cooking from scratch or buying ready made?

competitionscafe

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

from a social point of view isnt it better to say have one big factory producing food for the masses with heavy duty machinery, than every single person having their own tools and going out and buying individual ingredients?

If you think big business having control over what we eat is better you should read a book called 'Eat your Heart Out' by Felicity Lawrence
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eat-Your-Heart-Out-Business/dp/0141026014/ and also Michael Pollan's excellent book 'In Defence of Food': http://www.amazon.co.uk/Defence-Food-Nutrition-Pleasures-Eating/dp/184614096X

I would rather eat food that is made from recognisable ingredients of good quality than put my faith in a big corporation to have my best interests at heart. I think they are more likely to be interested in maximising their profit margins with their 'value added' products.

In any case most ready meals I have tried come nowhere near homemade in terms of taste. I also like to know exactly what goes into my food and choose to avoid trans-fats, excessive salt, poor quality meat, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavourings, etc.

tarotangel

I prefer making food from scratch as I like knowing what I'm eating. I think it's also slightly convenient as you're not set as to what you have eat. You have a ready meal you know what you're having but if you have the ingredients for scratch then you can choose a few different things to cook depending on your mood.

OrkneyStar

I agree with a lot of whats been said already- for me its three things:
1. We know a lot more about what's in our meals.
2. We can make a lot of things on demand (not nipping to shop all the time).
3. It's cheaper.
(4. For the future- I want DS to know where food comes from and how to make basic meals himself when he is old enough).
We bought some ready meals on hol- but they were fancy M and S ones (only cos Unc. gave me some vouchers for M and S). Saved me cooking at the caravan but tbh I was looking forward to getting home as I missed cooking my own meals for the family (its therapeutic to me and an important role as wife and mum).
x

tarotangel

That's something that I hope when we have children that they learn where & how food comes from. I'm from Shetland orginally OrkneyStar (So I'm assuming you're from Orkney) I found growing up that you absorbed everthing about where food comes from without really realising it.

And the thing that you said that I missed out is that there is nothing better than a home cooked meal especially when you've made it

OrkneyStar

tarotangel wrote: »

That's something that I hope when we have children that they learn where & how food comes from. I'm from Shetland orginally OrkneyStar (So I'm assuming you're from Orkney) I found growing up that you absorbed everthing about where food comes from without really realising it.

And the thing that you said that I missed out is that there is nothing better than a home cooked meal especially when you've made it

Not originally but its an adopted home now and its funny but my views on food are changing, for the better, since I moved here.
I want to go to Shetland some day, but the rough crossings scare me a bit!
The only problem about Orkney, and I presume Shetland too, is the home baking is good on the lips but not so good on the hips :eek: !

tarotangel

It depends on what you're doing if it's just the sweet stuff the whole time yeah. Bannocks I love and are quite a staple as well as Mam home made tablet. As my Gran says everything in moderation.;)

The best thing was home made soup and I still love it. Used to take it to work with me as well. Very cheap, easy and healthy to make from scratch and you can make large batches of it and freeze it for later. I'm a huge fan of home made soup and I think it tastes far better than from out of the tin (one exception might be a certain brand of tomato soup)

Don't speak about crossings, I'm going up in October on the boat. I'll be hiding in the cabin for most of it lol.

lilac_lady

When my family were growing up I was a SAHM and cooked and baked for us all. I live on my own now and cook for the freezer but sometimes I do buy a ready meal if I fancy one. I never bought ready meals for the family - I couldn't afford them. My children still talk about coming home from school and having some home cooking and baking ready for them. BTW, my children also cook so by buying everything already made you deprive children of learning how to cook.

OrkneyStar

tarotangel wrote: »

It depends on what you're doing if it's just the sweet stuff the whole time yeah. Bannocks I love and are quite a staple as well as Mam home made tablet. As my Gran says everything in moderation.;)

The best thing was home made soup and I still love it. Used to take it to work with me as well. Very cheap, easy and healthy to make from scratch and you can make large batches of it and freeze it for later. I'm a huge fan of home made soup and I think it tastes far better than from out of the tin (one exception might be a certain brand of tomato soup)

Don't speak about crossings, I'm going up in October on the boat. I'll be hiding in the cabin for most of it lol.

Yes it is true what you make (and moderation IS the key- you are so right, then you enjoy the stuff when you have it!). I am enjoying learning some of the local recipes. My DH's granny was a brilliant cook in her day, so I am told, and I would love to know if she wrote her recipes down.
I also HM soup- am making some tomorrow morning, follow an adapted version of my mums recipe, although will omit the leek (well unless one of the garden tub ones is big enough to use that is!) and we'll have it with one of the HM baguettes (a la MrsM from the GC thread) I made this afternoon.
Lets hope your crossing is not too bad, or at least you manage to sleep through it if its hair raising :eek:.
x

tarotangel

Lilac Lady - You are so right about depriving children by not learning them how to cook. It's such a necessary skill and I think one a lot of people tend not to think about.

OrkneyStar - Think I will make a nice pot of broth tomorrow. I wonder how many people have recipes that have been passed down now? Will let you know how the boat went and will have a go at making the Baguettes.

jo1972

Possibly a little off topic, but whilst on the subject...I want to encourage my younger two kids (5 and 3) to cook, my 5yr old DS is really keen and keeps asking if he can do anything for me whilst I'm cooking dinner, he says he wants to be like Gordon Ramsey (I hope his language isn't :eek:). Can any of you recommend any good kids recipe books I can get that have a good variation of things, not just all cakes and sweet stuff. I want them to learn to cook their meals as it might encourage them to eat more too. The books I've looked at have nice pictures but the methods are far too complicated...

There's loads on Amazon, but I really want word of mouth as I don't have the money to waste on books that are no good.

Any suggestions?