This illustrated box style is the kind I'd picked up before. Gotta love these old TV dinner boxes.
I shouldn't be surprised, but I was, to find out that there is a TV Dinner Day on the Food Holiday list. TV Dinners became popular in the 1950s. After a busy day, families would put frozen dinners (they were individually packaged) in the oven, and out would come a full meal of 2 to 4 courses. Traditionally these were eaten on TV trays in front of the TV where the family would sit on the sofa or chairs and watch their favorite TV shows together. This was not the case in my family. We ate as a family, fresh food prepared by my grandmother, mother, one of my aunts, or the help. Yes, we had help. Dinner time was when the family gathered and discussed school, work, politics, art, literature, music. We were not allowed to watch TV during dinner. Perish the Thought! Oh how I envied the children in the ads and commercials. I was a TV junkie. Still am. I must reveal, though, that I have never eaten a TV Dinner. Never. They wouldn't have been in our freezer, even if someone 'dropped by' as it says in one of the ads below. The food on our table was always expandable to accommodate the numerous people who might and did stop in at dinner time. My grandmother was good at stretching everything. She didn't have to rely on a frozen prepackaged dinner. The term TV dinner is a trademark originally used for a brand of packaged meal developed in 1953 by C.A. Swanson & Sons (the name in full was TV Brand Frozen Dinner). The original Swanson's TV Dinner came in an aluminum tray and was heated in the oven. It was an individual portion. TV dinners required very little preparation and contained all the elements for a single-serving meal. A TV dinner usually consisted of a cut of meat, usually beef or chicken; a vegetable, such as peas, carrots, corn, or potatoes; and sometimes a dessert. Because this is a chocolate blog, I want to let you know that occasionally TV Dinners had a brownie or chocolate pudding for dessert. More likely they didn't. So in honor of TV Dinner Day, here are several Retro Ads. Always fun to see. Be sure to scroll down and watch the Retro TV Ad!
Today is National Frozen Food Day. Since I have no idea what that means either, here's some vintage ads for TV dinners with as much mystery to the meat as to today's holiday.
Who could forget vintage TV dinners -- those shiny foil trays filled with delicious-looking dinner delights, waiting in the freezer for a special night?
It could be said that Thanksgiving gave birth to the American TV dinner. The executive of Swanson TV dinners, Gerry Thomas, claimed he conceived the idea after the food company found itself with a huge surplus of frozen turkeys because of poor Thanksgiving sales. In 1952, Swanson introduced their first dinner consisting of a turkey, cornbread…
Today is National Frozen Food Day. Since I have no idea what that means either, here's some vintage ads for TV dinners with as much mystery to the meat as to today's holiday.
A look back at the frozen TV dinners that were popular decades ago — like Swanson's Hunry-Man line and the kid-friendly Libbyland meals.
Page was salvaged out of an November 15th, 1968 issue of Life Magazine. Ready to frame! Item does not come framed - framing is only shown to suggest display ideas - photo #2 is the actual page you will receive :) Items ship in the least expensive manner available; please keep in mind this is not always the fastest . ANY SHIPPING OVERAGES WILL BE REFUNDED IMMEDIATELY UPON LABEL PRINTING, LESS $1.00 TO COVER SHIPPING MATERIALS. You only pay what I pay! If you purchase 2 or more items, I always combine shipping. PLEASE NOTE: Items are vintage and therefore may have picked up some odors or (in the case of vintage advertising) crinkling along the way. Please check photos carefully, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! ALSO: We are a pet-friendly household and, unfortunately, still a smoking household. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Shopping!
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Today is National Frozen Food Day. Since I have no idea what that means either, here's some vintage ads for TV dinners with as much mystery to the meat as to today's holiday.
Complement your fitness efforts with these nutritious recipes from Karl Henry's 'Healthy Living Handbook'.
I shouldn't be surprised, but I was, to find out that there is a TV Dinner Day on the Food Holiday list. TV Dinners became popular in the 1950s. After a busy day, families would put frozen dinners (they were individually packaged) in the oven, and out would come a full meal of 2 to 4 courses. Traditionally these were eaten on TV trays in front of the TV where the family would sit on the sofa or chairs and watch their favorite TV shows together. This was not the case in my family. We ate as a family, fresh food prepared by my grandmother, mother, one of my aunts, or the help. Yes, we had help. Dinner time was when the family gathered and discussed school, work, politics, art, literature, music. We were not allowed to watch TV during dinner. Perish the Thought! Oh how I envied the children in the ads and commercials. I was a TV junkie. Still am. I must reveal, though, that I have never eaten a TV Dinner. Never. They wouldn't have been in our freezer, even if someone 'dropped by' as it says in one of the ads below. The food on our table was always expandable to accommodate the numerous people who might and did stop in at dinner time. My grandmother was good at stretching everything. She didn't have to rely on a frozen prepackaged dinner. The term TV dinner is a trademark originally used for a brand of packaged meal developed in 1953 by C.A. Swanson & Sons (the name in full was TV Brand Frozen Dinner). The original Swanson's TV Dinner came in an aluminum tray and was heated in the oven. It was an individual portion. TV dinners required very little preparation and contained all the elements for a single-serving meal. A TV dinner usually consisted of a cut of meat, usually beef or chicken; a vegetable, such as peas, carrots, corn, or potatoes; and sometimes a dessert. Because this is a chocolate blog, I want to let you know that occasionally TV Dinners had a brownie or chocolate pudding for dessert. More likely they didn't. So in honor of TV Dinner Day, here are several Retro Ads. Always fun to see. Be sure to scroll down and watch the Retro TV Ad!
