Why Do We Put Up With This Stuff?

You know I don’t really have that many things to complain about in life, but I do have a few things listed below that really irk me when it comes to certain food products. Among those products are the snack size salty and savory snacks, the lunchbox sized fruit pies, individual sized pot pies, some Asian dishes like sesame and orange chicken, and finally some soups in a can. Why am I calling out these products? Because they are lacking in some product traits which I will name below.?

1.??? Snack sized salty or savory snacks – Are these made for little kids or something? Have you ever opened up one of those small bags only to find that there are only 11 cheese twisties per bag? Or wondering why there are only 8 potato chips per bag? Now I don’t know about you, but I need more than 11 cheese twisties, or 8 potato chips as a snack for an adult sized person. And yes, I know I can eat 2 or 3 bags to get my fill, but why put that little of product in the bag to begin with? Make a bigger bag (and I know some companies do just that) and charge more for it.?

2.??? Lunchbox sized fruit pies – Ever go to the grocery store and see one of those lunch box sized fruit pies (and I use the word “fruit pie” very loosely!)? The box shows the pie “overflowing with loads of fruit filling coming from the inside of the of the pie crust”. Hardly! What you get is a lot of colored starch gel, with one or two fruit pieces dispersed in the fruit gel if you are lucky! Half the time you are wondering where the fruit pieces are. Why make these so cheaply? Actually, put some more fruit in there and charge more if you have to. Now don’t get me wrong, I like pie crust just as much as the next person, but come on, add some more fruit!?

3.??? Individual sized pot pies – See my comments about the fruit pies above. By the time you get past the doughy crust, the pot pie filling contains very little meat, and more of the cheaper vegetables. I picked one up at the store and found my filling to contain mostly carrots, a few potatoes, and 3 or 4 small pieces of chicken for this chicken pot pie. And let’s talk about the amount of filling you get in the pot pie. It’s probably about a tablespoon or two at the most. So, what you get is mostly dough or crust. And yes, as an adult, I need more than one to fill me up. Why don’t they make these things BIGGER, with more filling? I think everyone would like MORE filling and LESS dough per serving! Isn’t chicken pot pie supposed to have mostly, chicken??

4.??? Asian fast food (or frozen) – I tend to stay away from orange, sesame chicken or General Tso’s chicken simply because of the breading surrounding the chicken piece. It’s mostly cheap breading and a very small piece of the chicken. If I wanted all of that breading, I would order fried chicken. Make the meat pieces BIGGER!?

5.??? Frozen Fried chicken – See above for the breaded Asian food. Generally, frozen fried chicken has A LOT of breading coating that smaller chicken piece. Do all of the smaller chicken go for frozen fried chicken? Can’t you grow the chickens a bit bigger and then put less breading on the chicken piece when you coat them? I think you can!?

6.??? Canned soups – Again, I understand the “meat portion” is the most expensive ingredient in the can, but don’t skimp on that portion. Who wants clam chowder that is mostly potatoes with very little clams added to the can? Or beef soup that is mostly vegetables and potatoes, and very little meat (see my comments about pot pies above). If that’s the case, call it potato soup!?

So, food companies take notice. I don’t think Americans like all of the cheaper carbohydrates that seemed to be pushed on us in everyday life and in our foods. You know, in the old days they used to price milk (or give a bonus to dairy farmers) by the amount of butterfat it contained, until Americans realized fat was bad for them, and everyone wanted a higher protein containing milk. I know milk is still priced by the hundredweight, but I have heard the bonuses are paid for protein now instead of fat. Just think of the resurgence that cottage cheese has had as a high protein food or used as a base in smoothies and even homemade ice cream! Give us more protein. Nuff said!

?

?

?