Favorite food shortcuts (ie. prepared and packaged)

shannm · November 2013

I know we would all to prefer to cook everything from scratch. But let's be honest, we can do anything but we can't do everything. I thought it might be useful to some working moms who want a shortcut here and there to share her favorite prepared/jarred/boxed products. Things that are especially yummy, things that are a little bit healthier than others, things that really save you time, etc.. Anyone want to share?

shannm · November 2013

I'll start. Here are some things that are staples and time savers around my house:

1. Newman's Own jarred Marinara. Pretty inexpensive, yummy to us, and profits are donated to charity. Win win.

2. Frozen vegetables - we look for those without added salt. We use a lot of corn, peas, and green beans. Quick and easy.

3. Fresh prepared ravioli - a little pricey but well worth it. We like to use those packed with spinach and other veggies.

4. Frontera taco sauces. Delish and easy to use.

5. Prepared pizza crusts. I don't have the space or time to be rolling out dough. We get the whole wheat kind and can make all kinds of pizza with the kids.

financialdiva · November 2013

Love this post!

This isn't like a specific meal- but I always buy frozen chopped onions, green peppers and mushrooms for recipes.

I also keep garden burgers in the house at all times for quick meals. Our local grocery store makes ones that aren't too processed, and pretty tasty.

oandmplus1 · November 2013

I second on whole wheat pizza crust and frozen veggies.
Love the idea of frozen chopped peppers and onions!
I buy frozen veggie lasagna or chicken enchiladas, not always the healthiest option, but my family seems to love them.

MommyAtty · November 2013

Frozen peas. Earth's Best organic frozen ravioli for DD. Newman's Own Sockarooni Sauce (yum!). Central Market organic Mac n cheese. Our supermarket makes fresh tortillas that are awesome. We eat those a couple of times a week. But then we live in Texas, so Tex-Mex is just regular food to us. Oh, and all kinds of canned beans.

ccam · November 2013

Good post!! I'll be on the lookout for frozen onions - great idea! I do a lot of the same - ww pizza crust, frozen veggies, tortellini, etc.

Just wanted to add that Barilla marinara is pretty good. I make my own sauce when I have time and freeze it but in a pinch, I bulk up Barilla with ground meat or some veggie like mushrooms or zucchini.

shannm · November 2013

MommyAtty said:

Frozen peas. Earth's Best organic frozen ravioli for DD. Newman's Own Sockarooni Sauce (yum!). Central Market organic Mac n cheese. Our supermarket makes fresh tortillas that are awesome. We eat those a couple of times a week. But then we live in Texas, so Tex-Mex is just regular food to us. Oh, and all kinds of canned beans.

Oh, how I miss Central Market. The wave of emotion that swept through me reading this post was ridiculous. My DH and I met in Houston and would have dates basically wandering through Central Market, picking out awesome ingredients and then making dinner together.

shannm · November 2013

kballou said:

I buy frozen veggie lasagna or chicken enchiladas, not always the healthiest option, but my family seems to love them.

Is there are particular brand that you go for? It would be great to have some options stashed away in the freezer to use in a pinch.

shakinros · November 2013

We eat a fair bit of Trader Joe's frozen stuff: party meatballs, frozen veggies, the polenta and veggies, tamales, etc. I also love their curry sauce - cook some chicken in a pan, empty jar of sauce, add frozen veggies, simmer. Done. Oh, and add TJ's microwaveable brown rice.

MommyAtty · November 2013

shannm said:

kballou said:

I buy frozen veggie lasagna or chicken enchiladas, not always the healthiest option, but my family seems to love them.

Is there are particular brand that you go for? It would be great to have some options stashed away in the freezer to use in a pinch.

I totally get that! When we moved here from the East Coast we were hilarious about Trader Joe's and this hippie place called My Organic Market. Now we have Trader Joe's and have been exactly once. And it's down the street from Central Market where we go weekly!

emberlee3 · November 2013

Alexia sweet potato fries
La Brea Take and Bake Bread
Van's frozen waffles and pancakes
Sometimes I go crazy and buy Pillsbury cookie dough.

djm31012 · November 2013

More for DH and I than DS bc he's young but we keep a few Amy's burritos in the freezer. I also almost always have homemade sauce frozen for a quick meal. Frozen tortellini as well. We also have an Italian deli near us that has sauce made as well as breaded eggplant that I will pick both up to make eggplant parm... No prep just pour the sauce and added fresh mozz!

shannm · November 2013

LibraryChica said:

Is there a WW pizza dough y'all recommend? Is it premade dough or an actual premade crust? I'm not the biggest pizza person but H likes it and DD thinks it's the best thing ever.

We buy the Whole Foods store brand, all ready to add toppings. They do also sell dough but that is too much work for me on most days, lol.

jlaOK · November 2013

Frozen cooked chicken fajita meat. It's great in a pinch, very flavorful, and goes with a lot of different meals.

litzo27 · November 2013

Great post and ideas!!!
Packages of shredded pre-washed greens (otherwise I'd never eat salads).
Low sodium packs of Chicken Broth and Vegetable Broth (great as a ready base for soups and for lots of dishes for slow-cooker).

Virgo17 · November 2013

I love this thread! Costco has some great go-to items. They have a two-pack of quiches, one is broccoli and cheese and the other is spinach and artichoke. Pop one in the oven and dinner is ready to go. We also keep frozen turkey burgers on hand for a quick meal. I also second/third the steam in a bag veggies. They are quick and easy with no cleanup.

caymanianseminole · November 2013

Great thread!

My short cuts are:

- Rotisserie Chickens - you can do so much in such a short time!

- Frozen bags of the pepper stir fry mix (the ones with onions and bell peppers)

- Couscous - it literally takes 5 minutes to make and its a great little pasta that can also double as rice

- prewashed/cut salad mixes and veggies - they are a little pricier but if you want to save time, they are worth it!

The other thing I do is I try to prepare large meals that we can eat out of and then have leftovers the next day. That way it's not a big hassel every night to figure out dinner.

plus12012 · November 2013

Definitely the steam in veggies. I tend to make extra of things when I have time to cook and freeze it. I also use my crockpot and bread machine a lot.

aglenn · November 2013

Good suggestions above! We do a lot of the things already mentioned, but also Trader Joe's has fresh mixed stir fry vegetables that are great to toss in the wok with some chicken tenders and a sauce. We also use their fresh chopped onion/celery/carrot mix as a soup base a lot.

Nita14701 · November 2013

Yesterday I bought already cooked rice in the freezer section (steamer bag kind). I couldn't believe I was doing it, I mean it doesn't take that long to cook white rice. But it made for an easy side for dinner, so next time I go back to Target i'm going to buy a few more bags.

DaisyJanie · November 2013

Nita14701 said:

Yesterday I bought already cooked rice in the freezer section (steamer bag kind). I couldn't believe I was doing it, I mean it doesn't take that long to cook white rice. But it made for an easy side for dinner, so next time I go back to Target i'm going to buy a few more bags.

I'll have to check those out. I buy the Uncle Ben's ReadyRice whenever I see it on sale. I too thought it was kind of a silly shortcut, I even have a rice steamer so it's not like rice is much of an effort. But I was always getting to 5 minutes before the meal was going to be ready and going, oh, this meal could use another side... Most of the Uncle Ben's bags have quite a bit of salt in them, but there are just plain white and plain brown rice, which don't have added salt.

CarrieB. · November 2013

Naan bread is great for making little pizzas on a weeknight, instead of making dough from scratch.

ss265 · November 2013

I try and eat brown rice but DH won't eat it. So I usually make a big pot of brown rice and then once it cools, freeze it in individual portions. Then when I am cooking something, I make white rice just for him. Freezing rice is awesome - it only takes a minute in the microwave to heat up and tastes just like fresh cooked rice. And cooking and freezing your own is much cheaper than buying the pre-frozen rice.

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