How often do you make homemade (from scratch) foods?

[TickTockMan]

Is there much of an upside to doing so?

 

[gsdx]

For me, it allows me to make huge batches which I can divide up and freeze into many separate meals. I guess I make my own meals about 80% of the time.

 

[cityboy-stl]

I make a lot of things from scratch. I have bread going in the bread machine right now...that counts as from scratch as far as I'm concerned. Pies, cookies, pasta sauce, pizza, the stuffing at Thanksgiving using the homemade bread, lots of varieties of soups, pancakes and waffles. It's all better than the store-bought stuff and doesn't contain all chemicals and crap that manufacturers put in their "food".

 

[chrisw87]

I make most of my meals "from scratch" though I use an automatic bread maker.

Pasta however I have not learnt the art of making so I usually buy it pre-packaged still.

If I had space to grow vegetables I would be growing the majority of what I eat too.

Making meals from scratch will allow you to control what you put into the items, preservatives, chemicals, nutritious content etc.

It is also a fantastic way of keeping your health in check because it makes you more conscious of what you are eating. You also drastically cut your sodium intake by avoiding pre-packaged foods.

 

[sixthson]

Homemade, from scratch, is the only kind we eat.

 

[M4P]

We always cook from scratch. Instant or pre-made foods are full of empy calories

Cooking is fun

 

[MTLDude]

Is there any other way then homemade?

 

[justsimon]

I eat out for lunch one or two times a week (usually from food carts). Otherwise, all of my meals are cooked at home.

 

[star-warrior]

I cook from scratch mostly. With the same ingredients, you can decide to make different things, and it'll be fresher, and to your own personal taste too, in relation to salt and sugar content, and how much fat or lean stuff you use.

Ready prepared may be convenient, but its expensive in the long run. Folks have mentioned batch cooking - great if you got freezer space, but if you live alone, it's a nice idea, economical too.

 

[chrisw87]

I cook from scratch mostly. With the same ingredients, you can decide to make different things, and it'll be fresher, and to your own personal taste too, in relation to salt and sugar content, and how much fat or lean stuff you use.

Ready prepared may be convenient, but its expensive in the long run. Folks have mentioned batch cooking - great if you got freezer space, but if you live alone, it's a nice idea, economical too.

I don't have the space to batch cook so I usually have bulk ingredients on hand.

Freezer: Various beef and pork products, frozen peas. Completely full after a few items.

Fridge:
Jars of crushed garlic/ginger/chili
Homemade tomato sauce bases
Chili jam (Great on cold meat sandwiches or with cheese)


Fresh produce purchased weekly:
Various veggies and herbs, leafy greens etc kept with stems in water. Kitchen usually smells like oregano and basil because of this.
Onions and chili are very important for me
Mushrooms of various kinds
Usually no salads like lettuce or rocket but I do have spinach of various kinds on hand.

All purchased from a local greengrocer in the middle of a local ghetto that has AMAZING produce and is always full of customers despite being in a completely abandoned area.

e.g for 1.99 per bunch I got this amazing asparagus, thin and crisp where you can break it in two and its still tender enough to eat raw. 12-14 pieces per bunch and fantastic.

 

[Ram]

Creating and eating your own food is therapeutic if you can completely ignore the dishes that need washing.

It's really good for you though.

 

[star-warrior]

I don't have the space to batch cook so I usually have bulk ingredients on hand.

Freezer: Various beef and pork products, frozen peas. Completely full after a few items.

Fridge:
Jars of crushed garlic/ginger/chili
Homemade tomato sauce bases
Chili jam (Great on cold meat sandwiches or with cheese)


Fresh produce purchased weekly:
Various veggies and herbs, leafy greens etc kept with stems in water. Kitchen usually smells like oregano and basil because of this.
Onions and chili are very important for me
Mushrooms of various kinds
Usually no salads like lettuce or rocket but I do have spinach of various kinds on hand.

All purchased from a local greengrocer in the middle of a local ghetto that has AMAZING produce and is always full of customers despite being in a completely abandoned area.

e.g for 1.99 per bunch I got this amazing asparagus, thin and crisp where you can break it in two and its still tender enough to eat raw. 12-14 pieces per bunch and fantastic.

I usually keep pasta, noodles, rice vermicelli, and raw rice in the cupboards. We also have some canned tomatoes, packet soups, canned beans, sweetcorn, mushy peas, luncheon meat as standbys. I buy frozen chipped potatoes (thick and thin ones) and stock yorkshire puddings, frozen peas, whole sweetcorn in the freezer. When I go buy fish, I buy extra, and freeze them same day well wrapped in cling film. My little one prefers pan fried fillets, so I fillet some of the fish myself, saving the bones for stock. Similarly, I buy raw pork, beef and chicken for the freezer too. Mostly, with pork and beef, they're sliced into smaller portions, placed on baking trays between cling film and frozen. When they're solid, I break them apart, and use them as needed. Quick defrost in microwave, and its soft to cut.

In my fridge, I keep fresh vegetables, carrots, leek, cabbage, tomatoes, beans, broccoli, etc. I also buy potatoes as its versatile. I keep fresh ginger, garlic and onions, and have hardy spring onions (scallions) in the garden for year round use. I also grow veggies during the warmer months, and we've tried freezing some of the stuff but I'd prefer them fresh. We buy white meat more often than red, so lamb and beef are kinda occasional, as is duck. Mostly, we have chicken. We also buy lots of pork bones for making soup stock, kept in the freezer until we need a couple...

I see folks buying two skinless chicken fillets and I want to grab it from their hands and bash it around their heads. It costs something like £2.99 for that, when you can get a whole bird for around £3.50, with three whole ones being a tenner. You can buy three birds, split them up at home, freeze the parts you're not gonna use immediately, and if you're filleting, you've a carcass that can be used for making soup stock.

As I have a far east asian heritage, we use a lot of dried food stuffs which are less usual in western cooking. Dried fungi like snow and cloud fungi and dried 'stinkhorn', then there are the shitake mushrooms, and big black crunchy fungi and perhaps the fatchoi moss. We use a number of dried seafood, dried shrimps both small and large, dried scallops, dried squid of various sizes, dried cuttlefish, various types of salt cured fish, and chinese shrimp paste. There are dried bean curd in sheet and stick forms, and dried vegetables such as pakchoi, gaichoi, muichoi (sweet and salty versions) which we used to get when we visit the far east. Then there are all the Chinese herbal soup stuff like yuk-juk, faai-saan, dried wolfberries, fong-dong etc... When my parents were alive, they'd boil broth every day.

Its good to be stocked up. It means you have choice and freedom to create almost anything you fancy.

Today I made some beef pasties from unfrozen beef from the fridge, a potato, half a can of chopped tomatoes, a finely chopped medium onion, and a couple of skinny carrots. Making the shortcrust pastry took about 10 minutes, but but filling the pastry and sealing the pasties took a little longer. Glazed with beaten egg, and into the oven for 40 mins, they were lovely.

 

[WIZZARD101]

love to cook and it is also the best way to eat, because then you are fully aware of what is going in your food. processed food is full of fat and empty calories. also frsh food taste better and will help to keep you healthy longer.

 

[rareboy]

All of the food we eat at home is from scratch.

No preservatives.

No msg.

Reduced salt.

Fresher.

Healthier.

Less expensive for superior quality.

You can make it so that the leftovers are frozen for subsequent quick meals.

 

[LittleDove]

Almost everything I eat is made from scratch.

 

[CowboyBob]

How often? Every day. I love to cook. Somethings turn out great, some don't but usually it's good.

Last night I made homemade meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy. Great comfort food on a cold night.

My favorites are homemade beef stew in the crock pot, beef stroganoff, Waldorf salad, sweet and sour chicken. Also I make the best crispy fried chicken, at least that's what others say.

Love to make apple crisp when I have apples picked from the tree in the back yard.

 

[talesofabyssjade]

I had to read the topic title 5 times to realize that it didnt say, " how often do you "scratch" while making homemade foods?" lol. I think I may be slightly dyslexic.

 

[winterknight]

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

(Sagan)

 

[TickTockMan]

My favorites are homemade beef stew in the crock pot, beef stroganoff, Waldorf salad, sweet and sour chicken. Also I make the best crispy fried chicken, at least that's what others say.

I have tried making those, but they never turn out right.

 

[Corny]

completely from scratch .. 2-3 times a week, plus 1-2 times a week "convenience" food.