Homemade Convenience Foods

Not only do homemade convenience foods save you time and money, they give you the ultimate control of the flavor and quality of your food.  Having homemade convenience foods on hand makes it easier to say goodbye to processed foods that are typically high in salt, sugar, fat and additives.

Yes, there is an initial investment of time to prepare your homemade convenience foods, but once they’re in your pantry, fridge or freezer you’ll appreciate…

• the quality of ingredients in your food
• the reduced salt, sugar and fat in your food
• how little or no additives or preservatives are in your food
• how much money you save
• how much packaging you avoid
• the homemade flavor and appearance of your food

Here are a few of my favorite homemade convenience foods separated into various types of recipes.

Seasoning Mixes

Homemade seasoning mixes are one of my favorite homemade convenience foods. They’re fun to make, add superb flavor to food, are much less expensive than store bought alternatives and allow you to avoid high levels of salt, sugar, preservatives and fillers often used in commercial seasoning blends.

Italian Seasoning
Onion Soup Mix
Taco Seasoning
Lemon Herb Seasoning
Steak Spice
Apple & Pumpkin Pie Spice
Creole Seasoning
Chili Cheese Seasoning
Popcorn Seasoning  (Chili Lime, Chili Cheese & BBQ)

Pantry Items

Scalloped Potatoes
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Mix
Vegetable Quinoa & Red Lentil Soup Mix
Soup Mixes in a Jar
Pancake Mix
Apple Cinnamon Pancake Mix
Chocolate Cranberry Cookie Mix
Granola
Bannock Mix – great for camping
Can of Cream Soup Substitute – Dry Mix Substitute (courtesy of Kathryne at Food Musings)

Freezer Items

Chicken Taquitos
Sweet Potato Toaster Waffles
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Fingers

Beverages

These beverage mixes are great for yourself, but also make tasty gifts for others. They’re super fun to make and decorate.

Mulling Cider Blend
Hot Cocoa Mix
Chai Tea Mix

Energy Bars & Treats

Save a lot, I mean a lot, of money making your own energy bars. And my word, they’re good! But you have to tuck them away in the freezer and only eat them when you truly need an energy bar – they’re intended to replenish calories you lost while working hard, so they’re higher in calories.

Coffee Lover’s Energy Bar
Chocolate Almond Energy Bar
Homemade Nuts & Bolts

I’ll be adding to this list over time, let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see or if you have any favorite homemade convenience foods.

Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist,  speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.