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Are 'convenience foods' really convenient?
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So, my friend's argument is that:
shopping time is the same
prep time is close to the same
cooking time is essentially the same
So convenience foods aren't really that convenient compared to making food from scratch.
IMO, if that's the case, then you're (he's) not doing "convenient" right.
Full disclosure. I'm not a good cook. As such, cooking is tedious and the result rarely tastes as good as pre-packaged foods. So even if what he argued was true, the simplicity of just dumping everything in a pan and stirring occasionally (never mind just popping something in the microwave) for a better tasting meal is, IMO, worth it and more convenient.3 -
I enjoy cooking, am always on the look out for new tasty recipes. I have bought the occasional ready meal for when its just me that's eating, the last one was a Fishermans pie. It was just ok.
My own food tastes way better and most of the meals I make are prepped and cooked in 30 mins. Plus I could cook a meal for my family (3) for the same price as a ready meal for one pretty much.
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@Zodikosis we just made pierogi last night
took forever! but boy are they delicious! 1 -
I would ask what sorts of foods your friend cooks from scratch, to see if that’s influencing his or her assessment that it’s not that much easier to use convenience foods. Is it really an apples to apples, or in this case macaroni to macaroni comparison?
You mentioned hamburger helper and other things that are a little more involved than just popping a frozen meal in the microwave. I make hamburger helper on occasion - my kids like it and it’s easy especially if I’ve precooked and portioned ground beef, turkey or venison in 1 lb bags in the freezers. But even if I’m starting with raw beef it’s about 10 minutes to cook and drain that and then add in the box stuff for another 10 minutes of cook time, I usually add frozen spinach or peas, some frozen garlic toast, and maybe a bagged salad to go with it. It’s all done in under 20 minutes. What is your friend cooking that is comparable to Hamburger Helper lasagna with garlic bread and salad that is ready in that amount of time that doesn’t involve convenience ingredients that feeds a family of four? No jarred sauce, has to purchase, wash and chop all the individual ingredients for the salad, garlic bread with homemade compound butter, has to dirty extra dishes so that’s more clean up, likely more food waste.
A more common weeknight meal that still incorporates convenience foods is a quick stir fry using a purchased jar of sauce like butter chicken or tikka masala with rice and naan bread. I cut up the chicken breast, use packaged snap peas and baby carrots, sauté all that - pull some out for my picky kids who don’t like sauce, add the simmer sauce for the rest of us, use a package of Uncle Ben’s Ready rice (done in 90 seconds) and heat up naan bread from frozen in the toaster oven. Again - all ready within less than 20 minutes and limited clean up. I’ve also made butter chicken from scratch a couple times - cooking it all day in the crockpot and it has LOTS of ingredients which all had to be purchased individually. So I’m also interested in how your friend makes a stir fry or curry from scratch in less than 20 minutes and in the same price range.
This is a good discussion so I would be interested in you following up with your friend to find out what his or her analogous cooked from scratch meals are with total time, costs, and ingredients.
Plus I wanted to participate in good threads to get new notifications to help drown out the chit chat nonsense that has flooded recent discussion.8 -
So, my friend's argument is that:
shopping time is the same
prep time is close to the same
cooking time is essentially the same
So convenience foods aren't really that convenient compared to making food from scratch
I think people don't really make choices about food that are so tidy.
Shopping time might be the same for convenience food vs scratch cooking but someone might also spend a lot of time getting coupons, going to 3 different stores to get the best deals on frozen waffles, Hamburger Helper, ketchup and toilet paper while someone else is growing a garden, raising animals, hunting or fish. Time spent procuring food could be pretty different.
Cooking from scratch I don't always buy the ingredients for just the one meal. Once I have a bag of flour and basic ingredients that might be for many meals vs a boxed item that will make only one meal.
Prep time and cooking time depends on what it is.
Boxed mac and cheese vs my baked mac and cheese recipe. Boxed mac and cheese takes less than 20 minutes I guess. Result is edible. My baked mac and cheese takes more like an hour. Result is really good food. My mac and cheese reheats better than the boxed stuff so can be made for more than 1 meal. Leftovers are as fast as the convenience food.
I use some convenience foods and make some foods from scratch. I decide what is worth my time and money.
Spaghetti sauce is fine from a jar for my family. I make homemade pasta sometimes. It is not difficult or expensive and tastes great but takes more time than buying a box of pasta. I am not going to make my own cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, bread, salad dressing every single week.
Feelings can play a part in cooking or not cooking from scratch.
I can make an inexpensive meal from scratch in less time than it takes to go to a restaurant, wait to order, wait for food to be prepared and return home. Do I feel like making it?
Convenience foods are quick and easy. The idea that they are faster, less expensive or equal quality to someone may be false.
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I think there is some matter of degree in this - some nights after work when I am home by myself I have a frozen single serve pasta meal for tea. Am not a big eater so this is enough for me. Cheap and quick and easy to zap in the microwave.
I can also cook spaghetti bolognaise but would never bother just for me. If my husband is home I might cook that But although it is not a pre made frozen meal it is still not really from scratch - I don't make my own spaghetti it is cooked from pre made dry spaghetti and I use Tinned diced tomatoes in the sauce not cut up fresh ones.2 -
I can buy an argument that the convenience isn't worth the drop in quality, but to argue that convenience foods aren't easier than cooking from scratch is somewhat silly unless your friend is getting the most complicated convenience foods ever.0
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I agree that sometimes convenience meals really aren't any more convenient, but sometimes they are. I've found that about half of those frozen skillet meals or quick cook pasta kits require so much tweaking of spices and adding of vegetables to make them tasty, and even then I know the sauce would have been better if I took the extra few minutes to make it from scratch. So those aren't really all that helpful to me. However, some of them are so much more convenient when I'm too busy or exhausted to cook something. Those "Voila" skillets are a good example in my house, the shrimp and garlic pasta dish takes me 15 minutes total and all I have to add is a couple extra pre-minced cloves of garlic and a pinch of pre-shredded parmesan cheese. Plus it only cooks in one skillet so it's less time of dishes. I generally apply the same concept to my meal prep so I can avoid the pre-packed meals for my own (cheaper and tastier) convenience foods, but when some of those things go bogo at Publix I appreciate how much easier it is for me, and how much easier it is to log.0
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I have seen a few people talk about how convenience foods - in this case meaning pre-packaged foods and meals, like mac & cheese, frozen dinners, hamburger helper, etc... - are not really 'convenient.' Basically, not easier to make, not easy to make in less time, etc..
Mind, I'm not debating whether convenience food is healthier. Convenient, in this case, is solely looking at 'easier.' The ease of getting the food ready and in our bodies, but not about what happens to our bodies once it is there. Possibly the cost, too, as I imagine it's easier in life if you have more money. :-)
I have a friend who believes that convenience foods are NOT more convenient. My friend's argument (based on his own views plus a few articles done about 5-8 years ago) was that you still had to go to the store, so that's the same amount of time, that cooking time for convenience foods vs. home cooked foods was about the same, and that people spent nearly the same time in food prep for both (in a bit of research by Margaret Beck in 2013, people spent about 10-12 minutes more prepping 'from scratch' meals vs. convenience foods).
My belief is that convenience foods are quite often very convenient. So I'm hoping a debate on this will help both myself and my friend when we talk about this next. :-)
I'm going to just put my own thoughts on this in the next post, to keep things tidier for this first post, and I look forward to hearing what folks have to say on the topic.
In my opinion your friend is just being edgy and isn't making any actual sense. The argument that convenience foods aren't convenient because you have to go to the store for them is idiotic. Convienence foods aren't called that because of where they are located, they are called convenient is because they are prepared by someone else and only require heating, which is demonstrably easier than having to prepare the ingredients, mix them in the appropriate ratios and cook them correctly yourself. If your friend has such a problem with going to the store may I suggest he try another convenience which is services such as Amazon Fresh which will deliver groceries to your front door based on an online order.8 -
Everyone's idea of what is "convenient" to them will be different, not just person-to-person, but day-to-day.
If I'm traveling, it's convenient for me to eat protein bars or protein shakes to hit my dietary goals.
If I'm shopping for work meals, it's convenient for me to grab 5 bags of frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix that I can toss in to heat without any sort of prepping on Sunday.
If I'm thinking about easy meals that I don't have to think about macro breakdowns or estimation of caloric measurements, I'm going to enjoy thin crust pizzas and the things that make my life convenient.
There's a breakeven point for everyone for every item. It's subjective.1 -
sugaraddict4321 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »...When I made mac 'n cheese from scratch, it's at least a 2 hour deal...
...It takes longer to get the roux started for Real Mac n Cheese than it takes cradle to grave for boxed mac.
2 hours?? Wow! My homemade mac n cheese takes only a few minutes longer than boxed, and that's because proper pasta takes longer to cook since it's thicker. If you're taking 2 hours or your roux takes longer than boxed, maybe you're over-complicating it?
BUT - it takes time and practice and eating a few disasters before you get the techniques down. Some people don't find that worth the effort, and that's okay.
As for price, it really depends. Keeping a well-stocked pantry and spice cabinet goes a long way towards keeping costs down. If you buy a 5 lb bag of flour, or a big box of pasta, or a big package of chicken breasts that can be tossed in the freezer, you pay once yet are able to make many dishes of different kinds.
Convenience foods do save time, so I use a mix of scratch and convenience. I don't bother to make pizza or pastry dough from scratch, for example.
Over complicated? No. Gourmet awesomeness? Absolutely.
It takes a bit of time to grate the Tillamook sharp cheddar in and of itself. Then you have to make the roux. Then you have to melt the Tillamook very slowly so it and the milk doesn't burn or curdle. I could serve it straight off the stove top, but I usually bake it for about 20 minutes after it's been on the stove.
Probably doesn't take a full 2 hours from start to finish, but it takes way longer than dumping a box in water and stirring in some powdered "cheese".
Note that this would also be a special occasion mac 'n cheese, not a get home from work and make dinner mac 'n cheese.4 -
I do both. I have found that 106 days into this journey, I am eating less convenience foods, simply because I seem to get more food and satisfaction out of the stuff I can make. Having said that, one of my latest go to's when I don't want to cook is the Barber Fit and Flavorful cordon bleu.... It's easy, and in my freezer when I need something.1
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I was thinking about the pizza the OP talked about taking a couple of days to make from scratch. I wish OP had clarified a definition of from scratch and convenience foods or what food their friend is making from scratch.
I make homemade pizza once a month. It does not take 2 days to make my pizza.
I have been using the same crust recipe since 2001 so no time spent searching for a recipe. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/
You mix everything in 10-20 minutes and the instructions say to let it rest 5 minutes before rolling it out and baking 15-20 minutes. I usually let it rise 30 minutes to an hour because I think it is better but I don't have to. Debate is about speed and ease not quality I guess.
I make my own pizza sauce which does use canned tomato paste and some other prepared ingredients. Does it qualify as homemade? I put together a large batch of this sauce in 10 minutes and usually have it on hand ready to go. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17319/exquisite-pizza-sauce/
I do not make my own pepperoni or cheese. I do shred my own cheese often. I might use cooked chicken, ground beef, sausage, fresh peppers, fresh onions, canned olives, fresh mushrooms. I might have these items already in my house ready to go in several meals. I might prepare them just for the pizza. I prepare other ingredients and preheat oven while crust is rising for a hour. It takes a very short time to add sauce and toppings to pizza dough. Baking time is 15-20 minutes- pretty much the same as a similar size frozen pizza or take and bake pizza. My homemade pizza prep and cooking time is probably 1 hour 30 minutes. I could cut the rising time down, use fewer ingredients and make it faster but I don't like it as well that way.
Frozen pizza- I can drive 5 minutes to a grocery store. Time at the store is going to vary but a weekly grocery shopping trip for my family takes 45 minutes to 1 hour. I don't go to the store to buy just 1 item because that is not a good use of my time no matter how I cook. So frozen pizza time spent buying and bring home is 1 hour total for me. Preheat oven about 10 minutes. Baking time for a DiGiorno original rising crust pepperoni pizza is about 20 minutes.
Frozen pizza is 1 hour 30 minutes with weekly shopping time. My homemade pizza is 2 hours and 30 minutes with weekly shopping time added. I prefer the taste of my homemade pizza to a frozen pizza. I sometimes have frozen pizza.
Homemade can take longer and is more effort for one meal. Leftover pizza the next day for a meal takes the same time though.
I think historically when everyone cooked from scratch they often cooked larger amounts that would last several meals and limited menus instead of having something different every day like people expect these days.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »sugaraddict4321 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »...When I made mac 'n cheese from scratch, it's at least a 2 hour deal...
...It takes longer to get the roux started for Real Mac n Cheese than it takes cradle to grave for boxed mac.
2 hours?? Wow! My homemade mac n cheese takes only a few minutes longer than boxed, and that's because proper pasta takes longer to cook since it's thicker. If you're taking 2 hours or your roux takes longer than boxed, maybe you're over-complicating it? BUT - it takes time and practice and eating a few disasters before you get the techniques down. Some people don't find that worth the effort, and that's okay.
As for price, it really depends. Keeping a well-stocked pantry and spice cabinet goes a long way towards keeping costs down. If you buy a 5 lb bag of flour, or a big box of pasta, or a big package of chicken breasts that can be tossed in the freezer, you pay once yet are able to make many dishes of different kinds.
Convenience foods do save time, so I use a mix of scratch and convenience. I don't bother to make pizza or pastry dough from scratch, for example.
Over complicated? No. Gourmet awesomeness? Absolutely.
It takes a bit of time to grate the Tillamook sharp cheddar in and of itself. Then you have to make the roux. Then you have to melt the Tillamook very slowly so it and the milk doesn't burn or curdle. I could serve it straight off the stove top, but I usually bake it for about 20 minutes after it's been on the stove.
Probably doesn't take a full 2 hours from start to finish, but it takes way longer than dumping a box in water and stirring in some powdered "cheese".
Note that this would also be a special occasion mac 'n cheese, not a get home from work and make dinner mac 'n cheese.
Even my exceptionally simple, after work mac and cheese takes 20-30 minutes longer than boxed. With both I have to cook the pasta. With both I have to stir in a few basic ingredients. At that point, boxed is done, but my home made still has to be bake for 20-30 minutes.0 -
Been thinking more about subjectiveness of 'convenience' - something like a roast lamb dinner , to me, is very easy to make - meat and veggies take less than 10 minutes to prepare, gravy a few minutes when ready to serve.
very easy and convenient for weekend meal.
But it does take 2 hours to cook - in that 2 hours i do nothing else to it so very convenient.
But terrible as an after work meal - I dont get home from work till 6:00 - a 2 hour cooking time would be very inconvenient.
Convenience may be speed of cooking time, speed of preparation,easiness of making meal for one person, using few ingredients, skill of recipe etc
Cost and quality are other issues which may make pre boxed convenience meals more or less appealing at different times too.
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Today I bought for dinner two bags of stir-fry vegetables, fresh yakisoba noodles with seasoning and fresh chicken thigh. It's getting cooked in my wok. I bought convenient foods because I can. Sometimes life just gets too busy.2
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JerSchmare wrote: »I’m astonished sometimes to hear how people eat. Throw chicken in the oven and do something else for a while ding, it’s ready. Set it out. Put a salad together. Done. It’s not hard to make yummy fresh food. If you don’t enjoy cooking, I guess I understand. But, it’s way better than anything frozen.
Convenience is faster tho.
Baked chicken and salad doesn't sound like yummy fresh food that would appeal to my family. And that's one meal. What else would be on the "super easy cooking from scratch" meal plan?6 -
JerSchmare wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »JerSchmare wrote: »I’m astonished sometimes to hear how people eat. Throw chicken in the oven and do something else for a while ding, it’s ready. Set it out. Put a salad together. Done. It’s not hard to make yummy fresh food. If you don’t enjoy cooking, I guess I understand. But, it’s way better than anything frozen.
Convenience is faster tho.
Baked chicken and salad doesn't sound like yummy fresh food that would appeal to my family. And that's one meal. What else would be on the "super easy cooking from scratch" meal plan?
Spaghetti. Anyway you like it. Easy peasy.
Look, I used to make baby food. So, I just don’t understand why people think making food is so difficult. It’s easy, and always tastes better. If your family doesn’t like fresh food, it might be because they aren’t used to it.
I used to make baby food too, if we are playing the one up game. I also cook plenty of foods from scratch, as well as relying on convenience foods because they are, well, convenient.
Spaghetti - I assume you mean with fresh pasta made from scratch and sauce simmered for hours from fresh tomatoes? That seems like a great weeknight solution after a 9 hour work day, 2 hours of after school activities, and an hour of homework.
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