# cooking from basic ingredients at home?



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Just curious; how many of you cook all meals at home from fresh basic food items? Is this a lost art?

We never eat out, never purchase pre-packaged food stuffs nor do we use canned goods. We even feed our dog home-cooked meals.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Guilty as charged, Andros. Cooking from scratch is a lost art in my household. I wish I could tell a different story...but apparently I don't wish it badly enough to actually do it.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I do a lot of cooking from scratch - usually I cook for the week on Sundays - but I'm not 100% perfect. If I didn't work full time, I'd probably be better, but...you do what you can. 

My animals? Yeah, well, they are on 100% store bought food. I don't have THAT kind of time!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

I cook most evenings - protein and veggie and salad - fresh mostly.

This is "new" since my kids moved away to college. And the most recent 'sugar awareness" I have awoken to.

OMGosh - I lost 8 pounds in a matter of 3 months - solid weight loss and tummy reduction from reading labels and deciding how many teaspoons of sugar I was willing to consume for whatever food I was eating. Sugar is everywhere - I figure I cut my intake over 50%

Feel SO much better and cannot tolerate fast food any longer.


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## puritanize (Apr 11, 2013)

I only cook 100% of all our meals from scratch

I have even learned to bake with plantain flour to broaden my carb choices since I am so limited.

I would not have it any other way. I truly want to heal and get better, fight for it. So cooking is fun, a great way to control my diet, get healthy and saves us a ton of money


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## Pamzilla13 (Sep 9, 2013)

100% from scratch...


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

It is possible that it would make a huge improvement in your health; no joke! And a lot less expensive also for the most part.

Hugs,

PS: I love an honest person! ROLF!!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Good for you, oh wise one!!! Yay!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Incidentally, we don't cook every day. We make a huge pot of soup and other things that can be re-heated in a jiffy. You don't have to be a slave to the kitchen.

Hugs everyone!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Our supper last night was entirely grown at home.  Roasted herb chicken breast, acorn squash, green beans and beets very yummy. The herbs were grown here too.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

You and hubby are very very self-sufficient and I admire that greatly!

Hugs,


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

This is truly awesome!! It really is! You should be very proud to have taken this step on behalf of yourself and your family!!!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

It doesn't matter that there are limited choices. It only matters that we feel good. Eat to live; not live to eat!


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> My animals? Yeah, well, they are on 100% store bought food. I don't have THAT kind of time!


Absolutely - My dog eats poop - if I don't catch him in time. Dog food is much more sanitary than dog poop.

I cheat and eat stuff I should not eat all the time - it comes down to choice, self control and acceptance of the consequences from eating that Almond Joy bar yesterday. YUM - totally worth it!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

ROLF! Yeah.......................................I can just see it!


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I went out for lunch with my husband this afternoon. Had the fried chicken special with mashed potatoes and gravy, and green bean casserole. Enjoyed every bite, and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it. 

But in all seriousness, we really do eat healthy most of the time...just not all the time. All of our meat and eggs come from my husband's parents farm, which is a very nice little perk. And we get a weekly veggie and fruit delivery from a farmers market. We supplement those things with the occasional pre-packaged noodles, soups, cereals, etc. So we're not the most healthy eaters in the world, but I know for certain we're nowhere near the worst!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Sounds to me like you and hubby are doing a very good job. And................................."some" restaurants still do old-fashiohome-cookin'; your meals sound like it when you ate out recently.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

We make French fries out of fresh pumpkin, place on a tray, coat w/olive oil and bake until starting to turn crispy. A little sea salt and black pepper you have yourself some might good eatin'!

Have any of you ever tried this? We do the same w/butternut squash! Squashes are sooooooooooooooooo good for you; just packed with nutrition.


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## jade (Aug 6, 2013)

I've been trying some slow cooker recipes lately. I found a really good indian curry and a simple but delicious veggie lasagna. I can post links to the recipes if anyone's interested.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I would love to see the lasagne recipe!


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## jade (Aug 6, 2013)

Octavia said:


> I would love to see the lasagne recipe!


Here it is: http://hip2save.com/2014/05/12/slow-cooker-veggie-lasagna-recipe/

I use chopped onion, chopped yellow, red, orange bell peppers and chopped (frozen) spinach as the veggies when I make it. So good! The egg is optional. I skip it because I'm a vegetarian and it turns out fine w/o it. It's a good recipe because you can customize the veggies to your preferences. It's the best lasagna I've made yet and very easy in the slow cooker.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

That looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!


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## Prolixity2013 (Nov 8, 2013)

My husband makes his lasagne in the microwave without precooking anything. You layer everything just like you would for lasagne made in the oven and cook it in the microwave.

I have to make everything at home because I'm allergic to the parsley or carrot group of foods. That means no parsley, carrots, celery, parsnips, cumin, coriander, fennel, dill, caraway, and anise. So eating out would be a nightmare. Celery and carrots are used often, especially celery with its root, leaves, seeds, and stalk used in many different ways. The root is the worst culprit for an allergic reaction. It's concentrated with the proteins that cause the problem.

I've learned to live without canned goods and prepackaged foods. I can't even open up a jar of spaghetti sauce because the last ingredient which says, "spices" meaning celery root or root juice extract. That's highly concentrated and causes a multitude of symptoms. It took me a long time to figure it all out, but now I'm not having the physical problems I used to have. I haven't been to a restaurant since 2012 when I had a severe reaction to a taco salad. I believed it was salmonella, but now I know it was the nitrite they used on the salad to keep it fresh. Celery root extract juice. Yikes!

Our dog eats a raw diet. All we need to do is grab raw chicken scraps or a turkey neck or pork or beef or heart or liver or a combination of them, weigh them on our scale, and serve. His coat is shiny and soft. And he's never had ear infections. And he's got plenty of sass and energy, and he's past middle age for his breed. His got little tartar on his teeth.

Wish I could eat raw turkey necks too. My teeth could use a good cleaning.


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