Homemade Is Better

Meals at restaurants and prepackaged convenience foods are nice and easy; however, they’re not always the healthiest or the most cost-effective way to feed a family. When you make a homemade meal, you control the amount of fat, salt and even sugar that goes into the meal. You also have control over the amount and freshness of fruits or vegetables you put into a meal, which adds increased vitamins and minerals to food.

Homemade cooking also means you’re paying for only the ingredients and not for the labor of those who make, sell and clean up the food. Making meals at home also means you can substitute with healthier options such as using olive oil instead of butter. You also have control over the portion size you serve as well as the option to immediately refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.

Don’t feel like you have to create homemade meals every day. You can start by trying just a couple days a week. Try a new recipe you find in a cookbook. If you don’t own any cookbooks, a quick online search of your meal ideas or ingredients will give you plenty of options. Once you’ve tested a recipe and it’s been approved by your family, consider making a large batch and freezing some of it so you have it available when time is limited.

You can also incorporate your family into the homemade meal experience – finding recipes, creating grocery lists, helping at the grocery store or unloading the groceries at home, prepping the ingredients, cooking and even cleaning the kitchen after the meal.

An easy homemade recipe is a Pasta Sauce recipe courtesy of blogger Elisse Kipe.

Pasta Sauce

1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes or 8 diced fresh ripe tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
Red pepper flakes to taste – about 4 shakes of the container

3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
Pinch of brown sugar

• Sauté onions and garlic until soft.
• Add red pepper flakes to taste – 6 shakes usually give a good heat.
• Once they are soft, add the tomatoes and one can of water.
• Add the Italian seasoning and brown sugar.
• Bring to a boil.
• Once it has boiled, lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.