On Aug 4, 3:28*pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> Scooter wrote:
> > I have been thinking about trying an experiment. (Okay, not really
> > thinking about it, more like daydreaming about it. Musing. I'm only
> > about half serious at this point.) We eat fairly well as a family,
> > relatively speaking—we cook a lot from scratch, we don't eat frozen
> > convenience dinners or meal-in-a-box things, etc—but there are still a
> > lot of processed/prepared items in my shopping cart every Saturday
> > morning. We certainly could do better.
>
> > 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.
>
> > 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.
>
> > 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-
>
> I don't see a big problem. *That's basically what goes on in our house.
> we eat very few prepared foods. My cereal supply is Shredded Wheat,
> Cream of Wheat and oatmeal. *I make my own jams and jellies. I bake my
> own pies, cakes and cookies and almost never use mixes. *I do
> occasionally buy pasta sauce and I buy soups. *If I want lasagna, I make
> it from scratch (except for the sauce), and use fresh grated Parmesan
> not the canned stuff. I even make my own ice cream.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

You make lasagna noodles, but not sauce? It's exactly the opposite
for me. I always make my own sauce for pizza, lasagna, and any dish
that calls for tomato sauce.

N.