Of course you need the dip. You can't eat puke plain!

My wife and I used to eat a lot of boxed stuff, as well as spending a lot of time at restaurants, because neither of us were much of a cook. But over the months we've experimented with some recipes (for the sake of variety, health, and expense), and we make quite a bit of quality food at home now.

I was just remarking to her the other night, as we were building some mushroom parmesan pasta, that lately the two of us have become rather adept a making some tasty, semi-healthy food from scratch. We rarely go out to eat, and I haven't had to choke down hamburger helper in months. It's remarkable progress.

i never make boxed meals. never, ever. they really are CRAP. it's just not food in my book.
What the HELL is the point of making it from scratch and using velveeta? your dad is nuts. he started off with a valid argument, and he's right, the box stuff is crap. but then he completely discredited himself by suggesting the velveeta. he's on the right track, but he really needs to do some more research, because velveeta is the same kind of trash as hamburger helper.
my poor husband can't fit into his pants anymore. he went from a 30 waist to a 34. in addition to making everything from scratch, i'm now paying a lot more attention to how fattening the food is! i stopped using ground beef and sausage altogether. i've been using ground turkey in his food. i just made him stuffed cabbage with lowfat sour cream and ground turkey and he didn't even know the difference...

Good choice and a good way to introduce healthier foods into his "diet". :thumpsup:

Boy I really could have done with better eating habits years ago. Now I'm paying for it..ah well. I'm about to do a modified Atkins diet. At least I can have lean meat (and apparently, as much as I want, but I'll probably do a lot of chicken and turkey).

As far as boxed dinners: Syc and I used to do them a lot but not anymore. Way too much sodium and stuff in them, but they were good, IMO. Hamburger Helper: haven't done that in years. Almost forgot they still make it. :D

Be careful with that Atkin's diet. I'm sure it depends on the person, but all it did for me was make me sick (and I stuck with it for a long time, about 3 months). Best thing I've found, for me, is to get 50% of my calories from protein, 25% from carbs and 25% from fat (just have to be careful what kinds of fat you ingest). I went cold turkey on anything with potatoes and refined sugar in it, and have so far lost 30 pounds. It's really just a question of finding what works for you. I don't think it's healthy in the long run to just arbitrarily say "no carbs for me", just as it wouldn't be wise to say "no proteins!" or "no fats!".

i eat about 6-9 potatoes (with oil) every single day. i'm 5'9 and 1/2 and i weigh 120 pounds. go figure.

What the heck is velveeta?
Atkins is worrying. Eating a reasonable amount od decent quality food and regular exersize will always get good results.

Cheese flavored "food" product.

It comes in a squishy block about the consistency of tofu, and doesn't need to be refrigerated until after opening its foil wrapper.

It melts very smoothly, straight into a sauce, that's its whole claim to fame. That and it's cheap. It's like the SPAM of cheeses.

From an article in Chemical and Engineering News
Velveeta is pasteurized process cheese spread

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese food is a variation of process cheese that may have dry milk, whey solids, or anhydrous milkfat added, which reduces the amount of cheese in the finished product. It must contain at least 51% of the cheese ingredient by weight, have a moisture content less than 44%, and have at least 23% milkfat.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese spread is a variation on cheese food that may contain a sweetener and a stabilizing agent, such as the polysaccharide xanthan gum or the Irish moss colloid carrageenan, to prevent separation of the ingredients. The cheese must be spreadable at 70 http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/deg.gifF, contain 44 to 60% moisture, and have at least 20% milkfat.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese product is process cheese that doesn't meet the moisture and/or milkfat standards.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Imitation cheese is made from vegetable oil; it is less expensive, but also has less flavor and doesn't melt well.

ick.
See comment about eating good food. Spoiled for cheese here, Switzerland produces more cheeses than I can ever remember the names of and many are still made in very traditional ways, utterly mouthwatering. To top it off mum lives near Chedder in england and posts me cheese on occasion, sure spices up the morning mail.