by Jennifer Swanson
The other day, my computer guy stopped by while my daughter and I were baking. He asked what kind of dough I used. "I bake from scratch," I laughed, offering him a sample.
"No one cooks from scratch anymore, Jennifer," he replied.
Not wanting to miss a teaching opportunity, I explained that, contrary to popular myth, cooking from scratch can actually be more efficient than using so-called convenience foods.
Here's how:
1. Cooking from scratch saves space. Multiple cans, bags, and boxes of prepackaged foods take up a great deal of cupboard and pantry space. Cooking and baking staples, on the other hand, are available to use in many different recipes.
2. Cooking from scratch saves money. Think of it as paying someone else to measure out your ingredients. You're also paying for preservatives, packaging, and advertising.
3. Cooking from scratch saves energy--yours and the environment's. Many prepackaged foods are loaded with unhealthy levels of fat, sugar, sodium (salt), and artificial ingredients (flavors, colors, etc.). Many nutrients are lost in the processing of these foods. A quick look at the "Nutrition Information" just might be enough to motivate you to pursue other options. (I was shocked when I first read the label on a can of soup.)
By preparing more nutritious meals, you invest in your health. Better health equals more energy. Plus you save all that extra packaging that ends up in the landfills.
4. Cooking from scratch takes less time than you think. I have an electric oven that preheats pretty quickly and beeps when it's ready for baking. In general, I finish my meal preparation before the beeper goes off. Even stovetop cooking has a certain amount of waiting time, no matter how few ingredients you're using.
The point is that the oven has to heat, and water has to boil. Neither happens any faster just because the box says it's instant.
Incidentally, I avoid the microwave except for leftovers. I find microwaving to be more of a pain than "conventional" methods. It often takes just as long, requires more supervision to avoid a big mess, and the food usually comes out substandard in texture and/or taste.
Buy pre-cut frozen vegetables. If you cringe at the thought of cutting up all those vegetables, there's good news. Frozen veggies can be more nutritious than "fresh" vegetables (unless you get them truly fresh in the summer from your own garden or a farmer's market--but we're talking about year-round convenience here).
Raw vegetables sit on a truck, sit at your grocery store, and then sit at your home until you use them. Frozen vegetables, on the other hand, are frozen shortly after harvest. I buy bags of frozen corn, sliced carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, 1-inch-cut green beans, and more--all ready to dump into my recipes.
Whatever you don't use in your recipe can be put back into the freezer until next time. This alone can be a money-saver because you're using what you buy, not wasting it on veggies rotting in the fridge (yuck!). Buy generic for extra cost savings.
Here are a few great tools for quick from-scratch cooking:
- Crock pot. This allows you to prepare dinner earlier in the day, when you have more energy. There's nothing like coming home after a busy day to the smell of dinner making itself.
- Bread machine. Ah, the gift you've never used. If the odd-shaped loaves bother you, try this: Choose the "Dough Only" setting and set the timer such that the dough will be ready when you are. Shape the dough as you wish (loaves or rolls). The dough then usually requires another round of rising (maybe an hour), so be sure to plan ahead...but oh, is it ever worth it.
My pizza dough recipe goes straight from the bread machine to the oven. Just roll it out, add toppings, and bake. If it seems to be too much trouble, think of it as an activity or tradition rather than a chore. Give each person a section of the pizza, and let them add their own toppings.
- Freezer. You can also save time later by freezing your leftovers (instead of leaving them to sit in the refrigerator). And by all means, label them! Keep a pen and a roll of masking tape handy. Note the date and what's inside each container.
The hardest part of dinnertime is deciding what to make. A meal plan is a great way to reduce mealtime stress. Believe it or not, creating a meal plan can be done quite simply. The easiest way is to write out a 3- or 4-week plan (dinners only at first), and simply cycle back to the top of the list.
I'm assuming you're busy. I'm not suggesting you jump into this for every meal, every day of the week. Start with simple recipes. Decide which factors are most important to you and focus on those. Over time, you can expand on these concepts and enjoy a healthy, efficient kitchen.
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Editor's note:
I have a confession to make: I've only been cooking for five years.
For the first six years of my marriage, my husband (a restaurant chef in his high school days) cooked almost all of the time. I was simply not interested. When I did cook, it was more like a chemistry project than dinner preparation. All my measurements were precise. Modifications were not an option. Hot oil scared me, so I was limited to things I could bake or boil!
The birth of my first child motivated me to finally learn how to cook. I tried recipes from our own cookbooks, the library, and the Internet. I tried and failed. But with practice and persistence, I now rarely follow a recipe as written, and I have even created recipes of my own.
-JS
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