Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Should you buy from the Schwan's Man?

Schwan's is convenient, in that they bring frozen food to your door.  But the prices are not a huge bargain and the calorie content of many entrees is rather high.


Should you buy from Schwan's?  The delivery drivers are very personable and make the rounds in every neighborhood from time to time.  But is the food a bargain?  And is it good for you?  Probably not on both counts.

I love the Schwan's man - he is a lot of fun.   But if you are on a budget or on a diet, buying from him is probably a bad idea.

To begin with, Schwan's reverses the buying process - they come to you and say "here is what I have on special this week" - thus changing buying into shopping - where instead of making of list of what you want, you select from a list of what is available.  And since you are in no position to do price comparison, you are at a disadvantage.  In addition, there is some pressure from the sales tactics, as no one wants to be impolite to someone making their living driving the Schwann's truck - so you may end up buying things to be nice.

Many of the entrees are also pre-prepared frozen entrees, which, while easy to prepare, are often the most costly way to eat.  Preparing your own food is much cheaper than thawing and cooking something already made for you.

Finally, there is the calorie count and food content.  If you eat one entree item and then prepare some fresh vegetables, salad, etc. to go with it, it might not be too bad a food mix.  But if you eat only their frozen entrees, you might find your calorie, fat, and sodium content off the charts and your fiber content lacking.

I am not picking on Schwan's here - all pre-prepared frozen entrees are this way.  Most Americans won't eat food that is not salty, fatty, and high in calories.

But like anything else, you could find some fairly healthy items on their menu, if you check the calorie and nutrition information.   But I still don't see their food as any real bargain.

So overall, I'd have to put this one down as a "not often" as it is no real bargain and not a real healthy food choice, overall.