Homemade - Healthy?

sunshine6650

Now i know most the answers but i suppose i want reassurance!!
Ive been making homemade pizza dough,pasta sauce,home made soups etc..
I wanna try home made 'sweet' snacks - biscuits etc..but healthy!!!

Homemade is healthier right?? I know its about what you put in them & i do cut back on salts/sugars etc..

Ive made fruit crumbles etc..im convinced they are healthier than shop bought but am i right?

Im getting into the cooking thing now, want to carry on & will, Im trying to cut back & loose weight at the same time aswell...there is onky so many veg you can stand!!

mrsmortenharket

HM is healthier cos there are no additives & nasties. A simple HM sponge has butter, sugar, eggs & flour.

So I guess it may not be lower calorie but its healthier as its only the ingredients needed, not lots of fillers etc etc.

Lisa

odds-n-sods

fewer additives etc. are good for you, but watch your portion sizes as well.

thriftlady_2

If 'healthy' means no rubbish then, yes homemade is always healthier:)

But, cakes, biscuits and puddings etc are not healthy -let's not kid ourselves (and believe me I am well-practised at kidding myself ) these are treat foods and are never going to be low calorie. I make a lot of this sort of food and eating it has never made me healthier or slimmer it doesn't half taste nice though:D

webtalk

interesting premise that additives are always bad for you. Depends on how you define 'additive' of course.

if you're looking for 'healthy' then home made isn't necessarily so - lard, too much fat, too much sugar, too much salt, deep fried ... the list of unhealthy home made isn't all that short.

catkinq

I think that you can make MK cakes healthy. The only thing which is really "bad" is sugar as this is simply empty calaries - ie no benefit other than the calaries - even fat is necessary (just not as much as we usualy eat). If you make (say) rock cakes, or current buns, or friut crumbles then you are eating fruit (and eggs in the cakes) etc as well as the other bits. I usually just cut down on the sugar and fat - try putting 1/2 oz less sugar and fat into teh recipe each time until you notice - I;ve found that I can cut quite abit out before it doesn't taste nice any more. With crumble you can add nuts and seeds (v good for you although high n fat), you can add oats (filling and low calarie) etc. so I think that HM can be v much healthier.

thriftlady_2

webtalk wrote: »

interesting premise that additives are always bad for you. Depends on how you define 'additive' of course.

if you're looking for 'healthy' then home made isn't necessarily so - lard, too much fat, too much sugar, too much salt, deep fried ... the list of unhealthy home made isn't all that short.

Yep, but on the other hand- make your own tomato sauce for pasta, grill your own fish fillet, make a salad, make your own wholemeal bread, fruit salad, porridge, yogurt.... the list is long.

I think the answer is -it depends what you are making;)

Maxjessdru

Yes, I think HM is much healthier than most bought cakes - if you look at the list of ingredients on many bought cakes/biscuits, the list goes on forever! I know some "additives" are, in fact, quite natural products, they just need an "e" number for regulations' sake, but I would still prefer to make my own with just a few ingredients. The only problem with making home made is they get eaten all too quickly (as I found out with mince pies over xmas) and as I also found out when I got on the scales last week :eek: But definitely worth it, if only occasionally.

angelavdavis

The beauty of home-made is you KNOW what's in it. How much sugar, salt, etc because you choose how much goes in. Whether its additives - natural or otherwise, its simply the hidden stuff I have a problem with.

For example, most people are still unaware, for example, that palm oil is used by some producers for making commercial biscuits and ready meals. Palm oil, as well as being the cause for so much deforestation in the world as it takes a lot of acreage to produce a small quantity of oil, is also relatively high in saturated fats - hence it has been linked with obesity, etc.

Therefore, making your own recipes using non-saturated alternatives means you have a CHOICE of whether you wish to contribute to this industry or not.

Whether you agree with my point about palm oil or not, there are many reasons for making your own food and I believe it's about freedom of choice.

Yes I use lard to roast my potatoes and occasionally in pastry and use sugar and salt in some recipes, but I know its not in anything else I cook, so a little of what you fancy is OK in my book!

All I can say, is that nobody has ever complained about my cooking of favourites such as my HM bread - even though it has fair less sugar and salt in it than commercial alternatives and its certainly cheaper!

webtalk

i'm a great believer in food made at home from scratch using fresh ingredients - that is how about 85% of all our food is made.

However, I don't kid myself that it is always healthier. It isn't. But, as people say, you at least know what junk goes into the food.

moanymoany

On a tv food programme I saw an experiment comparing bought versus home made bakewell tart.

The two tarts were made and tasted. The homemade tasted best. They were then kept and compared after a week. The bought tart was still as it was - the home made tart had become dry. It was kept longer and the bought tart stayed the same and the homemade tart became dryer and really, inedible.

It is the chemical content that enables the bought tart to have such a long use by date.

I used up the last blackberries from the freezer last night. I made a crumble - 8 oz flour, 4 oz butter, 4 oz sugar. This means that each portion contains one ounce of both fat and sugar. The blackberries had about 2 oz sugar. It was lovely, and at that rate I don't think it was unhealthy.

Bought crumble mix has the kind of fat that keeps well without refridgeration. Also I don't like it much. When I was working full time and commuting as well as having a young family I did use it. I put it on canned fruit. I still use value canned peaches with a basic sponge mix (1 egg, 2 oz SR flour, 2oz soft marge, 2 oz sugar mixed together) over the top. It makes a nice treat and is quite cheap and quick to make.