Now the damn kids have ruined my sauce...

Quote
entitude413
Kim, there are actually a couple of books out there with "recipes" for hiding healthy food in the unhealthier stuff so the kiiiiids will eat it. One is by Jerry Seinfeld's wife...an annoying, twit of a woman...and is called "Deceptively Delicious". What ever happened to "you eat what I give you to eat, or you don't eat at all"??

No kidding. And actually, she didn't come up with all that, she ripped off another woman, I think she was an editor at Healthy Living magazine, or some other big magazine like that.

Yeah, parents are too chicken-shit, stupid and idiotic to lay down the law and say eat this or go hungry. Noooo, everything has to be healthy for teh chiiiiiiidruuuuun.

We better get used to goddamn mcnuggets.

Quote
WaterLily
I hate it when someone will make something too spicy/hot, when they know you can't stand it.

Sometimes I order anchovies so I can have the whole pizza to myself.

j/k one slice with anchovies on it is enough for a whole year.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"I have learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everyone off is easy and fun as hell"

:eatu

Quote
yurble

Quote
law1204
I am convinced that people who "sneak" food into other food when they find out you don't eat a certain thing are being controlling and abusive. It's a lack of respect for you and your boundaries.

Agreed, I think that's just plain awful. People are always bragging about doing that to vegetarians, for instance. Why can't you respect someone's dietary decisions, especially if you don't know the reason behind it?

You know, I used to be a vegetarian, and if anyone had done this to me, I think I would have slapped the shit out of them. I never badgered any of my meat-eating friends or family into trying soymilk or veggie burgers, and I expect the same courtesy.

I will admit though, that I get kind of irritated by really picky eaters, but I am not going to waste my time cajoling them into trying this or that. More for me, anyway!

Quote
entitude413
...On the label: "Ragu believes in helping moms Feed Our Kids Well (with caps, and a copyright symbol..apparently this is some kind of new slogan). That's why Ragu Old World Style Traditional has a new, naturally thicker recipe that's packed with 2 full servings of veggies in every 1/2 cup of sauce. Your whole family will love the smooth and delicious flavor of Old World Style Traditional"

WHAT?!?! My entire life, they have been successfully selling the same recipe and style of sauce, and now because the fucking kids need more veggies, they have the nerve to fuck with perfection?!?!

I know it's only sauce...but, what the fuck.

Picture a marketing meeting in progress:

"How can we lower the production cost of each jar of Ragu?"

"I know....fill half of it with cheap vegetable slurry, dyed red."

"Who's gong to buy THAT?"

"Say it's healthier for The Children!"

"God DAMN, Jenkins, you're a miracle worker!"

Quote
SlumSlut

Quote
WaterLily
I hate it when someone will make something too spicy/hot, when they know you can't stand it.

Sometimes I order anchovies so I can have the whole pizza to myself.

j/k one slice with anchovies on it is enough for a whole year.

LOL. There ok in my Caesar salad dressing, but not in my pizza.

Quote
Miss_Hannigan

Quote
entitude413
...On the label: "Ragu believes in helping moms Feed Our Kids Well (with caps, and a copyright symbol..apparently this is some kind of new slogan). That's why Ragu Old World Style Traditional has a new, naturally thicker recipe that's packed with 2 full servings of veggies in every 1/2 cup of sauce. Your whole family will love the smooth and delicious flavor of Old World Style Traditional"

WHAT?!?! My entire life, they have been successfully selling the same recipe and style of sauce, and now because the fucking kids need more veggies, they have the nerve to fuck with perfection?!?!

I know it's only sauce...but, what the fuck.

Picture a marketing meeting in progress:

"How can we lower the production cost of each jar of Ragu?"

"I know....fill half of it with cheap vegetable slurry, dyed red."

"Who's gong to buy THAT?"

"Say it's healthier for The Children!"

"God DAMN, Jenkins, you're a miracle worker!"

This. Breeders are gullible and will believe anything. We cf know better.

---

lab mom

I just visited Ragu.com... they're marketing their sauce as being "healthier" and yet they're featuring a recipe for "spaghetti tacos." This just shows the Lazy Moo Mentality. She'll serve her children a meal that's basically processed carbs piled onto more processed carbs with a little bit of "healthy veggie" sauce and then heaped with two different kinds of cheese. Moos can't take the initiative to cook healthy dinners but GAWD FORBID the spaghetti sauce that takes her two seconds to add to the meal isn't healthy enough for the chyldrun!

I have to kind of disagree about "sneaking" certain ingredients into things or tricking people into trying new things. 2 Cases in point: 1 A friend of mind never wanted to try squid merely because of the way it looked. So I took her to an excellent Italian restaurant in which Calamari Salad was one of the items on it's salad bar. The stuff was absolutely DELICIOUS and I knew for a fact that she would really like it if she just got past the "squicky squid" factor. I told her it was eggplant salad (there were no leggy thingies in the salad) and she took one bite and was in food Heaven! She ate it and went back up for seconds. The waitress kind of blew it by saying, "Isn't that calamari salad delicious?" My friend looked at me and said, "I'm SO glad you fooled me!" Every time we went back to that restaurant, she went up for 2nds and 3rds of that salad!

2 My husband refused to eat venison because honestly, he simply never had it (among other things thanks to his LAZY mother who let him eat hot dogs, cereal and sweets, along with canned shit his whole life.) I had a SHITLOAD of fresh venison which my uncle bagged himself and made chili. Half beef, half venison. He ate the chili and RAVED about it. He didn't even notice a "different" flavor, as matter of fact, he commented that the beef was "really fresh tasting." When I told him it was venison, at first he was pissed, but thereafter, he always asked me when I was going to make that chili again with the deermeat.

I hate the stigma about veggies and how kids are supposed to hate them because they are good for you. Healthful does not equal "bad tasting." As far as I am concerned, kids (and adults) who turn their noses up at veggies because of the healthy factor are being ignorant. TRY IT ONCE. If you don't like it, THEN you don't have to eat it again. There are still tons of things dh won't eat because of the way it looks or the fact that he had just never tried it. This makes me more angry with his lazy moo than HIM.

I am amazed that kids don't like veggies. True story-when I was little I turned orange because I ate too much squash. Also, my parents never tried to hide the contents of the food from me and I never really ate processed crap because we have a garden in the summer.

My marinara sauce can be found here

---

lab mom

I loved vegetables and fruits (and still do). Wonders of all wonders....I guess us kids ate better (and by far healthier) stuff in the 80/90's, than these overly coddled kids nowadays.

---

lab mom

Even Count Chocula's don't taste as good now as they did back when I was a kid. :bawl

Mexican Pepsi and Coca cola is sweeter and tastes better than American Pepsi or cola. Wonder of all wonders...........

---

lab mom

Quote
Tiquer

Quote
law1204
I am convinced that people who "sneak" food into other food when they find out you don't eat a certain thing are being controlling and abusive. It's a lack of respect for you and your boundaries.

Completely agree. In reference to KK's and gymrat's posts, ANYONE tricking people into eating food they do not want to eat (for whatever reason) is simply reprehensible. Anyone whose culinary goal is to deceive in order to "change your mind" about venison, beans, or any other food, also has the emotional maturity of a four-year old.

I don't know HOW that I could have forgotten to have mentioned the NUMEROUS deer killers too who will sneak it on you! First I'd like to make it PERFECTLY clear that I agree that venison is good because God knows it has been sneaked in on me enough times for me to have had it in chili, stew, kabobs, etc.......However, I do NOT choose to purposely eat deer and I have several reasons for that choice, NONE of which has to do with it NOT being "good". It has NOTHING to do with it "just being cooked right" either. I have had the shit PLAIN as a hamburger and unknowingly ate it and had no complaint with the taste, but I just don't WANT to eat it and these hillbillies and rednecks that I grew up around and currently live among will NOT accept that choice.

I have heard every Venison "bingo" that there is including, but not limited to, the following:

1)You can't tell the difference (Actually, YES I CAN and in most cases, it's actually better tasting, but SO not the point)
2)It's leaner than cow (True, but so are horses)
3)You know where the deer has been(No, not really,and neither do they! )
4)The cow has to be killed too(The fact that an animal has been killed isn't the issue in this case)
5)It's not Bambi (UMMmmmm, I hadn't thought that it was)
6)It's free (Uh, NO it isn't. Deer hunters spend THOUSANDS per season in the pursuit and acquisition of deer including on guns, ammunition, clothing, deer calls, scent crap, and other bullshit including CASES of beer and TANKS of gas getting to and fro their hunting grounds)


I am quite certain that, "if cooked properly" and unknown to me, that I would find the following meats SCRUMP-DILLY-UMP-SHUSH:

1)Cat
2)Dog
3)Alligator
4)Frogs
5)Horse
6)Chimpanzee
7)Raccoon
8)Squirrel
9)Rabbit
10)People

HOWEVER, for reasons only known to me, I choose NOT to consume these meats and I would be LIVID if someone slipped it in on me to PROVE that I, "couldn't tell the difference" or any of the other bingos like with deer. I believe in FULL DISCLOSURE when it comes to food and don't understand why that some people will NOT cease with the food sneaking nonsense. Ridiculously, the best way to combat the food bullies is to beat them at their own game by PRETENDING to want to eat the shit by enthusiastically saying, "I do hope that someone brought some of that WONDERFUL venison that we had last time!" This will draw them out because they will immediately start telling you about their "kill" and bragging about how it was processed and/or prepared. Then, I can just inconspicuously pass it over and move on to the cow. :dindin

One time my "enthusiasm" landed me with a "gift" bag full of deer meat and I just gave it to some raccoons who don't have any apparent aversions to consuming deer meat, so it wasn't wasted and everybody was happy. (except Bambi)

------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

Quote
kidlesskim
I am quite certain that, "if cooked properly" and unknown to me, that I would find the following meats SCRUMP-DILLY-UMP-SHUSH:


10)People

It's the other, other white meat!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walk the path of life to my own rhythm, my own beat-if you don't like it, step off and find your own damn song!

Quote
Christhead
I just visited Ragu.com... they're marketing their sauce as being "healthier" and yet they're featuring a recipe for "spaghetti tacos." This just shows the Lazy Moo Mentality. She'll serve her children a meal that's basically processed carbs piled onto more processed carbs with a little bit of "healthy veggie" sauce and then heaped with two different kinds of cheese. Moos can't take the initiative to cook healthy dinners but GAWD FORBID the spaghetti sauce that takes her two seconds to add to the meal isn't healthy enough for the chyldrun!

I wonder...does anyone have a jar of the old stuff? Or maybe one of the small jars, since someone mentioned that was original. It would be interesting to compare the nutritional information on the back.

Quote
labwoman
I have to kind of disagree about "sneaking" certain ingredients into things or tricking people into trying new things. 2 Cases in point: 1 A friend of mind never wanted to try squid merely because of the way it looked. So I took her to an excellent Italian restaurant in which Calamari Salad was one of the items on it's salad bar. The stuff was absolutely DELICIOUS and I knew for a fact that she would really like it if she just got past the "squicky squid" factor. I told her it was eggplant salad (there were no leggy thingies in the salad) and she took one bite and was in food Heaven! She ate it and went back up for seconds. The waitress kind of blew it by saying, "Isn't that calamari salad delicious?" My friend looked at me and said, "I'm SO glad you fooled me!" Every time we went back to that restaurant, she went up for 2nds and 3rds of that salad!

2 My husband refused to eat venison because honestly, he simply never had it (among other things thanks to his LAZY mother who let him eat hot dogs, cereal and sweets, along with canned shit his whole life.) I had a SHITLOAD of fresh venison which my uncle bagged himself and made chili. Half beef, half venison. He ate the chili and RAVED about it. He didn't even notice a "different" flavor, as matter of fact, he commented that the beef was "really fresh tasting." When I told him it was venison, at first he was pissed, but thereafter, he always asked me when I was going to make that chili again with the deermeat.

I hate the stigma about veggies and how kids are supposed to hate them because they are good for you. Healthful does not equal "bad tasting." As far as I am concerned, kids (and adults) who turn their noses up at veggies because of the healthy factor are being ignorant. TRY IT ONCE. If you don't like it, THEN you don't have to eat it again. There are still tons of things dh won't eat because of the way it looks or the fact that he had just never tried it. This makes me more angry with his lazy moo than HIM.

Well, I agree that people should not be prejudiced against a particular food, but I figure that it is their loss. I'm a picky eater (in that there are a lot of things I don't like), but I'm willing to try everything that's not toxic and that I'm not allergic to at least once. Who knows, I may end up really loving chocolate-covered ants or something else that is viewed as weird in my culture. But I think the responsibility is on me to try these things, not on someone else to sneak them on me.

I've tried 5 of the meats on Kim's list, in addition to deer, of course. I'm not too fond of alligator or rabbit.

Quote
mistress rotwang
I am amazed that kids don't like veggies. True story-when I was little I turned orange because I ate too much squash. Also, my parents never tried to hide the contents of the food from me and I never really ate processed crap because we have a garden in the summer.

I didn't care much for vegetables when I was a child, but they've grown on me. There were only a few I liked: corn, spinach, fresh peas from the garden. I hated zucchini, frozen peas, and all the other stuff that we ate a lot of. It's not uncommon for children not to like vegetables, as their palates are more sensitive (although you wouldn't think that, after reading stories about children eating dog shit and similar crap). So there is a reason most children don't want to eat vegetables, and it's not always a case of 'spoiled brats' or 'parents only feed them junk': food doesn't taste the same to most children as it does to adults. In particular, vegetables often seem more bitter.

The problem is that people don't realize that their tastes will change, and they develop the idea that they don't like something, based on a childhood memory, and never challenge that assumption.

I was sneakily fed camel by my father years ago. Yes. Camel. He gave me what he claimed was s steak sandwich & proceeded to laugh his ass off at me when he told me what it was. He claimed I couldn't tell the difference. Maybe not so much taste-wise but as far as texture went, I'd have had an easier time chewing an old boot.

My wife for a long time, didn't like most vegetables because her mother always boiled them to the point where they were mush. She even did that with canned vegetables. She started cooking them on her own, in the microwave, or just heating them, and discovered they could be good. After that, she learn to like most vegetables.

For a long time I didn't care much for spaghetti because I always found it hard to eat, but did like other forms of pasta. I was a little clumsy when I was a kid plus I always got low grades in penmanship. My penmanship is still pretty bad, which I might be a coordination problem or something. I eventually did change my mind and started eating spaghetti, but I still prefer the other types of pasta for reasons already mentioned.

Another thing with foods and kids, and sometimes adults, is the textures of them. There are some foods I've tried where the taste is OK, but the texture feels weird in my mouth and it takes me time to adjust to it. That may also be part of it.

My nephew used to be a picky eater and for a while, he ate mostly cereals, cereal bars, peanut butter/jelly sandwiches, and blueberries. My mother thought, after watching my brother's family interact, the kid did it for attention. It was a case where one child was worshipped and the other was the family garbage bin. Having been there myself, I know how the kid felt.

JD

Quote
Medusa
Even Count Chocula's don't taste as good now as they did back when I was a kid. :bawl

That too! None of the classic monster cereals are the same anymore, except the marshmallows...those things are eternally the same. But the crunchy things are all screwed up now.

My complaint to the douchebags at Ragu has been lodged. This is what I got for a response:

"Thank you for writing to us. We do apologize for the experience you reported concerning Ragu.

Please understand that taste is highly individual. Before changing a sauce Ragu goes though extensive consumer taste tests. We are aware that preferences differ.

Because we value consumer opinion, we appreciate your contacting us. We will pass along your comments and experience to our Brand Manager and the marketing staff. Consumer comments are very important to us and are evaluated on a regular basis.

We will be happy to replace this with a product of your choice.

Sincerely, Your friends at Ragu"

Whatever.

OMG alligator meat is SO GOOD.

I had to convince my ex husband years ago to try sushi. After many moons of slowly getting him to eat California roll with no seaweed, he finally moved into actual tuna and salmon sashimi and loved it. I never forced it on him. I doubt he ever goes out to sushi these days though. Oh well, more for me!

Good point, John Drake, about the PREPARATION of things... For some reason, folks from "back when" used to cook the beejeebers out of veggies, thus rendering them mushy, virtually flavorless, and let's not forget that the vitamin content goes up in vapors. That, in and of itself, is one reason why many kids don't like veggies. But I know in the case of dh, it's because he and his sibs were not fed properly because MIL did not like to cook, instead whipped out the Ghettios, HoHo's, and cereal. Lots of kids just grow up clueless about certain foods because they'd never had the opportunity to eat or even SEE various foods. I find it to be quite sad, actually.

I was an only child and my parents grew up eating a lot of things that were perceived as "cheap" such as headcheese, and various sausages. The first time I tried headcheese, I looked at it, looked up at my dad, back at the headcheese and scratched my head (no pun intended.) My dad said, "Well, go ahead, try it, you might like it. You don't have to eat it anymore if you don't like it." I sniffed it, then I ate it, then I ate some more and asked for another piece. However, I still refuse to eat liver, gizzards, kidneys and other innard meat - simply based on the fact that for one, I know that those organs are the body's "filtration system" where toxins run through. And, I did try them and didn't like them, Sam I am. So I won't, 'til this day, eat them.

As far as the kids of today go, it seems to be advertised that "what is good for you must taste really icky." And that's a bad thing to advertise. And the stupid, lazy parents indulge their kids in McPukes and Booger Fling way too often, so trying something that's actually GOOD FOR THEM is scaaaaary!

As far as the Ragu goes, I WOULD write to the company and tell them about your dislike for the IMPROVED recipe. I would not doubt that you are not the only one who wants the old stuff back on the shelves. I, personally, am not a fan of jarred sauces, but that's because I make my own versionS: a vegetarian version, the time-honoured Sicilian gravy (that's cooked with pork neckbones), and a basic sauce with ground beef/Italian sausage.

Oh, by the way, one of the ingredients that MAY be too acidic and rough on your stomach is tomato PASTE. I have to watch how much I put in my sauces because I get a nasty case of heartburn from it.

Saw a full page ad in a magazine last night...Prego is following Ragu's lead with a "full serving of vegetables" sauce. I hope it's a new sauce, and they're not going to mess up every single one of their sauces with pureed vegetables, even though I much prefer other brands to Prego these days (Classico, Bertolli, Paul Newman's, Aldi's Priano pesto rosso and pesto verde....)

The Prego ad is exceptionally disgusting : It shows a science fair with a "boy genius" who's figured out how to get vegetable servings into things like pasta sauce, and he has the requisite "food smeared all over his face" look that breeders find cute and the rest of us find nauseating. I hate ads (tv or print) that think it's cute to smear food all over faces to show how tasty it allegedly is.

The first four ingredients in this new Ragu are "tomato paste (water, tomato puree), soybean oil, salt, sugar". If a serving of vegetables is half a cup, then how in hell is half a cup of this crap TWO servings of vegetables? As far as I can tell, it's just ketchup with some oil added and perhaps less sugar. I've noticed though that companies have figured out that they can sell anything by saying that something is "mawm-friendly", "kyd-friendly", by pandering to them by saying "mawms know best!" or pulling fake empathy about the bizzzeee-mawm "lifestyle".