What's your convenience food vice?
Submitted by Stuart Broz on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 8:26pm
From the time that I moved to the DC area back in August until I started my new job a month ago, my schedule has been really flexible. Though I don't think I was conscious of it, this was very liberating in terms of food preparation. With the new job, I work at home. You'd think this would let me run into the kitchen to briefly add something to a pot now and then, but I can't depend on that sort of flexibility. I'm often on the phone, and I don't always finish my workday in time to make the dinner I was planning. My habits are changing. Until they fully adjust, though, I've found myself reaching for more convenience foods than usual. I'm not a big fan of convenience foods, so more than usual is still fairly infrequent. My convenience food of choice? Frozen pizza - cheese only. I can usually add enough stuff to it to convince myself that I'm not cheating. If I add some gorgonzola, walnuts, red onions, and sliced pear to a cheese pizza, it turns into something else, right? Maybe? So, what's your convenience food vice? Do you bother justifying it to yourself, or are you comfortable in your indulgence?
Comments
Takeout
For me convenience food is takeout, usually grabbing something to eat in Penn Station while waiting for the train or near my apartment when I leave the train.
This isn't good for either me or my wallet, but there it is. When I'm home I usually cook from scratch.
My vice comes in two
My vice comes in two forms.
The I know I can make it but this is easier form:
* Ready-made dips (organic or not) like hummus, guacamole, salsa, greek yogurt (or sour-cream).
* Pre-packaged 100 calorie snacks (rice crips, granola bars, etc).
And the I don't want to cook form:
* Prepared chicken or fish (pre-spiced, sometimes breaded), already-formed hamburgers, and the like.
I cook from scratch 3-6 nights a week. I don't justify not cooking from scratch 7 nights a week; life's just too short. :D