Pressed for time and got to get food on the table? And it's got to be a quick snack, minimal work, no faff, but tasty and not too many plates to wash up after? I am thinking you healthy eating, clean living (well most of the time) bunch would be able to rattle off several snacks that would easily fill a food gap. After all how long does it take to knock up a cheese sarnie or a boiled egg?

Well, too long for some it seems. Yup, just the swift and simple act grating cheese is just too much for some people, as well as boiling eggs, slicing fruit and veggies. How do we know? Well sales of so called 'lazy foods' are on the up, with new research showing consumers spend an average £63 a year on food that is ready-grated, sliced and chopped. And that's a big boost of 14% over the last 12 months.

Yeah, people are short of time and undoubtedly ripping open a packet of pre-chopped onions is mighty easier than chopping up the blighter, especially if you've got mascara on. (On a side note, I find wearing my snorkel mask helps - I'm serious).  But some of the products go beyond lazy, how about ready-boiled eggs, pre-peeled oranges and an already baked, baked potato (complete with butter) - these aren't lazy, they are practically comatose.

So, what's next - subliminal feeding? Getting sustenance from flash cards by information osmosis? Or, maybe an iPone app that supplies nutrients? Okay, I am getting a bit Blade Runner now but I am guessing at some point, if not already, food will be taken out of the equation simply due to lack of time - I bet there are lots of extremely busy people purely surviving on Slimfast shakes.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going to be the domestic goddess, sitting in my ivory towers with fresh bread in the oven while I decorate my 18^th batch of biscuits (although that does sound good), I like the quick and dirty convenience occasionally. But let's face it if someone does not have enough time to peel a small citrus fruit they clearly have something wrong with their lives, something that a pre-peeled orange is not going to fix.