Do you cook a meal from scratch or use convenience foods?

Question

I see on British TV, so many adverts for convenience foods, so many chat shows where people are overweight and blame ready made meals, and on the other hand, so many cooking programmes that show just how simple it is to cook a meal from scratch. So, if the nation is so taken with cooking shows, why are conveneince foods still sold in such vast quantities? It is often far quicker to make a meal from a few basic ingredients than it is to 'cook' a convenience meal, which do you do and why? Surely its more expensive to but the convenience foods?

Answer 1

Well, both. Being a person who loves food though, there usually not a time where I don't want cook a great meal. But convenience foods are there for a reason. They are convenient!! So when I am busy, I sometimes have convenience foods. But many times it takes just as long to cook a healthy meal from scratch than "cook" convenience food. For example, it takes the same amount of time to make Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese) from the box as it does to spice and seer a piece of white fish; slice some peppers and onions and sautée them with fresh snow peas and grated carrot in som extra virgin olive oil. It pretty much takes the same amount of dishes as well. Usually it can be just as fast to cook a "scratch" meal, as it would a convenience meal. But the thing is, it takes a bit of planning and some creativity. Convenience foods are sold in such vast quantities because corporations like Nestle etc. understand that people are busy and don't want to think about what they are cooking. More and more products come out becuase corporations like that are making more and more money off lazy people. Like Chef Jamie Oliver says in his show "Jamie's School Lunches" we are not teaching other generations good food ethics. We are setting them up for disaster, and destroying ourselves with this food at the same time. So, really if you have any respect for yourself, and you care about what you put into your body, it would be smart to learn how to cook, get away from all those convenience foods. Not only do they taste better, but they are good for you, and it is proven that cooking can be relaxing after a day of work. People need to just slow down their lives and take out some time for themselves and a good meal. BON APPETIT!!

Answer 2

I tend to cook using both convenience foods and cooking from scratch. Sandra Lee of the Food Network is a great one to show how one can combine the use of both. Just because a food is a "convenience" food doesn't mean that it is highly processed or high in fat, sugar or salt. There are some good and healthy alternatives available today. Pre-cleaned vegetables and salads, for instance, can make dinner prep easier. Chicken, beef and vegetable stocks in resealable cartons also help make soups and stews.

I think more people ARE cooking homemade meals today because of the ease of doing so by combining some of the convenience foods available with fresh items.

So eat out less and cook in more - even if it means resorting to using a few convenience foods!

Answer 3

You’ve hit upon the something that I’ve done some studying on for school (I’m a culinary school graduate) and what I’ve learned through a poll that I did for one of my classes, that the majority of people who are overweight are either under-informed or uneducated about the importance of good health and good nutrition.

What is often the case is that people (especially the poor) who happen to be overweight often make poor decisions about matters other than food (such as financial and educational matters) and as a result they see convenience foods as being the only option for acquiring sustenance. This also has the secondary benefit of being easier in so far as being less time consuming (at least it is out here in the states) where preparation is concerned and allows for the family to not be tied to a time constraint of having a specific portion of day as being dinnertime or lunchtime. Cooking a meal from scratch generally takes anywhere from 3 to 10 times longer than convenience foods. As a result families of this group rarely share a meal together and rarely interact with each other or at least interact with each other less frequently.

Also the price of convenience meals are anywhere from 10 to 200 times more expensive than it is to cook a meal from scratch.

*Although I should add that most everything we receive is technically a form of convenience food. With the exception of most produce, any food that is packaged and frozen (frozen corn, green beans, etc..) or cut (rump roast, ground beef, etc..) or bottled (milk, juice, etc..) is considered to be processed by most food purists and various federal standards groups (FDA, or USDA).*

Answer 4

Convenience foods are good to use when you are short of time. Cooking from scratch is better, you know exactly what is in the recipe, and it tastes a lot better. Some people just don't like cooking and convenience foods are an easy way out.

Answer 5

I love love love cooking. It really calms me after a hard day at work and is a really fun thing to do with my children.
Maybe Im weird but I rarely buy convenience foods, I just prefer the taste of homemade and I know whats in it. I'm def not a goody two shoes I do eat out and get in the odd takeaway or pizza - but that is not the norm. It reallyis fun to cook and the feeling I get from giving people lovely food or a new recipe is great.

Answer 6

My life is a real rush all the time and most nights my fiance and I have only 1/2 an hour or 20 mins to cook dinner yet we still do it from fresh. So it isn't the fanciest food in the world but it contains fresh meat and vegetables (and the electric steamer is SUCH a bonus too!).

Anyway ready meals taste disgusting!

Answer 7

I use both but mainly cook from scratch as a conveneince meal isn't as filling as a proper meal. My 3 yr old son prefers vegetables so convenience foods are mainly with meat content, we don't eat pig either and we eat halal meat not supermarket bought.

Answer 8

Majority of the time I try and cook from scratch, only when I've rushed in from work to go out again do I cook convenience, and only when it's a complete push!

I feel a sense of achievement when I cook something from scratch.

Answer 9

I used to be a convenience food user and about two years ago I started cooking everything from scratch. If I can't make it, we don't eat it. 99% of the convenience food items can be made from scratch.

Answer 10

I cook from scratch whenever possible. Some things are just too time consuming to make from scratch though. For instance, home made noodles. I grew up on them but my Mom didn't have a job outside of the home. I found a frozen version which honestly are just as good as my Mom's. I'll never tell her that though!