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Let's continue exploring our journey from real food to processed food and (hopefully) back to real food!

CLICK HERE FOR PART 1 OF THE PROCESSED FOODS HISTORY, 1910s to 1950s

1960

The '60s focused on radical change and experimentation, even in the culinary arena: Julia Child taught us how to make the perfect French omelet; ethnic foods were hot; vegetarianism was catching on; fondue parties were all the rage; and we returned to the outdoor cooking of our ancestors - on the backyard barbecue grill. Aluminum cans were first used commercially for foods and beverages, and irradiation was used for the first time to sterilize dried fruits and vegetables and stop sprouting and control insect infestation.

Processed foods this decade:

Tab and Diet Pepsi soft drinks

Green Giant frozen veggies in butter sauce

Pringles

Gatorade

1970

Economic challenges of the 1970s meant homemade foods were simple ... think Hamburger Helper and the Betty Crocker cookbook. The FDA banned food coloring Red Dye No. 2 because studies showed that it might cause cancer. Red M&Ms disappeared for 11 years because of the ban. High-fructose corn syrup became increasingly prevalent in beverages and processed foods. "Lite" products, such as Miller Lite beer, were introduced to combat the pounds Americans were packing on.

New processed foods in the 1970s:

Stove Top Stuffing

McDonald's Happy Meals

Hamburger Helper

1980

Another sad decade for "real food." Red M&Ms returned. The artificial sweetener aspartame was approved by the FDA. The USDA announced that ketchup could be counted as a vegetable in the school lunch program. The first genetically engineered crop plant was developed (tomato). Some new processed foods were introduced:

Lean Cuisine frozen dinners

Crystal Light powdered drink mix

Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn

Diet Coke

The 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) required that all packaged foods include standard nutrition labeling information. (Remember to read the label!)

The 1990s saw the first genetically modified foods on the market. Americans consumed vast amounts of caloric sweeteners, and we were introduced to chips containing Olestra.

On a brighter, "real food" note, the gourmet world was spinning with tapas, Thai food, truffles, sundried tomatoes and all things "fusion."

2000

In this decade, "low-fat," "fat-free" and "diet" were the buzzwords. Manufacturers reduced fat content by removing high-fat ingredients, like butters and oils, and maintained flavor by adding preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners.

Vast numbers of people cut out carbs, including healthy ones, thanks to the introduction of the South Beach diet. Gluten-free products were in hot demand.

Slowly, as food documentaries began to warn us of hidden dangers in our diets, we began to question how and where our food is made. We saw an explosion of cooking shows on food TV, encouraging us to make fresh foods at home. The organic movement went mainstream. Super-sizing was on its way out. The "locavore" movement began "again." (I say "again," because, of course, our pioneer ancestors lived the locavore lifestyle). Families joined local farm CSAs in droves. Whole grain products became widely available. We became familiar with superfruits (like acai and pomegranate). The FDA required food labels to include trans fat content.

And due to the recession, many people went back to cooking at home, cooking with fresh "real food," making bagged lunches - a full circle from the days of the 1940s and '50s, when those fast, ready-to-eat, processed foods seemed like such a good idea.

2010

Here we are, more than 100 years after processed foods began to be popular ... in an amazing era of real food and portion control and homegrown produce and food blogs. We've come a long way, baby!!

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Processed Foods History: 1960s to Today Let's continue exploring our journey from real food to processed food and (hopefully) back to real food! CLICK HERE FOR PART 1 OF THE PROCESSED FOODS HISTORY, 1910s to 1950s 1960 The '60s focused on radical change and experimentation, even in the culinary arena: Julia Child taught us how...

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611 - 2 Regeneration of pre-prepared food PRE-PREPARED FOOD 

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611 - 2 Regeneration of pre-prepared food PRE-PREPARED FOOD 

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611 - 2 Regeneration of pre-prepared food

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Nutrition, Time Management
[ Image source: Get Fit at Home]

It's 6:00pm. You just got home from a long day at work. You're tired and you're hungry. You look in the fridge and stare blankly for something to eat, or ideas on what to cook for dinner. Thirty seconds later and you realise you're still staring into the fridge. Nothing jumps out at you. Nothing appeals to you. It all seems too hard and you close the door. Sound familiar?

I do this all the time! When my partner, Holly, tells me to close the fridge and make something, I can hear my dad's words from twenty-five years ago. Despite being good at making some delicious meals, sometimes I hate the effort it requires. Thinking of what to make, taking out all the ingredients, preparing all those ingredients, cooking if required, and then cleaning up - takes time and effort. When I do it's worth it. But when you're short on time in the morning or during the day, or tired and hungry at the end of the day, it hardly feels worth it. Enter... pre-made meals.

A pre-made meal is a pre-packaged meal prepared by a food company - either a big company such as Light 'n Easy or a smaller local food prep business. In a sign that there's definitely a demand for pre-prepared meals, the number of individuals, restaurants and cafes providing prepared meals is growing dramatically.

Here are some pros and cons of pre-made meals so you can make an informed decision to either eat them or prepare your own:

Quick to prepare
Pre-made meals have been prepared and cooked by a qualified or experienced chef in most circumstances. This means they require nothing but heating up.

Time and energy savers
Pre-made meals are like having a personal chef without the cost of having a personal chef. Because you only need to heat them up, they are super easy in times when you're short on time and low on energy.

Are much more gourmet than previous options
As the demand for pre-made meals increases, the market becomes more competitive, and as a result, the quality of pre-made meals enhances. They are much tastier than the pre-made meals of a few years ago.

Wide variety
With demand for pre-made meals comes demand for variety. You can now get pre-made meals in a wide variety of options and flavours.

Improved packaging
One of the concerns for some people in regards to heating food in the microwave is the leaching of harmful substances from the container. Some people stay away from microwaves altogether and some choose to use their own microwave safe containers. To meet this concern, you can now purchase pre-made meals in a microwave safe container.

Pros and Cons of Pre-Made Meals

Extra preservatives
Due to the extra shelf-life, pre-made meals need to be prepared in a way to last. This means extra preservatives, which is never healthy. They're also higher in salt in order to help them preserve longer.

Low in nutrients
By the time food gets from its original source to your mouth, it's lost a lot of its nutrients. Foods are richest in nutrients when they've come directly from their source. Pre-made meals need to be preserved in some way in order to reduce waste and maximise profits. The two methods to achieve this is to freeze them or add preservatives.

Portion sizes
Portion sizes have increased over the last twenty years. This has led to a normalisation of eating more. The suggested serving size of foods is set by the manufacturer. Pre-made meals can contain multiple servings.

Pros
If you decide the positives outweigh the negatives, or you're happy to accept the disadvantages of pre-made meals, here are some quick and easy tips for making your pre-made meal more appealing and nutritious:

Add two handfuls of vegetables before heating it up
Spinach leaves and chopped mushrooms are two veggies I recommend.

Add a quarter of a cup of nuts before heating it up
Pine nuts go well with almost anything and taste even better if they're roasted.

Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil over your meal either before or after heating it up

Choose frozen pre-made meals over those found on the shelf
These can be more nutritious and lower in preservatives.

Look for pre-made meals that are about 250g per serving
I suggest you see a dietitian to establish exactly how much you should be eating, if you have a food intolerance, or if any concerns arise or persist. They can provide personalised medical advice.

Choose pre-made meals that are more nutritious
On the nutritional value chart on the back, in the 100g column, choose pre-made meals that have a big gap between the carbohydrate and sugars row (this means it contains more complex carbohydrate and less sugar), less than 10g of total fat (look for pre-made meals with minimal saturated and trans fats), and low in sodium (this is salt and it should be less than 125mg, but this is difficult to find in anything that is packaged).

Drink 250-500ml of water before eating
Many people think they're hungry, when in fact, they are slightly dehydrated. Drinking water before you eat will also help to fill you up.

Cons
Have you had any experience (good or bad) with pre-made meals?
Quick & Easy Tips for Supercharging Your Pre-Made Meal

Pre-made meals are quick, easy and convenient. As the demand for pre-made meals increases, the quality of packaging, nutrients and variety also increases. Some brands can still be filled with excess preservatives and low in nutrients, but choosing a good quality supplier or adding your own fresh ingredients can overcome this. Pre-made meals are becoming a good option for busy people who still want to eat healthy.

About Jacob Andreae

I write and speak about Fitness, Nutrition and Mindset.

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It's 6:00pm. You just got home from a long day at work. You're tired and you're hungry. You look in the fridge and stare blankly for something to eat, or ideas on what to cook for dinner. Thirty seconds later and you realise you're still staring into the fridge.

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Commercial Food Safety

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Cooking, cooling & reheating | Commerical Food Safety | Northampton Borough Council

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Ready, Steady, Go! The Pros and Cons of Prepackaged Meals

Celynn Erasmus

We all love a warm and hearty home-cooked dinner, but let's face it: battling through rush hour traffic after a long day's work seldom leaves us with the time (not to mention the energy) to prepare such a meal. And when peering into the fridge for a minute or two yields no inspiration, we all inevitably pull some ready-made frozen meal out of the freezer and pop it into the microwave. Thank goodness for modern options, especially if this is the third time this week that you've reverted to this fabulous fail-safe. After all, ready-made meals aren't that bad, are they?

A ready-made meal is a prepackaged frozen or fresh meal that requires none or very little preparation besides heating up. And, luckily for us, ready-made meals have come a long way since macaroni and cheese TV-tray type dinners. You can now find gourmet meals ranging from specific cultural cuisine to organic and vegetarian options. The latest, and possibly the healthiest, are packaged in such a way that the container functions as a steamer, allowing rapid cooking of essentially raw ingredients (typically fish or chicken and vegetables) immediately before consumption.

It's no surprise that frozen ready-made meals are popular. They're fast, convenient, inexpensive, easy and preportioned. The challenge, of course, is to find healthy ready-made meals that taste good, satisfy your hunger and won't sabotage your diet.

What's Not 'Ready' About Ready-made Meals

The freezing process in frozen ready-made meals tends to degrade the taste of food. To compensate for this, the meals are processed with extra salt and fat to add flavor.

In addition, stabilizing these products for a long period typically means that preservatives and unhealthy vegetable oils will be used on some items. There is, however, some variability between brands, so you'll need to read the "nutrition facts" panel on the package to see whether your choice is a healthier one.

Unfortunately, most ready-made meals aren't properly balanced. They either provide too much starch or none at all, some are far too high in protein and fat and the majority of them do not contain enough nutrients in the form of vegetables or salad. To top it all off, most ready-made meals come in servings that are too big, so it is important to portion them correctly.

Portions and Servings: What's the Difference?

A portion is the amount of food that you choose to eat for a meal or a snack. It can be big or small; you decide. Many of us regularly eat bigger portions than we actually need. Over the years, portion sizes have increased (portion distortion), causing normalization of large portions. Portion sizes of many ready-made meals, other ready-to-eat prepared food and foods served in restaurants are much larger today than they were 20 years ago. Larger portions lead to increased food and energy intake, making it more challenging to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

A serving is a measured amount of food or drink, such as one slice of bread or one cup of milk. The suggested serving sizes are selected by the food manufacturer. Many ready-made meals actually contain multiple servings. With packaged foods, you can see how many servings are in one container by referencing the nutritional table. For example, look at the label of a 500g ready-made meal such as lasagna (typically consumed as one portion), and you'll see that it actually has 2 servings in it.

How to Choose Healthier Ready-made Meals

So, when a ready-made meal is the most practical solution for dinner, what should you look out for?

Choose meals that are about 250g per serving or ensure that your serving size is this amount.

To balance the ready-made meal, add at least two fistfuls of vegetables or salad.

If vegetables or a salad are not an option, include a piece of fresh fruit as a starter or dessert.

In general, look for meals that include vegetables and whole grains as well as lean meat, fish or poultry. These tend to be lower in calories and higher in vitamins and minerals as well as fiber, which helps fill you up.

Check the nutritional analysis provided, making sure that the values are per serving and that this is the portion you consume as well. Remember to look at the "per serving" values and not the "per 100g" ones.

Keep in mind that some healthy meals will meet some, but not all, of these recommendations:

* Food and Nutrition Board: Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for energy, carbohydrates, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein and amino acids published by the National Academy Press in 2002 states that to maintain a healthy weight and not encourage obesity, as required by the food labeling regulations mentioned above, the average energy intake recommended per day for women is 1,430 - 1,900 cal/day.

Deliciously Quick and Easy

The primary concern with ready-made meals is their lack of vegetables or salads, but when you're eating a ready-made meal you're usually in a hurry; so if you're going to add something to it, it needs to be just as quick and easy.
Here are some very fast salad and vegetable ideas that you can add to a ready-made meal to ensure that it doesn't sabotage your diet:

The following items are easy to keep in your pantry and make for great (very low-calorie) salad additions: bottled asparagus, artichoke in brine, gherkins, peppadews, fresh herbs (basil, coriander, parsley, rosemary, etc.), mushrooms in brine, pickled onions, sprouts and sundried tomatoes in vinegar. A selection of vinegars, low-oil dressings and herb salts are excellent choices, too.

Slice a few cucumber slices and one large tomato and serve with torn fresh basil leaves.

While warming up your ready-made meal, heat up 1 cup of frozen vegetables and season with any fresh herb or herb salt.

Grab a handful of cherry tomatoes with some rocket leaves and serve with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Chopped cucumber, onion and snap peas mixed with a little plain yogurt and fresh coriander.

Broccoli spears and baby carrots - lightly steamed, if you prefer, and seasoned with herb salt.

Roast vegetables in larger quantities and keep them in the fridge for a few days.

Home-made Freezer Meals

Why not create your own by cooking an extra batch or two of your favourite meal for the freezer next time you have the pots out? Simply stock up on some sturdy portion-sized plastic containers and freeze a few meals. Bookstores and the internet abound with low-fat recipes and tips on cooking for your freezer; by doing it yourself, you can ensure that your family members get all the nutrients they need, even when the meal is a microwave miracle!

About the Author
Celynn Erasmus is a registered dietician, author and professional speaker. She has a passion for demystifying the complex science of wellness and nutrition into sustainable tips and techniques for people on-the-go. Connect with Celynn at www.celynnerasmus.com or join the Wellculator community at facebook/wellnessprofessional.

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Ready, Steady, Go! The Pros and Cons of Prepackaged Meals

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Celynn Erasmus We all love a warm and hearty home-cooked dinner, but let's face it: battling through rush hour traffic after a long day's work seldom leaves us with the time (not to mention the energy) to prepare such a meal.

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Pre-prepared foods overtaking home cooking

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Pre-prepared foods overtaking home cooking

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Pre-prepared foods overtaking home cooking

New research finds nearly all mums surveyed said they used pre-prepared foods in family meals

8 th March 2013 - Research from the government healthy living campaign, Change4Life, shows 96% of mums are increasingly turning to pre prepared foods (such as pizza or chicken nuggets) to feed their families with just 16% saying they cooked a meal from scratch every day. The survey also found over a third of families (36%) also said they eat out or have a take-away, once a week.

Commenting on the findings, dietitian Azmina Govindji says in a prepared statement: "It's understandable that over time eating habits change and that the time-pushed mums of today aren't necessarily going to approach cooking family dinners in the way their own mothers once did.

"However, many takeaways and processed foods can contain high levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat, so shoppers need to be encouraged to buy healthier options and shown how, even with demands on their time, they can make meals for their families."

End of a tradition

The research also found Sunday lunch was coming off the menu with fewer than half of families saying they cooked and ate a traditional roast together.

The trend for cooking less frequently and increasingly relying on take-aways and processed foods was reflected throughout the week. Only 90 out of 2,000 mums questioned said their family never ate foods like pizza or nuggets.

The survey was commissioned for Change4Life's Be Food Smart healthy eating campaign which aims to alert people to the often high amounts of salt, sugar and saturated fat found in many popular foods, particularly convenience meals.

It's not known if the research applies to dads because only mothers, 2000 of them with children aged 18 and under, were questioned.

In January a separate survey found Britain was second only to The Netherlands in being least likely to offer toddlers at least one home-cooked meal a day.

Time and confidence

The main barriers that mums report when it comes to preparing meals for their families are:

Time - almost three quarters (71%) said they eat convenience foods instead of cooking from scratch because they are quicker to prepare and more than half (51%) of those surveyed said the reason they don't cook more often is because it is too time consuming.

Confidence - almost a quarter of mums (24%) said they don't cook from scratch more because they don't know how to or lack confidence and ideas.

The future

The Be Food Smart campaign was introduced earlier this year to show that cooking and preparing tasty, healthier meals at home needn't be time consuming or expensive. It offers simple tools to help plan and prepare home cooked food more often including healthier versions of family favourites like pizza, fish and chips and burgers - as well as ideas for traditional Sunday roasts.

Azmina Govindji says: "Although there are many modern trends that make life easier, we could all benefit from remembering how our own mothers cooked and prepared meals from scratch, which would help us all eat a little healthier. Making quick meals yourself using easy-to-hand ingredients helps you to be more aware of what's going into your food and helps ensure you and your family avoid any hidden nasties."

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Pre-prepared foods overtaking home cooking

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New research finds nearly all mums surveyed said they used pre-prepared foods in family meals 8 th March 2013 - Research from the government healthy living campaign, Change4Life, shows 96% of mums are increasingly turning to pre prepared foods (such as pizza or chicken nuggets) to feed their families with just 16% saying they cooked a meal from scratch every day.

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Processed foods are foods that are prepared through physical or chemical treatments which result in the food being significantly different from its original state. A processed food then might be a sausage made from a mixture of meats, or a canned meal that has had added salts and other substances in order to help give it longevity.

In the majority of cases the term 'processed food' is used to refer to things like sausages and burgers that you might eat at a takeaway that are in fact not pure cuts of meat but rather amalgamations of various meats and cuts. However technically the term can also be used to describe fortified foods that have had additional nutrients added in order to make them more healthy and better for you.

Here we will look at the pros and cons of processed foods and how to select and eat them carefully.
Be Careful of Jargon
Processed foods include synthetic additives and other preparations, but generally they are not as healthy as getting fresh foods and nutrients by controlling your diet closely. Despite this, many companies will try to disguise their true motives and make their refined foods sound healthier than they in fact are. For instance if you read that something is 'rich in vitamin C' then note that this usually means that the vitamin C is synthetic and your body will be less able to absorb it. For instance if you have fruit juice then often this will in fact be water with a fruit concentrate and added vitamin C. Look out for 'fruit drinks' and the word 'concentrate'.

Likewise the term 'pure' on bottled water is not the same as 'natural'. Pure water often comes from a municipal water supply. Look instead for 'natural water' or 'spring' water. Also be weary of 'fortified with calcium' or 'builds healthy bones'. This is common with cereals, but while they may include calcium, this is actually in the form of chalk which is primarily a bulking agent and actually again very hard for the body to absorb.

In fact whenever cereals are refined, the vitamins and minerals will be removed and by law the companies are then required to replace them. This then is the only reason that those cereals are 'fortified' when in fact they simply have the minerals and vitamins that should have been there already replaced with less effective synthetic materials.

At the same time though, we shouldn't assume that all processed foods are 'bad' and particularly when you bear in mind that things like milk are technically processed because it is pasteurized and often skimmed. The pasteurizing process kills bacteria and 'raw' milk can sometimes cause illness.
Pros
Despite some less than honest marketing strategies, processed foods actually do have many benefits. Here we will look at what those are.
Fortification
While nutrients that have been added to foods afterward are often harder for the body to absorb they are still better than nothing and they can provide an important way for us to get certain vitamins and minerals. For instance, someone who had a lactose intolerance might use a water fortified with calcium. Meanwhile fortification is the only way that vegetarians can get vitamin B12 in their diet which is highly important for brain function and nerve health.
Longevity
Foods are often processed for preservation and tinned foods are a perfect example as are freeze dried foods (that use a combination of freezing and vacuums in order to remove moisture from foods). These processed foods are of course very important as a back up and especially in environmental disasters etc. At the same time they are very affordable and quick to prepare making them highly practical for families and those who are in a hurry. Frozen vegetables last indefinitely and are highly practical, but at the same time they don't lose any of their vitamins or minerals.
Salt
Processed foods are almost always high in salt, primarily because of its antibacterial properties which make it ideal for preservation. While salt in high quantities is unhealthy, small amounts are actually good for you and crucial for the function of all of our organs. Thus the occasional ready meal won't actually do you too much damage.
Taste
Often the reason that foods are fortified and processed is to improve the taste (which is of course good for business). Often they will taste fresher after a longer amount of time, and at the same time they will tend to be richer in taste.
Appetite
Many of the processed foods we get from fast food chains have added saturated fats and trans fats. While these aren't good for us, they do make us feel full for longer. The reason for this is that fats are the slowest foods to digest and that therefore means you will crave these meats when you are at your hungriest. 'Healthy' foods often just won't appeal in the same way.
Health Benefits
While you should be weary of the term 'fortified' without research, as mentioned other forms of 'processing' such as the pasteurizing process, are actually necessary to prevent illness.
Cons Loss of Nutrients
Many forms of processing will reduce the amount or bioavailability of vitamins and minerals that are crucial to our health.
Absorption
As mentioned, the difficult absorption of many of the added vitamins and minerals means that they can be highly misleading and that it is still very important to consume fresh foods as well. Because the 'fortification' is actually often done to replace the missing vitamins and minerals that were lost in the processing, this means that the foods carry a lot less nutritional value.
Salt
The added salt in many processed foods is primarily a negative point when there is so much salt in everything else we eat. This can result in cramping, water retention and in extremes – heart damage.
Taste
While some might prefer the strong tastes of processed foods, others prefer the fresh taste of natural foods. At the same time, by constantly consuming foods that have added fats and salts it is possible to lose some of your ability to taste more subtle ingredients and this can prevent you from enjoying fresh foods.
Ease
Unfortunately the very existence of processed foods, and the fact that they are so easy and convenient to eat, means that people in a rush or low in cash will often choose processed foods rather than think of creative ways to eat fresh foods more cheaply and easily. The fact that it is 'all too easy' to take this easier route means that many people aren't getting the proportion of fresh foods in their diet that they need.
Fats
The added saturated fats in processed foods are also often very bad for you and this can cause heart problems and increase cholesterol.
Quality
The fact that many processed foods have added flavoring that masks the original taste of the ingredients, and the fact that many of them are made from mixed sources, means that it's hard to tell the quality of the foods used and this means many manufacturers will 'cut corners'. When you eat a processed burger for instance or meats in a canned meal you won't be getting good cuts of meat but will rather be eating gristle and even 'leftovers'.

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Processed foods are foods that are prepared through physical or chemical treatments which result in the food being significantly different from its original state. A processed food then might be a sausage made from a mixture of meats, or a canned meal that has had added salts and other substances in order to help give it longevity.

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UNIT 611 Regeneration of foods within The Catering and Hospitality Industry

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UNIT 611 Regeneration of foods within The Catering and Hospitality Industry

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This video may be used as part of a process of training level 1 diploma professional cookery students in the process of using convenience products and regenerating to acceptable standards. This video may be used to meet the following objectives. 1. List different types of regenerated foods 2.

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Let's step back in time and see exactly how we became a society where fast, high-fat, processed food is so popular.

1910

Trans fats were invented in the 1890s and entered the food supply in the 1910s. Some processed foods became available as early as the 1910s:

Nathan's hot dogs

Aunt Jemima syrup

Hellmann's mayonnaise

Oreo cookies

Crisco

Marshmallow Fluff

1920

In the 1920s, women were growing weary of preparing foods from scratch, and ready-to-cook foods were becoming more available. World War I brought about new methods of food processing, including canned and frozen foods. Processed food ads promised to save time for housewives. Gas stoves, electric refrigerators and other kitchen tools and appliances were in more and more homes, so more types of food could be purchased and stored. Condiments opened tastebuds to new flavors, thanks to the immigrants who introduced them.

Processed foods from the 1920s:

Baby Ruth candy bar

Wonder Bread

Yoo-Hoo beverage

VanCamp's canned pork and beans

Reese's peanut butter cups

Welch's grape jelly

Popsicles

Wheaties

Kool-Aid

Peter Pan peanut butter

Velveeta cheese

1930

In the 1930s, with the Great Depression looming, families had to get by with less, be super-thrifty and stretch meals ... reducing protein and adding more vegetables and beans. Colonel Harland Sanders invented his secret formula, spicing the fried chicken at Sanders Court and Café in Kentucky (a.k.a. Kentucky Fried Chicken).

Processed foods this decade:

1940

With World War II raging, the 1940s saw rationing to feed the fighting soldiers. After the war, many new "convenience foods" were introduced (dehydrated juice, instant coffee, cake mix) ... the result of military research. Adding to convenience in the kitchen, Tupperware and Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil were introduced.

The first Dairy Queen and McDonald's fast food restaurants opened, and on the opposite end of the culinary spectrum, James Beard's first cookbook was published.

Farmers used fertilization and irrigation to increase crop yields, decreasing the vitamins and minerals in those plants. Government subsidies for corn and soy led to a food industry with a financial incentive to use high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified corn starches, etc. to produce lots of highly processed (and unhealthy) foods. The U.S. issued guidelines for adding iron, vitamin B, thiamine and riboflavin to bread and other grain products to offset nutrient deficiencies.

Some 1940s foods:

1950

This decade was a low point for American cuisine. Fast food restaurants were everywhere, and processed foods were mass distributed, thanks to the new highways. The popularity of television, the invention of the remote control and the introduction of the first microwave for home use didn't exactly add to America's health!

Ready-to-eat foods were all the rage, and busy housewives were oh-so-happy to save time by using quick, canned and frozen foods. The FDA's 1958 Food Additives Amendment required manufacturers to prove the "safety" ( whatever!!) of new additives.

Processed foods invented in the 1950s:

Swanson TV dinners

Cheez Whiz

Tang

Sweet 'n Low

Diet Rite, the first diet soft drink

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE WITH PROCESSED FOODS HISTORY, 1960s to Today

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Processed Foods History: 1910s to 1950s Let's step back in time and see exactly how we became a society where fast, high-fat, processed food is so popular. 1910 Trans fats were invented in the 1890s and entered the food supply in the 1910s. Some processed foods became available as early as the 1910s: Nathan's hot...

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Regeneration of pre-prepared food

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Regeneration of prepared foods Types of food that can be regenerated Dried Fresh Ready made Frozen Pre-prepared Canned Can you give examples of each? What are the differences between freshly made and regenerated foods? Taste Quality Healthy Eating Cost Cooking methods Appearance and the benefits of using prepared foods...?