Save up to 4.5 hours of time per week with just one ready-made meal

There are many prejudices surrounding ready-made meals, many people believe that they do not offer the same experience as home-made, guaranteed preservative-free and homemade dishes.

“Our recent research has shown how distrustful people are about ready-made meals. Many people find it unimaginable to consume natural, additive-free and delicious ready-made meals in their everyday lives. They identify this category with products that are harmful to their health and do not know any other alternatives. However, there is another way – in an uncompromising, glass-based form – which surprised many people during our blind tasting. on the occasion of”

– Annamária Éva Kertész, an expert at POLCZ FOOD, reported on her results.

Grandma’s kitchen or “necessary evil”?

The latest time balance statistics from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office show that a Hungarian woman spends an average of 119 minutes a day, almost two hours, on housework, which includes cooking, washing dishes and shopping. This means that many people prefer to cook rather than opt for pre-prepared meals – even if it means sacrificing quality time with their families.

One ​​reason for this is that typical ready-to-eat food categories such as pizzas, refrigerated sandwiches or bagged soups are generally perceived as unhealthy and not a real alternative to cooking.

Another survey from September 2025 showed that participants do not believe that there are health-conscious alternatives when they need to find a quick solution to replace main meals. The most well-known types are labeled as “guilty” or “crappy” and their consumption is seen as a compromise. However, when they tasted such health-conscious and additive-free versions, they mostly compared them to home-cooked tastes and home-cooked meals.

“We wanted to break the prejudice that ready-made food equals poor quality and compromises. With us, you don’t have to choose between speed and real flavors: we offer the same things in jars that you would cook at home”

– added the POLCZ FOOD expert.

The secret to smart eating for busy weekdays

If you don’t have time to cook, you don’t necessarily have to eat unhealthy, reaching for solutions that cause remorse. With proper product knowledge, plastic packaging, preservatives, empty calories and unpleasant taste can be avoided even in the case of quick lunches. Forward-looking planning and stocking up on two-minute, long-lasting, yet nutritious meals help to ensure that saving time does not come at the expense of quality.

Awareness can prevent the decision fatigue that affects almost all housewives in Hungary and the unpleasant consequences of invisible work. By choosing health-conscious ready-made meals that can be prepared in a minute or two, we can even gain several hours a day. This decision can positively influence not only daily meals, but also the health and well-being of the entire family.

Ready-made meals as a responsible alternative

Consumers’ feedback is clear: they are willing to put aside their prejudices about ready-made meals if they can add additive-free, nutritious products made from natural ingredients to their basket.

New-generation ready-made meals can therefore appear not as a substitute for cooking, but as a supplement to it, a responsible alternative for those who want to preserve the value and quality of family meals even when time is tight.