The thing I hear most often from people regarding why eating healthy is not an option for them: is that they don’t have the time. The argument goes, I’m too busy to cook anything so I have to eat on the go. Because of this “quick” foods like prepackaged meals, frozen dinners, packaged snacks and restaurant meals are faster.
I hate to break it to ya, actually I’m thrilled to– this is not true at all. And I will spare you the whole “in the long run you will have to find time to be sick because of all the bullshit you are putting in your body” shpeil. That’s true too, but most people are vastly more concerned with the right now than long term anything, even their own health.
Truth is, the reason we think of restaurant and prepackaged foods as being “quick and easy” for our “busy lives” is because these things are marketed this way. You have bought into some marketing gurus genius advertising that has become the American way. Faster is better and the fastest is already ready already.
But it’s not. In the time it takes to make a box of mac n cheese with the powder cheese packet, I can make a variety of pasta dishes with a much better nutritional profile — not to mention tastier. And I’ve become a pretty good cook which I think is a great skill, to you know, feed yourself and others… but all I did was try things. At one point I was in school part time and working more than one full time job with a new baby and still putting some food I felt good about on the table so it isn’t really about time.
BUT EVEN IF IT WAS about time; natures snacks, the actual healthy stuff, is faster than your “convenience foods” any day. A snickers bar takes longer to unwrap than simply biting into an apple. Fruit is the perfect on the go snack with no pesky wrapper to deal with.
In the time it takes to heat up a frozen meal you could microwave steam some veggies. Instead of throwing a box of lasagna in the oven try baking salmon (available at costco for cheap) at 400 for 10 minutes. Take the 30 seconds to sprinkle some sea salt and pepper on and you’ve got a tasty meal.
And I did say tasty. There are plenty of foods that are good for you that taste great. There is a reason why when you go to a fancy restaurant that the chef usually has only a handful of fresh ingredients in most dishes. It tastes better to use fresh ingredients. And when you actually use them in more than one dish this is cost effective! (*cheaper* than all that boxed stuff).
Fast food junkie because you don’t have the time to pack a lunch? Wrong again. Let’s just be real- if you don’t want to make changes that is fine. You get to decide what you put in your body and just because I make different choices doesn’t mean I’m judging yours. That said, this excuse that the drive through is so much faster is just that, an excuse. It’s a powerful one because that is the whole marketing ploy of fast food in general. Hello! “Fast food” is for your busy, on-the-go person who can’t possibly make a sandwich and doesn’t want to spend a lot of money. But it IS a lot of money. Often when I figure up the per-serving cost of the meals I prepare at home it’s less than $2 a person. The dollar menu adds up fast and the time it takes to go pick up drive thru meals at lunch is quite a bit longer than the 5 or so minutes it takes to pack a lunch in the morning.
My favorite “convenience foods” are precooked shrimp, oranges, raw almonds, dried fruit (omg stuff a date with an almond… heaven), carrot sticks, peppers… all of which require little planning and no preparation. Take that McWhatever.
So if you are still all about the boxed foods or drive thru window, that’s fine. Remember you have to make changes to see changes, but if you aren’t looking to do that– that’s fine too. But lets go ahead and bust through this myth that the other stuff is faster and you just couldn’t possibly find the time. Because if you find the time to feed yourself, I promise you have the time to make it healthy. You just have to pick up some new habits, which in the end could lead to a new you.
Love, Mama
A to the men! Although I enjoy taking a couple of hours to prepare a good meal from time to time, I usually cook dinner in less than 30 minutes. By the time I drove to a fast-food restaurant, made it through a drive-thru and came home, it would be about 30 minutes. If not longer.
Cooking and exercising… people always have that excuse — “time.” But I bet they have time to watch their favorite TV show… go to the mall… the salon… whatever. You make time for what’s important to you. Unfortunately, health doesn’t seem to be at the top of people’s priority list. Kris says excuses are like a**holes. Everyone’s got them and they all stink.
But you are right — everyone makes their own decisions and I won’t judge them. But I will rant on your blog.