What Are Convenience Foods?
In their most general description, convenience foods are any quick food that is ready-to-eat or simple to prepare to eat. Therefore, an apple could be considered a convenience food. Usually though, convenience foods are associated with highly processed items that are edible directly out of the package or designed to be heated quickly before eating.
Junk food, or processed snack items with very low nutritional value such as potato chips and candy, makes up the great majority of convenience foods. Boxes of ready-to-eat cookies and crackers made with excess amounts of sugar, salt, and fat line many grocery store shelves. Instant canned or packaged soups designed to heat and serve are usually extremely high in salt. "Meals in a can," such as stews and hearty soups, as well as frozen meal items such as pizza may contain some healthy vegetables and meats, but these are often nutritionally overshadowed by large amounts of calories, salt, and fat. There are often lower calorie, salt, and fat versions of convenience meals available, if a shopper takes the time to seek them out.
Packaged, canned, and frozen commercially prepared food is convenient for many people in that it's often easy to prepare as well as reasonably priced. Students and people on a budget are especially known to buy convenience foods such as packaged instant ramen noodles, as well as boxes or microwavable containers of macaroni and cheese. Instant ramen is a commercially produced, compressed dry noodle cake that cooks in just a little boiling water. Instant ramen is very inexpensive and comes with a little packet of powdered soup stock flavoring for the noodles.
If convenience foods are eaten in moderation in reasonable portion sizes, they may be a part of an overall healthy diet. Many nutritionists note that a convenience food meal can be made healthier by making it more balanced. For example, fresh broccoli spears could be steamed along with ramen and cooked chicken pieces may be added at the last minute to form a noodle dish with some vitamins and protein. Broccoli or other vegetables can also be added to macaroni and cheese convenience meals.
Canned baked beans could be served with whole wheat toast, a salad, sliced oranges, and a glass of milk to make it a more balanced meal. The vitamin C in the oranges can help the body better digest the plant-based protein of the beans. The whole wheat toast adds even more fiber than what the beans have, and the milk provides calcium.
Written by Sheri Cyprus
