7 Persuasive Reasons to Cook from Scratch ...

Have you looked at the list of ingredients on a packet of cookies or ready meal lately? It reads more like a chemical experiment, and even a relatively simple cookie is made up of countless ingredients. Cooking from scratch means that you can be sure that your meals are healthy.

People often make the excuse that it is cheaper to buy ready-prepared dishes, but cooking from scratch can also be a lot cheaper. The initial cost of the ingredients may be higher, but as many items will make multiple meals it works out cheaper in the long run. Plus you can also buy cheaper cuts of meat or fish that will be just as tasty when cooked the right way.

Let´s face it, buying ready-made dishes from the supermarket may be convenient, but they´re generally missing something in the flavour department. Using fresh ingredients and making your own meals is considerably more tasty. Also you can change the flavours to suit your own palate.

Do you ever hear your parents or grandparents commenting that they always used to cook from basic ingredients, and how much healthier they were? That food was proper food in those days, with no additives? So many food items have additives or preservatives now to give them a longer shelf life; cooking from scratch allows you to cut out these unwanted extras.

Another advantage of cooking from scratch is one that appeals to me a lot. I often make a larger amount, enough for 3 or 4 meals, and freeze or refrigerate the rest. That means that I don´t have to bother preparing a meal another day – I just heat up some tasty leftovers and have a healthy meal in no time!

Making your own meals from fresh ingredients means that you can tailor them to suit your tastes and that of your family. If someone doesn´t like one component of a recipe, you can substitute another. If you don´t have something in your cupboard or can´t obtain it, again you can be flexible and imaginative, and adapt the recipe as you wish.

Cooking from scratch can be a lot easier than you might suspect. Sure, there´s some preparation involved, and it takes a bit more effort than simply opening a packet and placing it in the microwave. Still, you don´t have to spend hours in the kitchen to put a meal together, and it doesn´t have to be complicated at all.

Follow these tips and you will find that cooking from scratch is better for your health, your wallet and your taste buds. If, like me, you don´t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, then cooking from scratch in larger quantities means that you can still enjoy a home-cooked meal without too much effort. Are you into cooking from scratch, or do you find it a waste of your precious free time?

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