Rant warning! Are we becoming a nation of bone idle wastrels.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

That's capitalism for you! Businesses will exploit every opportunity to make money and busy mums and dads will buy products to save time. Young families work hard, provide their kids with every opportunity their lives are like whirl winds. It is not laziness but the consequence of the world we now live in. On one level they appear to have it all, but at what cost.

Oh my, I have no idea how my post has been posted so many times. Apologies.

It actually worries me that future generations will live on the increasingly available ready cooked, ready prepared food which will inevitably contribute to the obesity increase (pot calling kettle here I am afraid !!). It also has to be a generational thing; I am 76 and feel guilty if I buy anything ready made - cakes, meals and so on. I always cook from scratch and did so even when working full time. I am not a saint at all - just following the example of my mother who managed to do the same and provide tasty, nutritious meals through the war years. From her I get the insistence to use leftovers and waste as little as possible. I have done my best to instil this in my daughter who caters far more "healthily" but does cook and now having regular cook-ins with my granddaughter aged 7. Of course, in my early working days we didn't have the same career openings as today and the norm was to finish work when the first baby came along. All the equal opportunities career-wise now are financially rewarding but lead to all things convenient. Don't ask me what the answer is.

Chopped vegetables and fruit are more likely to promote a healthy diet than drive people to ready meals. At least people are cooking from basics using raw ingredients which is the main thing?

I couldn't agree more Anya.

Just bought cauliflower couscous, runner beans (steam bag) and broccoli florets, all prepared - and on a 3 for 2 offer. No waste and all eaten tonight for dinner. Roasted the broccoli in olive oil and lemon juice. Stir fried the cauliflower couscous and then tossed everything in grated Parmesan cheese, salt and ground black pepper. Served with the runner beans. Delicious.

I use ready prepared onion as chopping it really hurts my eyes.
I used to buy ice when we were on our boat, before we going a 12volt mini fridge

Ready chopped onions are a gift from heaven. For the same reason as Galen.

Just read that recipe on the LC thread, sounds delicious Wilma and a good point about no waste.

Thanks Anya. Whilst I was looking at the 3 for 2 offers, I completely forgot to buy more chopped onions. Now here's a sacrilege - I have frozen chopped onions in my freezer. Great back up and handy for the slow cooker too.

Rosequartz - you are hereby absolved. Don't worry.

Things change don't they, and some shortcuts are great IMO.I don't want to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen.
I remember being shown how to starch and press mens collars in school, and how sarky the teacher was if we got it wrong, another skill that I have never needed to use!

Frozen mashed swede, Aunt Bessie ( mashed swede and carrot) and very yummy it is too.Sold in most supermarkets in UK.

Inventing reasons why I don't want to go grocery shopping today, apart from the fact of it being a twenty-five mile round trip and I hate shopping, is a good reason not to go, right? Sticking with the bone idle wastrel theme.

There are some yesterday's leftovers (cooked by me from scratch) DH can have tonight and some bacon that needs using up for me to have a bacon butty. That's be fine. Minibags, who's a complete weirdo when it comes to food, feeds herself nowadays because her bone idle wastrel of a mother can't be arsed any more.

Plus, there's nothing like practice for making perfect

roses I discovered to my horror when I was first married that DH had to wear collar-detached shirts for work
After I presented him with six starched but very singed shirt collars he decided he would take them to the laundry instead

Well,what are laundries for? My Mother hated my Father sitting around the house wearing a shirt but no collar, and his braces.How times change.