Making homemade versions of store bought food
Options
Replies
-
"Pick your battles on buy vs. make, and gradually adopt what works for your weight/health goals and what you are able to accomplish. It's a stepwise process that you'll be following for a long time. Good luck and happy cooking!"
This.
I have been a home cook for many years,but also gained weight. My feeling is,it's not the food I eat.....store bought,restaurants or home made,it's the amount. A couple slices of pizza is different than 4 slices,but true for most any food. Cutting back is a long process that works for me. Learn to know your body & what works for you. That's half the battle. Today it's "no pasta" Pasta e Fagioli soup.Just because we eat our share of other pastas2 -
Does anyone make their own butter?0
-
I remember now a big reason I became a scratch cook. Food restrictions. My son had a migraine trigger list an arm long. I learned to make my own sauces.2
-
I remember now a big reason I became a scratch cook. Food restrictions. My son had a migraine trigger list an arm long. I learned to make my own sauces.
That, too! One of my daughters has the full-out peanut allergy (we've had a number of ER trips). Sometimes, products containing soy trigger also (not consistent, is pretty weird). My wife gets food migraines, but we haven't figured out her triggers. I also have to watch my Vitamin K intake. So I make a bunch of things that I could buy. Plus all those other reasons I listed above in my previous posting. We're not fanatics about "clean eating" and so forth, but there are a lot of good points in favor of being in control of your food ingredients by cooking the things you can when you can.1 -
Tomorrow's menu inclusion: potato-leek soup from scratch (not that difficult). And only a few ingredients plus time. With leftover chicken and sides from today. Make everything count is our watchword.
In the interest of full disclosure, as it turns out, I went to Plan 'B' regarding the soup this evening. Wife and daughter developed bronchitis overnight, didn't want the potato-leek. Went for an "English Onion Soup" (per Jamie Oliver's recipe: leeks, mix of onions, shallots) to salvage the on-hand leeks before they got too old. Very satisfying.
2 -
I find the opposite to be true. Most of my "from scratch" conclusions turn out to have similar calories to store bought, and in many cases my home-made items are more calorific. I think because certain store bought items contain industrial stabilizers that don't contribute much to the calorie count whereas I need to use higher calorie items to stabilize certain things. A good example is ice cream, My ice cream has nearly 1.5 the calories of store bought because I need the egg yolks and lots of cream to achieve a creamy rich consistency of a quality store bought ice cream. I also can't make lower calorie high fiber bread without it falling apart on me.
My choice to make from scratch vs buy ready-made is based solely on which one wins out: taste or convenience. The only things I do store-bought specifically for the calories are milk, because local farm milk is always full cream, and daily use bread. I only bake bread if I really crave a rustic homemade fresh loaf. The only thing I do homemade specifically for the calories is fries (baked oven fries have fewer calories than chain restaurant fries). Everything else is a toss up of what is convenient and what I'm used to. We always make our own tomato sauce every year and freeze for example just because that's what we've always done. We buy yogurt sometimes, other times we make it, but our storebought yogurt is just like homemade with only 2 ingredients (culture and milk) and with a 1 week shelf life, so making it at home is just because we feel like doing it sometimes and we like the process, no other reason.4 -
What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.0
-
trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
And what they have found is that upping salt and sugar is an excellently cheap way to make inferior ingredients taste such that we crave more of them.3 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
And what they have found is that upping salt and sugar is an excellently cheap way to make inferior ingredients taste such that we crave more of them.
Beat me to it.....
OP the only compelling reason I can think of for making some of these staples from scratch (assuming you have the time and inclination, don't expect to save much money or reduce calories significantly) is that you can control the ingredients. For example...... I have mild well controlled hypertension and watch my sodium intake. By using fresh tomatoes (in season) or no salt added canned ones to make my own spaghetti sauce I can easily stay within my targets, commercially prepared stuff is loaded with salt (it's cheaper than spices and our brains are hard wired to crave it)
I don't subscribe to pseudo-scientific scare mongering but you have to wonder what's in that loaf of bread if it's still fresh after a week....1 -
It depends on the thing.
I cook a lot of staples from scratch; there are lots of others I have tried doing and given up on. What counts as a "store bought" item depends on the person - one person might think of pancakes as a no-brainer to make at home; someone else would not dream of making them without a mix and yet another person would just grab a pack ready-made. We cook maybe 80% of our meals from scratch - we're not above a bit of packaged help in that department. More classically "store bought" items I regularly cook myself:
Bread and rolls
Tortillas/flatbreads
Potato gnocchi
Scones
Pancakes
Yoghurt
Pizza bases
Potato wedges
Jam
Honestly, I do this mostly because I enjoy it. It has the advantage of also allowing us to live on a very tight food budget (yes, it is cheaper to make your own bread, you just have to be a cheapskate when it comes to ingredients and sometimes buy in bulk). Tortillas in particular are SO satisfying to make, they're like a therapy for me.
There are a few health advantages. They are mostly the ones already mentioned, avoiding extra salt and sugar, but you can also cut fat and add veg to increase the overall fibre and reduce the calorie count - very noticeable with things like lasagne.
These kinds of benefits - and all benefits of cooking from scratch - are much bigger for actual meals; the improvements you can make to more basic products are more limited (though you can still cut sugar - white bread just doesn't need it, the yeast works fine without it). There are some subtle improvements you can make, though. If you use milk instead of water for bread, you are increasing the protein content. If you add eggs, even more so. Making bread and Greek yoghurt is a great pairing, as the leftover whey goes into the bread.
There is also the fact that home made bread products, for me at least, are more filling, and if you get really good at breadmaking, you can produce whole grain versions which are better than store bought. Home made whole wheat tortillas are great (provided you add enough water, which is the secret for all whole grains) whereas I find the shop bought version can be dry and taste strongly of bran. Mastering whole wheat bread is a bit of a project, but it can be done.
Really, for many of these things, the health benefits are too small to justify it if you don't like doing it. But if you do enjoy it, you have a hobby that costs negative money and improves your diet a little. It's quite a good deal.
(to store home made bread, wrap in a cloth and then a plastic bag or box. If you want to store it more than three days, wrap in plastic and freeze it. If it takes you more than three days to finish it, half it and freeze half - or better, slice it and then freeze. You can defrost individual slices in the microwave or toaster).1 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
And what they have found is that upping salt and sugar is an excellently cheap way to make inferior ingredients taste such that we crave more of them.
Beat me to it.....
OP the only compelling reason I can think of for making some of these staples from scratch (assuming you have the time and inclination, don't expect to save much money or reduce calories significantly) is that you can control the ingredients. For example...... I have mild well controlled hypertension and watch my sodium intake. By using fresh tomatoes (in season) or no salt added canned ones to make my own spaghetti sauce I can easily stay within my targets, commercially prepared stuff is loaded with salt (it's cheaper than spices and our brains are hard wired to crave it)
I don't subscribe to pseudo-scientific scare mongering but you have to wonder what's in that loaf of bread if it's still fresh after a week....
I don't. If my homemade bread makes it past a week, it's still fresh. The crust won't be as crisp. That's what the toaster oven is for
But then, I keep all bread in the fridge - all of my bread molds in days if left out and it doesn't matter if it's Peppridge Farm or bakery made that morning.
Plus, there's the dog and his new habit of stealing things off of the counter to consider.1 -
I would say "no", it doesn't help with weight loss. I got fat eating homecooked food. I used to make my own bread, yoghurt, etc. The truth is, I'd probably eat more of the homemade version than the storebought version.
For instance, an individual portion of hummus from the shop is 70g. If I made it myself, I'd end up making much more of it. Which I would then eat. Homemade bread is at it's best on the day of baking, so it seems a waste to just have one slice that day. If I ever made fresh mayonnaise (rarely), I'd use a whole egg, which would make a lot of mayonnaise, which would have to be eaten in a couple of days. I have tried making things in smaller portions, but it's fiddly, and I still seem to make more than I should be eating.
I rarely eat bread now, but when I do, I tend to buy something delicious from an artisan baker, slice it up and put it in the freezer so that I'm not tempted.1 -
I found making itat home is less calories, sodium, cheaper, tastier, and free of preservatives and big words I don't know what they are! I feel like I get more energy from them as well fresher ingredients fruit and veg. Plus it's fun!1
-
Tomorrow's menu inclusion: potato-leek soup from scratch (not that difficult). And only a few ingredients plus time. With leftover chicken and sides from today. Make everything count is our watchword.
In the interest of full disclosure, as it turns out, I went to Plan 'B' regarding the soup this evening. Wife and daughter developed bronchitis overnight, didn't want the potato-leek. Went for an "English Onion Soup" (per Jamie Oliver's recipe: leeks, mix of onions, shallots) to salvage the on-hand leeks before they got too old. Very satisfying.
Here's a quite excellent soup or broth:
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
Half onion
1 small pc ginger fine chopped
1 small turmeric
Parsley to taste or half bunch
I added a bit of salt and cumin to taste
And about 5 cups water u can add any veggies you like too
It's great for bronchitis or pneumonia, drink the broth through the day0 -
I'm in the 'depends what' camp. I don't buy pre-packaged bread anymore, I just make my own or stop by the bakery when it's convenient. I can't stand canned soup anymore so I make my own too.
But things like condiments, pasta, tortillas etc, nope, not making that (same with tomato sauce - just cheaper to buy a jar!).1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
we-e-e-ll . . . maybe depending on the product type. i just checked the details on a package of knorr cream of something-something soup and the only nutrient that's in the double digits is salt. 6% vitamin a, 4% calcium, 2% vitamin c, 0 iron. ONE gramme of protein. i mean, that's just a nutritional null. i could probably get roughly the same kind of thing from a box of smarties.
so that's an example of where i'd just make it myself. i still don't think that i'm doctrinaire, but i just don't see the point of wasting a 'meal' on such total nothing.1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
The point is that (to my palate), homemade usually tastes better. The tradeoff is that it takes time, and we don't always have time to make everything from scratch. Stores spend millions developing their products to meet a number of criteria (shelf life, convenience, marketability, etc.); taste is rarely top priority (though, obviously, the taste has to be good enough for people to buy it again).3 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »What would be the point in doing this? Calories are likely to be the same and stores spend millions developing their products so the chances are they taste good for a reason.
The point is that (to my palate), homemade usually tastes better. The tradeoff is that it takes time, and we don't always have time to make everything from scratch. Stores spend millions developing their products to meet a number of criteria (shelf life, convenience, marketability, etc.); taste is rarely top priority (though, obviously, the taste has to be good enough for people to buy it again).
This is true for me.
I also think that in order to have a product that tastes good, is inexpensive (yet profitable), and can be packaged and sold and kept for the time that most storebought things are, many sorts of products need to use greater amounts of some ingredients (fat, salt, sugar) than you need to make them taste good at home. So I do think it's often possible to make a tastier homemade product for fewer calories.
For items where the at home version is probably not lower cal (stuff like sweet baked goods), I think the at home version is especially likely to be vastly more delicious, but this could be my taste. Limiting consumption of these to homemade still could serve a purpose -- being selective in what you eat so it's only what you find truly delicious, homemade is likely to be available less (and will require more work). But I don't fool myself this is about health or nutrition, of course.1 -
angelexperiment wrote: »Tomorrow's menu inclusion: potato-leek soup from scratch (not that difficult). And only a few ingredients plus time. With leftover chicken and sides from today. Make everything count is our watchword.
In the interest of full disclosure, as it turns out, I went to Plan 'B' regarding the soup this evening. Wife and daughter developed bronchitis overnight, didn't want the potato-leek. Went for an "English Onion Soup" (per Jamie Oliver's recipe: leeks, mix of onions, shallots) to salvage the on-hand leeks before they got too old. Very satisfying.
Here's a quite excellent soup or broth:
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
Half onion
1 small pc ginger fine chopped
1 small turmeric
Parsley to taste or half bunch
I added a bit of salt and cumin to taste
And about 5 cups water u can add any veggies you like too
It's great for bronchitis or pneumonia, drink the broth through the day
Thanks. I've copied to my Notes files to try. My daughter suggested trying something with turmeric.0 -
With Friday night approaching, let me summarize this week's worth (Sun-Fri) of homemade-rather-than-store items:
Onion-Leek Soup (2 nights) - rather than commercial soups.
Puttanesca-style tomato sauce (2 nights) - rather than jarred sauce.
Homemade Wheat Bread (blend of WW and unbleached flours, with added wheat germ) - rather than commercial.
Chicken Salad (from leftover baked chicken breasts - counts in this equation since it kept family from buying lunches while out at work; also, going back to OP, made with Greek yogurt rather than mayo).
Plus, of course, all the mains and sides for a complete lunch and dinner menu (breakfasts typically are oatmeal, eggs, cereals). Three nights of turkey meatloaf (original plus two leftover nights, plus at-work lunches). Roasted autumnal root vegetables. Chopped tomato/cucumber salads (oil/vinegar and oil/lemon juice dressings).
Tonight: more baked chicken (the family is minimizing red meat), sides (TBD).
This week, I am happy to have avoided mayo, HFCS, tons of added salt/sugar/additives, etc. while eating many fresh veggies and such.
Did we save on calories/etc.? A bit. Probably marginal at best, as fresh cooking encourages eating and the menu this week wasn't explicitly spare in weight-loss terms. But we all stayed even or dropped 1-2 lbs this week, well within the margin of error, esp. as regards potential water retention. By the way, if you're menu planning for leftovers, at least in the main entree (as we did this week with the turkey meatloaf), a steady stream of fresh sides each day "keeps it fresh," for more food enjoyment. Even dieting, you should enjoy your food.
Did we save on money? Maybe, a little, about $20 is a good guess (gives credit to brown bag lunches versus purchased). But, $20 weekly adds to $1000 over the year, so it's something.
We're eating out tomorrow with friends, so I can feel all the kitchen time I expended and $$ savings "paid" for my meal. Somewhat. I'll indulge in beef or seafood depending on where we wind up, LOL.
As many people have said in this thread, if you've got the time, and build the ability/repertoire, you can gradually displace some commercial foods with home cooking for better quality eating and some marginal weight/cost savings, but it's a steady process. I can't see myself making pasta, for instance (except maybe spaetzle/etc.), even though it's relatively easy. I used to make yogurt, now I just buy the large, plain containers. In the summer (our grilling-and-salad "near paleo" season), I never quite got the same results for the "crunchy vegetable salad" the family likes from the deli, which, at about $7/lb., gripes me to spend. The end result? This isn't the 1700s, we all buy commercially-prepared foods. There's a YouTube channel (*very* interesting, search "Townsend" to find) on 1700s cooking which will remind you of this fact just by seeing what they went through.
To really drop weight, you need to up the game even more with proper food selections, portion control and activity. It's not easy. My at-home 20-something daughter is at the gym 2 nights/week, plus active life. I'm over 60, and do what I can with gym/activity, but I'm fighting the clock as well. My wife made a determined, dedicated "lose 20+ lb." effort this year, succeeded, and now we're working this into a sustainable lifestyle.
Sorry for rambling on. I usually try to make shorter posts. Good luck.1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 999 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions