Want to start making home cooked meals just like your grandma used to? Here’s how you can learn the art of cooking from scratch!

Cooking from scratch is the old fashioned homemaking skill that has made the most impact in my homemaking journey. Why? Because we have to eat three times a day anyways so why not make cheaper healthier meals that are hubby approved and kid friendly?!

There’s nothing like the waft of a home cooked meal or cookies baking in the oven to make your mouth water. Plus, if you make it yourself from scratch, you have control over what’s in it and you’ll feel a whole lot better after eating it. 

At some point, we moms become concerned about our health or the health of the family. We start having health issues, we get tired of dieting without losing weight or feeling better, we get tired of the kids getting sick all the time, etc. There’s a host of reasons why we start down the road to better health.

The lifestyle switch towards cooking our food from scratch has made the biggest impact on our health. Making your own food with well sourced ingredients can actually stabilize your weight, blood sugar, sleep, and a whole lot of other minor health issues you might be having. It’s a win win that you can’t afford to miss out on. 

So if you’re ready to explore more about the sold fashioned homemaking skill, grab your apron and let’s get cooking!

What does cooking from scratch mean?

There are varying opinions about what cooking from scratch is. Some say as long as you throw it in a pan and cook it yourself, that counts. Some would count using mostly raw ingredients while still utilizing store bought goods like canned soup mix or a seasoning packet. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that cooking from scratch is a spectrum. It’s a journey to start, to explore, and to improve on. 

What I refer to as cooking from scratch in this post still may not even be exactly where I am at in my own homemaking journey, but it is the end goal that I’m striving for. 

So here’s my definition. 

Cooking from scratch is cooking food with well sourced raw or traditionally prepared ingredients without a recipe. 

Here’s what I mean by this…

• Cooking food – If you are actually cooking raw ingredients and not just reheating a pre-made meal, then that is cooking from scratch
• Well-sourced – To take full advantage of the health benefits and healing qualities of food, the ingredients have to be high quality. You can totally improve your health by simply cooking food from raw ingredients, but if you want to get the most out of it, then you’ll want to go all in eventually. 
• Cooking with raw or traditionally prepared whole food ingredients – Raw whole foods would be things like meat and veggies and traditionally prepared foods are things like sourdough, fermented vegetables, home canned goods, etc.
• Cooking without a recipe – you can follow other peoples recipes and still be cooking from scratch, but there’s something extremely useful about knowing how ingredients work together, how to season to taste, and how to turn out your pantry shelves and make it into a meal. 

So much of our modern day eating is buying prepackaged, pre-made food with lots of unhealthy additives and preservatives because it’s convenient and easy.

You don’t have to think about preparing food or taking extra time in the kitchen, but with choosing convenience often comes the sacrifice of goodness and beauty. In many ways, choosing convenience foods is an easier lifestyle, but we sacrifice health or well-being, and the deep well of knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation.

Is it really cheaper to cook from scratch?

Yes, it can be cheaper to cook from scratch. Buying pre-made frozen foods and going out to eat often is definitely more expensive than making your own food at home with raw traditionally prepared ingredients. There will always be poorly made foods that are cheaper than what you can make, but you can still make really good food and save money. 

If you are trying to improve your health and well-being, you will definitely save money by not buying the healthy pre-made foods. Cooking from scratch is one of the best ways to save money on the food budget and still eat healthy.

What foods can I make from scratch?

There is no end to what you can cook from scratch. Some say that you can have whatever you want as long as you make it yourself. I’m not sure there is anything that cannot be made from scratch. 

Google has definitely been my friend on my scratch cooking journey. I get carried away looking up if this or that that can be made from scratch, lol. 

As long as you’re willing to be patient as you learn to cook, the sky’s the limit as to what foods you can make from scratch. 

Some of our family favorites to make from scratch are…

• Tacos with sourdough tortillas
• Sourdough Pizza
• Breakfast burritos
• Simple soups
• Desserts, especially chocolate chip cookies

What is the easiest food to make from scratch?

I would have to say eggs. They take hardly anytime to cook up and you can’t really mess them up unless you hate scrambled eggs. 

Honestly though, if you learn the basic cooking techniques and use instant pots, a lot of foods can be made from scratch with ease even if you are a beginner cook. 

Actually cook!

Perhaps this is a given, but cooking from scratch means actually cooking food. Reheating something that was pre-made is not cooking from scratch. It’s using the skills of making your own sausage, browning, meat, frying eggs, bread baking and making all your favorite foods from raw or traditionally prepared ingredients. 

Remember though that cooking from scratch is a journey! Give yourself grace as you start no matter where you are coming from and where you end up.

Source your ingredients

I’ve been cooking from scratch for awhile now, but it has taken me awhile to get here to the place where I’m ready to use good quality ingredients. 

I want to feel better and still be able to eat all the foods. I was tired of my energy crashing, struggling to sleep, and dealing with food sensitivities. 

I’m a homemaker! I’ve got things to do and children to love and care for. I don’t have time to feel like trash because I’m eating trash. 

I used to think the food label organic was just a marketing ploy or that it was for rich people because they could afford to just throw money at food. 

Oh boy! Have I learned differently!

Well sourced quality ingredients make a world of difference when you want to make even the simplest of meals taste even better. 

If you aren’t eating clean food (as in unmodified, pesticide free, no additives); then even whole foods will not be as easy to digest and can actually cause health issues. 

If you want to feel healthy, eat healthy! I cooked from scratch for years before I started thinking about the quality of my food. I felt terrible until I decided enough was enough. Mommy has to feel better if she is going to take care of everyone else. 

Another selling point was that many things my husband didn’t like, he actually does if it’s made with good quality ingredients. For years, my husband disliked any dish I made with potatoes. Then I started using organic potatoes. His mind was blown. I hadn’t changed anything except the quality of the food. 

We still eat pretty simple, but switching to good quality food has been a game changer in my from scratch cooking journey. 

Use raw or traditionally prepared ingredients

There are probably very few of us that cook completely with only raw traditionally prepared ingredients, but that is what we are probably all striving for when we say that we cook from scratch.

So what are raw ingredients? 

They are whole foods that have not been prepared or cooked, things like…

• Vegetables
• Meat
• Whole Grains
• Fruit
• Sweeteners
• Dairy

The things that make up food without all the extra preservatives and additives. 

What are traditionally prepared ingredients?

This would be things like…

• Home canned goods – canned corn, tomatoes, or soup
• Frozen ingredients – Frozen Berries, frozen veggies, frozen meat, etc.
• Fermented foods – sourdough, sauerkraut, yogurt, and other things preserved with a brine or culture
• Dried goods – dehydrated fruit, meat (beef, jerky), or herbs
• Soaking and sprouting – grains and legumes

Traditional methods at first glance may seem like too much work, but in reality once you get the hang of how to do one or two methods, they can make your life as a home cook so much easier. 

It’s all about being proactive!

These methods help you work ahead so that when it comes time to make a meal half of the work is done for you. Having food mostly prepared is also very convenient and can help you skip fast food because you already have ingredients prepared to throw a quick but delicious meal together. 

Cook without a recipe

You can definitely utilize other peoples recipes as you learn the art of cooking from scratch, but there’s something to be said about having a working knowledge of how food comes together to make a meal or a dish.

What would happen if we no longer had access to the Internet for recipes? You would probably go to the store and get a cookbook, but what if there was a shortage of cook books because there was no longer internet?

You could order one online, but it takes at least a day, if not longer to get it delivered. Would you know how to look at ingredients and instantly know how to bring them together or prepare them to make at least an edible meal if not a delicious one?

OK, that’s a little extreme, but do you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t feel like going to the grocery store but you don’t really have much to make except a few odds and ends of things? 

This is where that knowledge of knowing how to bring food together comes in really handy. 

Not to mention, cooking from scratch can simplify meal planning. If you know how to prepare ingredients, then you’ll hardly need recipes. Once you have learned enough about cooking that you don’t have to follow recipes, meal planning can be as easy as jotting down what you want to eat in your planner. 

No more hunting around for what to make. You’ll know what your family likes, what you can afford, and what you can make in a jiffy when you run out of time. 

Final Thoughts!

Cooking from scratch is a lost art and skill that would make our lives as homemakers so much better! Once you get past the learning curve, it simplifies life by making it easier to prepare healthy meals your family will actually want to eat. 

Although cooking from scratch meals could take a lot of time to make, you get to choose how much time you want to spend in the kitchen cooking. It can take all day or just 30 minutes to an hour to put together a quick healthy and delicious meal!

You could even do it in 15 minutes depending on what you’re making and if you have some ingredients already prepped.

If you’ve been thinking about learning how to cook from scratch, let this be the encouragement you need to make it a reality. Cooking from scratch will save you money, it will be healthier, and your family will thank you because there is nothing like a home cooked meal!