7 benefits of cooking from scratch
Are you thinking about ditching processed foods and start cooking from scratch? Are rising food prices, looming shortages, and long ingredient labels make you feel uneasy? If this answer is yes, then keep scrolling to find out all 7 benefits of cooking from scratch and why you should get started today.
1. Consume quality ingredients
When you cook from scratch you are not only able to control what you are eating and how it is prepared, but also the quality of the ingredients you are using for a recipe. Packaged and processed food is made to meet profit margins rather than sourcing the best quality ingredients including organic and fair produce.
By cooking from scratch you are able to choose the best quality ingredients for your budget, opt for seasonal produce, and support local operators to strengthen your community.
Check out my everyday spelt bread using locally grown, organic spelt beeries as an example.
2. Save money
Does cooking from scratch save money? Oh yes it does! With the cost of living, especially food prices, rising to new heights, cooking from scratch is a great tool to keep the grocery budget in check.
Shopping in bulk and in season, double batching and meal prepping are all great ways to reduce the weekly food bill. Here is my full list of ideas: 35 ways to save money by cooking from scratch.
3. Enjoy delicious food
How many times have you bought a new, expensive food product only to find out that the taste is far reached from the advertised promises?
Cooking from scratch allows you tailor the food to your taste and to incorporate more of the ingredients and flavours you love.
My chewy Anzac biscuit recipe is a good example – nothing beats freshly baked cookies!
4. Skip additives
Packaged food and ready-to-eat meals tend to include a long list of (often cheap) ingredients to maximise shelf-life and flavours. Highly processed oils, artificial flavours, fillers, preservatives, and a plethora of numbers starting with E are staple ingredients in many packaged foods.
Skip the additives by cooking your meals from scratch using wholesome ingredients that match your personal taste and dietary requirements.
Check out my homemade spice blends as an example.
5. Learn essential skills
Recent events have shown that life skills such as cooking are essential when restaurants and cafés are suddenly closed and supermarket shelves are empty.
By learning how to cook your meals from scratch you are not only adding an essential skill to your repertoire, it is also a gift you can pass down to future generations. By cooking together and sharing meals with loved ones you can also feed food culture in your family and community.
My simple spelt bread and sauerkraut recipes are a good examples.
6. Reduce waste
Unfortunately the majority of household rubbish is made-up of food packaging and food waste.
Meal planning and buying in bulk are two ways to reduce both and are an integral part of cooking from scratch. Here are more ideas on how you can reduce waste in your kitchen.
Check out some inspiring food waste quotes.
7. Slow down
Cooking from scratch does take time but in my opinion it’s time well spent given all the benefits that I have just mentioned.
There is definitely a place for quick 10 minute meals but a long Sunday supper that has been simmering on the stove for hours and is shared with a group of loved ones should not be forgotten in my view. My Moroccan lamb shanks and lamb goulash are a good examples.
Slow down, re-connect with your food, and start nourishing your body and soul with from-scratch meals.
Related articles
Check out the following articles for more tips on how to cook from scratch:
