cooking/baking at home

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kendradl
kendradl Posts: 595 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have never been one to cook or bake, my husband does all the cooking. A while ago we purchased a bread machine and since then I have started baking, making bread and trying new recipes. My question is baking muffins, cookies and making bread in the bread machine better than purchasing pre made packaged food and the grocery store? Of course I still need to watch what we eat but want to know if overall at home cooking/baking is a healthier solution?

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  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    Yes of course it is! No preservatives and you can control exactly how much "bad stuff" goes into them, as well as how much "healthy stuff" you add!
  • AznKimi
    AznKimi Posts: 8
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    Yes of course it is! No preservatives and you can control exactly how much "bad stuff" goes into them, as well as how much "healthy stuff" you add!
    Agreed. =]
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
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    yes soooo much better for you. you can use healthier versions of all your ingredients and no preservatives!

    i am a baker, this is what i do (this is why i'm fat) but NOW i bake with Stevia instead of sugar and it cuts ALL the calories that sugar has and also cuts your sugar in half. but tastes just as sugary! :)

    (if you dont tell anyone, they cant tell that its not sugar. my ex bf didnt eat refined sugar (he was trying to lose weight too and thats how he was doing it) and he said my "sugar free" muffins tasted like regular muffins!)
  • inskydiamonds
    inskydiamonds Posts: 2,519 Member
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    Cooking at home is one of the things that has really aided in my weight loss. Not only is it cheaper (which is a different matter on its own), but it cuts the sodium down incredibly.
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    YES! Do you ever read the ingredients of baked goods in the store? They almost always use partially hydrogenated oils/fats which are terrible for you. A lot of "health" experts (not just weight-loss people but those promoting good health) say to avoid transfats and high fructose corn syrup.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
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    Cooking at home does 2 good things: skinnies you up, while fattening your purse! You can even make bagels in your bread machine. Just set it on dough cycle, turn it out, form into rings, toss in to boiling water, boil each side for a few mins, then throw them in the oven. They are better than any other I've had!
    Also, I am all about 30 min meals or less. If it takes much longer than 30 mins to make, I won't cook. Luckily there's plenty of recipes out there to help with that :)
  • amscobra
    amscobra Posts: 73
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    Such a Great question, I often wondered the same thing. I LOVE to bake but always had the assumption that homemade bread was worse for you. Boy was I wrong. Thanks for the post!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    It can be more healthy, but not automatically. If you use prepackaged mixes or don't make good choices with your ingredients, you can make food at home that is just as crappy as that in the store.

    Like someone else said, making your own foods from scratch gives you control--you can use that for good or for bad. The fact that you make your own bread, food, whatever, doesn't guarantee it will be more healthy. There are some great healthy choices in the store, too.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    If you're making foods from scratch, yes it is much healthier! But, if you're using cake/cookie/bread/etc. mixes, it's not much better. It's still a prepackaged food and is still made with all the same chemicals and ridiculous amounts of sugar and sodium.
  • kendradl
    kendradl Posts: 595 Member
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    Thanx everybody - such great comments. It feels great to know that I am on a good path and headed in the right direction. I make everything from scratch I do not buy mixes so that is a good start. I have also found the recipe option on here and think that is a wonderful idea and plan on using that a lot. I will also make sure I watch what I put in my recipes to make them healthier all around.

    @DrBorkBork - Thanx for the tip with the bagels I will definitly have to try this, I LOVE bagels as does my husband but always assumed that they were bad, too many carbs.

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