On Wed, 4 Aug 2010 09:01:58 -0700 (PDT), Scooter
> wrote:

> So I was thinking, what if I only bought basic single-ingredient food
> and we made everything else ourselves from those single ingredients?
> If we want cookies, we make cookies—no more buying Oreos. Shredded
> Wheat is fine, but Honey Bunches of Oats is not. (That's okay; I make
> a damn fine granola.) Brownie mix? Nix. I buy chocolate, butter, eggs,
> sugar, flour, vanilla, and nuts instead. We don't buy anything
> prepared if it can reasonably be prepared in a home kitchen. Basics
> all the way.

That's reasonable. I can't cook without a well stocked kitchen. Too
frustrating for spur of the moment cooking and too much preplanning if
it's not.
>
> How would life change under this new approach? I think we would eat
> better. I think, but am not certain, that our grocery bills would be
> lower (or at least not higher). I think initially we would spend a
> whole lot more time cooking, but I think over time we would gravitate
> toward meals that were either simple and quick to prepare or were good
> enough to justify the extra effort.

Most of us here do that already. It's the things that take so long to
make fresh, but are completely gone in 10 minutes or less that make us
stop and wonder if it's worth the effort. I make my own caramel corn
for snacking, but it lasts for days so I don't mind the overall time
put into making it.
>
> If you were to adopt this approach, how would your life change? Are
> there prepared items that you would particularly miss? Any deal-
> breakers for you? (I'm close to calling no more Diet Coke a deal-
> breaker, but that's me.) Would your life be better or worse?

I think you're preaching to the choir here because most people on rfc
cook from scratch as much as possible. I'm not so sure about going
overboard to make your own granola or pasta... although I just bought
a hand crank pasta machine yesterday, so it remains to be seen if I
become a total convert to home made pasta. I'm focused on ravioli at
this point. I don't drink soda even on a semi regular basis, so
that's not an issue for me but I definitely would not make my own
juices. I don't own a juicer, have no intention of buying one and I
don't think making my own juice is cost effective.

--

Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.