July 21st dedicates a giant menu of items to National Junk Food Day. Each year, the day permits us to chow down on the foods we usually don’t include in our daily diet. Junk foods, by definition, typically contain high fats, sugars, salt, and calories and very little nutritional value.
With the advent of packaged foods during the late 1800s, junk food made its way into American life. Still, home-cooked meals remained the standard for several more decades. Eventually, after World War II, the artery-clogging industry took off. Since the population ate out more, traveled more, the industry was primed to produce products at an increased rate.
From the frozen food aisle to fast food chains, a myriad of choices for consumers flooded the market. Potato chips, baked goods and so much more filled supermarket shelves, prepackaged and ready to go.
By the 1970s, junk foods earned a name and a bad one, too. Michael Jacobson, a microbiologist, is credited with coining the phrase. He also set out to curb our appetite for the high sugar, high salt, high preservative foods Americans consumed at an alarming rate.
While deep-fried, fat-laced foods increase our waistlines, cholesterol, and blood sugar numbers, an occasional indulgence shouldn’t impact a healthy, diverse diet and lifestyle. Also, producers make healthy versions of our favorite junk foods to entice us to enjoy a little.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalJunkFoodDay
Snack a little. Chow down on your favorite chip, dip or treat. In fact, treat the family or workplace to a beverage or take out. Post on social media using #NationalJunkFoodDay. You can also celebrate by taking a walk or doing some yard work to burn off those extra calories.
National Frozen Food Day recognizes the preservation feat that freezing fruits, vegetables, and meats have been on modern life. Celebrated each year on March 6th, the observance takes a look at how frozen food impacts our daily lives, its history, and how far it has come.
Flash Freezing
The frozen food aisle is as standard in the grocery store today as ATMs and self-checkouts. It’s also a convenience we don’t give a second thought to unless the power goes out. The American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist Clarence Frank Birdseye II receives credit for developing the method for the flash freezing preserve flavor and quality of foods. Today, we see his name in nearly every canned goods and frozen food aisle in every grocery store in America.
While food preservation by freezing wasn’t new, Birdseye discovered the key was freezing the food quickly. Flash freezing forms small ice crystals, which prevent the cell walls from bursting. Large ice crystals turn the food to mush.
Birdseye applied for many patents, but one of his earliest is from 1927 for a process to flash freeze foods. Consider that in 1930 only 8 percent of American households had refrigeration units in their homes. A frozen food patent in 1927 was a visionary step in a long chain of events to make frozen foods a marketable product.
In 1930, the Birdseye label, owned by the General Food Corporation, began selling 26 products to 18 retails stores in and around Springfield, Massachusetts. Clarence Birdseye continued his work with General Foods Corporation.
Birdseye died on October 7, 1956, but the name and products he inspired continue today.
In 1954, Swanson introduced the first frozen dinners. At the time, the consumers knew them as TV dinners since they were designed to be eaten in front of the newly popular television. Special folding trays, called TV trays, stored conveniently away when not in use. But when dinner time rolled around, they unfolded for each person’s TV dinner. Everyone gathered around the television to enjoy their meal. These pre-cooked meals only needed to be heated through in the oven to be ready to eat. No cooking skills were required. Pre-heat the oven, cook for the required length of time and eat.
The invention of the microwave also changed the types of frozen foods and just how convenient these items can be. Over the years, other frozen foods have developed to meet consumer demand. Various family-sized meals, health conscience meals, and even organic meals have hit the markets in recent years.
Even better make your own. Freezer meals have gained wide spread fame. 1 day of prep will fill your freezer with easy weeknight meals. By preparing them yourself they can be customized for your diet and taste. My husband is diabetic so controlling the foods in them makes it better for his health and easier for me.
You can find even more of my recipes here. While they are not all freezer meals, they are delicious and easy.
NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD DAY HISTORY
President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5157 in which it said: “Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 6, 1984, as Frozen Food Day, and I call upon the American people to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalFrozenFoodDay
Take a trip to your local grocery store and find one of your favorites in the frozen food aisle!! Use #NationalFrozenFoodDay to post on social media.
On November 16th food lovers get a dose of their favorite convenience food on National Fast Food Day. Whether they use the drive-thru, dine-in or get it to go, fast food will grill up, fry up and broil up menu staples.
First popularized in the United States in the 1950s, fast food is considered any meal with low preparation time and served to a customer in a packaged form. The meal makes for quick dine-in, take-out or take-away. Most fast-food restaurants offer drive-thru service.
Merriam-Webster dictionary first recognized the term “fast food” in 1951.
Following World War I, automobiles became popular and more affordable. At that time, restaurants introduced the drive-in.
Much like today’s food trucks, Walter Anderson first began selling hamburgers out of an old streetcar body at a Wichita intersection. While the menu was limited, the hamburgers were a crowd-pleaser. When the popularity of his hamburgers grew, he partnered with E.W. Ingram and opened the first White Castle in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. The enterprising restauranteurs were the first in the fast-food business. They sold hamburgers for five cents each.
The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world. American fast-food restaurants are located in over 100 countries.
Fun fact: The first Happy Meal was served in June of 1979.
While fast-food began as sandwiches and sides, the menus expanded over-time. Today fast-food includes fish, a variety of fried chicken, tacos, pizza and a wide selection of sides. Sodas quench the thirst and desserts sweeten the menu. From ice cream and shakes to pies and cakes, fast food delivers.
As times changed, restaurants added breakfast items to the menu, too. Expanding their hours increased their workforce and their menu options, as well. However, not all fast-food chains offer breakfast.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalFastFoodDay
Invite a group out to your favorite fast-food restaurant. Share some rings and a shake. Do you prefer breakfast or lunch? No matter which one you prefer you can get it to go to make it faster, too!
Give a shoutout to your favorite fast-food restaurant using #NationalFastFoodDay to post on social media.
National French Fry Day on July 13th recognizes a staple food on menus across the country. It comes in so many different cuts and styles, there’s a favorite for everyone to enjoy!
French fries, also known as chips, fries, finger chips, or French-fried potatoes, are batons of deep-fried potatoes. No matter what we call them, they’re common fixtures at fast-food restaurants and are loved by all ages!
A wide selection of condiments such as ketchup, ranch dressing, vinegar, mayonnaise, honey mustard, cheese, and many more complement French fries. As a healthier alternative, sweet potatoes also make delicious fries and accompany many dishes on menus around the country. Other varieties are baked and come in unusual shapes such as curls, waffles, crinkle, or tornado cut.
Beyond the condiments, chefs and home cooks sprinkle seasonings to add flavor and spice to their fries. Whether you add a little garlic and onion powder or spice it up cajun style, a potato crisped just right will satisfy a combination of tastes. We top them with chili or nacho cheese and jalapeños, too. Depending on the type of fries, we might top them with even more ingredients and call them all sorts of things.
The expression “French Fried Potatoes” first occurs in print in English in the 1856 work Cookery for Maids of All Work by E. Warren.
It is believed by some that the term “French” was introduced to the potatoes when the American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I and consequently tasted Belgian fries. Since French was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time, it is possible the American soldiers began calling the fried potatoes “French” fries.
