The Conflict of Cooking

If I'm being completely honest, balancing health and taste is not very difficult when it comes to a meal. Some of the best tasting dishes I've had have been quite healthy.

Don't believe me?
Check out BudgetBytes; I know I've referenced her blog before, and I'm doing it again. She honestly makes me feel like weak sauce for not making a healthy home cooked meal every night.

The issue, I've found, isn't so much healthy vs enjoyment, it's healthy vs easy. (Read also as, I'm kind of lazy.)

A lot of what makes food healthy is micronutrients, which are lost through processing. The closer to raw/fresh you can get, the better it is for you. That takes time, energy, and a little technique to work. Me being me, with limited patience, budget, and "on my feet" time, leads to more conveniently prepped meals.

There are days when a whole chicken or some choice produce goes on sale and I feel up to chopping and packaging them for the freezer, but they are increasingly sparse. This means I resort to "20 minute" packaged meals, or God-willing, something Husband or I bulk cooked earlier that month.

I suppose we could tweak our freezer recipes to be a little more healthy, but that would take elbow grease and brain work, neither of which seem to be at peak performance lately.