Can convenience foods be healthy?

Let’s face it, when it comes to cooking, sometimes convenience outranks health.

We all have those nights when there just isn’t time to whip up a wholesome meal that’s low-sodium, low in saturated fat, and high in fresh fruits and vegetables. Convenience foods – whether it’s canned tuna, canned pasta sauce or frozen pizza – are just so convenient.

But reaching for the quick meal doesn’t mean you can’t keep it healthy, said Rachel Songer, a registered dietician at Cape Cod Hospital.

“You still want to focus on an overall healthy choice,” she said. “So, convenience-type foods tend to be higher in sodium and even fat and added sugar. So, try to compare your options and find the healthiest one.”

If you’re comparison shopping for convenience foods, labels are key. For example, a one-cup serving of prepared Panera Bread Mac & Cheese, available in supermarkets, has 500 calories, as well as 17 grams of saturated fat and 1150 milligrams of sodium (half the daily recommendation). However, a cup of Shaw’s Signature Select brand has 300 calories, 8 grams of saturated fat and 940 grams of sodium. Even rotisserie chickens – a favorite convenience food of moms everywhere – vary widely in their sodium content, based on whether they are injected with flavorings or saline to keep them juicy.

It requires some planning sometimes, Songer said, but “you can add to it, so you have a more balanced meal – for instance you can add more vegetables, or another healthy side.”

It’s not as hard as it sounds. Here are some more tips from Songer and others on making meals quick, easy, nutritious and more cost-effective than buying traditional convenience foods:

• Rethink “convenience foods” to include items like pre-cut vegetables that are ready to use “That makes your life so much easier,” Songer said. “You just throw them in the oven – you can roast them or throw them in a pan and sauté them. Those types of convenience foods are really helpful….You don’t have to [chop] for half an hour while your kids are running around and you’re trying to get dinner on the table quickly.”
• Something to be mindful of in pre-made salads is the packaged dressing which can be high in saturated fat, sodium and/or sugar in such a small serving, Songer said, so instead consider a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice.
• Look for frozen meals that are marketed as being healthy but always check labels. A 9.25-oz package of Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry, for example, has only 200 calories but 25 percent of the daily sodium recommendation. That might be OK if you’ve eaten healthy the rest of the day; if you had pizza for lunch, maybe not so much.
• Watch your portions. Eat one or two slices of frozen pizza along with a side salad instead of eating your way through all six slices.
• Rethink your cooking methods to turn “homemade” into “convenient.” Get out your slow-cooker for making soups and stews that can be frozen in small portions for easy microwaving. Sheet pan recipes are also easy – everything goes on one pan and then into the oven.
• Look for easy side dishes like frozen or pouched rice that cooks in the microwave – expensive but handy for last-minute meals. Just add some precooked meat or tofu and some vegetables for a quick stir fry. Or, freeze extra rice or pasta yourself in easy to reheat portions.
• Keep healthy convenience foods on hand: canned tuna, frozen turkey burgers or meatballs, canned beans, eggs, Greek yogurt, whole grain pasta.
• Make planning your most important food habit. “Planning is really key. Ultimately try to plan and make things ahead of time, batch cooking can reduce meal prep time," she said. For example, if you cook a big batch of beans, you can make a burrito one night and then a quesadilla with them the next night.