Jimmy Dean and the yogurt problem

Chrystal (my beautiful soon-to-be daughter-in-law) recently informed us that Jimmy Dean (of sausage fame) was actually a real person who was also a country singer. Guess I should have known that, because he sang a hit I remember from my childhood: "Big Bad John." He also acted in a couple of movies (Diamonds are Forever was one of them) and on TV, all before establishing a sausage company sometime in the 60's. He is not to be confused with the iconic James Dean, who was sometimes called "Jimmy".

I thought about Jimmy Dean sausage a little the other day when I was buying yogurt, trying to remember when they changed 8 ounce containers to 6 ounces, and some 6 ounce containers are downsizing to 4 ounces. What does Jimmy Dean sausage have to do with this? Well a few years ago this recorded rant, a message to the Jimmy Dean customer service department, made the rounds on the internet:

Caution: strong language used!

The first time I heard this I laughed snarkily, like everybody else who listened. But now I find myself slightly annoyed by how tiny yogurt containers have become, and how bizarre the flavors: everything from sugary pina-colada to lemon cheesecake. I'm just like the guy from Texas, who complains to Jimmy Dean about maple-sage sausage! I know, I know, plain yogurt is really easy to make, but it is never at the top of my to-do list, so I shell out money to buy it. And I usually go for "Nancy's" yogurt which comes in just two flavors: plain or vanilla. Still, I see the shelves ever-expanding with smaller and smaller containers of something that should be healthy, but really is not.