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Pre-cut vegetables seem like a huge waste of money unless you bringing them on a picnic or are hosting a cocktail party that begins in 5 minutes and literally don't have the time to chop up celery and carrots before your guests arrive, but even then, it's iffy. How long does it take to chop up celery or broccoli? Not long!

@laurelie~I agree. I also saw on the same shopping trip, packages in the produce section that had cut up veggies and other assorted salad toppings that I assume you would put on bagged salad. They were next to chopped onion and other assorted chopped veggies. They all make me wary since they appear a bit watery or wilted.

Has anyone else seen the banana slicer, where you can apparently push it into the form and it cuts it into slices? First of all, are you kidding? I should think that slicing a banana is not the most difficult kitchen task to undertake. But secondly, and this really is what gets me: It's in a very exact form of a stereotypical banana. What happens when you have one that is too big? Or curved too much, or not enough? It really makes me feel like that would totally useless more often than not.

Ditto to the sandwich contraption that supposedly can be pushed down onto plain sandwiches on basic bread (i.e. squares, like Wonder bread) and will automatically cut off the crusts and slice it diagonally. Really. Has it come to this?

@Traveller~You made me LOL. I hadn't seen either one of these things. My 9 year old daughter can manage both of those jobs, so I wonder WHO are these kinds of things actually aimed at? But, then maybe we are odd, since she has been at least stirring things since she could stand on a kitchen stool (with Mom right behind her so she wouldn't fall because she was that little)

I agree with you Traveller. We live in a decadent age.

Primarily PBJ-related products have always puzzled me. The PB with jelly in the jar, and it doesn't even come in many varieties? Or the (intended for kids, I think) PBJ "pockets" that are PBJs with the crust cut off made of extremely substandard ingredients. I've made a PBJ while in a train station in a foreign country with ingredients purchased at a convenience store, in less than a minute. Is it really a time saver?

@savecara.....I saw those pb&j frozen sandwiches.
huh....who would buy those?

When I'm on a budget, whole red leaf lettuce for $1.99 is enough for me for four dinners, but yeah, bagged mache or mesclun is usually what I grab and I don't bother washing and drying it.

Also, the restaurant on my corner sells a rotisserie chicken for $5.99. For that price I know it's not organic, but gosh, that's half the price of the raw whole chickens I usually get. This is the only prepared food I'll buy to take home. If I'm craving Chinese, Philippine, Thai, Indian or a burger and don't feel like cooking, I might as well just have dinner at the restaurant on the way home so there's less dishes to wash.

Oh, I forgot one convenience in the vegetable aisle -- cooked, vacuum sealed beets from France. I think it's $2 for about six. If you're making borscht, you should start with raw beets, but these are great if you just want to toss some chopped beets into a salad.

The height of ridiculousness that I've seen is a plastic clear box containing individually wrapped orange/grapefruit segments. Not only did it cost a fortune, but the fruit looked terrible. I imagine the goal was to coax cash out of harried parents who were in charge of providing oranges to a soccer game (that's a common practice around here). But it's unfathomable to me that nto only do we import citrus from florida to Canada, but we pay someone else to slice and package it for us.

@ BananaMonkey - that's ridiculous! I can't believe that people would buy that! Actually, yes I can. But still! Horrible!
I get the cooked rotisserie chicken a lot. It's organic, it's delicious, it's convenient and it costs a dollar less than the raw organic whole chickens sold in the same store. I have no shame about buying it because it's not a rip-off at all - it's actually a bargain.

@dbcurrie~Yep, those things are understandable. I sometimes do some of the very things mentioned above, like the potato and the (hanging head in abject shame) pbj pockets. Those were while we were moving and everything was packed and my little girl loves pb and j. She had been begging for them for ages and I saw no long-term harm in that indulgence.

Your "pre-made boling water" made me LOL. :-)

Whole Foods sells pre-trimmed and peeled (two to too-large plastic take-out container) shallots. As much as I love WF, this seems like the silliest thing ever. And the shallots look so, so sad.

@Cary- Oh that's evil! at least mine still sells both bulk loose and shrink-wrapped. that's why I never understood anyone buying wrapped ones..

@coffeefrappe,

I'll drink branch water out of cow track if I'm thirsty enough and so would anybody else. I'll even eat a McDonald's hamburger if I just have to. I would not really enjoy either one and I for damned sure don't like paying for it.

The grocers carry more and more of this crap while their quality and selection of staples continues to go up in price and down in quality. I am particularly peeved about not being able to buy coffee in 1lb cans anymore. You can't buy sugar in 5lb bags anymore. You can't find 10 lb bags of potatoes anymore. I consider these practices to be dishonest in the extreme.

OMG I couldn't agree MORE with EVERYONE HERE!

- Pre-cut veggies? What? No wonder Obesity's the #1 killer - can't even get up and cut your damn carrots! What's next "pre-chewed!?!?"
- @ hmw0029 - I thought I was dreaming when I saw those....

...mind-you I'm guilty of the Organic rotisserie chickens too: *slaps self* haha they're pretty convenient so I'm there!

SIMILAR NOTE:
I caught myself watching Jamies' new show and there was a lady who didn't know how to boil water!!!!!!!!!!
Half the stuff listed on these comments she couldn't even prepare!!!!??
Mind-boggling. She ate takeout EVERYDAY!

@censnc - oh man! Stove Top's my fave!!!

I can't make it the same I SWEAR!

My mother is an excellent chef-- among her signature dishes are coulibiac, bstilla,caviar souffle and Dobos Torte. She has even made the Lady M crepe cake at home, twice.

Yet for Thanksgiving, don't get between her and the box of Instant mashed potatos or Stove Top stuffing.

LMAO@traveller.....just this morning at work i was asking the produce guy what kind of asshole would buy the banana slicer?A crappy piece of plastic priced at $1.99.

People are scared of melting chocolate, because every cookbook you read that talks about the basic chocolate-melting technique says that a double-boiler is essential, and gives a jillion warnings about how your chocolate might seize. I might just be lucky, but I've been melting chocolate since I was a single digit old, have never used a double boiler in my life, and have never had it seize once. But I think it's the fear of ruining an expensive ingredient vs. the inconvenience that might make folks reach for "premelted chocolate" (which must have gross stabilizers/oils added).

I don't understand the crustless PB & J sandwiches, why can't you make a regular sandwich and cut the crust off yourself like I do ?

@grumpy, I'm curious...if you can't buy sugar in 5# bags and potatoes in 10# bags, how do the sell those items in your neighborhood?

Hmmmm...I noticed that there's a new "economy" brand of sugar that comes in 4 lb bags (and thus it seems cheaper), but the regular brands are still in 5 and ten pound bags. Potatoes are still 5 and ten pounds, too. I buy coffee beans rather than cans of ground, and depending on the brand and where I shop, it can be 1, 2, or 2 1/2 pound bags. I usually buy my bread flour in 25# bags, buy I buy AP in 5# unless I know I'm going to be doing a lot of baking.

This is just the usual. Anyone remember when beverages went from quarts to liters?

As far as creepy products, some of the frozen stuff baffles me. Some of it takes longer to heat in the oven, or to thaw and heat, than it would take if you started from a fresh product. Having frozen on hand as a convenience is one thing, but it's not really fast if it has to go into the oven for 45 minutes. Maybe less hands-on, though.

I dread to think what is in "pre-melted" chocolate...

I once saw a packet mix for Pumpkin Soup - "Just add pumpkin and water!" I nearly wet myself laughing in the supermarket aisle. Haven't see it since, which is a shame because I'd like to buy a pack to keep in the cupboard to pull out at parties and show people for a good laugh!

herbs, in what looks like a toothpaste tube...that's gotta be good...

The market works, people. If there is no demand for things they cease to be available. When there is a great deal of disposable income and not much time, people will go for convenience. As the economy contracts and more people have more time for whatever reason, they will do the prep work themselves. Sounds as if many of you prefer the Nanny state that says what we can and cannot make and consume. And calling for sterilization of people who choose something that you consider unwise sounds pretty extreme, although I know you were going for effect. There is so much derision here that it makes me sad sometimes. Live and let live for heaven's sake. Make everything from scratch and brag about it but leave other's choices to them.

Pre-cut veg: In defense, when i need carrot or celery for a sauce or small soup, I get it in the salad bar. We would never eat a whole head of celery or bunch of carrots while they were still top notch, and in soup you cook the cr** out of it anyway. More a waste-preventer than time preventer but very handy on occasion. Same goes for olives, and cucumber, and I buy a bag of coleslaw mix for eggroll filling for the same reason.

Ocarol, who brought up the government in this thread?

If owning a banana slicer isn't evidence of moral or mental failure, I don't know what is.

If you're running out at lunchtime to pick up some food for yourself because you forgot to bring your lunch, a pre-made pb&j isn't a horrible option, and it makes more sense than buying a loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly, particularly if you already have those things at home. It doesn't make sense if you're buying them by the case because you can't figure out how to make a sandwich for your kids.

I once heard someone ragging about an electric jar opener contraption and how lazy are you that you can't twist a jar, and an older person mentioned that if you have arthritis, you can't grip the jar, and having something like that means you can have your pickles whenever you want them, without having to go ask the neighbor for help.

Prechopped veggies and bagged salads can save some time and if that time is being used to make homemade salad dressing and fabulous sauces and desserts, I think it's a decent trade-off. Personally, I'd rather do everything myself, but I'd rather have someone give me a bagged salad and homemade dressing, rather than hand-ripped iceberg and Kraft dressing.

So yeah, convenience items have a place, and some people really need them at times, but it gets a little frightening when someone relies on that stuff for everything when they don't need them. And some of them aren't really that convenient. I remember someone selling "cheesecake mix" at a craft show, and the mix was mostly powdered sugar with some flavorings. You needed to add the cream cheese, eggs, make the crust, etc. For something like seven bucks, you got a bag of powdered sugar and instructions for making a cheesecake or cheeseball, but people were snapping them up like hotcakes.

One thing that I'm always skeptical about is the pre-seasoned and pre-breaded meats in the meat counter. I always wonder what that bright seasoning and crumbly breading is hiding. Seems to me that if you're able to figure out how to cook the raw meat, it's not such a huge leap in culinary skill to buy some paprika and sprinkle it on the meat before you cook it.

Oh, and instant mashed potatoes? I buy them. I use them in bread.

@dbcurrie~Well said. That cheesecake mix and the seasoned/breaded meats sound like the premelted chocolate or the pumpkin soup mix mentioned above by one of the posters where you add the pumpkin and water. If you have to do that much to a "convenience" item, then it's not really a convenience. Maybe what those things are is more of a crutch for folks who aren't too sure of themselves in the culinary arts?

I buy instant mashed pots and use them in bread, too. I also use them in a pinch to thicken a few things.

@dbcurrie~I hadn't thought of it that way before. I, too have ingredients on hand that my friends (who all love the results, how ironic is that?) look at and ask things like, "HOW many kinds of flour do you NEED?" or "You make buttermilk at home?" So I guess from that perspective, there is a very good reason for the light in their eyes that tells me they think I am certifiable for not only baking bread/making vinaigrette/culturing buttermilk (haven't attempted yogurt yet, but really want to), but that I am so excited about how easy and delicious (to me) the results that I want to share with all these sad little unenlightened people (tongue firmly in cheek).

It's so funny. Hi my name is coffeefrappe and I am glad to know I am on the foodie end of crazy! ;-)

I'm a bit late to the party, but yesterday I was in Trader Joe's and saw a bag of peeled boiled eggs - 10 to a package. I couldn't find the price, but yikes! Was also in Henry's Farm Market and saw Apple Crisp Mix, just add apples and butter. It didn't have anything scary in it but was just oats, sugar and spices. Geez.

I do buy rotisserie chickens sometimes and TJ's precooked baby beets pretty often. They're nice when I want to put a quick salad together. I've never heard of PB slices. Had a good LOL at that one.

But, I'd rather see someone pick up precut stuff to take home and cook after work than pick up McD's for their family. Also, a number of my friends don't find cooking therapeutic, as I do, and use precut things to save time but still provide their family a decent meal. Hell, I don't even mind good old Sandy Lee if she gets someone to pick up a pan instead of a take out menu.

@dbcurrie and coffeefrappe - you're right about that. Many of my friends will say "You make your own yogurt? Why?" And it's true, you can get excellent yogurt at many markets for pretty cheap. I buy TJ's Greek yogurt all the time. But often...I just have to make my own.

@GrumpyOldMan, what is "dishonest" about selling things in quantities that you're not used to? As long as it's labeled there is no dishonesty. Manufacturers selling smaller quantities for the same price, while obnoxious is hardly new.

I just checked my cabinet and my coffee, that I bought in my regular grocery store, is in a one-pound can.

Pre-peeled and pre-cubed potatoes, purportedly for easier mashed potatoes. Not for me, thanks! :)

Late entry but when I lived in Florida (that kind of explains it, huh?), the grocery stores sold toast- yes, toasted white bread! Even better? the brand name was Bimbo!

I do some convenience foods- my kids love to help cook, but I would rather not let my kinderkid chop carrots, so he gets to pick shredded or sliced from the salad bar. We have done the frozen pbj sammies- they are great for field trips- they are an edible ice pack! And quite honestly, I make a lot of my "convenience" foods- when I make waffles, I make a double batch and pop them in the freezer- the sitter is more likely to pop a whole grain waffle in the toaster than cook fresh ones, and I make tons of homemade chicken nuggets to freeze- they are great for lunchboxes and thaw just in time for lunch . We also buy spring mix salad because it has 6 types of lettuce without buying 6 heads and tossing a lot of it.