Thinking About Food – Cooking From Scratch
We are all still enjoying the lazy days of summer holidays, and no one more so than me! No set bed times or getting up times, being able to plan as much or as little to do as we please, eating at whatever time suits our activities for the day, and long stretches swinging in the hammock dreaming up big plans for the year. These are things that our holidays are made out of. But I am becoming more and more aware of how few lazy days we have left and how soon my day dreaming will have to turn into actual doing.
I am not one for making new years resolutions or grand ‘all or nothing’ type goals, but I do like to spend some of my down time thinking about how I can make the craziness of the busy days more organized, productive and better for my family. At this time of year I am inspired by lots of ideas, books and blogs and I am often left wondering how these motivating ideas could be worked into our lives.
One of the ideas that has inspired me this summer is Little Eco Footprints ‘Skipping the Supermarkets Challenge’.
In the past our family has been inspired to consume more local produce and be mindful of where the things we buy come from, so Trish’s idea to totally stop using all of the ‘super chain’ type stores really struck a chord with me. I dislike the monopolies of the super chains, the fact that they make so much profit while the primary producers receive so little and especially the disconnect between the food we eat and the items we consume and where these things really come from. But, to be totally and brutally honest, the idea of never shopping at a supermarket or super chain, even for a little while, scares me.
There are many excuses that I could use to explain why we couldn’t possibly take part in this challenge…
We have a groceries budget of $550 a month (I must apologies I put down budget at $450 initially which was our old budget, my husband pointed out that it is $550 a month now that the kids eat 12 nectarines in a day) and there is no way we could manage without using some of the super chains.
We don’t have many options or alternatives where we live – there are no food co-ops, no CSAs no bulk stores and to get to these things would mean an hour or more of driving.
We are renovating our house ourselves, there is no way we could do that without visiting that super duper chain hardware store… and often.
I could go on, but it’s easy to make excuses, and while they might make me feel better in the short term, they are not very helpful.
What is helpful is thinking about the things we can do.
Perhaps we can’t avoid supermarkets totally, but we can avoid them sometimes. We can make more informed choices about the ones we do visit, and what we buy from them. We can look for more alternatives that work for us. We can visit our local farmer’s markets (there is one close every weekend). We can choose the smaller locally owned supermarket. These may only be small changes but every little bit count, and I think just being more aware is a positive thing.
One thing we can definitely do is make more of our food from scratch.
It’s something I have been steadily building on for a while now. Cooking food from simple, real, ingredients, using less pre-made, chemical laden, convenience type food and ingredients. Not only do I feel this kind of food is healthier, it also means we spend less, we drive into the supermarket less and we lessen our dependency on those super chain stores.
Now I am not a total zealot. We still use and enjoy some convenience foods and even the occasional take out and we do so without guilt. My goal is not to eliminate these things from our lives all together, but to cut down on them, and to be more aware.
I am not a super confident cook, nor do I have much success experimenting and making things up in the kitchen, but most of the ‘made from scratch’ food items are really basic and a whole lot easier than I ever imagined. I have a growing list of things I can cook from scratch – pizzas, bread, cakes and even home grown popcorn!. But there are many more things I would like to try. Some things are not practical to try at the moment when my kitchen still has no walls, or ceiling and zero storage, but I’ve been putting off others that are quite doable even with only half a kitchen.
Do you make many foods from scratch?
Over the next few months my goal is to be more aware of what we buy from the super chains and look for more alternatives, but mostly to cook more from scratch, to try new recipes and to share my success, and failures, with you. So keep an eye out for my ‘made it from scratch’ recipe series!
Do you think you could avoid all super chains for a year? a month? forever?
If you are keen to give it a go, then pop over to Little Eco Footprints and sign up for the challenge. I’ll definitely be following along reading Trish’s journey with interest.
I love the idea of making more from scratch; I quite enjoy it. I struggle with bread though, I just don’t seem to have the knack. I’m going to persevere though!
I’ve struggle with bread off and on too. Finding recipes that worked for me was a lot of trial and a lot of error! I also use our bread machine to knead and rise our dough and then I do the final knead and a last rise and then cook in the oven. That works well for us :)
I am not a natural cook nor do i really enjoy it, but I am determined this year to bake more and buy packaged treats etc less. we mostly make our own ice cream now and i bought a good mixer for Christmas so i plan to start small and stick with it. I already shop at the farmer’s market as well.
I know myself i could never go off supermarkets but every little bit helps in terms of both money and footprint.
I am not a natural cook either… and I used to HATE cooking, but these days I actually fee quite proud when I cook something healthy for my family…. as daggy as that may sound!
You are so right Kate about ‘every little bit counting’ and also ‘Being aware is the key’. There’s no point in making life harder. Awareness is the start. Every now and then I buy things I know we shouldn’t. But I tell myself at least I’m aware there’s a better choice and I’ll likely make that better choice next time. Guild works wonders for me ;-)
Good luck exploring making from scratch and alternatives to the supermarket. I’m looking forward to your ‘made it from scratch’ series.
Regarding the supermarkets being the cheapest places to shop, I recon that’s just a myth. We spend far less now that we don’t shop at supermarkets than we ever did.
Perhaps you could start your own bulk buying club? I’m interviewing a few local clubs over the next few months and will be writing a post on how to start a bulk-buying club.
I can’t wait to read about starting a bulk buying club!
The biggest problem for us that our local butcher can’t compete with supermarket prices (though I know it is better quality and worth more) and that is the same with the one or two local ‘general stores’. They only stock say toilet paper in a 6 pack so the prices just can’t compete. Finding anywhere that could compete price wise would mean an hour or more drive into the city… which then makes it really expensive in both time and petrol.
But I am hoping to get in on a small bulk buying co-op that will deliver to a friend that is only 30 minutes away, and eventually when we have a new kitchen and storage space we’ll do a big trip into the city to stock up once a 1/4….
Every little bit helps… thanks for your inspiration!
OMG Kate, can you please write a post on how you manage to have a budget of $450. My budget is $1200. I am desperate to get this down. All tips would be hugely valued.
I’m so sorry, my husband tells me I lied… he has been putting $550 in the grocery box for the past few months, since the kids started eating 12 nectarines in 24 hours! LOL
I am really no expert on budgeting but I’ll see if I can write up a post with some of the things we do to keep ours under control, some of my waffle might be helpful :)
Yes I am trying to join in with Little Eco Footprints.
But starting at skipping coles and woolies and going to our local IGA.
I am trying to find other places to go to other than bunnings.
I do try to shop at our local chemist.
On the making things from scratch. I try to do a lot of things (but dont do bread, only as a treat) And try to avoid over processed, over packaged items.
I do the same thing… I choose our local IGA over Coles because at least they are locally owned… but we do visit Aldi once a month to stock up.
Wow, $450. Is that before meat and fruit and veg, or is that all in? We aim for about $800 a month all in and sometimes that’s a struggle. I’d love to hear some tips too.
I’m going to have to print a retraction as my husband tells me I was wrong, that we now put $550 in to the grocery box a month. Sorry!
But that does include all food and groceries but it doesn’t include extra treats like occasional take out or the occasional treat from the bakery or an ice cream after school.
I am so not an expert on this stuff but I’ll see if I can write up a post about what we do.
Great post, covered all of my thought processes about this in one delightful post! I love what Tricia & her family are doing. We are doing our own sort-of challenge which will see us cut down on stupormarkets and convenience items, by default… The Year of Eating Nutritously! This will be a slow process though (to help us avoid burn out and becoming overwhelmed) as we learn about nurturing, traditional REAL foods, and cook more from scratch than I already did, as well as learn lacto-fermenting, making broths and stocks, and relearning about nutrition. http://eatatdixiebelles.blogspot.com/2012/01/year-of-eating-nutritiously.html
I love your plan of the Year of Eating Nutritiously!
This is exactly where I want to head… real food and cooking from scratch and just being more aware about what we eat.
I’ll be following along with your adventures!
$450 a month for groceries?!?!?!?! I spend $300 a week with only 2 kids and one of them doesn’t really eat. Plus we eat out at least twice a week. I am seriously impressed!
I’ve just had to make a correction on the post as my husband told me we are putting in $550 a month to our budget not $450… sorry!
I am not a budgeting expert but I do find groceries one of the easiest place to cut money from when things are tight, and our budget doesn’t include the occasional take out meal or treat. :)
I love the idea of skipping the supermarkets challenge!! I really believe it is these types of little steps that add up and change our communities.
I really challenge myself to cook from scratch and focus on reducing any food waste in my house. I am more successful sometimes more than others but I keep persisting in getting better at it.
I used to have a real issue about reducing food waste at our house. But eventually I had to cut myself some slack and accept that little kids waste a fair bit of food but sometimes that is necessary to get them to learn or eat. So while I’d love to reduce our waste even more I console myself with the fact that we recycle most of it to our chooks!
good on you kate! So inspiring to hear and read the amazing little things you do and make from scratch… and all so fun, creative and educational at the same time. Even better! x
My mother made EVERYTHING from scratch! I don’t do that well, but I’m getting better at it every year. I’m very grateful to have her example!
I LOVE the idea of home-grown popcorn – must be delicious!
I love the idea of making things from scratch. It’s funny how everything goes full circle – our grandparents used to make things from scratch, then convenience got in the way, then we discovered the crap in the convenience and now we’re back to scratch again! (Simple Savings has a forum on a whole ton of stuff to make from scratch.) You’ve encouraged me to be more proactive about getting back to basics.
Hey there! I don’t usually comment on blogs but this is one issue I definitely feel strongly about! What bothers me the most is when I see people buying their fruit and vegies from Coles when there’s a perfectly good, independently owned grocer’s right next door – and they often are cheaper and tastier!
There are only two of us in our house but we don’t earn a heap, so we can’t always avoid the chain supermarkets. But we do go to IGA as much as we can (helpful that there is one on the way home from work) and we support our local fruit & veg shop, and our butcher. This year I really want to get a vegie garden up and running as well, such a huge money saver and you know exactly where the product is coming from!
I am definitely up for the challenge, though, because you can always improve on how/where you shop, even if just a little bit :)
I am aiming to make everything from scratch – bare the occasional chip (decanted from large bag) – no biscuits will be bought for school unless plain rice/wholemeal crackers .
We even made dog biscuits the other day from playdough shapes – except the kids treated the dogs well today.
I can’t wait to get our chooks and vegie garden up and running – first we have to dog /animal proof both. The puppies don’t stray (much) without a fence so I am fencing my vegie garden from cows too and chickens from foxes.
ps couldn’t avoid Supermarket chains for even a month unless I stocked up on flour -though IGA have some good specials.
I have been lying awake at night trying to work out how to reduce our grocery bill. I don’t feel like we’re extravagant and only buy ingredients to make things from scratch, but still have double the bill you do (with the same sized family). I’ve read through the comments and would like to add that I am interested in reading a post on how you do it- even if you claim to be no expert, you clearly have some clever tricks up your sleeve!
Ways we keep our HEALTHY food budget low:
We do not buy—snack foods in packaging, soda or prepared drinks, prepared desserts, nice meats.
Make a monthly trip to a large, discount market with bulk foods.
Shop the perimeter of any grocery store, where the real food resides.
Have a pantry you stock when you find good sales.
Make mixes for speed cooking weekdays — lots of recipes on line.
Do a cooking binge on weekends making soups, stews, baked goods and treats for the week.
Use the freezer, pull out stuff to thaw in the morning.
Glean the neighborhood if you live in that kind of area, and you will find fruit, herbs, etc.
Grow a garden. Trade with gardening friends.
Get to know hunters and fishermen. Or do a lot of veggie meals, using nuts, tofu, beans etc for your proteins.
VALUE your food. Take care of it. Don’t let it rot. About 20% of food in the US ends up in the trash.
Rescue leftovers to make soups, etc. Use bones, veggie scraps, etc to make soup stock.
I moved to Portugal a year ago to marry. My husband prefers homemade, & no longer work. In my 40’s, raised my kids, as a working mom on the bags/bottles/cans/frozen pkgs combos like casseroles we call homemade. Since I’ve been here I’ve learned so much, & I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner how many things are just as easy, if not easier than pkged. A recent accomplishment is Italian sausage, hard to find here, & also peanut butter. I only really choose easy things, but still. I made the 3-ingredient beer bread, & 3-ingredient scones & biscuits. I’m having so much fun. Glad to find your post.
Also, shopping for fresh produce at the markets, as well as going o the butcher is so much cheaper & unbelievably better. The eggs are wonderful, & the produce, never tasted anything like it. We regularly have 2 large bags of produce, a great selection for 4 to 5 euros. Also, they give whatever herbs (parsley, silantro, mint) free at the market.