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“From scratch” may also indicate starting at the beginning.
While this article is not suggesting that everything you eat
is made from scratch, we will look at the nutritional
benefits as well as the challenges of preparing meals from
the beginning.
With all of the options available at grocery store, it is
not uncommon to make some recipes from premade items in
addition to some parts made from scratch. For example, a
vegetable soup made from scratch might include fresh and
frozen vegetables, store bought broth and some dried pasta.
Most people do not make homemade pasta with flour and water
but that vegetable soup recipe would be considered “from
scratch” compared to opening a can of soup from the store.
Some other terms and definitions represent a variety of ways
foods are prepared that are not “from scratch”. A few common
types of foods include:
Convenience foods – prepackaged foods that can be made
easily and quickly. Some examples are frozen French fries,
instant brown rice, frozen chopped broccoli and canned soup.
Take out foods – foods that are prepared and fully cooked at
a store or restaurant. They are ready to be picked up and
transported somewhere else with no preparation needed.
Ready to eat foods – no cooking needed. Think of items like
granola bars, bananas or deli turkey.
Frozen skillet meals – the entire meal is in a freezer
package, ready to be cooked at home. Often a frozen meal
will include a protein like chicken or shrimp, a grain like
rice or noodles, some vegetables and a sauce.
There are many benefits to cooking from scratch and a few
challenges. Let’s start with the challenges. Sometimes the
challenges of cooking from scratch include:
·
Longer preparation time verses heating up convenience foods
·
Need for space, cooking equipment and cooking skills
·
Need ingredients to prepare the recipe
Fortunately, the benefits of cooking from scratch outnumber
the challenges:
·
You can plan meals to include a variety of foods for your
nutritional benefits
·
You can choose the amount of salt, fat and sugar added to
the meal
·
You can control ingredients if someone has a food allergy or
needs a special diet
·
You can keep food costs lower compared to the cost of
convenience foods
·
You can control portion size
·
You can invite your family to prepare the meal. Take turns –
or at least help the children learn how to prepare a meal.
·
You can plan leftovers, also known as “planned overs” for
busy days
·
You can make a large batch of something and freeze in
containers for future use
Convenience foods do offer some benefits such as being easy
and quick. On the other hand, many are high in sodium, added
sugars and fat and they are often large portion sizes. All
of those can contribute to negative health consequences. Not
all convenience foods are unhealthy.
Figure out a healthy way to use convenience foods in your
meal planning. Some examples include using convenience foods
or frozen skillet meals and adding additional vegetables to
them when you heat them up at home.
It’s the end of the school year and we just wrapped up the
2015-2016 Afterschool Cooking Club at Pickett Academy with
the sixth to eighth graders. Although we made as many
recipes “from scratch” there were a few restraints such as
the amount of time we had afterschool and also limited
kitchen equipment. Below is one of the recipes the teens
made last month. We made it in a toaster oven instead of a
large oven. This recipe comes from a magazine called “Chop
Chop” and additional recipes can be found online at
www.chopchopmag.org
Cheesy Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh asparagus, tough ends snapped off
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ lemon (optional)
Instructions
1.
Turn the oven on and set the heat for 450 degrees.
2.
Put the asparagus on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive
oil and sprinkle with salt. Use tongs to coat them with oil
and spread them out.
3.
Put the baking sheet in the oven and roast until the
asparagus turns bright green, 5-10 minutes depending on
whether your asparagus are thin or thick.
4.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Sprinkle the cheese
over the asparagus and toss well.
5.
Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the
cheese melts and turns golden, about 2 minutes.
6.
(Optional) squeeze the lemon over the asparagus and serve.
Summer Meal Partners of Northwest Ohio is a partnership
dedicated to making sure every child is offered nutritious
meals at no cost this summer. No cost meals are offered at
over 100 sites including area schools, churches and
community centers – for children ages 1 -18 this summer. To
find a location near you, call United Way at 2-1-1.
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