"Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

ervin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:04:45 GMT

Carp, Peggy sue.

How long have you been doing this?

Maybe you are not eating for your nutritional type.

You also might want to try doing a colon and liver cleanse.

Ervin

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

MomShap — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:42:38 GMT

Just one short comment. I soak whole grains all day while we're gone, which cuts cooking time down considerably. I use brown rice, and other typically long-cooking grains. To this I add things that can be minimally cooked or quickly cooked like fish and chicken. Lentils we cook ahead and rewarm. I use a table top convection oven for convenience. I own two businesses, so I guess I don't have time for all the home cooked meals I make. Somehow, I manage it! We use arugula, spinach, and other fresh dark green vegetables a lot. I season with Trader Joe's '21 Seasoning Salute' which is versatile and very tasty. My favorite is to wilt arugula or spinach, top with a bit of coconut oil, and sprinkle with seasoning. I could eat the whole pot full. It takes literally 30 seconds. (both to make, AND to eat!!!) At our store I just keep an extra blender and my protein shake ingredients for quick and nutritious lunches.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Carp_203 — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:24:52 GMT

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re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

chef jem — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:19:01 GMT

There are even more potential advantages when using whole foods over processed foods:

You can actually enhance the nutrient content in most all of your whole foods

by "culturing" them (through lacto-fermentation)

and then those foods become more easily digested having gone through a pre-digestion process!

Those nutritional advantages are hardly possible with processed foods!

Cheers!

Chef Jem

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Pwyll — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:35:15 GMT

The less time in the kitchen--likely the more time waiting in line to find out what is ailing the body....and not necessarily even so---as Sarah said--if a bit organized. Waltzing in 'half-starved' and looking for a quick fix compared to having an idea ahead of time goes a long ways toward what we want and need.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Thr3e — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:08:35 GMT

This study has such a limited scope it's not really telling anyone anything. Comparing dinner meals prepared from scratch vs. dinner meals prepared with some packaged convenience foods? No big surprise here since most convenience foods are only a few ingredients with a bunch of unnecessary additives. Now, I think if the study was broader and looked at all meals and snacks it would find a much wider difference. That's why it's important for people who are busy to (a) be better prepared when cooking from scratch and (b) support convenience foods that are minimally processed.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Auntie Evil — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:49:55 GMT

Anyone who finds making yogurt time consuming should get some kefir grains. Kefir is far healthier and really easy to make. It will never get as thick as most yogurts, particularly if one uses fresh goat milk as I do, but it makes a great smoothie or "yop" drink....

What I find appalling is seeing children ramming potato chips, cookies, and sugar filled junk food into themselves at recess during school time. No wonder so many teachers think these kids suffer ADD and ADHD. These "foods" are loaded with toxins and give the children sugar induced mood swings.

It amazes me that parents are so poorly educated that they don't realize that most of the "100% fruit snacks" are really just sugar with fruit flavoring.... Food producers should not be allowed to mislead people with their "made with real fruit" if the product carries more sugar than any other ingredient.

Also I've noticed these same producer changing the ingredients to fructose, sucrose, cane sugar, etc in order to modify the ingredient list to appear less sugar filled.

Parents should all be given classes to educate them what is in processed foods so their children will not suffer so much from their poor choices. My son is 7 and must read the ingredients lists before he is allowed to purchase sugar filled cereals and fruit juices. Any items with sugar in the first three items are banned from our house (this basically bans all of them from our house). He has also been taught he is lucky to have fresh fruits and carrot and pepper strips in his lunch, rather than these nasty fast food alternatives.

The addition of toys as enticements to purchase crappy food is another pet-peeve of mine. We now allow a single purchase of one toy at the end of each shopping trip (we only go to town once a month) rather than allowing our son to be bribed by these enticements in cereal, fast food restaurants, and other junk foods, essentially stripping these sellers of one brain washed individual.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

KAC — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:37:45 GMT

Once you get into the habit of cooking homemade foods, it doesn't take as long when you get used to the routine of it. I grind my own berry flour in a mill which is like grinding your own coffee beans. Not much work at all. Pancakes/waffles are good using raw milk, eggs and raw butter and the flour berry with the wheat germ. I make my own kefir - takes a few minutes and I'm done. I wouldn't go back to packaged food. It would just taste horrible to me. When I read the packaging and see what ingredients the packaged food contains....especially the partially hydrogenated oils and the msg....I know I'm doing my family a great benefit.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

DizzyIzzy1 — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:24:55 GMT

As much as I hate it, I do occasionally buy ready meals simply because I find it a chore cooking for just myself. If there's someone else I'll spend hours in the kitchen, but when it's just me... not so enthused. If I do I always use the oven and make sure it's the healthiest possible one - amazingly there are some that are virtually preservative free - but even so... not often. It is difficult to cook just for myself though; even making big lots and freezing it doesn't work as I never defrost anything!! Fresh salads are my current saviour... thank God for summer weather.

I saw a programme on TV the other night with UK celeb chef Gordan Ramsay. He had someone order their favourite takeaway - Indian - which they said would take 20mins. He then took this person into the kitchen and showed them how to cook their own curry in the same amount of time with far less grease, healthy organic ingredients, and far more flavour. The poor deliveryman turned up and didn't know what to make of it all! Just goes to show how easy it can be though.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Anathema — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:53:52 GMT

It took me WAY longer to make my own yogurt instead of picking it up at the store. Likewise with my chicken broth, yogurt cheese, salad dressings, homemade fruit rollups, etc. I think what their idea in of food preparation in this article vastly differs from what mine. I completely understood how women in "olden" days lived in the kitchen too. I no longer cook like that, but can't part with some things I learned...there is no substitue in taste for homemade chicken broth in recipes, for example.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Wedgirl — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:32:08 GMT

Although I am the one preparing most of the meals, my family will participate in the preparation of dinner. It gives me a warm "fuzzy" feeling reminding me of cooking with my grandmother. It is a special gift to treasure and it pleases me that I am passing that on to my children. Meals don't have to be difficult. We eat most of our vegetables raw. We have become very creative with our "salads".

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Kar_Kar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:06:44 GMT

meh, I disagree. Since I've cut out processed and convenience foods I know I spend more time in the kitchen. I don't mind the extra time, but I know dinner preparation went from around 25 minutes to at least 40. I do a lot more prep work on the weekends as well. And cutting up a whole chicken takes a lot longer than peeling the plastic wrap off a package of boneless skinless breasts!

I'm not advocating convenience foods, but realistically you can't say that they're not...well, more convenient. Even in the article it says that hands-on time is about 20 minutes less.

I find it amusing that they say "cooking from scratch is seen as a hobby".

Also, they didn't mention how much longer it took to clean up! :)

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

Kar_Kar — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:06:36 GMT

oops, double post.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

ypsidixit — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:52:48 GMT

Our crock pot turns every meal made in it (from mostly organic and some home-grown ingredients) into convenience food. The night before, we pile in beef and beans for chili, or chicken and veggies or what have you, refrigerate overnight, turn it on when leaving for work, and voila! a nice hot meal is ready when we get home. No processed foods, no microwaving, no worries! Plus we make enough for a lunch portion the next day, another meal made convenient. It's convenient to clean, too: just one pot. A winner.

re: "Convenience" Foods Don’t Really Save Time

nanciesweb — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:53:28 GMT

That doesn't surprise me. I can whip up a batch of pancakes just as fast as hunting for the pancake mix box. Well, maybe , it might take about 30 seconds longer, but that doesn't justify the $4.00 per a box cost

I don't make pancakes much anymore, but once in a while the kids like the treat.