Meal-prep means money saved and healthy living

By TUAN TRAN

With busy schedules and a desire for healthier, cost-effective meals, students are increasingly preparing their weekly meals ahead of time, often relying on meal kits to simplify the process rather than eating out.

More students are embracing the convenience of pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes.

“There is an interest in order to save money that they want to use meal-prep services, which have everything prepackaged, and all they have to do is open [the package] and cook it,” said Geeta Sethi, a registered nutritionist.

Sethi said one of the major benefits of preparing meals through both meal-prep services and do-it-yourself is quality control for ingredients in every meal.

“The level of processed foods, which is available in the market today, …  generally, have a lot of additives, preservatives, chemicals and toxins which are not really beneficial for the body,” she said.

Sethi said reducing processed food consumption is a long-term benefit for health.

“If you’re relying on highly processed food or junk food, you may be able to get away with it because when you’re younger, your body’s resilience is higher,” she said. “But as you’re getting older or as you’re being exposed to so much, your body’s immune system starts getting impacted.”

Tannia Arceo, a Langara kinesiology student who has used the popular meal kit delivery service HelloFresh, said she liked the wide variety of food available.

“It’s definitely good if you want to try new food,” said Arceo. “I like that I didn’t have to decide what to cook. It already made that choice for me.”

A homemade option

Some students go beyond meal kit services and prepare their meals themselves.

Philix Lin, a registered massage therapy student at Langara, said, “Because takeout or eating outside is so expensive…we just cook for ourselves all the time.

“The benefit is [that it is] cheaper and healthier,” Lin said. “And we can choose what kind of food … and … the ingredients we would like to have.”

Another registered massage therapy student, Oliana Chan, shares Lin’s belief in the cost-cutting benefits of meal-prep and planning at home. She said she enjoys knowing what goes into her food to make a healthier meal and learning how to cook.

According to Sethi, while meal-prep is a viable solution to cut back on processed food and get a more balanced diet, there are concerns to keep in mind, including the amount of packaging involved.

Meal kit delivery services are popular in Canada, expected to hit projected revenues of $1.5 billion by the end of 2024.