I agree with Jean and the benefit of preparing your own foods and meals enables complete control and awareness of food types, quality, and other ingredients. Heating up things that a manufacturer or other food prep entity has prepared leaves one at the mercy of the food maker who usually has very different objectives to establish a cost point in selling the food to make a business profitable. I don't always trust the ingredient list.

Learning to cook and prepare simple, healthy, whole foods is not difficult, but I understand why those who have never done this are reluctant. My fortune is that I was brought up in a family who ate good, healthy foods and encouraged my siblings and me to become involved in meal prep at an early age. That has made all the difference, and we've passed that along to our own kids and grand kids. My grand daughter (now 6 years old) and son spend time together preparing dinner, and she has a palate far beyond her years. These simple activities give young people confidence and an understanding about what is good and healthy that will be beneficial for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, the availability of pre-prepped meals ready in little time has trained a few generations that they can microwave something to eat quickly, satisfy their hunger, and don't need to know what's in it as long as it's palatable.