When we say cheaper we mean dollars. The easier part of the statement covers the time.
If it takes you 30 minutes to make a single meal, it takes you 35 minutes to make 5-10 portions and freeze them. Then you can do the same as the processed meals and pull a different one out each day.
The biggest problem is the lack of planning. If you come home after working and don’t know what you have or what you’re going to make of course it’s going to feel difficult.
So spend 15 minutes on the weekend making a plan for all your meals for the week. Do a single grocery shop for everything you need to reduce trips to the store.
The when you get home on Wednesday, you already know you’re going to cook up some grilled cheese with soup (that’s in your freezer from last week when you made 5 portions) and you can pull it together while you watch an episode of your favorite tv show on the tablet you prop up on your counter.