The launch of Oscar Mayer’s newest convenience product (and one of their older ones) has me scratching my head and wondering why some things have apparently become too hard or time consuming for folks. I’m talking about the new “Deli Creations” hot sandwich kits and “Lunchables” which have been around for a while. (Not even linking to the Lunchables site, it’s nothing more than a flash game for kids with ads smashed in.)
Looking at the various options you can get w/Lunchables, it seems to come down to this: Some crackers, deli meat, cheese, a juice box of some sort and sometimes dessert. The Deli Creations are deli meat & cheese on a sub roll with special microwave packaging.
Granted, I am self-employed and work from home so I have a little more time on my hands than some of my contemporaries, but does it REALLY take that long to put together a cheese/meat/cracker bento for kiddo’s lunch? Toss in a juice box or 50 cents for milk money and you’re done. You could easily have the same variety and more quality control over what your kid is eating (or OK, trading to someone else) for lunch. It just can’t be that difficult, and yet these suckers seem to be incredibly popular given how many different varieties are available in stores.
On the sandwich kits – if you want a hot sandwich for lunch, when did it become too difficult to put together a sandwich the night before, wrap it in some tinfoil and then pop it in the toaster oven at the office? No toaster oven? OK, so you go with the microwave, some parchment paper and be willing to experiment a bit on times. But still, it’s not that big I deal, is it?
I’ll admit, I’m a fan of fast and convenient – who isn’t? But these just seem to be a touch over the top. Maybe that 7.5 minutes spent in the kitchen making these up could be relaxing. Could be something fun to put together with your kids. Are we really that strapped for time?