American are search for anyway to make their money stretch a little farther as we face increased gas prices, food prices, and a weaken economy. I have came across a lot of people asking whether it was cheaper to cook from scratch or still go with the quick fix convenience meals most of have only have time for. A good part of whether it is or isn’t depends on what it is. I first came across a blog where a woman had attempted cooking from scratch where it was disastrous and didn’t save her any money. She talked about how much time it took to be able to complete the project and how she finally decided to give in a go with something more easier and convenient. Although time is a major factor in whether or not you choose to cook from scratch, it isn’t impossible. As I read what she had to say, I noticed that she didn’t to much planning when it came to what she had attempted to make either. The last thought to think about is the nutrition found in quick or scratch.
First major factor is how much time do you have to cook from scratch. I work out of my home and my husband is the major bread winner. Most of my time is directed towards my family and their needs and leaves my working till between 6am to 7am or 10pm to 11pm. Some days, I work until 2am by my own choice not a lack in time. With time management, I can keep up with everyone in the house, the house itself, and be able to do some cooking by scratch. Other parents, who work outside of the house, have less time to be able to devote to cooking especially if they would rather spend more time with their children then in the kitchen. This doesn’t make it impossible though. Taking the woman in the blog for example, with a little planning some cooking from scratch is possible. By using some of your time on a day off you can do that classical bake and freeze method. Also, cooking from scratch doesn’t always mean having to lose your hands in flour either just by using a crock pot instead. This means dinner is waiting when you get home. It is a personal choice whether you want to spend the time and how much time you want to spend.
Next, cooking from scratch isn’t always the cheaper way to go. This is where the depends part comes in. Many times you have find prepared mixes, such as for cake, cheaper then to make the cake from scratch. This is where doing your homework comes in handy. By knowing the items that are not cheaper, such as when mixes are on sale, and which items are cheaper gets rid of situations like the woman in the blog found out. The lack of doing her homework meant she did spend just as much if not more on her attempt to cook from scratch. I find, especially if they are on sale, it is cheaper for me to make lasagna for a family of five then to spend the money on a slip it in the oven lasagna. At the same time, I am not eliminating time with my family either. Yet I also make a very basic lasagna and have my children help me while we talk about the day. Then while it cooks I can sit down for homework. Now, if slip it in the oven lasagna goes on sale and I can get it cheaper, I go for it for those nights when I need something more quicker. Another example is bread. Whether I buy the cheap bread at the store for $1.20 or make it for about $1.00. Is saving 20 cents worth it? Once again it depends. For just the cost of cinnamon for the loaf of bread, which is next to nothing for one loaf, I have turned a plain loaf of bread, where you are going to add butter for toast, eggs and milk for French toast, or into sandwiches, into a cinnamon swirl loaf which can be used as breakfast or a snack without having to add all the extras to it. This does save money. For time, when planned, it can be fixed around house cleaning on the weekend.
The last part of cooking from scratch is the importance of good nutrition. Prepackaged meals included many additives and preservatives to help them last long enough to get them to your table. We now know these are not the healthiest and a reason why most people think about cooking from scratch or semi-scratch because they can control all the ingredients that are going into the food. Going with all organic food only addresses the health concerns, but not the need for stretching money as generally organic food is more expensive. This makes the next best choice is being able to choose what ingredients you are going to use.
Is cooking from scratch cheaper? The answer is that it depends. Including the cost of time to cook and the concern of a healthy choices varies with every person so your answer will be different from the next person, but if you do choose to cook from scratch even some of the time remember to do your homework and plan. Knowing what is actually cheaper to fix from scratch and planning your time to be able to do the cooking itself will save a lot of trouble.
