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Wal-Mart's hors d'oeuvres are flying off the shelves, Campbell's condensed soup is through the roof and Velveeta is making a killing.

Despite foodies who declared it dead a decade ago, "lowbrow" food is making a comeback.

Preferring to stay in instead of eating out, some Canadians are returning to nutritionally dubious "comfort food" such as mac and cheese and Jell-O, a trend that is being mirrored around the world - and worrying health experts and Food Network stars such as chef Jamie Oliver. Last month, Mr. Oliver warned the British Parliament that the financial crisis would drive families to cheap food and worsen the obesity epidemic.

Wal-Mart Canada saw its sales jump 9.4 per cent between late August and Oct. 31. The numbers were largely driven by higher sales of food at Wal-Mart's 39 supercentres, which include grocery stores.

At $4.96 for a box of about 15, Wal-Mart's breaded hors d'oeuvres (think Jalapeno Dippers with Spicy Thai Sauce) have been selling well, as have two-pound bags of cooked shrimp priced at $8.88.

At Kraft Foods, macaroni and cheese, Delissio Pizza, "processed cheese product" Velveeta and nostalgic favourites such as Jell-O and Kool-Aid are enjoying strong sales, spokeswoman Lynne Galia said. Kraft's net revenues increased by 19.4 per cent between July and late September.

"We certainly are benefiting as consumers eat at home," Ms. Galia said. "We feel that in this challenging environment we're well positioned to win."

Shortly after the market crash, Campbell's Soup posted a major profit gain: In the United States, broth sales jumped by 23 per cent, condensed soup sales by 14 per cent and ready-to-serve soup by 7 per cent.

"Historically, people have viewed Campbell's soups as a great value in both good and tough economic times; that fact is as true today as any time in Campbell's history," said Anthony Sanzio, group director of corporate and brand communications for Campbell Soup Co. "During times of uncertainty, people naturally seek the familiar, they seek things they can trust, such as comfort food."

Mr. Sanzio said Canadians are using soups such as cream of mushroom and cream of chicken to make casseroles, and buying the company's microwavable soups to fill out their brown-bag lunches.

He noted that the company recorded a 30-per-cent increase in visitors to the Campbell's Kitchen website from last September. This September, people printed out nearly 300,000 recipes: The No. 1 search was for crock pot recipes.

Cara Miller, a mother of four from Saint John, says she is having trouble buying healthy food for her kids.

"I tend to browse all the flyers of my grocery stores and I plan my meals around what's on sale that week. They really are pushing the pre-packaged foods, like Lipton Sidekicks, instant potatoes and a lot of canned goods. It gets frustrating. ... I do use a lot of those convenience foods, and I want to get back to the basics. But when I go into the grocery store, the prices are astronomical. A bag of potatoes is $7 for 10 pounds."

Ms. Miller, who keeps a parenting blog called Tales from the Minivan and oversees the message boards on Canadianparents.com, said that despite the recent drop in fuel costs, fresh fruits and veggies are getting more expensive in her city.

"A lot of my friends and other Canadian parents that I converse with on a daily basis, they're feeling that crunch. The prices keep going up. ... I can go to the grocery store and if I buy four litres of milk it's costing me almost $7, but if I go buy two-litre bottles of Coca Cola, it's going to cost me two and change. That's a problem that I have, and I think it's a problem for society in general."

In the United States, Spam is a hot seller, with factory workers putting in overtime to produce the canned meat product. The draw is clear: Spam is vacuum-packed for a long lifespan, and cheap.

In Canada, some restaurants are also embracing a return to lowbrow food, and slashing their prices. Mitzi's Sister in Toronto has replaced its weekly specials with a "recession bites" menu. Mains go for less than $10, and dessert is $2.50.

The menu features retro classics such as sloppy joes, mac and cheese, meatloaf, potato latkes, grilled cheese sandwiches, beans and wieners, and bread pudding.

Owner Lesli Gaynor points out that unlike Velveeta and the quivering Spam, which are highly processed and loaded with additives, her food is homemade.

"I think the only thing you might be able to come with as a criticism would be that we might have a higher fat content ... but we're not taking any product that is laden with salt and with chemicals."

Still, some health experts are growing concerned about the larger shift to commercially processed food, with its high levels of preservatives, nitrates and saturated fats.

"As soon as you're into the processed foods you're asking for health problems," said Christine Lydon, a British Columbia-based nutrition expert and author of the upcoming book Ten Years Thinner.

Ms. Lydon recommends avoiding anything that "comes out of a can" and is loaded with sodium, or has been "ground up and mixed with cornmeal and turned into a meat-like product."

Although she admits it is getting "harder to eat well and eat cheap," Ms. Lydon points out that simple carbohydrates such as macaroni, white bread and breakfast cereals are an inefficient way to eat.

"White carbohydrates set up a vicious cycle: You never feel full. These are nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods that are going to leave people hungry. If you're not getting adequate amounts of amino acids, essential fatty acids and antioxidants, it leads to an inflammatory status that promotes diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.

"Everything can be tied back to how you process foods."