Made from Scratch
As you know, I enjoy trying to prepare some of our foods “from scratch” rather than buying the standard (or sub-standard?) convenience products in the store. I definitely purchase a lot of packaged food, don’t get me wrong, but have found it to be relatively easy to make some things myself. For instance, our recent foray into making yogurt. If you have the slightest inclination or wonder if it could save you money, check out this article from Slate. Next on my to-do list: bagels!
that’s an interesting commentary. i find that making my crackers is cheaper for us. but i’m not trying to reproduce a ritz cracker. however, i have recreated goldfish crackers. and they are delicious!
the only ‘packaged’ food we buy is the occassional box of organic o’s for church snack. and sometimes a delicious raw bar. other than that, i’m sweatin’ it out in the kitchen. i’d say that overall i save lots of money. but that’s mainly because i’d be buying very expensive brands, ie: ezekiel bread, annie’s crackers, newman’s own fig bars, nature’s path granola bars, etc… so for me, making from scratch is a better deal. but to be honest, i’m more concerned about the health benefits (or lack there of).
OH! i forgot to add- i can’t wait to see how your bagels come out!
Totally let us know about the bagels. I did find bagels (granted on sale) about $0.17 each the other day at Wal-Mart. And did I stock up? Oh yes.
But I MUST agree with her line :
“It’s one thing to eat runny yogurt and flaccid bagels because they’re a bargain; it’s another entirely to pay for the privilege.”
Totally. Wow. But what about time?? Therein lies my struggle.
So, we consume a TON of whole wheat tortillas. And they are EXPENSIVE! In Tunisia we just made them, but let me tell you it was HOURS of work for a mere 3 dozen. Oh they were delicious, but that was pretty much our date night!! Ha!
So, Rachel, how do you balance time with 2 little ones & lots of homemade goodies?? Do you feel like there’s anything in particular you’ve chosen to give up? Do you and Thomas make tortillas for your date night? ;0)
Leave it to Sally to ask the hard questions. :)
This is why I said that I make *some* foods from scratch. I cannot feasibly make everything at this point in my life, so I don’t. Tortillas are something I was considering making, but we consume a lot of them and I have made them before–delicious but so time consuming.
Something to consider is that the first couple times you make something, it takes much longer. Gradually, it gets easier to incorporate into your routine. For instance, I used to always buy pizza dough in a tube. Then I got a bread machine and started using it to make pizza dough, and now I just toss everything in the kitchen aid and roll it out. It is simple to me *now*, but it was very daunting at one point. Does that make sense?
And no, Thomas and I don’t cook together for dates, but he is an excellent help when it is time to can tomatoes.
Perhaps Mandi could offer us more perspective since she makes much more from scratch than I do. I still buy a lot of those expensive brands she mentioned. :)