back in the 1960's, my mother slaved over a hot stove every night except mondays, we usually had left overs from a big sunday dinner, and friday, my dad was in charge of cooking, he usually did tv dinner or mcdonalds, or sandwiches__he was not a very good cook, my mom was an awesome cook
i was born in 1962, the dinners were better quality back in the 1960's and 1970's and considered a "treat", they use to taste really good. It was a big deal for us kids being able to pick out the flavor we wanted from the freezer.
Yes, they were always a treat when the parents were out for the night. And at $.79 aka $8.00 a pop it was definitely not every day food. Microwaves ruined them and making them cheap enough to eat regularly.
I remember eating these in the 80's. Unlike the ones today that have plastic trays , the older ones had aluminum foil trays so they had to be heated in the oven.
@@tenshi890 The quality of the food was far better than it is now. Also, since it was cooked in an oven on a metal tray, the food was warmed throughout, not bombarded with microwaves.
That turkey dinner looked absolutely delicious. It looked like actual turkey meat. The Chinese meal also looked great. I bet the ingredient list was all natural or close to it.
As someone who occasionally ate them in the early 60's I can tell you that TV dinners looked much better on TV than in their aluminum tray. I remember the turkey one particularly as a couple of slices of meat, some of hich was cut by a buzz saw, with strictlty generic stuffing, potatoes and gravy. The cranberry sauce wasn't bad. But as food, it had no real character.
Apparently there was also an English-style fish-and-chips and a "Polynesian-style" dinner with sweet-and-sour chicken and pork, roasted rice, chow mein, and an orange tea cake. The Polynesian one isn't real Polynesian food but emulating the "Polynesian" restaurant craze targetting returning WWII Pacific Theater veterans, combining Polynesian decor, Cantonese food, and fruity cocktails like maitais to make something "exotic."
Well they were directed at women because it was the era of Mary Tyler Moore and working women didn't want to cook. Can you imagine working all day and then cooking a full course meal after? You wouldn't get to bed until 1am every morning.
They were a special treat for the kids because that it was the only time you were allowed to eat dinner while watching tv in the living room. And most Mom’s cooked real meals every day, so TV dinner night gave her a break.
In my area, none of the major super markets sell Swanson TV dinners anymore. They sell the Hungry Man dinners, but not the regular TV dinner. I saw the last TV dinner here about 10 years ago, they were calling them Swanson Classics, then they just disappeared. I don't know if it's that way across the country or not, but definitely not in the Pacific North West.
@@raiisleep Yeah, that's unfortunate, there is still Banquet TV dinners, but they are no where near as good as the Swanson TV dinners were. My favorite was Beans and Franks, I remember the uproar when it was discontinued in the late 70's, it was National News! My father was happy, because that was the most expensive one and he rarely bought it because it was almost a dollar! My mother would by it for me when I was sick.
I believe it may have been based on a pudding called Biscuit Tortoni; which is made with eggs and cream, and has origins in Italy en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_Tortoni
Some years ago, Gordon Ramsay was exposed using pre-cooked, frozen meals to heat up at his Foxtrot Oscar restaurant, so in a way, he was selling TV dinners.
Yes, just from judging from the shots in these commercials (which really can't be trusted, all foods are made up to look better in ads), modern-day microwave dinners do seem quite pathetic and much less appetizing. I wouldn't doubt that the tv dinners of the past were of a higher quality, before the onslaught of modern-day food processing techniques introduced in the '70s and later to make it cheaper to manufacture (i.e. hydrogenization, HFCS, etc.).
Better way to cook these was in a toaster oven but now it's plastic so if you put it in the T O now it'll melt and you'll be chewing on pvc with turkey and peas stuck in it
You are right. They were of higher quality in the 1960s and the portions were much larger. Of course they did take 40-60 minutes to bake in the oven. Of course you watched tv in the living room while they cooked. And once out of the oven you set them on your TV tray and bon appetite
@saintalofcincinnati The man in #2 is Hans Conried, actor & voice-over artist. Rent the film "The 10,000 Fingers of Dr. T" to see him at his finest (despite the script he had to work with).
@@fromthesidelines Conried also hosted Jay Ward's absurdist TV show "Fractured Flickers", and provided the voice of Waldo Wigglesworth in the cartoon series show "Hoppity Hooper".
@AmazingGordo you said it!!!! i wish they would make these again instead of the big portions of "hungryman" dinners :o( & i remember loving the little "dessert". i remember the cherry one reminded me of the kenner "baby alive" doll's food. LOL..... the good ol' days, huh???!!!
hippie doll Do they not have Swanson dinners in your area? They have them in most grocery stores here in Saskatchewan (they say “Product of USA if I recall correctly).
They're doing the same thing in actuality that which was depicted on the television commercial is not how the actual food looks like it's misleading advertising it's always been a thing since forever
The German flavor looks intriguing. They got creative back then. And I bet even adjusting for inflation the price was reasonable. Now you have to pay like 3x more with less food and more additives lol. Not worth it anymore.
I want Mexican they stopped around 15 yrs ago Banquet made them too They were HORRIBLE CRAP but oddly good THE BEANS N RICE were my fave part hated the off meat inside scraper it out..
dutch sounds good than german. pandas live in china's jungles. winx club fantasy series from italy. judd as mexican maraca player near callie as miku & marie as ulala jumps up.
the salisbury steak dinners and some of the chicken dinners have ungrinded chewies in the meat and poultry...why? and the sauce in the chicken strips overflow into the potatoes...who inspects this garbage? im grossed out
My grandfather once told me that growing up TV dinners were a treat. Now a days having a home cooked meal seems like a treat.
back in the 1960's, my mother slaved over a hot stove every night except mondays, we usually had left overs from a big sunday dinner, and friday, my dad was in charge of cooking, he usually did tv dinner or mcdonalds, or sandwiches__he was not a very good cook, my mom was an awesome cook
it think because they lowered their standart to make it more affordable.
@@ilhamshobri461 not really, these days you have much more variety when it comes to TV dinners. They also vary in quality as well.
Just because you come from a fucked up home doesn’t mean everyone else lives like that too
@@soapflakes dude, what's you're deal?
i was born in 1962, the dinners were better quality back in the 1960's and 1970's and considered a "treat", they use to taste really good. It was a big deal for us kids being able to pick out the flavor we wanted from the freezer.
Yes, they were always a treat when the parents were out for the night. And at $.79 aka $8.00 a pop it was definitely not every day food. Microwaves ruined them and making them cheap enough to eat regularly.
They were in foil trays. In my opinion the foil trays are better than the modern plastic trays
When you're in Iraq or Afghanistan for six months these t.v. dinners are heaven.
bernie udo thank you for your service
Are they better than MRE’s?
@@DonkeyKickingMC probably heard stories from vets that a few MRES are trash
@@whydoesthischannelexist-3119 he's a bozo he's only serving oil
They're heaven when you're home...
I remember eating these in the 80's. Unlike the ones today that have plastic trays , the older ones had aluminum foil trays so they had to be heated in the oven.
Yes. I remember the foil pans too.
Was it good ? We didn't have these kind of "frozen dinners" in my country in the 80's
I imagine the quality of the food was much better too.
@@tenshi890 The quality of the food was far better than it is now. Also, since it was cooked in an oven on a metal tray, the food was warmed throughout, not bombarded with microwaves.
@@MrUnidyne you can still cook a TV dinner in the oven. (At least the Hungry Man ones.)
TV dinner from 1970 looks better than school lunch today.
Hell a Tv Dinner in 2022 looks better than School lunch today
i wish my school lunch was that good
here i am awake at 2am watching old tv dinner commercials
Wait lemme check the time real quick, and mother of god
Me too. Kinda pitiful, huh?
That turkey dinner looked absolutely delicious. It looked like actual turkey meat. The Chinese meal also looked great. I bet the ingredient list was all natural or close to it.
Yeah. And Pop Tarts were a health food when they first came out.
As someone who occasionally ate them in the early 60's I can tell you that TV dinners looked much better on TV than in their aluminum tray. I remember the turkey one particularly as a couple of slices of meat, some of hich was cut by a buzz saw, with strictlty generic stuffing, potatoes and gravy. The cranberry sauce wasn't bad. But as food, it had no real character.
I remember these TV Dinners!😁
The turkey looks so good there with big portions too. Now it looks like it comes from a turkey roll.
Apparently there was also an English-style fish-and-chips and a "Polynesian-style" dinner with sweet-and-sour chicken and pork, roasted rice, chow mein, and an orange tea cake. The Polynesian one isn't real Polynesian food but emulating the "Polynesian" restaurant craze targetting returning WWII Pacific Theater veterans, combining Polynesian decor, Cantonese food, and fruity cocktails like maitais to make something "exotic."
So the "Polynesian" dinners were more like Tiki Bar fare. Interesting.
It's pretty much classic Tiki Culture in a frozen dinner
I remember the Polynesian style frozen dinner it had a dessert I always liked, my Dad would always get them for me 🤔
I wonder if the English variety had “Spotted Dick” for dessert.
It's funny that these are directed at women when I'm pretty sure TV Dinners have been the dinners of bachelors for decades now.
Well they were directed at women because it was the era of Mary Tyler Moore and working women didn't want to cook. Can you imagine working all day and then cooking a full course meal after? You wouldn't get to bed until 1am every morning.
I thought the dinners were for lazy people? my uncle always buys them to eat because he's always alone and burns food if he cooks real food.
In the film "Bullit", the title character (played by Steve McQueen) goes shopping by grabbing stacks of TV dinners without even looking at the labels.
They were a special treat for the kids because that it was the only time you were allowed to eat dinner while watching tv in the living room. And most Mom’s cooked real meals every day, so TV dinner night gave her a break.
I like how the peas were always in my dessert, lol.
Can't believe people actually got paid big bucks for brainstorming these!
I've always wanted to see a picture of the Italian one again.
lol,,,I used to eat the mexican dinners in the 70s and they were awesome.
Wheres bonnie?
In my area, none of the major super markets sell Swanson TV dinners anymore. They sell the Hungry Man dinners, but not the regular TV dinner. I saw the last TV dinner here about 10 years ago, they were calling them Swanson Classics, then they just disappeared. I don't know if it's that way across the country or not, but definitely not in the Pacific North West.
I looked it up and unfortunately they no longer exist, only hungry man
@@raiisleep Yeah, that's unfortunate, there is still Banquet TV dinners, but they are no where near as good as the Swanson TV dinners were. My favorite was Beans and Franks, I remember the uproar when it was discontinued in the late 70's, it was National News! My father was happy, because that was the most expensive one and he rarely bought it because it was almost a dollar! My mother would by it for me when I was sick.
Such large portions compared to today's frozen meals even from Swanson
The Turkey dinner was actually banging
They actually used to put a dessert compartment in TV dinners . Now it's just a main course with potatoes or veggies
Only Swanson had a dessert with their standard TV dinners. Banquet and Morton never did.
ooh yes the famous tortoni pudding, just as italoamerotrash as spaghetti with jam
I believe it may have been based on a pudding called Biscuit Tortoni; which is made with eggs and cream, and has origins in Italy
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_Tortoni
I doubt any of the aforementioned frozen dinners would meet with Gordon Ramsay's standards of "haute cuisine".
who cares about pretense
i bet he ate these as a kid
Some years ago, Gordon Ramsay was exposed using pre-cooked, frozen meals to heat up at his Foxtrot Oscar restaurant, so in a way, he was selling TV dinners.
Italian, needs a cube of cappuccino
Yes, just from judging from the shots in these commercials (which really can't be trusted, all foods are made up to look better in ads), modern-day microwave dinners do seem quite pathetic and much less appetizing. I wouldn't doubt that the tv dinners of the past were of a higher quality, before the onslaught of modern-day food processing techniques introduced in the '70s and later to make it cheaper to manufacture (i.e. hydrogenization, HFCS, etc.).
Better way to cook these was in a toaster oven but now it's plastic so if you put it in the T O now it'll melt and you'll be chewing on pvc with turkey and peas stuck in it
You are right. They were of higher quality in the 1960s and the portions were much larger. Of course they did take 40-60 minutes to bake in the oven. Of course you watched tv in the living room while they cooked. And once out of the oven you set them on your TV tray and bon appetite
@saintalofcincinnati The man in #2 is Hans Conried, actor & voice-over artist. Rent the film "The 10,000 Fingers of Dr. T" to see him at his finest (despite the script he had to work with).
Also played "Uncle Tonoose" on the "Danny Thomas Show" (aka "Make Room For Daddy").
Hans was SO good at pitching food, he could make you believe creamed chipped beef {"shit on a shingle"} was BEEF WELLINGTON.
@@fromthesidelines Conried also hosted Jay Ward's absurdist TV show "Fractured Flickers", and provided the voice of Waldo Wigglesworth in the cartoon series show "Hoppity Hooper".
AND "Snidely Whiplash" on "Dudley Do-Right".
He played Wrongway Feldman on Gilligan's Island.
If you can believe it Hans Conried was just 53 years old in 1970. I kid you not.
When I was a little boy there was no dessert included. Just the main entree and two sides. Usually peas and whipped potatoes.
@AmazingGordo
you said it!!!!
i wish they would make these again instead of the big portions of "hungryman" dinners :o(
& i remember loving the little "dessert". i remember the cherry one reminded me of the kenner "baby alive" doll's food. LOL.....
the good ol' days, huh???!!!
hippie doll Do they not have Swanson dinners in your area? They have them in most grocery stores here in Saskatchewan (they say “Product of USA if I recall correctly).
Swanson frozen turkey dinners, Thanksgiving style, the prefab frozen meal that started the tv dinner in 1953.
I want for my bday and dinner party :D
dang it looks good
They do make these.....
Is it just me, but do today's frozen dinners pale horribly in comparison to the meals that are sold today?
They're doing the same thing in actuality that which was depicted on the television commercial is not how the actual food looks like it's misleading advertising it's always been a thing since forever
Which TV dinners was like that not in plastic bowls that was great I remember those
i wish they had them now i would get all of them :P
Hey at 1:01 it's Hans Conried, the voice of Captain Hook.
Gimme the German and Mexican one right now
That second commercial was patronizing.
Banquet Boiling Bags?????
Yes boil and bag. Yummy. There’s nothing these Swanson tv dinners
lol the hokey, stereotypical music accompanying each "international" tv dinner
Speaker in commercial #2 looks and sounds like a swishy Ron Paul.
That's Hans Conried: actor, narrator, writer, comic, and animation voice-over artist.
It seems strange to have chosen the voice of Snidely Whiplash to say 'trust me, ladies'. Oh well...
That's Hans Conried, waxing rhapsodic about the Swanson Turkey Dinner.
This dinners grandson is still doing crappy enchiladas
😂 how international lol. Authentically.
TV dinners and Archie Bunker.. a good night.
The "Swanson International Frozen Dinners" ad is from 1968.
Why did they show stuffing, but they said dressing? There's no salad in that meal.
I liked the Mexican beans n rice part the rest was dog food
The potatoes tasted better in the old tv dinners
The German flavor looks intriguing. They got creative back then. And I bet even adjusting for inflation the price was reasonable. Now you have to pay like 3x more with less food and more additives lol. Not worth it anymore.
I want Mexican they stopped around 15 yrs ago Banquet made them too
They were HORRIBLE CRAP but oddly good THE BEANS N RICE were my fave part hated the off meat inside scraper it out..
Who knew that there once had been a TV dinner with german food?
"German Style"
I did as we ate all 4 international dinners. The Mexican was especially delicious
Conried hawks Turkey Dinner!
That voice makes me want to eat anything he recommends.
Anchilada
Wrong way feldman.
.. in those days they put REAL food in the tv dinners, not that synthetic crap they sell today !!!!!
They actually look pretty tasty but since I’m Italian American I find this very offensive 😂🤣😂🤣
Gool ol tv dinners at gradmas. Not too bad, better than any vegan garbage available today.
Onchiloda
I wonder of carlson tucker ever ate this crap
Dog food 😂
Just curious if you actually ate these international dinners. They were tasty except for the Chinese one.
I think this guy is super HWHIPPED.
l
o
l
dutch sounds good than german. pandas live in china's jungles. winx club fantasy series from italy. judd as mexican maraca player near callie as miku & marie as ulala jumps up.
They were all pretty tasty except for the Chinese.
The "international" frozen tv dinners look gross
eh,chinese seems good,it really is too simple to mess up,the mexican seems alright
They all seem pretty good imo
como que digamos que la presentacion no es nada rica
This video sus
How so, Korean man?
YUCK 😝
G-Nice p Yes, you are.
SEES YOUR PROFILE FACE and I said " YUCK" LOL
the salisbury steak dinners and some of the chicken dinners
have ungrinded chewies in the meat and poultry...why? and the
sauce in the chicken strips overflow into the potatoes...who inspects
this garbage? im grossed out
I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices when there's cartilage or sinew or whatever in meat
i bet the libertards today would call this "racist" lol
That's what I'm actually looking for in the comment section.
Bludika you beat me to it 😁
Funnily enough there is someone right above this comment claiming just that
Ahh, back when commercials were allowed to be racist.
People like you always have to play the race card. Things were not woke yet.
Racist? Not really, stereotyping? Sure.
Racist and revolting.
Jalex Fine why
@@thebeardog2317 because white people made food that tastes decent
Duh it was the 60s