6 Healthy Convenience Foods I Purchase

Lately I’ve been pondering a lot about convenience.

Maybe it’s the chaos of raising small children, tending to backyard chickens, and feeding everyone three freaking times a day while simultaneously growing a business from home. Raising small children is enough to drive anyone to drink wine and eat a piece of chocolate that was hidden from the 5 year old and ponder how to get more convenience without compromising my beliefs on food and the health of my family.

Can we all take a moment to appreciate that run-on sentence? And notice how cleaning the house did not make the list?

No shame folks, no shame. I actually even get up at 5:30 (after waking up multiple times during the night to feed my littlest) in the morning just so I can drink my coffee in peace and quiet. I’m not even a morning person but that short period of quiet time is totally worth waking up when I don’t want to.

Don’t get me wrong — I love making things from scratch. I love getting in the kitchen and whipping up a batch of blueberry einkorn muffins or no-bake oat bites but sometimes a girl is just too dang tired. To do anything. Like cook in the kitchen. Again. For the 50th time that day.

And you know what? 5 years ago when I was just starting on this journey, I’d feel a huge amount of guilt for even THINKING of buying store-bought mayonnaise instead of making my own.

But you know what? Fast forward 5 years and add in all the chickens and kids and business and life, and the guilt is long gone. I’ve learned in life there is a beautiful ebb and flow of chaos and calm; a time where you do the best you can do because life has you up to your ears with stuff to do and then a time where you can relax. Well, if you have small children the relax phase may be few and far between, but you get what I mean.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite healthy convenience foods that I know are easy to make but this mama just doesn’t have the time right now.

6 Healthy Convenience Foods I Purchase

Mayo

5 years ago, there was no good mayo out there. I was forced to make my own because I love mayo but I don’t love the ingredients in 99% of them (yes, even the ones at the health food store). Now, thankfully, there are more and more options becoming available. We enjoy Sir Kensington’s mayo (the sunflower oil one and the avocado oil one) and if I want to spend a little extra money, I’ve purchased the Primal Kitchen mayo. I have found the best deals on these over at Thrive Market— Sir Kensington is almost $2-3 more at the grocery store.

Hummus

I know, I know. Hummus is so easy to make but it’s honestly one more thing for me to do. My absolute favorite hummus is found at Costco. They have a gigantic tub of organic hummus with ALL real food ingredients. Not one single weird ingredient. Hallelujah! I’ve also enjoyed Hope hummus and the Cedar Creek Organic hummus, if I can’t make it to Costco. But seriously, the one at Costco is where it’s at.

Lunch meat

Yep, we eat deli lunch meat in our household. I’m trying to alternate meats by doing a whole roasted chicken one week and lunch meat the next. Most of the time we opt for the Vancouver Roast Beef at Whole Foods, sliced thin.

Crackers

I’ve made crackers before but ugh, it’s not something I want to do on a regular basis. It’s hard to find a good store-bought cracker that isn’t loaded with fortified flour and such, but it’s the trade off of not making our own. If our budget allows a little extra wiggle room, we love munching on the sourdough einkorn sea salt crackers.

Granola bars

These 5 ingredient granola bars are SO easy to make. I literally have all the ingredients in my pantry, waiting for me to make them. But you know what? I’m tired and the ones from the store are so much easier, right now. I buy Bobo’s oat bars from Thrive Market, as well as the Made Good bars.

Peanut butter

I buy the two jar pack at Costco. Yep, I do it because we go through a lot of peanut butter and I really just don’t feel like washing the food processor. Lazy? Yes, but also tired and that strikes lazy out. Plus, the ingredient label for the organic peanut butter at Costco is awesome. Just peanuts and salt. Good enough for me!

For more information on saving money with Thrive Market, view this cost comparison I wrote between Thrive Market, Amazon, and Whole Foods.