Recipes versus store bought

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mackiscute2002
mackiscute2002 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it healthier to cook the same meals at home using a recipe versus buying a boxed or canned meal off the shelf that you mix together and heat. I am not talking about from scratch, making my ingredients such as dressings or breads that get combined together. Just following recipes to make the meals using store bought ingredients such as spices, veggies, fruits, pasta, and meats.

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  • jasmon
    jasmon Posts: 7 Member
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    Personally I prefer home made because you eliminate all the added salt, sugar, & oils that just aren't necessary for a meal
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I think home cooked for the most part will be healthier; sometimes to the degree it's not even the same meals anymore. Look at the ingredients list for each food vs ingredients in each recipe you want to compare.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Well, you control the ingredients when you cook so it could be healthier if you choose to make it that way. If you want to reduce things like salt, sugar or fats or add more vegetables, protein, etc to up the nutrients you absolutely can when you cook. If you choose to make it with exactly the same level of everything in the premade packaged item then it isn't really healthier.
    To me the homemade version using fresher ingredients usually tastes much better.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    It really comes down to how you shop, and what you enjoy. If you use more prepared foods, it can be helpful to review labels, and make sure you're getting the nutrition, satiation and tastiness you're paying for, along with the convenience. A lot of boxed meals are very heavy on the carbs - filling, cheap, starchy things like rice or white pasta - and light on protein. They can have a great deal of unnecessary fat and salt, and not enough micronutrients (vitamins/minerals, often from veggies).

    Shopping more carefully may be a bit of a pain at first, until you develop some go-tos among the boxed or frozen foods.

    That said, I've found that if I do relatively more cooking myself, starting from mostly single-ingredient (or few-ingredient) foods from the store or farmers' market, I can get more tastiness, satiation, and nutrition for the same calories, usually at a lower dollar cost. But it does take a little more time - and may feel like a lot more time at first, until you get comfortable with a new routine.

    Recipes are one option, but another is to find some simple foods that - maybe after a few times of following a recipe - you can just make without too much thought.

    For example, I'll make an omelette with some nice veggie/cheese toppings (or scrambled eggs with veggies mixed in). Or I'll saute some veggies to serve with a higher-protein pasta or grain. I can make a bean salad or veggie salad without a recipe. I'm a vegetarian, but meat eaters also have the option of a simply-cooked (broiled, baked, sauteed, grilled) piece of meat or fish, or a meat/fish and veggie stir fry.

    Why not experiment a little, maybe once or twice a week, get some experience, and see what you think?
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Take a good look at the ingredients and nutritional information on a boxed or canned meal, and then compare it to a similar homemade recipe at a site like Allrecipes. Some boxed meals are better than others, but what I've found is that they are generally higher in sodium, sat fats, etc. But it really comes down to lifestyle- some of us simply don't have time to cook home-cooked meals every night. I work from home, and even with my 'casual' lifestyle, sometimes, I'm pushing a contract and simply don't have time to shop, prepare and cook! When I do make a boxed meal, I'll try to serve a big green salad filled with veg with it.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    I think I need examples, because I'm not sure what you mean. You say "make meals at home using a recipe" but then you say "I'm not talking about from scratch."

    When you say things like that, its unclear what you're talking about. Cooking food at home from recipies is usually what people consider "scratch." Having food at home from a can, box, or mix, is "not scratch."

    Cans, boxes, and mixes usually have more salt, more added sugar, etc.


    by the way, you say you're NOT talking about making your own dressing - if you mean salad dressing? That's the easiest thing to make and its so much better.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    It's going to depend on the recipe that you choose. I've seen some recipes that would blow my calories for the entire day (or give me a lot more fat than I would like to have) and some boxed or canned meals that would fit quite well into my goals. I think generally cooking your own is a good way to meet your goals, but you can't ignore the specifics of the situation and take that to mean that the home-cooked one is always going to be better.

  • cinnag4225
    cinnag4225 Posts: 126 Member
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    mackiscute2002 wrote: »
    Is it healthier to cook the same meals at home using a recipe versus buying a boxed or canned meal off the shelf that you mix together and heat. I am not talking about from scratch, making my ingredients such as dressings or breads that get combined together. Just following recipes to make the meals using store bought ingredients such as spices, veggies, fruits, pasta, and meats.

    The biggest benefits of home made food is the lack of sodium and sugar. A can of my favorite soup is only 130 calories, but has more than 50% of the daily sodium intake limit, so I've been experimenting and trying to find a copycat recipe for it.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Depends. I can cook a lot of really unhealthy meals.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    mackiscute2002 wrote: »
    Is it healthier to cook the same meals at home using a recipe versus buying a boxed or canned meal off the shelf that you mix together and heat. I am not talking about from scratch, making my ingredients such as dressings or breads that get combined together. Just following recipes to make the meals using store bought ingredients such as spices, veggies, fruits, pasta, and meats.

    This question would be easier to answer if you provided some brand names and exact variation.

    I love the Cook's Country Skillet Spanish-Style Chicken and Rice but don't find the Zatarain's Spanish Rice ingredients objectionable. (I picked Zatarain's because I thought the ingredients WOULD be objectionable - maybe they've reformulated or maybe I was thinking of a different brand.)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Homemade because you have full control about what you put in - and less sodium and sugar, usually.

    I still like canned refried beans better than homemade though...
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    I think I need examples, because I'm not sure what you mean. You say "make meals at home using a recipe" but then you say "I'm not talking about from scratch."

    When you say things like that, its unclear what you're talking about. Cooking food at home from recipies is usually what people consider "scratch." Having food at home from a can, box, or mix, is "not scratch."

    Cans, boxes, and mixes usually have more salt, more added sugar, etc.


    by the way, you say you're NOT talking about making your own dressing - if you mean salad dressing? That's the easiest thing to make and its so much better.

    I think what she's trying to say is a common sentiment but there's no way of actually explaining it to other people because it's just something you feel based on how you were raised :D Like if you're making a pizza - no one would argue that baking a pre-made, frozen pizza is 'cooking', but people might disagree how 'homemade' it is depending on if you used premade sauce, a premade crust, etc.

    Of course, there's no objective way to define that, so that doesn't help much in actually answering the original question....haha
  • mackiscute2002
    mackiscute2002 Posts: 8 Member
    edited August 2016
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    By scratch I mean if the recipe calls for something that is not meat, vegetable, fruit, it is likely that i am using a pre-made item. I am not making my own tomato sauce, breads, pastas, salad dressing, etc. I used to hate cooking period due to some very bad experience in high school. I have been told that i am actually a pretty good cook and am now buying the foods to follow recipes in an attempt to cut my food bill and eat healthier. For example i have listed the ingredients from some recent main dish recipes. I served them with a veggie or fruit on the side.

    We typically would just have pizza or store bought pizza rolls, pasta, codl meat sandwhiches, meals in a box you only add 1 to 3 things to (example kraft mac and cheese) Meijers has shelves of those things.

    Mexican Breakfast Scramble Ingredients
    10 eggs
    1/4 cup milk
    Salt and pepper, to taste
    1 Tbsp olive oil
    1/2 onion, chopped
    1 green bell pepper, chopped
    1 tsp minced garlic
    1/2 tsp ground cumin
    15 oz. can black beans, drained and
    rinsed
    1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, (or
    pepper jack for some kick)

    Egg salad BLT sandwich
    Ingredients
    8 eggs, hardboiled
    1/2 cup sandwich spread (made my own with Mayo and pesto)
    12 slices bacon, cooked (one piece per sandwich)
    3 small tomatoes, sliced
    Couple leaves of iceberg lettuce, or
    other favorite variety
    1 loaf French bread from bakery

    Pepperoni pizza rolls
    Ingredients
    8 ct. tube crescent roll dough
    1/2 cup spaghetti or pizza sauce plus
    more for serving (used less)
    1/2 cup mini pepperoni (used about 5 per roll)
    1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (used less)
    2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
  • jprewitt1
    jprewitt1 Posts: 264 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Depends. I can cook a lot of really unhealthy meals.

    Yeah, I make a delicious homemade chicken alfredo, but I'm pretty sure if I ate it regularly I'd be back up to my starting weight in a month.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    As far as I'm concerned, the old Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with the the artificial flavors, preservatives and dyes isn't even the same food as the Joy of Cooking's mac and cheese recipe. Haven't tried the new formula yet, and have no plans to, as supposedly it tastes exactly the same.

    http://www.kraftmacandcheese.com/

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