As we ponder if the art of ‘real cooking’ has been lost forever to takeaway and pre-packaged meals, here’s 10 real reasons why every family should cook from scratch…Â
With busy lives and ever-available pre-made convenience, it’s easy to find yourself reaching for frozen or packet foods. When the clock is ticking, you’re #mumtired or the day’s been crazy busy our fall-back plan is often to dial for dinner.
From microwave meals to pre-packaged-plastic-fantastic we’ve lost our way when it comes to family food.
The truth? We’re largely sabotaging the beauty of real food on so many levels! We’re missing out on the nutritional benefits of fresh ingredients, the quality time that real food brings and the rich learnings of family food customs and cooking.
Here are #allthereasons (10 of them!) why it’s time we reclaim the kitchen and start cooking from scratch again! We dare you to not feel deliciously inspired!
We dare you to not feel your deliciously inspired!
It’s good to know exactly what you are eating
Food prepared from scratch is transparent in its ingredients. Pre-packaged foods? Well, there are reasons they can last for seven months in your pantry. Yikes! Preservatives, additives, stabilisers, artificial colours and flavours can all be more easily minimised or managed in your family’s diet by cooking from scratch. When it comes to food? Fresh is unbeatably best.
Diets, behaviours, allergies etcetera
Some children are sensitive to ‘nasties’ and can react with allergy symptoms or behavioural changes. If your child demonstrates such tendencies, cleaning up their diet to natural, fresh and made from scratch meals might bring some real improvements. Don’t be concerned that the kids won’t love it because it’s not what they’re used to, great ‘family faves’ can be made at home – just like this Supreme Pizza with Mozzarella and Salami! ( Just don’t tell them it’s good for them, right?!)
Cooking can be (and should be) family time
There’s a reason the Sunday roast is so romanticised, it represents the notion of coming together over home-cooked food. Sitting together over microwave dinners doesn’t quite have the same lovely nostalgia, does it? It’s missing the essential ingredient… love! Cooking a beautiful meal from scratch is not just celebrating family time with food – it’s showing your children the value of traditions and the customs of home meal preparation.
Food is edible slice of family history
The thought of a legacy where your children describe ‘mum’s speciality’ as chicken nuggets is pretty depressing. Well unless perhaps it’s Crispy Chicken Parmigiana with a Fresh Cucumber Salad. Food shouldn’t be a dying part of Australian life – it should be a vibrant and fresh celebration of the rich cultural influences we have adopted. Show your children the value of home cooked meals, food prepared with love and menu diversity, they’ll thank you for it in years to come!
Cooking from scratch tastes better
When you cook from scratch you’re using the freshest seasonal products around. These delicious ingredients add up to be yummy meals the whole family can agree on. There’s nothing more satisfying than a meal made with local, fresh ingredients and showing your children food that’s ‘the best of the season’ is teaching them the life-long joy of real food!
Real food has real nutritional benefits
Pretty much everyone understands that your body needs ‘fuel’ to operate. So, why give your family’s bodies anything less than the equivalent of premium unleaded? Food made from scratch not only tastes better but has innumerable health benefits. Imagine what’s in this real Moreish Mushroom Risotto with Parsley & Parmesan, as well as tasting better (than its frozen or packaged step-sibling), because it’s made with fresh produce, it’s in the highest state of nutritional value. Food prepared at home allows you to make healthy, knowledgeable choices – and understand exactly what you’re ingesting every single time.
Cooking from scratch minimises waste and rubbish
All those prepacked meals? They come wrapped in endless plastic and containers. Cooking from scratch sees your ingredients come into your home in a more natural and less land-fill-creating state. In a world where we’re drowning in packaging, every little bit counts! Cooking from scratch has so many benefits, this is just another little bonus to encourage you to consider changing your ways.
Real food supports real Aussie farmers and primary producers
If you flip over one of those packets of pre-prepared anything it’s likely made or grown (or both!) overseas. Cooking from scratch localises your food footprint – you’re far more likely to support farmers, growers and producers in Australia when you’re cooking with fresh ingredients. A meal like Tagliata with Rocket and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes sees you cooking with Aussie beef which is not only delicious but supporting our local families of the land!
Cooking real food brings back the joy of flavours
If you’ve fallen into the pre-prepared meals trap you’re likely just eating for ‘survival’. But cooking real food from scratch will change how you and your family view food. You’ll appreciate taste, texture, seasonality and freshness. Food can become a joy-filled, pleasurable experience once again… and that’s the very best way to eat. Remember when something was scrumptious? Juicy? Delicious? If you can’t say yes it’s time to start cooking home made meals again!
Celebrate the power of cooking
Cooking is a family’s secret weapon to sharing love, laughter and happiness around the table. A meal made and shared is valuable, quality time. Not only are you enjoying hours well-spent right now but you’re teaching your little ones the value of this shared family food custom for decades to come. No, matter how long that Creamy Chicken Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes took you – that’s priceless! (Oh and just for the record, 30 minutes total cooking time!)
If you’re thinking it’s time you started cooking from scratch again, check out HelloFresh
This game changing meal delivery company brings the convenience of meal planning and ingredient delivery to your home combined with a diverse, delicious menu and the many benefits of real food. There are meal plans to suit all family types and tastes and Mum Central readers who sign on this month can save.
Yet to try HelloFresh? Sign up now and use the code MUMCENTRAL40 to receive 40 per cent off your first HelloFresh box!
This is a sponsored article for HelloFresh
