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How Ready-Prepared Foods Could Impact Eating Habits

By Britta Barrett | Posted April 28 2010

If you wanted a pizza, you would likely do one of the following:

A) Order delivery
B) Buy a frozen pizza and heat it in the oven
C) Buy pre-prepared ingredients to make your own
D) Use a dedicated pizza-making appliance
E) Make the entire pizza from scratch

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Since time often takes precedence over all other factors, most people would choose A or B. However, the past couple of years have seen an increase in the options C and D, which simultaneously give people the satisfaction of cooking at home and the convenience of a quick meal.

According to a recent BBC article, “The Rise of Lazy Foods,” sales of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables, grated cheese and ready-prepared foods have risen in the United Kingdom. While pre-prepared foods do not give people full control of the kitchen, it helps them to avoid processed food while quickly cooking meals at home or work.

“It is just a question of people wanting a lot more choice,” says Ronan Hegarty, news editor of The Grocer magazine. “They are not being lazy but eating at different times, maybe looking for something easy to prepare at work.”

In addition to pre-prepared foods, the number of appliances designed for one-button cooking has also risen. Now, when you’re heating a pizza, you don’t have to worry about pre-heating or setting the oven at the wrong time or temperature: just purchase a device with a special button solely for cooking pizzas.

According to a New York Times article, “Kitchen Gadgets Take the Fast-Food Mentality Into the Home,” as the economy drives more people home to eat, “one-button cuisine offers ready answers for cooks with not much time to spend in the kitchen and not much of a clue about what to do once they get there.”

Do you think this rise in pre-prepared foods and appliances will encourage better or worse nutrition habits?

  • Jon Bostock

    The rise in appliances made for convenience and pre-prepared foods can encourage better nutrition habits if the food and appliance manufacturers choose to help facilitate healthier choices. Appliance manufacturers can choose to promote unhealthy items by designing menu guides (and products) linked to the wrong foods or they can be a part of the solution by helping people make smarter choices.

    The Microwave product team at GE Appliances is committed to making food preparation easier for health-conscious consumers. The team met the challenge by designing one-touch cooking buttons for items such as rice, oatmeal, asparagus, carrots, broccoli, and more. Since most Microwaves only offer one-touch cooking buttons for unhealthier options like frozen entrees and pizza, the GE team believes replacing those items with the new smart menu-guide can help consumers make the right choice.

    The Microwave product team has partnered with the USDA and uses the MyPyramid.gov eating guide as a resource to develop its smart cooking guide, which is co-branded with the MyPyramid logo. Additionally, in partnership with the GE’s Healthymagination initiative, the Microwave team is a sponsor of the The Apps for Healthy Kids competition. The contest is a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. For more information visit: appsforhealthykids.com.

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