30 minutes (that'd be 24 minutes if you add in oven preheating time, or 19 minutes if you also let your meat rest at all).

This is why refrigerated precooked pot roast is a blessing bestowed upon us by a generous deity, as are good-quality frozen veg.

I'm not a huge fan of most frozen dinners -- though frozen pizza is incredibly useful as a base for better things (pizza dough from scratch takes a lot more than 30 minutes) -- but well-chosen convenience foods are da bomb.

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I looked in my freezer to confirm. Zero prepared frozen food. I do buy frozen chicken wings, calimari and such, but it's very rare I buy frozen meals. The only thing I can think of in recent times are Trader Joe's frozen quiche ( probably a year ago ) and Trader Joes frozen Steel Cut Oats more recently. The oatmeal was so I could examine the consistency and packaging. Now when I make a big batch of Irish Oatmeal I'll freeze chunks for use later.

What I do have in my freezer besides raw foods are things I prepare myself. I have frozen Paella from a couple months ago, spaghetti sauce, roast turkey, waffles. When I cook I'll very often cook large batches and vacuum pack leftovers for use later.

So for those who insist cooking takes too much time, cook less often, but make lots and freeze it. You'll end up with better food, less mystery ingredients and usually pay a lot less.

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I'm not a fan of frozen foods other than vegetables and only if I can't get fresh.Steaming doesn't take but a few minutes while you can be doing something else. And by the way, has no one ever seen prepared and already cook foods that are now being offered by supermarkets?

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A burger with lean ground beef and a whole wheat bun, maybe fruit, pickles, steamed veggies or roasted potato wedges on the side takes no more than 20 minutes...and is probably better for you than some frozen foods, esp in terms of sodium intake.
There are few dishes to clean up after that (a cutting board, a pot, a fry pan..depending on what you have with it)
...a nice taco salad with fresh (or even canned, if you like beans or corn) veggies and protein doesn't take more than 30 minutes start to finish with dishes...most soups you can buy stock and simply cut up a bunch of veggies and throw them in and let them simmer (no need to stand around the stove). Most red meats only take 10 minutes, if that, of actual cook time...baked potatos can be partially done in a mircowave. rice/pasta can be cooked in large batches and saved throughout the week. Also, you can "preheat" pasta water so when you actually want start dinner, you don't have to wait around for the water to heat up since it already is up to temp...this ensures that when you're ready to eat, it only takes 5ish minutes for the water to boil.

whew sorry for the exhaustive list. I'm not trying to be combative, I'm just saying there definitely are options. But it's true, you have to plan a bit more in advance rather than standing in front of a freezer for 1 minute deciding what to eat. But in the long run, aren't the extra minutes worth your health and your wallet?

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Some good points by Jan, but frozen food has a place in my heart. I frequently prefer good frozen green beans to the best of what the farmers market offers in the off season, and I try to encourage my love of green beans even in defiance of seasonality- they're healthy and I always like them. In regards to cost, I find that there are smart choices in frozen food and dumb ones- "fresh" precooked grocery store food is more expensive and isn't always better, you pay through the nose for any kind of quality ready made meal, and they usually have wretched vegetables. Better to go with a dominant meal component and round it out. I couldn't live without Trader Joe's veggie corn dogs- two of those puppies, apple, salad, soup, other fruit, pick three. I'm not big on breakfast, but I love this. I also consider lean hot pockets or generics acceptable hot calorie sources when I'm wiped out. Freezer to eating in three minutes.

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I started to refute Adrienne's examples, then decided that *was* combative.

I'm just not sure why it's a moral imperative to not use convenience products. Maybe my attitude comes from living in a desert, where fresh produce is limited and expensive -- with a few temporary exceptions, frozen veg are cheaper, better, and available for much more of the year. It's not easier on my wallet to pay $3 a pound for "fresh" green beans that are gray and limp, and I question how many vitamins they have at that stage. After yet another round of "fresh" Chilean grapes that never ripened, I'm feeling good about canned-in-juice pineapple, too.

Food processing dramatically improved most Americans' diets by making fruits and veg available year-round. Is all processed food great? Heck, no. I wouldn't touch most frozen dinners. But it's popular because it fills a real need for nutrition and dietary variety for people who don't live in prime agricultural regions.

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