…y’all didn’t grow up eating kraft mac n hot dogs cut up in it?
o.o
Great Depression: Part Deux
Submitted 3 weeks ago by MTZ@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/83b55224-8ff0-451a-b8f9-cc756b2b8c4a.jpeg
Comments
Qkall@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Sorry, but this is like one of the many litmus tests for people who think they grew up in the middle class and then actually find out they grew up poorer than they initially thought.
Another good one was having canned mixed vegetables more than a couple times a week.
Nollij@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
You’re overlooking an important detail - kids love that cheap, shitty food. It was also quick and easy to make, so their tired, overworked parents were easily persuaded to make it.
Naturally there’s a line where it becomes too much, but even rich kids love hot dogs and Mac & cheese.
thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Grew up poor, didn’t know it. Lots of Mac 'n Cheese w/ hotdogs and canned vegetables. I remember the first time I had a fresh green bean, I was put off by the texture. Wasn’t used to vegetables with structure.
IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
It could still be very much middle class. Parents make it out of nostalgia from when they were kids, instead of making it out of necessity.
protist@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
I really disagree with this. My parents grew up in the 50s and just thought this kind of highly processed food was normal and easy. There were also commercials that constantly reminded them to buy it. We could 100% afford better food, this is just what they wanted 🤢
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I figured out we were poor once I hit middle school, and me asking about this and further realizing the truth of it… well of course that sent Republican dad further into an insecurity/rage/alcoholism loop.
Being honest would have been too difficult, I guess.
Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Middle class isnt a clear cut distinction anyway. It mostly serves to divide those of us who live off of labour rather than ownership so we go after one another instead of the capitalists.
Seleni@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean, maybe, but in my case I’m sure a good part of it was neither of my parents were good cooks lol
If I didn’t watch them make it, it was pretty hard to tell if the veggies were canned or not; they boiled fresh veggies to the same consistency as the canned ones.
clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Ours had a can of tuna and some frozen peas in it.
0ops@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
No way we did that too! I still do it every once in awhile, not because it’s that good but fit the nostalgia
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Wtf are you guys eating over there… Jesus christ, I wonder why Americans seem so crazy. Artificial food, artificial media, Artificial work culture…
And two weeks vacation, maybe, on a full year of work… What? And still no money in the wallet at the end of the day?
mastertigurius@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Two weeks? If you’re middle to upper middle class, sure. If you’re lower middle to lower class, you’ll get a week, if anything at all, unpaid. Sick? Unpaid. Spouse died? Unpaid. What, give people welfare? Not on my tax dollar, that’s communism!
The US stopped being the land of opportunity two generations ago, and only now people are starting to realize.
musubibreakfast@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“You can have the funeral in the alley behind the restaurant during your lunch break. Throw your wife in the dumpster after you’re done.”
-Your manager
Legom7@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I get 40 hours of sick time off per year that I can use for vacation. This is the New York State minimum that had to be fought for.
MTZ@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean, yeah…a lot of people here have it very rough. I am lucky in that I work for the federal government and get 10 weeks plus holidays off. A lot of people here do not get that.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I am definitely doing life wrong, mind if I ask the field?
Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I had that once, turned out the head of my department was a sociopath though. Never been unhappier at work in my life. I had managers that handled themselves better at a car wash than this lady did at a public library.
Damage@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I tried reading the rest of the comments on this post but I think my soul broke, I wanted to reply to multiple of them but the words just didn’t come to me
1984@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
I also feel deep sadness over it because its just so incredibly unfair and evil.
SupraMario@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Highschool needs to teach financial literacy. $200 a month for insurance is insane. I pay that for 3 vehicles on full coverage (older trucks and suv, but damn).
Not saying this guy is wrong to be pissed but I see a lot of people who just don’t understand how to shop around for shit and just eat the cost.
moseschrute@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
How tf do you shop around for insurance.
My employer: you have 3 options. The high deductible HSA plan, the medium deductible plan, or the low deductible plan.
Even if there are other options that aren’t subsidized by my employer, you can’t change your plan most of the year because of fucking open enrollment.
How is this user error and not America being America?
Malfeasant@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
people who just don’t understand how to shop around for shit and just eat the cost.
The problem is, you can shop around and find a good deal, but that good deal is “introductory”, only for new customers, so after a while the price goes back to “normal” and you have to do it all over again. Then you have to do that for every damn thing, it gets pretty tiring.
Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Insurance rates change depending where you are and who you are. 250 a month per vehicle for full coverage where I am. We just dropped coverage to minimum on one of them and it went down barely 15%. Shopping around found only higher rates somehow. I think insurance agencies are colluding to fix prices.
djehuti@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
$200 a month for insurance is peanuts if you have a teen on your policy. Our premiums tripled when we added our 16yo. He’s 24 now, so pretty soon we’re going to remove him from our policy and enjoy the savings.
CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have had 1 week off the whole year. I have some PTO coming up. I feel guilty using it (even though I shouldn’t).
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
They eat shit and buy 85" TVs .
daannii@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah but the TVs are like $300. And one week of groceries is like $300.
It’s not really fair to say people waste their money on tvs
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Protip: “hamburger helper” has always been the most expensive way to do this. Buy the raw macaroni and one of those seasoning spice packs (e.g. taco mix) if you’re not good with measuring seasoning or have none at home.
MTZ@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
daannii@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I ate a lot of hamber helper growing up. Often with weird meat we would get from food pantries. Like bison. Emu. And my dad would hunt deer some times or a relative would so we would eat it with ground venison. Which apparently is considered gourmet meat but I really do not like it. It always tastes like blood to me.
Anyway, when I was lucky enough to get it with ground beef, I recall actually loving it.
As an adult I haven’t really eaten it so I went and bought a box a while back.
I think the cheeseburger king.
Jesus. It’s so gross and bland. Like salted cardboard. It also only had like 3/4 of a cup of fried noodles in it.
I remember a box of it feeding all 3 of us kids easily. With leftovers. There is very little yield after it cooks now. Shrink-flation.
Now I will say the box casseroles that Aldi sells are decent.
I like the orzo cheese broccoli one and the hamber one , which I cook with peppers. It has a strong cilantro flavor.
But the Hamber Helper brand ones are just so gross. I don’t know if the flavor has changed or maybe they were always that bad.
I swear so much food I thought was good as a kid literally just tastes like salted cardboard. Tostitos “pizzas”. Pizza rolls, McDonald’s food.
I’m pretty sure they have stopped putting seasoning on a lot of food to cut costs.
Lauchmelder@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
What in gods name even is this product?
thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Pasta and seasoning. And cheese I guess. Intended to me mixed with ground beef in order to stretch it into more meals. It’s not awful, just poor people food.
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You mean pasta surrogate and cheese surrogate.
Asidonhopo@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Its food for the new poor. The generationally poor were eating chicken wings back in the 80s for $0.19 a pound and loving them. Now, after the dreadful gentrification of wings post-9/11 we’ve got ways to stretch a dollar you’ll never learn unless you marry in.
BurgerBaron@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Sodium’n Protein possibly slightly higher quality than Friskies cat food.
exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
It’s more of a BYO protein meal kit, with shelf stable seasoning+carb in a box, where you’re expected to add your own protein.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Cheaper if you grind up your nearest billionaire and share with your community
MTZ@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ooooh, do you have a nice recipe that you could share?
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They don’t actually do work so their meat is already tender like veal, just marinate well
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I want to know which billionaire. Some of them literally stew in their own shit for years.
Makeshift@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The comments are teaching me I grew up poor and still eat poor.
I mean I knew the second part. But those damn canned mixed veggies were disgusting.
Agent641@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My youth prepared me for this and my post-schooling education helped me minmax for it.
IMALlama@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I still have a sweet spot for canned corn, especially creamed, as well as canned green beans.
rothaine@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Canned green beans have such a nostalgic taste, love them
exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Canned green beans are great. I don’t care how many fancy meals I eat, there’s always gonna be a place for that nostalgic flavor.
And canned corn is basically my preferred method of adding corn to soups.
Makeshift@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Creamed corn and green beans are amazing agreed.I also picked up a love of canned sweet peas.
Some things can way better than others.
LemmyThinkAboutIt@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Ew, are you talking about those canned mixed veggies that had the little red pepper in them too? Like red bell pepper or something.
Makeshift@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
The one I remember is corn, carrots, and peas. That mixture is why I thought cooked carrots were the most disgusting thing… And I think the corns’ flavor took a hit as well because the only good canned corn was creamed corn.
BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
This is FAKE NEWS because Trump said the Economy is doing GREAT!
-Free Thinking TM Republicans!
python@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Sorry, I’m European, could someone explain what Hamburger Helper actually is?? I’ve heard the brand name before and assumed it was just some kind of seasoning powder for making hamburgers, but this image looks more like it’s more like powdered sauce base for a whole range of random meals?
PillowTalk420@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s cheap pasta with a sauce you add hamburger to.
WraithGear@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
it’s the kit to make the meal in the front, just need to add the hamburger… or hot dogs…
but yea it has the seasonings and the macaroni, and instructions, and that’s it
MintyFresh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Lasagna, except way grosser.
daannii@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
A box meal. Like a cake mix. It comes with parts of the meal, the pasta and the sauce, and you add the meat and milk, water, butter. Whatever else it calls for. These are cheap. And don’t take very long to make.
They are mostly eaten by poor people and kids. They have very little nutritional value and are high in carbs, sugar, and salt.
The high carbs and protein (if you are rich enough to add meat) make the food very filling though. Some people call this type of food “comfort food”. It definitely will make your stomach feel full and content.
But it’s not good food for you.
RedFrank24@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You’re not quite there yet. It still says ‘real cheese’.
MimicJar@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s not “real cheese” it’s “Real Cheese™”, it really tastes like cheese.
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Minimum viable product kind of cheese
Bgugi@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“made with” real cheese.
They throw a one ounce cube in with each batch.
Aneb@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is my easy hamburger helper recipe in case people want real food. I skip the box and throw paprika and onion and garlic powders on my ground beef, brown it. Add ziti noodles, or anything I have, add beef stock and water. Let the pasta become tender, abt 7-8 mins. And throw in a huge glob a sour cream and mix it in. Salt as needed, skip the sodium spike
samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Asidonhopo@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Les pieds de raccoon, such a delicacy
SabinStargem@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Don’t use Hamburger Helper, switch to the store brand Lasgana Skillet Meal. It will taste much better. The people who make Hamburger Helper have seriously cheaped out on their ingredients, speaking as a childhood fan.
Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
How soon till it says roadkill?
JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Poached venison.
Don’t need a tag if you’re not going to a game station, just gotta get a little bloody.
elbiter@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
American food makes British food look yummy.
Blackout@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
Meat!? In this economy?
Doomsider@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Last time I checked ground beef was $6 a pound. It is now a luxury I no longer buy.
tidderuuf@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Great Depression? Shit I was serving that shit with hot dogs in the 90s.
danc4498@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t know why they call this stuff hamburger helper, it does just fine by itself, huh?
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Bold of you to assume you’ll still be about to afford hot dogs.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Coming in 2029 - SkwrlHelper!®
AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Given how strong the link is between cured meats and cancer and how that is quite public knowledge now days, I interpret this as Hamburger Helper telling me to get cancer. “You don’t actually want to live long enough to enjoy retirement, right?”
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
By hot dogs, they mean dog food.
BotsRuinedEverything@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
What is the word for laughing and crying at the same time?
whatevercomeon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hyper processed shit. I feel sorry for children who are fed this.
sturlabragason@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Who can afford hot dogs?
M0oP0o@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
water pie all over again, but who can afford hotdogs?
RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Seems weird calling the weiners hot dogs instead of calling just the whole hot dog the hot dog
Toneswirly@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Dont use hamburger helper, learn to make goulash. Its a pretty good recipe for beginners
9point6@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This might be the most stereotypically American thing I’ve ever seen
lemmyman@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In Britain it would be “try with BANGERS instead of blood pudding”
undergroundoverground@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No one would call that donkeys anus in a temu bratwurst, a banger.
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Not going to lie, I call this the “fuck we’re out of bread” when she says she wants a hot dog. I don’t care for hot dogs much, but I just leave them in the freezer door and they last.
vic_rattlehead@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When she says she wants a hot dog, she’s not talking about the kind you have to cook :-D
GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
What a privilege it is to live in walking distance to a supermarket - this problem doesn’t even exist for me, being out of something just means I walk 4 minutes and buy it.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I mean, you’re not wrong.
I grew up poor, mom had 0 cooking skill, mac and cheese and sliced hot dogs was pretty common.
I can try to spin that positively as ‘at leasr I have more experience being broke than most people who are new to being broke’, lol.
Thisiswritteningerman@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Image
T00l_shed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Man hotdogs in KD is still awesome. Hotdogs in beans is also great.
Soulg@ani.social 2 weeks ago
I mean it’s just some pasta and seasoning that you add beef to, it’s not even that weird
ms_lane@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
claps