Thursday, 11 March 2010
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The Cost of Convenience Foods
People will often rail against the cost of convenience foods versus their natural or homemade counterparts. These discussions, however, often focus on junk food or packaged, processed foods like microwaveable meals or instant mash potatoes. These discussions usually hinge on the fact that you pay for the convenience with money and your health since prepackaged food is more expensive and far, far less healthy.
But what about when the health benefits are essentially equal? Are convenience foods such a problem then? Over on The Simple Dollar today, Trent looks at the price of prepackaged fresh foods like bags of lettuce or pre-cut fruit.
He looks at the significant markup that comes along with buying fruit that someone else has sliced or lettuce that's been chopped down. In his analysis, he thought about the money he could save by simply doing the slicing and the chopping himself. He makes the point that, in life, we pay for so many small conveniences and that these little expenditures can really add up.
I'm not totally against fresh convenience foods though- I can see the value in them. For a lot of people, they may not have time or desire to prepare the fresh foods themselves, so then it becomes an issue of processed convenience food versus fresh convenience food. In that case, I see fresh convenience foods a a total positive. I know during college that my roommates never would have eaten a single piece of fruit if it weren't for the pre-cut offerings at the grocery store.
So I don't think all convenience foods are necessarily bad. Pre-packaged produce may cost more, so natural, whole options are certainly a better choice if you can handle them, but I feel like that may be the only way some people get those nutrients. Costs to your health should be considered, just as much as financial costs.
What do you think? How do you feel about fresh convenience foods?
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- From: Cara
- Name: Cara
- About Me: I'm a 24 yr old back in the Midwest for law school. I've survived the first semester as a law student after working as a paralegal for two years. Let's see how the rest of the time goes!
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Comments (8)
Convenience does cost, whether it be for junk food or "healthy" food. I feel that sometimes I am paying the cost for being lazy. I would rather pay extra to have fruit or vegetables sliced, rather than same money and slice them myself.
I've definitely debated this a hundred times because as a mom of two little ones, I'll often go without fruit to save money instead of buying convenience fruit. (Have you ever tried chopping up a cantelope? Takes nearly 20 minutes!!) I think, if you can afford it, it's definitely worth the extra money. Although sometimes chopped fruit isn't as ripe and tasty as if you bought a cantelope, let it ripen a few days at home, and then chopped it yourself. It's a conundrum.
@averyswife@xanga - chopping cantelope is easy, I usually do 2 in a span of 8min.
-cut it in half
-then cut each half lengthwise into 3-4 pieces
-use knife to skim off seeds
-place knife between the end of the meaty part and the skin and slide (if the cantelope is ripe it will slide off easily)
-then cut into chunks
***I'm not an expert, my mom can do 2 in 5 min
@JoeytheGenie@xanga - Dang, maybe I just need more practice!
I use the same process, but it still takes me f o r e v e r. Maybe I need to buy better quality cantelope? I try to let mine ripen the right amount but it's still a pain to cut. Hey, speaking of cantelope, what's the best way to tell one is ripe enough? I usually go by smell.
@averyswife@xanga - I usually ask my mom but with honeydew, what I do is I press it lightly and if you feel it's kind of soft but still firm it's ripe
I'm guessing it's the same with cantelope
If one can afford to buy pre-prepped produce, that's cool. But I really don't see that effort (or time) needed to cut up fruits and vegetables. I can even peel and chop up a pineapple in a matter of minutes. I use my time preparing for dinner to unwind. Prepping and cooking actually is very relaxing for me...I can plop in front of the TV after work to relax or make dinner. Making dinner is more productive than watching TV, that's for sure! So I do like the fact that there are lots of fruits and vegetables already prepared at the market for a quick fix or for when I am really tired. There are plenty of fruits that don't require too much preparation, like bananas, strawberries, apples, pears. Many can be eaten whole.
@averyswife@xanga - It might be your knife. If it is not sharp it won't cut through the fruit easily. The method JoeytheGenie suggested works, but I would scoop out the seeds from the halves with a spoon before slicing it up. And it's true with the fact that some of the cut up fruit at the store isn't always as ripe as it should be, especially cantaloupe and honeydew. We just can't win, can we?
Why pay more for unhealthy convenience foods
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