She Who Shall Not Be Named...
...Has another show on TVFN. This show touts "money saving ideas" blah, blah, blah. It's bad enough when Shamdra Lee tries to pimp taco seasoning mix to those who can afford good food - but now she's luring the less fortunate to the dark side.
As though these people don't have enough problems, now they'll be poor and sick. Ugh.
TVFN boggles the mind almost daily with bad decisions. You think someone would have stood up and said, "Um, this is really not a good idea." That sound of gushing water is the toilet claiming the final shreds of culinary credibility at TVFN.
Whatever.
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33 Comments:
LOL...Yes...we know they've got more junk for us over at TVFN to swallow. Well, somebody is obviously watching/buying into what she's selling and we know it's none of us here! But she obviously appeals to some people, however misguided they may be!
arm1970 at 3:30PM on 04/20/09
If I see her add another can of fruit and another bag of frozen meatballs to a slow cooker, I will scream.
I know there is a backlash against the backlash on this, but I'm sorry. I hate her and I can't hide my scorn.
meem21 at 3:36PM on 04/20/09
As gross as some of her stuff is, it's healthier than what a lot of low income families are forced to live on. I'm by no means a Sandra fan (every time she says "now I want you to..." I want to stick a fork in my eye and swirl it around in my brain). However, I see no reason to criticize any show that gives low income families tips for saving at the grocery store and cooking at home. Yes, she uses some processed ingredients, and yes, most of what she makes looks unappetizing to those of of who are more fortunate. But you can't convince me that a fresh piece of meat browned with some taco seasoning and served alongside frozen veggies isn't healthier than a big mac or a bowl of kraft mac & cheese, which may be a low income family's alternative.
While we may not like Sandra, there is clearly a market for her style; we can't say adding this show "is really not a good idea" simply because we would not be interested. If the ROI for this show is positive and it is a good fit with FN's strategy, then it's a good business decision.
ProfessorChaos at 3:47PM on 04/20/09
I have always enjoyed the way her set kitchen magically changes to coordinate with each "tablescape" (ugh!).
She did make a tasty Indian pudding on a Thanksgiving episode, once. That's the only thing I've been brave/lazy/hungry enough to try.
wheatfoot at 4:07PM on 04/20/09
I agree-- it is always great to see good nutrition being promoted to those struggling (especially in this economy!)
It's just too bad they'll have to get their information from a pearl-wearing, manicured, blonde woman who lives on cupcakes and cocktails...
rdrnr44 at 4:08PM on 04/20/09
i don't wanna get into it about whether her food is healthy or not, but i just can't believe that it tastes good. so many things, i'm like wtf! that can't taste good!
btw, the food network addict participated in a sandra lee party where they made her recipes. his friend's blog post about the party and the recipe disasters is hilarious! i don't wanna get slapped for posting a link here, so you can find it if you're interested.
_greenbean at 4:12PM on 04/20/09
@greenbean - Thanks for the heads up on that site and that party post...I can always use a good laugh!!! That guy is funny.
arm1970 at 4:24PM on 04/20/09
I got into an argument the other night about Shamdra. My friend, who is a a server and should know better said something along the lines of "she insprires poor single mothers to cook" or something to which I responded (I'm an aspiring chef) "SHE TAKES EVERYTHING IT IS THAT I LOVE, CARE ABOUT, AND OBSESS OVER EVERY DAY AND TAKES A BIG SHIT ALL OVER IT WHILE HAVING HER OWN TELEVISION SHOW AND MAKING MORE MONEY THAN I EVER WILL, EVER."
sailordave at 4:47PM on 04/20/09
The woman is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Someone please make her go away!!
soozm32 at 4:53PM on 04/20/09
I thought that they were going to ban her from making ANY sort of food and just give her a show on tablescrapes? I haven't seen it yet folks because I have been off TV (not to my liking) for about 2months and i guess a lot has happened. Sheesh!!
pjracz10 at 5:30PM on 04/20/09
Her food may not be, but she's quite the dish :-b
dmcavanagh at 6:18PM on 04/20/09
@ProfessorChaos you are so right -- she always says "to this i want you to add..." and of course "SUPER SIMPLE" which drives me nuts.
megannesta at 6:27PM on 04/20/09
How much money is she REALLY saving people though? Those pre-chopped frozen vegetables she uses are usually more expensive than the real thing. For example, today I saw her dump a bag of frozen onions, a bag of frozen bell peppers, and a tablespoon of pre-minced garlic into a pan. It made me furious. Her current schtick on her already-existing show is that her food is fast and convenient. Really, how inconvenienced is a person when they have to chop an onion? If you don't feel like cooking, don't cook! It drives me nuts. I will not be watching her new show. She was poor as a kid, she's now a successful host of two Food Network shows. She's not exactly struggling these days.
PumpkinBear at 6:46PM on 04/20/09
@pumpkinbear that's a really good point -- if she's saying she's saving you money but having you buy pre-sliced and pre-packaged produce that's a big contradiction. it's far cheaper to cut it yourself.
megannesta at 6:54PM on 04/20/09
"Cheaper" depends on what you're comparing it to. Pre-peeled, pre-sliced packaged veggies are cheaper than dining at the French Laundry.
Problem solved.
dbcurrie at 7:01PM on 04/20/09
if people are out of work and don't have money, they should buy a few bags of beans and a couple of pounds of brown rice .... and save a lot of money by not buying precut frozen veggies or frozen meatballs, or whatever she's pushing. time is not an issue.
i have to laugh when people cry that they can't afford to eat healthy food.... what do you think our parents/grandparents did during the first depression?my grandmothers could make a meal out of a few onions, garlic a little parsley, olive oil and pasta, or a soup made from a few bones that would feed them for a few days.
anyway, i never trust a skinny cook who dolls herself up .... she must have a spray bottle of stain remover off camera in case she spills some product she's pushing on her polyester ruffles.
pooch at 7:02PM on 04/20/09
OMG. i am a poor, single mother and i DO NOT need that palate-less hag. Why do people assume that all of us poor single moms are stupid and illiterate? yeah, i've had a rough year, but i certainly know how to cook a cheap meal that's more healthful than mac 'n cheese.
i agree with pooch, i'm eating more brown rice, whole wheat pasta and beans from the bulk section. small portions of fish and good cheese. whatever veggies are on sale, NOT frozen, diced and pre-cooked. mostly still organic. my 8 month old eats what i do, put through the food mill. he never liked baby food, and this is waaay cheaper than organic baby food by the jar.
dmarina at 8:09PM on 04/20/09
Anyone who can be described as "a pearl wearing blonde who lives on cupcakes and cocktails" sounds like a real funster! Look, the vast majority of people in this country have no idea where to begin to cook for themselves and must rely solely on dreadful yet cheap and plentiful fast food. I doubt those unhealthy souls are watching our lovely TV hostess. Oh I am so NOT pro-obesity. Svelte and healthy is faaaabulous, dahling, but Ms Lee's MO is not the ticket. Sorreee Sweeetteeee, me no-likey.....
Pointy at 8:18PM on 04/20/09
I see no reason to criticize any show that gives low income families tips for saving at the grocery store and cooking at home.
I agree - people with low incomes should be eating better, healthier foods. ANY instruction by Sandra Lee ensures this will not happen. She doesn't know how to cook - how can she train another?
The idea here is to help lower-income people eat better, not line the pockets of the makers of Cool Whip, taco seasoning packets and Angel Food Cakes.
Regardless of her claims of saving money, it's more expensive to buy a ready-made product than it is to create a dish at home using REAL ingredients. Home cooking doesn't have to be time consuming, especially on busy weeknights. Needing to do something in a hurry does not necessitate resorting to the likes of LaChoy canned vegetables.
I used to watch her shows and review them to the delight of many. I can't even sit through one now. She's a joke in the culinary world and will continue to be one until she quits using all the junk and finally cooks something.
I must second SailorDave's sentiments. Part of the reason I detest her AND her message is that Shamdra really does take a shit on everything I love about food and cooking. She is the melamine-laced food product on the shelf waiting to be consumed by an unwitting hungry person seeking food - and realizing too late he hasn't found it.
therealchiffonade at 9:37PM on 04/20/09
"Saving Money" is part of the name of Scamdra's new show and I don't believe it for a nano-second. The FN is playing with people who can't afford to be tricked. Shame, shame, shame on you! If it were anyone else but Shamdra, I'd have some measure of hope. With SLop? Sue-eet Jesus, not in a billion years can she really cook real food, and really save money in the process. I exaggerated slightly - not in a million years. I wonder if she'll still have gold gilded full size chairs draped in crap as PART of her centerpiece? She's a real class act, NOT. In this horrible economy, people need help and information to feed their families well, and they get the cool whip princess. Sham, scam, shame!
PerkyMac at 12:09AM on 04/21/09
You'd think with all that money, she'd be able to afford a proper support system. Her girls are resting on her navel.
Her cooking is reminiscent of that website "Gallery of Regrettable Food"...that showcases weird/gross recipes from the 50's and 60's.
sweethunibabi at 1:23AM on 04/21/09
When TVFN had message boards dedicated to each show, a handful of us used to go on Shamdra's and suggest actual solutions to the dreck she used to call food. Alas, TVFN nuked their boards (as they do with anything worth a damn on that network) and many more internet locations are now preaching the Anti-Shamdra doctrine.
I hope that we can reach enough people to circumvent whatever damage Lee does with her horrible prescription of "if it's quicker, it's better - sodium be damned!"
therealchiffonade at 8:37AM on 04/21/09
Um...has it occurred to anyone that perhaps she will NOT be using expensive pre-chopped frozen veggies and such on the new, money-saving show? Has it also occurred to any of you that for a lot of people living in inner cities, with no means of transportation to the produce stands in the nicer parts of the city, frozen produce is acutally cheaper than fresh? Perhaps judgment should be reserved until everyone has watched a few episodes.
Or maybe you can all see into the future and you know exactly what ingredients she'll use on the new show. But I'm guessing if that was the case, you'd all be busy buying lottery tickets, not taking out your aggressions on someone you've never met.
@damarina - I was not implying that single parents are "stupid and illiterate." I'm not even sure how intelligence entered the conversation - that was your contribution, not mine. I know there are many single parents out there who are great cooks and can cobble together an awesome meal from very little (my mom was one of them). I also know there are millions of people who were never taught even the most basic kitchen skills. For those who suffer the double-whammy of having virtually no kitchen knowledge/confidence and very little income, the idea of spending precious food dollars on something that might turn out to be a dinner-time disaster is terrifying. I believe this show is geared toward those people. If Sandra can teach people with no culinary skills a few basic tricks that will make them more comfortable preparing their own food, then what is the problem?
People, this isn't a social justice issue - she isn't holding a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to use a cake mix or bag of frozen peas. But there is a market for her shows, so clearly that is what some people are looking for. If you are not one of those people, don't watch her show. It's just that simple.
ProfessorChaos at 10:03AM on 04/21/09
I am shocked by the hate here. Not everyone in the world cares about food as religion the way most SE readers do. Just don't watch her show, or any show that makes you this angry. When I was a young working person with no time to really focus on fine dining, I would have loved to have someone like Sandra tell me it was ok to take shortcuts. Now, as an old person with time to cook, I watch those shows that might fit my style, but I would never presume to tell you that you can't watch or cook anything you want.
ocarol at 10:33AM on 04/21/09
I'm just really happy this person's shows don't air in Canada. Although morbid curiosity may make me search for her in Youtube. :D
AmazonGoddess at 10:55AM on 04/21/09
She's not giving demos at the local WIC center, she's doing a show on the Food Network. The people who will watch the show are paying for the preferred cable package. You could argue that that is a bad financial decision in and of itself, but I think it's silly to suggest that she is somehow harming the poor. There's a fine line between love and hate. I think that some people who complain about Sandra Lee secretly love her, because they clearly spend a lot of time thinking about her.
juliec at 11:30AM on 04/21/09
How can this show help poor people when many poor people can't afford cable tv?
Embackus at 2:25PM on 04/21/09
ProfessorChaos, I assume you were referring to me, although you misspelled my name :)
I was actually referring to SailorDave, who mentioned his friend said SL could help poor, single moms.
Especially with what's been happening in the economy the past year, us "poor people" range from every walk of life, in every part of the country.
I don't think a cable cooking show hosted by a fussy blonde woman that takes the ethnicity out of every dish she cooks and turns it into a bland mish-mash is going to inspire any "inner-city" people.
That's not who she's marketed towards.
dmarina at 7:44PM on 04/21/09
HAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! OH MYGOSH. AGREEEEEDDD WITH ALL THESE ABOVE!! THANK YOU FOR VALIDATING MY VEHEMENCE!
emilytaylor at 9:53PM on 04/21/09
can't believe I'm saying this but, come on guys, don't be hatin' on Aunt Sandee. Clearly the evil marketing people at FN clearly feel that the economic downturn is hot hot hot and want to jump on that crazy band wagon by programming to it! Sandra is just the perfect talking head to do it. Can't picture Ina or Nigella or Bobby telling us how to save money, can you? Think it will sound realistic coming out of Paula's butter coated mouth??
spiceweasel at 5:04PM on 04/22/09
Okay
Barely know her or who she is but based on all of the web feedback on several blogs and communties I have to say I'm so glad she isn't on foodtv Canada. *knock on wood*
hungrychristel at 8:52PM on 04/22/09
I'd be utterly shocked if Lee didn't apply her schlock style of "cooking" by using sub standard ingredients on the new show. It's what she knows.
Poor people have to learn how to cook real food for less money, not throw together garbage in the interest of filling their families full of empty calories and chemicals.
therealchiffonade at 11:00PM on 04/24/09
I'm allergic to soy. I can't eat any of her recipes anyhow. I do, however, appreciate her marketing - very smart.
WickedGoodDinner at 2:33PM on 04/29/09