Cooking from scratch. Is it worth the time and effort? Where do I start?

Never before in the history of mankind have we eaten so much “stuff” along with our food.

“Stuff” like man-made preservatives, binders, chemicals, crazy man-made hydrogenated fats, and more.

I’m not a chemical engineer, or a doctor, or an expert of any kind in the field of health and science…, but I am a mom, and a cook, and a person who eats.

There are a lot of things we do now-days that our ancestors never did.  A lot of those things are wonderful, and miraculous and downright cool.  However, when it comes to food, I have to raise an eyebrow at a lot of our ‘moderness’.

You see, we are not doing so good in the food department right now.  Aside of course, for the miraculous fact that most of us have ENOUGH, (and thank goodness for that).  I’m not questioning mass production of any food stuff -  I understand supply and demand as much as the next person.  What I have a problem with is how the food industry has made us dependant on the gazillions of packages..boxes…mixes…jars…pre-made stuff.  I’m not blaming the food industry, per se – I’m a business person, and a capitalist, and I can certainly honor the spirit of industrialism that drove the production of  convenience foods.  In fact, I will go as far to say that some of the driving force behind the development of convenience foods was philanthropic in nature – ‘give mom a break’, ’spend more time with your kids instead of slaving at the stove’, and I certainly won’t deny the fact that the availability of convenience foods played a large part in the equality of the sexes in the work force… 

However (you knew this was coming),

What has happened is that convenience items, intended to be occasional reliefs on a busy day, have become daily fare.  Every gas station is packed to the gills with foods and drinks that are not meals.  What’s more, our meals have become convenient as well, and are based on frozen entrees, seasoning mixes and dinner ideas in a single box.  Even a lot of our more home-cooked recipes require a ‘pack of this seasoning’ or ‘a can of that’.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that all of these amazing ingredients used to preserve our foods for months, and sometimes years are not good for us.  Every time you look at the ingredient list on a package of food, you will see all kinds of things that are not: ‘flour, butter, eggs, milk’.  You’ll see other words like ‘partially hydrogenated soybean oil’ and ‘high fructose corn syrup’, and lots of  other items that are not..’flour, eggs, butter, milk’.  I could go on about each preservative and how it is bad for you, but I won’t.  I won’t because I’m not qualified to report on matters of health and science, and because I’m writing this in order to offer solutions.  If you would like to know exactly HOW BAD preservatives are for you and your family a simple Google search will suffice.

“Cooking from scratch” means that the seasonings are actual herbs and spices.  That the oils are butter, vegetable oil or olive oil, that we don’t need canned cream of mushroom soup to make a recipe work.

“Cooking from scratch” means that we must plan ahead.  Start the chicken cooking in the crock pot before we leave the house in the morning.  Make two batches of cornbread and freeze one for later.

“Cooking from scratch” means that we will be spending less money on groceries, and have more satisfying meals at home – thus reducing the need to eat-out.

“Cooking from scratch” means that we will be spending time with our families and building bonds of trust, as we knead our dough, make pot roasts and frost birthday cakes.

Lastly, when we cook from scratch and eat food that is preservative-free, we just feel better.  I’ll venture to bet that all the ‘time’ we save using packaged/processed food is time that we will loose again in future years because we will be tired, bloated, sick and overweight.

I’m here to tell you that you don’t need any special gadgets, or gizmos, or a pricey set of cookware.  All you need is the willingness to learn and a spirit of adventure.

You CAN do this, and I’ll teach you how - one step at a time. 

Prepare yourself for meals you never thought possible, and a happiness that comes from deep inside…

Bon appetit, and bonne chance in your Adventures In Cookery,