Americans are eating less frozen dinners than in the past, according to an article in Quartz. It’s still a $9 billion dollar business, but the line on the chart is moving in the downward direction. Why?

A number of factors appear to be working against the frozen food aisle—including the rise of dieting, consciousness of better portioning, and Americans’ growing boredom with ready-made frozen meals. But there are four reasons in particular which seem to stand out, according to the research firm Mintel: Americans say they are strapped for cash; they feel frozen food is no longer cost-effective; they prefer to cook for themselves; and they are increasingly skeptical of the health claims of frozen meals—40% of US adults think frozen dinners offer no nutritional value.

We never ate many frozen dinners, beyond a frozen burrito or two for the teenager. Our food vice was burgers and pizza at fast food joints, sloppy Chinese food, and ready-made supermarket chickens. We’ve cut way back on all those things for the reasons listed in the article – expense and health. Also, taste. That food was pretty gross on the whole.

Now, I cook six days per week. It wasn’t easy to find time to plan, shop, cook, and clean, but we did it. And part of the key was the “we” part of that sentence. The planning, shopping, and cooking is in the “me” column. The cleaning is in the “husband and kids” column. I’m working on an article that talks about how I made that shift.

Are you cooking at home more than you did in the past? How do find time to cook, while managing work and family responsibilities? I’m not a crockpot person, but I know others adore that appliance. Are you a crockpot person?