Voices > A Frozen Confession
A Frozen Confession
My secret love of TV dinners
By Elizabeth Sutliff
As a young girl, I would beg my mom to buy TV dinners. The meals were a rare treat in my house, reserved only for the evenings when my parents would leave a babysitter in charge.
I loved the excitement of waiting for my tray to emerge from the microwave after the distinct aroma of a Swanson TV Dinner had filled the kitchen. I loved the little compartments for individual servings, separating my food so it didn’t touch. As I dug into the dinner I would enjoy an episode of Full House. My simple palate relished in the flavorful meal, which contained fried chicken accompanied by gritty mashed potatoes with a little, yellow blotch of butter in the middle. Dessert was a half-thawed chocolate brownie.
Ever since C.A. Swanson & Sons introduced the TV dinner in 1954, frozen meals have been a staple in America’s kitchens. A phenomenon of the post-World War II era, the invention grew in popularity in conjunction with the increasing demands for a television in the modern home. Originally sold in aluminum trays, the first frozen meals were designed to be heated in the oven. Their popularity grew quickly, relieving mothers of the responsibilities for making a meal. Now they could attend book clubs, volunteer, or even have jobs. Whether it was meatloaf and mashed potatoes or fried chicken and green peas, the June Cleavers of America were finally able to take a night off from the monotony of home cooking and washing dishes.
An easy target of many jokes, the stereotypical frozen dinner, such as Hungry-Man, has become synonymous with food that is unsophisticated, unappetizing, unhealthy, and yes, the root of much unwanted indigestion. As the obesity epidemic in America continues to increase, many nutritionists recommend that consumers avoid foods high in artificial additives, fat and sodium. With some frozen dinners containing more than 200 percent of one’s daily value for cholesterol, there is no denying that some of these pre-packaged meals are the least nutritionally sound options in the grocer’s freezer aisle.
With that said, isn’t there even a modicum of a praise we can muster up about this cultural icon? Dare I say that I, an avid reader of Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines, enjoy the taste of a Stouffer’s Macaroni & Cheese fresh from the microwave?
More than 50 years after the first TV dinners were sold, Americans like myself continue to buy the complete, prepackaged meals by the cart full. The simplicity of a frozen dinner was a landmark invention, and many people have fond memories associated with the comforting frozen dinners. With an entire aisle devoted to them, it’s possible to enjoy a meal from every continent on the globe. I should know. I’ve done it. From egg rolls and fried rice on Monday, to a spicy, Mexican enchilada on Friday, it’s a culturally enlightening experience indeed. Albeit, the salty tour has been known to cause a bit of heartburn, so just remember to pack the Tums before embarking on your journey.
As long as convenience and comfort reign supreme as two of my greatest needs for a good meal, I am willing to risk a little indigestion in order to have my nostalgic, Swanson TV dinner on a tray.