Practical Application: Where and when to buy pre-packaged foods

I'm BACK! Whew! Pregnancy can really dampen your energy level. Now that I'm coasting through the second trimester, I have a little more waking moments in my day to blog.

Pre-packaged foods are always more expensive than preparing food yourself. The reason this is true is because you pay a premium for the package itself as well as the preparation process. Technically, the only time you come out ahead on buying packaged foods is if the ingredients only come in large quantities but you only plan to eat the food item once - maybe because you're taste testing, or perhaps you're trying to build your own recipe.

I am a big believer in learning to do the food prep yourself. I think it's important to know the ingredients you are consuming (packaged food are bad about sneaking in hydroginated oils and HFCS - high fructose corn syrup) and to have the basic knowledge of how to do things yourself. As an adult, I look back on the home-ec classes I never took and think "What a shame!"

All that being said, packaged foods have a place in today's busy lifestyle. There's no reason to feel bad about the occasional packaged food lunch or dinner so long as it's not a lifestyle that is continually ruining your budget or health. I want to point out in this post that some packaged foods can be tasty, economical, and healthy if you know where to get them.

Look at the deli / bakery section of your favorite grocery store (even Wal-Mart). Yesterday while grocery shopping around 10:30am, I realized that I was very hungry and it was likely that the McDonald's in the Wal-Mart parking lot was going to call my name (as well as my two-year-old son's name!). That's when I spotted a packed lunch portion of a turkey and provolone wrap for $2.50 in the deli section. By the time we got all the groceries loaded in the car, it was 11:30am and if I hadn't already purchased that wrap for $2.50, we would have ended up spending at least $6 in the McDonald's drive through.

I know sometimes the drive through convenience itself is worth the extra $3.50 - especially when kids and car seats are involved. But, if you're a habitual fast foody on your lunch break at work, consider buying a few packaged lunches from the grocery store deli and brown bagging that a few days a week to supplement on the days when there are no leftovers (or they just look gross) or you need a little something special in your lunchbox. By the same token, on days when you have a marathon grocery experience and you're tugging a kid along, treat yourself to a turkey provolone wrap and hold the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.