Good Convenient Food – Ready Made or Make Your Own?

Convenience isn’t just for lazy people. I love convenience – it literally makes life so much easier. It will usually save you time, money or effort.

It may not always seem obvious, but time and money go hand in hand. Even if you can’t always save money, saving time can still save money in the long run.

Think chips, for example.  What is easier? Buying a bag of frozen chips, ready to grab out and cook in 20 minutes, or grabbing potatoes? Potatoes you have to peel, cut, soak, and cook for a good 30-45 minutes?

Frozen chips are hands down more convenient, I don’t really think we can argue that. But home-made chips taste better, are healthier (well, depending on how you cook them!) and cost less.

Which got me to thinking; if you had a spare morning/ afternoon/ few hours at 2am every week, what foods could you prepare to make your life more convenient?

Meats

I don’t know about you, but most frozen shop brought meat is vile. It’s either manufactured meat (like chicken that doesn’t taste or look like chicken… Think cheap and nasty chicken nuggets), or its just really bad quality meat. Or if you are lucky enough to get some half decent frozen meat, the portion sizes seem ridiculously small. Meal for 1 and a half people, anyone?

Instead, grab fresh and prepare how you’d like. Dice your chicken. Make your meatballs/ burgers/ portion up your mince. Split your sausages into servings. Cling film, and freeze. Not only will it fit into your freezer easier; but you have ready made meat that you know isn’t full of rubbish.

Just remember to get it out the freezer in plenty of time!

Potatoes

If you’re a lover of mash, roast potatoes, or any other kind (lets face it – there’s not much you can’t do with potatoes; the list is endless!), you will know that the homemade kind is always better than shop brought. But did you know that they are another item you can cook, and freeze, ready for you to grab and cook whenever the mood strikes? Most potato products can even be cooked from frozen, just to make your life even easier!

Vegetables

Now this really does depend on the vegetable. For example, petit pois are mainly frozen – and occasionally tinned. But you can’t walk into Tesco and buy fresh petit pois, so shop brought is not only convenient, it’s your only option. But other veg, such as carrots, can be blanched, and frozen – saving you money as well as time in the long run. In fact, most vegetables can be done like this, meaning you get fresh/ frozen cheaper veg, every time.  

Sauces

How quick and easy is it to get a jar or a packet out of the cupboard and simply pour into a saucepan? The last thing we want to be doing at the end of a long day is preparing ingredients to create our home-made sauces. But home-made sauces are healthier, tastier and usually cheaper when you work out the cost per portion. Look up some of your favourite meals – I bet you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to create your favourite recipes!