The History of TV Dinners

TV Dinners

The first TV dinner introduced in 1954 by Omaha-based C.A. Swanson and Sons featured roast turkey with stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes and peas.

The dinner sold for 98 cents and came in a disposable aluminum-foil tray, divided into compartments, so buyers could just open the box and heat the dinner in the oven.

The time-saving TV dinners satisfied the needs of baby boom years, and surely changed the way Americans eat.

In the 1960s, when TV became almost a commonplace in America, and other companies entered the market Swanson removed the name "TV Dinner" from the packaging.

The biggest Swanson’s sellers remain their classic items - Fried Chicken, Turkey, and Salisbury Steak.

Research conducted by Baylor College of Medicine (USA) in 2000 showed that more than 42% of dinners eaten at home involved TV watching.

Many people now consider TV dinners unhealthy, and they are often criticized by some health experts for having an overabundance of sodium, and monosodium glutamate. In addition, experts believe that people tend to eat more when parked in front of the TV set because they stop paying attention to the internal signals of satiety.

Submitted by polina on Mon, 2005-11-21 11:57.
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Anonymous (not verified) | Sat, 2006-11-18 00:58

I seem to remember back in the day when the the dinners were still in metal trays (yes I'm a baby boomer), I seem to remember that the vegetable side for the fried chicken dinner was peas. When & why why was it changed to corn?

regards,

KP

Anonymous (not verified) | Fri, 2007-04-13 19:28

No doubt it's cheaper to include corn instead of peas!