by Texas Homesteader ~
I can’t help but wonder – is cooking like grandma did becoming a lost art? It seems cooking today has just gotten so… complicated.
Fancy recipes, processed foods, specialty ingredients and complicated cooking methods. It’s not the way grandma did it. Come see how to simplify cooking.
Benefits of Cooking Like Grandma Did
I prefer to cook like our grandmothers did, starting with foods in their most unprocessed state whenever possible. There are many reasons cooking from scratch is beneficial:
Eco-Friendly – One of the main reasons I enjoy serving home-cooked meals is environmental impact. Y’all know me – I tend to be an eco warrior! And it stands to reason that much less trash will typically be produced when you begin with foods in their least processed state.
Healthier Food – Another benefit to from-scratch cooking is that by using actual ingredients instead of convenience mixes, you’re usually consuming much less salt, fat and preservatives. You’ll probably be able to recognize (and pronounce!) every ingredient in your homemade food as opposed to that long list of weird-sounding ingredients listed on the boxes of purchased convenience foods. And eating delicious food that’s fresh and healthy are both good things, yes?
Lower Cost – For most of us, we’re looking to feed our families affordably. And surprise of surprises a huge benefit of from-scratch cooking? Cost savings!
Providing For Ourselves & Saving Money Too
You see, RancherMan and I are living our dream. We now live & work together full time right here at our homestead. We’ve been able to do that because we’re very careful with our finances.
I’ve written before about how we live and thrive here even without the Benefit of a CorporateSalary. I encourage you to read that post – it has a little something for everyone.
But living here – even on a meager budget – offers us a life that we love. A life true to our values. It certainly doesn’t feel like a life of sacrifice in any way.
And one of the easy ways we stretch the budget is by enjoying delicious home-cooked meals.
Home-cooked meals? Yeah, tough life huh??
I don’t enjoy cooking, don’t get me wrong. But cooking from scratch is a huge money saver. HUGE.
Grocery Shopping Grandma’s Way
Our grandmother’s grocery shopping probably looked very different than what’s in the typical grocery cart today.
Grandma’s cart was filled with sugar and flour, fresh carrots and milk, baking supplies and fresh meats. These are the ingredients she’d use to feed her family.
But today’s grocery shelves are packed with newfangled and brightly-colored attention-grabbing boxes and bags, pouches and cans. The advertising powers-that-be use those bright colors and bold print to catch your eye.
I’m not judging here, just noticing the consumer shift.
But reading the nutritional information on some those boxes and bags can be shocking.
After noticing those complicated ingredients on the back of packages of processed foods, I felt it was time to jump in the kitchen and take back control of my family’s health.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that grandma’s type of cooking was really much easier than I thought.
The biggest benefit is realized when I don’t try to complicate mealtimes with fancy or time-consuming recipes. I cook simple yet delicious meals like grandma did.
Grandma’s Delicious Supper Table
How many of you can keep your mouth from watering when you think about grandma’s cooking? Of course you can’t.
If your grandma was like mine she was an awesome cook! And we all looked forward to sitting at her table and enjoying her home-cooked goodness.
Most of those veggies served at her supper table were fresh because they were probably grown right outside her back door in the veggie garden. And her famous dessert was more than likely whipped up from memory, not even using a recipe card.
Seldom was a meal at grandma’s table something overly fancy or froufrou. It was usually simple, abundant and absolutely delicious.
At my grandma’s house, no one walked away from that table hungry, that’s for sure!
My point here is that mealtimes need not be complicated to be delicious.
Homemade Doesn’t Have To Mean Complicated
Now some people really enjoy cooking. They find it a relaxing creative outlet. Working in the kitchen and setting down that beautiful platter of artfully-prepared food to provide for their family speaks to their very souls.
On the other hand, some folks would almost rather scrub the floors with a toothbrush or clean toilets than to be in the kitchen.
I’m somewhere in between I think.I usually enjoy cooking simple meals and even the occasional more complex meal. But cooking is certainly far from a favored hobby for me.
A typical meal made in my Homestead kitchen isn’t usually fancy at all. I may serve a pork roast, potatoes and carrots for supper. Just good old-fashioned cooking, y’all!
We don’t always eat desserts. But when the mood strikes I might add a simple homemade apple crumble for dessert too.
If I’m lucky all of these ingredients came directly from our own homestead. Everything from the harvested vegetables from the garden to the roast provided by RancherMan’s Harvested Wild Hogs from our property.
But even if I had to buy some of these ingredients they are typically purchased as whole, healthy foods.
Don’t get me wrong I’ll use convenience foods from time to time when circ*mstances dictate. That’s because I realize it’s all about balance. But whenever possible I strive to cook like grandma did.
Easily Building Your Cooking Skills
If you’re not yet an accomplished cook, take things slowly and build your cooking skills little by little. Go ahead & get those favored recipes from your own family members and start making them regularly.
Or feel free to take a look at My Favorite Recipes and choose a simple recipe that sounds good to you and give it a go.
I promise you, I make sure that cooking in my own kitchen is not going to be hard or complicated! (see note about about my dislike for unnecessary toiling in the kitchen! HA!)
Then choose another recipe to try. And then another…
Although it may take a little time initially to perfect your methods and recipes, soon whipping up something delicious from scratch will evoke those wonderful memories of sitting at grandma’s table.
And let’s face it, cooking this way is bound to be not only significantly cheaper but healthier for you and your family as well!
~TxH~
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Links In This Post:
- How Would Grandma Do It?
- Making Ends Meet Without a Corporate Salary
- Home-cooked Meals Daily The EASY Way!
- Planned Leftovers: Pork Roast
- Homemade Apple Crumble Recipe
- Harvesting Wild Hogs
My Favorite Recipes
Grandma’s Old Fashioned Kitchen
Cooking Like Grandma
- Old-Fashioned Kitchen: Living Life Like Grandma
- Grandma-Approved Cleaning Techniques
- Is Grandma-Styled Cooking A Lost Art?
- Using It ALL – Eliminating Leftover Food
- Homemade Meals Daily (The EASY Way!)
Old-Fashioned Family Life
- The Importance Of The Family Supper Table
- Easy Self-Sufficiency Steps You Can Take Now
Grandma’s Dishes
- Caring For Grandma’s Cast-Iron Cookware
- Stuck-On food? How To Easily Clean A Cast-Iron Skillet
- Using Grandma’s Vintage Corning Ware
- Why Doesn’t Junior Want Grandma’s Fine China?
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