I ate America's first ever TV Dinner from 1953 📺🍛

[@HeySeanEly]

Which TV dinner should I research and dive into next? 📺: Venmo: @seanely (www.venmo.com/seanely) 📺: PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/seanely1

[@CesarDelgado-fu2nd]

Perfect 👌 😊

[@reedberry]

Cool video, Sean! TV dinners were fun back in the day. You just had to be careful not to burn yourself on the aluminum tray when you took them out of the oven. No microwaves yet -- you had to wait a while for them to heat in conventional ovens. By the way, the man in the black-and-white Swanson TV commercial is Jack Narz, a well known television personality of that era who went on to host popular game shows such as "Concentration" and "Now You See It." His brother, Jim Narz, went by the name "Tom Kennedy" and was also a very successful game show host. The young man in the Hungry Man commercial is actor Jeff Conaway, from the film "Grease" and the TV series "Taxi."

[@kourtnybasinger1772]

I love it when you go old school! I grew up eating these, and I remember Salisbury steak being my favorite as a kid!

[@anderiturralde]

A fun fact that I looked up because of the video is that 0.98$ in 1953 equates, with inflation, to 11.57$ in today's currency. So it's actually a way cheaper product now, at 4.79$, comparatively speaking to what it was then.

[@ronisley9716]

I grew up eating that very exact one in the 70’s. Not bad at all. We do keep a couple in the chest freezer for those nights you just don’t care and have to fill a hole in your gut. Side note I have gotten thick sliced turkey from the local Hardings and paired it up with stove top stuffing and gravy. Probably takes the same amount of time to make and I bet cheaper.

[@JimHoogewind]

Let's be clear, nothing was cooked (09:20) in this video. 🤣 Love you, my man, and I love your love for brand history and old ads. 💙

[@baywolf5245]

Man i remember cooking tv dinners in the oven wen they were in foil trays before microwaves were a thing. they tasted amazing

[@derekboudreau2144]

Thanks!

[@63ah1275]

C'mon, you need the aluminum tray!.😂 I grew up in the late '60s/early '70s. My mother scratch cooked amazing dinners every night and we ate at the table as a family at 6:00 sharp. The rare occasion we ate Swanson dinners on tv trays watching Wild Kingdom and Wonderful World of Disney was kind of special in a way. I don't think that happened until my dad died when I was 8. I don't think she would not cook before that.

[@melissacomer8404]

Hubby and I are trying a couple of different ones to have as a back up when we travel with our rv if pressed for time. Hungry Man has not been up to bat yet. Getting ready to try the Marie Callenders pot pie and the Banquet Mega bowls.

[@btbesquire5]

I have not had a hungry man meal in 15 years-ish. I loved the fried chicken meals. Amazing to hear that you and Aly will be traveling to France in 2025. My best friend was born and raised in Paris. Have not been, but she has played it up a lot.

[@sportfreak97jeff32]

Now that was a throwback! Thank you sir! I make the family Lasagna from Stouffers and that feeds 1!

[@Keitek]

its been so long since I had a hungry-man tv dinner that i'm pretty sure the trays they came in were bigger and black and despite it being "vacuum" sealed, the corn always mixed in with the brownie.

[@cdanielson1]

"and make your husband lucky too"! Yikes. I was talking to my mom recently about TV dinners. I'd imagine back then they were somewhat healthier seeing that there weren't as many crazy preservatives. I also came from a family who ate TV dinners on busy nights. I loved the Swanson's "fried" chicken with corn and a brownie!

[@nathanpeterson5924]

My favorite was fish and chips. We didn't get them very often because my mom was so health conscious. So for us it was a treat to get them lol

[@johndavidson940]

Great video. I was researching Frozen Dinners about the time you posted this video. At $.98 that seems expensive for the 50's. Are you sure about that price? We didn't do the frozen dinners much, but we did our fair share of Pot Pies when MOM did not want to cook. She already had her hands full with 8 rug rats to keep under control. After she passed in my teens, we did Boil in the Bag meals which are no longer available that I can find. I liked them. Because if I was doing the "cooking" everyone could get what they want. I liked the Salisbury Steak. Others liked the Turkey. Not many varieties available as my over 50 brain remembers. I was getting Marie Calendars Dinners for work lunches occasionally. I stumbled upon an idea. Get a few slices of thick cut turkey from the butcher, make instant mashed taters, make a gravy and stove top dressing. Add some frozen Vegetable mix and presto you got a meal. Heat up and eat. Now that's cookin. 🙂

[@jasonblaine23]

TV dinners and hot pockets! Yes! I have a horrible childhood memory of my dog snatching my kid cuisine pizza right off the table. At least I still got the brownie. 😂😂

[@LarryGonzalez00]

I remember these well. "Hungry Man" was the TV dinner with the bigger portions for the hungry man. I preferred the Salisbury Steak myself.

[@kvonjaco]

I just showed this to my mom, who was born in the late '50s. She hated the turkey tv dinners because all of the sides were sooo fake tasting. The only tv dinners she liked were the pasta based ones like manicotti.

[@vaylon1701]

I remember when these came out. They were not 98 cents each. They were only 49 to 79 cents. But you could find them on sale for 39 cents. The turkey was real turkey breast but was super salty just like everything else in frozen dinners. The potatoes had no flavor except for the salty gravy. As for the cranberry poop? I do not know of anyone who liked it. Towards the end of 50's they started to be called space dinners. But except for chicken pot pies, none of the dinners started tasting good until the late 70's. God I am old!

[@katrinkalol]

I have fond memories of the TV dinners in the sectioned tin plates covered with foil.

[@ski9600]

I looked and the old one in the aluminum try you showed near the start was also 11oz. It is too small, but we'll have to get over it.

[@ikec4021]

Has to have a apple berry compote they went with the apple trash only for awhile recently

[@NickRussell-pt4jt]

The Alfredo lean cuisine with broccoli in it and tapatio added is what im hooked on right now

[@lisaanderson8235]

I don't know that I've ever eaten one of these dinners, but I appreciate the nostalgia! 😊👍

[@ikec4021]

Crazy it's the only frozen dinner I'll still eat

[@HardPumpers]

I've enjoyed most of the "Devour" brand of frozen meals I've had.

[@extremeking425]

I will check out Scentify once I get my KZbin check for Christmas.

[@scentify]

We'll be waiting :)

[@plumbrookelementaryphysica2188]

I was a big salsbury steak tv dinner fan.

[@LVVMCMLV]

Those old Swanson, turkey dinners in the foil trays were fantastic

[@joeruhe8030]

They probably tasted like a gourmet meal compared to the slop they peddle now!

[@brandynminghine380]

Stouffers mac and cheese was always in my house growing up...and stouffers french bread pizzas lol...cheers my man

[@JDoors]

I always have frozen meals on stand-by. Some I actually look forward to (usually in the "bowls" category), some are pretty good (most from Stouffer's or Marie Callender's), and some ... I keep on hand for when ... no, actually, I don't know why I keep them on hand (Banquet and On-Cor). I think for when I need something completely different. BTW, I keep trying "vegan" options, hey, they're good for ya, right? Most taste like wet hay. Fuhgeddaboudit.

[@eddiekyovskyjr7950]

That was growing up as a kid love it

[@James-sir]

The actual old tv dinners in the tin trays tasted way better

[@Afunnymaninpain]

There is nothing like cooking in polyvinyl chloride, aka PVC.

[@mevl4822]

Super interesting, very nicely done.

[@rynomite357]

We need to talk!… Let’s recreate those old 50’s commercials with food products you have a handle on, like some of the restaurants you have been working with!, You bring that style of commercial back with today’s food!! … Others will follow and you will become the OG!!! 🤘🏻

[@ikec4021]

Baking or microwave I didn't notice enough of a difference to make it worth the extra time

[@timdavis1877]

Well played Sean, well played!

[@nancywormington6030]

My favorite was Salisbury Steak.

[@debely5113]

LOVE YOU, SOOO MUCH! ❤

[@CesarDelgado-fu2nd]

I actually had before yesterday it was good 😊

[@dragonrana88]

I've never eaten one of these

[@Mike_Greentea]

Please don’t there all trash!

[@Watch_over_us]

He said something about "I know its not the best food" What does he mean by that?

[@corylee2261]

Side by side comparison with banquet!!

[@Picit-13]

Another guilty pleasure of mine!!

[@TigerPalmer]

The real dessert is scraping the tray for any remaining mashed potatoes and gravy.

[@senoritayumyum]

Alexa! Put compote on my grocery list

[@kevinpratt8476]

At my Walmart, they are $3.74. What do they go for in Chicago?

[@GinaKieffer-gl8dv]

We weren't a frozen food family but interesting

[@oldtoad76]

Marie Calendars chicken pot pies!

[@robertschwartz4810]

Mmmm! That's mighty good eatin'! ( Honestly, it's really not bad).

[@anthonybottigliero8336]

Its not a tv dinner without the weird dried out apple pie thing. I'm glad I was able to eat them without getting filled with microplastics. My generation just got extra aluminum in our diets.

[@PTE399]

No - I’d buy Stouffers😋

[@kunkmiceter]

The key is to make two and combine them together after you bake em. Hungry Man on steroids. 😅

[@HeySeanEly]

I should make it all into a sandwich.

[@lisagoranson6279]

Sean, when U admitted that U prefer mashed potatoes in a frozen dinner or instant to the fancy ones, I related. Here’s a tip that U can thank me for later. Buy a pouch of “Idahoan Buttery Homestyle” mashed potatoes. They are the BEST mashed spuds U will ever taste. I could eat a bowl of them myself.

[@HeySeanEly]

I absolutely love those. My go-to bagged instant potato. We would get along well, Lisa. 🥔

[@lisagoranson6279]

But the mini potato at the end. 😂

[@eddiekyovskyjr7950]

My favorite tv dinner is Salisbury steak for sure…love having woman make homemade 🤖

[@electricsister1777]

Give me Stove Top Stuffing and Idahoan Instant Loaded Potato Mashed Potatoes over the "homemade" versions any day 🤤

[@HeySeanEly]

Honestly, facts.

[@Afunnymaninpain]

That salesmans idea was stolen by Swanson, and he wound up divorced in a dumpy midwesst appointment in Indianapolis.

[@extremeking425]

Better than nothing I guess.

[@ppd343]

I actually think society has devolved greatly since the 50s.

[@James-sir]

Kinda but the OG one was in a stamped tin tray not these new plastic paper poison

[@Gatorfreak87]

# better then hospital food

[@jrich4309]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@stevemill4434]

They tasted 50 times better in the tin

[@brianpfouts2326]

The dessert for sure looks like something that would be leaking out of a poorly made or average made mc pie from McDonald's lol

[@SnarkfishMan]

It sucks, but it's good. The stouffer's version is actually better

[@Gatorfreak87]

Weird food history

[@kevinpratt8476]

You’re not gonna like it believe me as a bachelor and someone who is disabled and can’t really cook. I survive on these every week and they are terrible.

[@queencupcake09]

More of a reason to learn how to cook.

[@kevinpratt8476]

@ unfortunately because I am disabled, I cannot cook at all. I don’t have the dexterity in my hands to be able to do that. It sucks being disabled.

[@HardPumpers]

​@@queencupcake09your reading comprehension is sorely lacking...

[@anthonybottigliero8336]

Its more expensive, but there are food services which send prepared food. Its much better tasting. As a cheaper option, you could use AI to put together meals and order the stuff from a grocery which has pickup or delivery. Then you're just eating from different packages.

Do you have access to Doordash? Uber Eats? Or store delivery from a nearby grocery store.?