There was a time in my life when hamburger helper, canned fruit and veg, and even prepared snacks could always be found in my pantry. We lived on convenience food. Of course, that was before I met my husband, the chef. After we got married, he taught me how to cook the real way- from scratch- using fresh, real ingredients. Over the past eight years, I’ve seen the benefits of cooking from scratch first hand.
If you’re new to scratch cooking, don’t be intimidated. Cooking from scratch simply means to cook a meal without using a prepared mixture of ingredients.
See? Simple enough.
5 Benefits Of Cooking From Scratch
Here are just a few reasons to start cooking from scratch and ditch those premade foods . . .
More Affordable
Buying premade food and eating at a fast food joint can quickly add up to a fair amount of money, money that could be much better spent shopping the produce and meat aisles in the stores or buying from farmers markets.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve ended up hitting the dollar menu at Arby’s (hello, happy hour) because I failed to plan a supper or pack snacks in the car when I know we’ll be out all day. It may only end up being $15 or so but think about it . . .
Do you know what else you can get for $15?
- 5 pounds of ground chuck
- 8 pounds of chicken
- 50 pounds of potatoes
- 7 gallons of milk
- 180 eggs
- 15 pounds of apples
- 4 pounds of cheese
See? Each of those items can easily equal $15 as well. Look at how much further the money would go if we spent it on better quality food and took the time to plan ahead.
If you typically buy food during lunch at work, or while out running errands, start bringing leftovers from the night before or pack something fresh and see how much money you can save over time.
Better Taste
Although it may seem like food from restaurants or fast food chains taste good, the reality is that after the first few bites it quickly becomes dissatisfying. Nothing compares to the quality and flavor of food made from scratch, and this because of the quality of ingredients.
Restaurants, specifically fast food chains, manage to cut expenses with lower quality ingredients. Fresh, real food just tastes better. Period.
Healthier
Most premade and packaged foods are loaded with nasty fats, sugar, salt, and chemicals. Fat, sugar and salt are cheap ways to make food taste good and the chemicals allow the food to have a longer shelf life.
When you cook food from scratch you have control of what goes into your food. This means you are free to use good fats and less sugar and salt. Not only that, but you get to hand pick the ingredients yourself so you know the quality before you ingest the food.
Cooking from scratch is also usually healthier for the planet. Take meat for example: if the produce you buy from the store is straight from the source, as is the case with a provider like Superior Farms, you’re avoiding a myriad of wasteful practices associated with processing and packaging that harm the environment.
Make Enough to Share / Save for Another Day
To get the most out of these benefits it’s best to pair homemade meals with proper preserving methods. You can make a lot of recipes go farther by adding them to the freezer, in freezer safe containers. Fruits and vegetables can be canned or pickled to prevent spoilage thus saving you money over time.
Make your fresh herbs last longer by hanging them up in an area with lots of sunlight but no humidity.
It’s always nice to take extra food to neighbors or a family in need. Know anyone who had a baby or made a move lately? I’m sure they’d enjoy a lasagna or some banana bread to ease their transition into their new lifestyle.
Brings Family Together
My favorite benefit of cooking from scratch is the fact that we can do it together. Wednesday is baking day in our home. This means that the kids and I sit down on Wednesday mornings (or Tuesday nights if I’m really on top of things) and make a list of things we want to have in the freezer for the coming week.
We do some schoolwork, then get busy in the kitchen making all kinds of goodies.
Typically we’ll make a few quick breads, four pizzas, a couple batches of cinnamon rolls, any cakes for upcoming birthdays, and anything else we feel like making. Yes, it takes several hours, and yes it usually makes a mess (especially when the kids are really involved), but it’s worth it. I promise.
Undoubtedly, the benefits of cooking from scratch go far beyond these five points. Do you have favorite meals you make from scratch? Maybe passed down from a family member?
Looking for more frugal cooking ideas?
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Basic Muffin Mix (Super Simple & Freezer Friendly)
5 Budget-Friendly Spaghetti Meals (Freezer Friendly)
Additionally, there is another benefit to making the foods from scratch. Or more so, building blocks like spice mixtures, biscuits, cream of [x] soup, and whatnot. You likely have all the ingredients on hand, if your house is well-stocked enough. And if not, there is always an easy substitute here and there – in the internet age, you can’t use ignorance as a crux.
With the spices, it will usually be a case of saving the money. One spoonful of the mixture will do in most recipes, and I am sure many more recipes will call for that exact sort of mixture. We are talking taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, Italian herbs, and a few others. That is so much so that I made a whole separate folder for bookmarks labeled “spice mixtures”.
That which I have played fast and loose with (something I have been known to do), by adding in other sorts of short-cuts. Those include the can of creamed soup – as much as I understand why, I still can’t fathom using it – Cheez-wiz (I am Australian, soon to be living in New Zealand; that stuff is hard to track down without really scouting the place out), Italian sausage – which I can tweak to beef mince, seeing as religious reasons have me trying to evade pork – and goodness knows what else. There will only be more to come as I keep finding new recipes and ways to save money and thinking about looking after five kids – those are my sister’s, not mine.
A way that truly epitomised how it can be possible and enjoyable was this Scottish recipe, “Rumbledethumps”. It was from the YouTube channel, What’s For Tea, and she is of a similar thought process.