1 Bag, 5 Dinners

[kaykay]

I think this is a neat thing Kraft does and everyone's on a budget. I'm always looking for new things to try and of course, save some money in the process.

What it is is a pre-made grocery list and 5 dinners with easy/cheap/few ingredients. And you can just print out the list and the recipes are with it. Pretty easy stuff to make.

Also, they make a new one pretty frequently.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Budget/1Bag5Dinners/1Bag5DinnersLanding.aspx
http://www.kraftfoods.com/assets/pdf/shoppingLists/1Bag5Dinners_Wi08.pdf

Enjoy!

 

[tunes]

I like the thought behind it, but, um, let's take the cheesy mac (I hate Krap Mac'n Cheese, but I could deal to save money), a serving size is 1-1/4 cups.

Are they serious? I have two 14-year-old boys who would consider that an appetizer. I'd have to double everything in that bag to feed the beasts!

So here it would have to be a two bag a week household!

 

[kaykay]

I like the thought behind it, but, um, let's take the cheesy mac (I hate Krap Mac'n Cheese, but I could deal to save money), a serving size is 1-1/4 cups.

Are they serious? I have two 14-year-old boys who would consider that an appetizer. I'd have to double everything in that bag to feed the beasts!

So here it would have to be a two bag a week household!

That's true Tunes...LOL! I guess it is geared more for maybe 1 person...which is good for me.

 

[TillyChinchilla]

I agree, a great concept - but it isn't enough to feed four - like it says. Unless you have a family of anorexic midgets. 1 cup of chicken and a box of mac and cheese is a two person meal.

And as much as I hate to say this - if we have no sides, we can both eat a whole DiGornio - it is the kind we usually buy. But is says it feeds six people - there is NO way. Calorie wise it probably should - but it isn't enough substance.

 

[greychins]

Well, I imagine it does reasonably ok if you're trying to restrict calories. I mean I'm with Jinul, I can eat a whole pizza by myself, no problem.

However, that being said, let's forget the entire pizza I ate last night - I'm on weight watchers. When counting points and eating reasonable serving sizes of meals, 1 1/4 cups of something should fill you up. So should 1 or 2 pieces of pizza, and not the entire pie. I'm not saying it does, I'm guilty of entire-pizza-by-myself-days, but like for example, when I was down around my ideal weight and I was eating just to maintain that, I could eat a cup of something and be full. Not stuffed, but satiated and I didn't feel I had to eat more. I think that for some people (not all, but some), we're so used to huge portions that we eat until we're stuffed and not just until we've stopped feeling hungry, and so our stomachs are huge.

There's some asian culture, I think it's an island culture (I read this somewhere) where they stop eating when they feel 80% full. Partially because of the whole it-takes-20-minutes-for-you-to-feel-if-you're-still hungry. No one is fat there. Now, look at the US. Our portions are huge, our dinner plates have increased in size, and so on. Heck, a chef boyardee can of ravioli is 14 points on weight watchers. You know how many points I get a day? 21!!!! No wonder so many kids are overweight - I grew up on that stuff!

After I was on weight watchers for awhile and got used to smaller portions, I honestly think my stomach shrank back down to what it should be, because then I could no longer eat a whole pizza... and a cup or two of something would fill me up...at least til the next meal... so back on topic, I think it IS possible for those meals to feed more than 1-2 people, I just think that the people eating the meals have to be more conscious (sp?) of how much they are eating and all that....

Whoops, sorry for the book....

 

[TillyChinchilla]

Your stomach definitely shrinks when you eat less. When I was 13 I got really sick and was at UMASS hospital for a month with an abscess in my liver. I lost a good 40lbs (which is a lot at 13) and I couldn't eat more than a handful of food without feeling full. Eventually I was able to eat normally again.

Portion sizes at restaurants is INSANE! Usually 3-4x what you should be eating. When I eat at Jason's I ask for usually less than 1/2 the portion of the normal dish for salads and pasta. I don't want to waste the food since I eat there for free.

 

[tskoffina]

Well, I imagine it does reasonably ok if you're trying to restrict calories. I mean I'm with Jinul, I can eat a whole pizza by myself, no problem.

However, that being said, let's forget the entire pizza I ate last night - I'm on weight watchers. When counting points and eating reasonable serving sizes of meals, 1 1/4 cups of something should fill you up. So should 1 or 2 pieces of pizza, and not the entire pie. I'm not saying it does, I'm guilty of entire-pizza-by-myself-days, but like for example, when I was down around my ideal weight and I was eating just to maintain that, I could eat a cup of something and be full. Not stuffed, but satiated and I didn't feel I had to eat more. I think that for some people (not all, but some), we're so used to huge portions that we eat until we're stuffed and not just until we've stopped feeling hungry, and so our stomachs are huge.

There's some asian culture, I think it's an island culture (I read this somewhere) where they stop eating when they feel 80% full. Partially because of the whole it-takes-20-minutes-for-you-to-feel-if-you're-still hungry. No one is fat there. Now, look at the US. Our portions are huge, our dinner plates have increased in size, and so on. Heck, a chef boyardee can of ravioli is 14 points on weight watchers. You know how many points I get a day? 21!!!! No wonder so many kids are overweight - I grew up on that stuff!

After I was on weight watchers for awhile and got used to smaller portions, I honestly think my stomach shrank back down to what it should be, because then I could no longer eat a whole pizza... and a cup or two of something would fill me up...at least til the next meal... so back on topic, I think it IS possible for those meals to feed more than 1-2 people, I just think that the people eating the meals have to be more conscious (sp?) of how much they are eating and all that....

Whoops, sorry for the book....

I was on weight watchers too, I lost 70 lbs on it. At first I ate a lot of greens (zero points) but them I got full off of smaller portions. That would probably feed me lunch and dinner for quite a while. I agree people are used to larger portions, although I too can eat 3 people's worth of thai food out. But even if you had to double, isn't it a bit convenient to have the list ready made, and save a little bit of money?

 

[TillyChinchilla]

To make the list save you money, there are some tweaks that I'd make. You could probably cut $5-$7 off the list by purchasing generic items. I make my mac & cheese at home, no boxed stuff, but it is actually more expensive than buying boxes. But it tastes a lot better, so I'm alright with it.

 

[kaykay]

I made the Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese last night and it's an A+ here! It was VERY good. Really easy to make too.
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/spaghetti-zesty-bolognese-91431.aspx