The Cost of Convenience

We're all busy in this day and age, often times we're juggling work, school, families, friends, or a combination of all of those things so we're always looking for convenience in our day to day lives. When it comes to convenience regarding our food choices, there is often a sacrifice that we are not really thinking of. Whether we're sacrificing quality, our health, or cost efficiency, this convenience often comes at a price.

Here are a few things you should try to avoid when convenience comes calling!

PRE-CUT FRUIT / VEGGIE CUPS

​Cutting up fresh fruit and veggies might be time consuming when you're on the go but reaching for those cups at the grocery store of pre-cut veggies and fruit means sacrificing QUALITY and COST EFFICIENCY. Those cups are often overpriced for what you actually get and might have been sitting there the entire day already cut up meaning they've lost their quality. Reach for whole fruits and veg & you'll save money in the long run but you'll also eat better fruit and veg!

FROZEN ENTREES

These might have been a staple for us growing up but they have no place in our lives as adults. Convenience comes at a cost of your HEALTH when it comes to these sodium laden scary looking frozen entrees. Often times, these frozen dinners harbour a day's worth of salt in one serving, ridiculously high amounts of fat, and a lengthy list of preservatives. If you're going to go for the pre-made meals, look to your grocer's fresh prepared dinners instead. You'll save yourself a science lab in preservatives and artificial ingredients that are simply not good for us and eat better food.

FAST FOOD

Hey, we've all hit up that late night take out spot looking for instant gratification after a night out but it should really only be limited to that once and a blue moon night out. Convenience in this case comes at a cost of HEALTH and COST EFFICIENCY. Fast food is surely convenient but if you're finding yourself at the drive thru two or three times a week due to being busy, you're likely gobbling up large amount of calories, saturated fats, and money. That 10 -15 dollars two or three times a week amounts to quite a hefty price tag at the end of the month.

PRE-MADE JUICES AND SMOOTHIES

It's 100% fruit juice so it has to be good for us, unfortunately that's not the case. Fruit juices are delicious but are also loaded with sugars and can occasionally contain added sugars which are wholly unnecessary and will undoubtedly cause you to crash throughout the day. Pre-made smoothies are guilty of added sugars as well. This convenience costs you in the HEALTH department.

After shopping, toss your smoothie ingredients into separate freezer bags for ease of use on the go. This way all it takes is reaching for a bag and some plant milk to whip up a healthy smoothie on the go!

All it takes is a little preparedness after shopping to make sure you're all set for the week. 

• MAKE AHEAD MEALS - Make meals that you can refrigerate / freeze for the week.
• CUT YOUR OWN VEG - Get your snacking veggies chopped up for two to three days in advance. When you're out, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier that next morning and whip up the next batch for the week.
• SMOOTHIE PREP - Get your smoothie blend ingredients into freezer bags and have your plant milk handy. Every morning, all it takes is reaching for that frozen bag of bananas, strawberries, spinach, and seeds and some milk for a quick blend up on the go.
• IF YOU MUST FAST FOOD - It's going to happen but if you've already got a few sides of fruit and veg, all it takes is a nice sandwich / burger somewhere. Save the calories on fries and save the money on those combos by opting for a sandwich / burger and your own fresh veggies on the side.
• FRUIT - Stop looking for pre-cut fruit. Just grab an apple & banana and run out of the door. You don't need it to be cut up for you, most fruit is edible in its whole form lol

What do you guys think? Are you guilty of convenience choices that aren't always the best choices for us in the end? 

HAPPY VEG