Friends! When you’ve learned to consistently cook things from scratch going on a few years now, then up and decide to take a shortcut (because pregnancy), and cook something from a box your family WILL notice. I started cooking most things from scratch around the time Maddie was born, about four years ago. You can check out a post from 2013 detailing the start of our healthy living journey. We’ve had ups and downs since we’ve started in regards to maintaining a healthy diet, but one thing I’ve stuck with is cooking a lot of things from scratch.
A week or so ago I thought I’d buy some au gratin potatoes and bake those up instead of making them myself. I just didn’t feel like peeling and cutting up potatoes, okay! I went on about my business and made us some yummy meatloaf in muffin tins for the first time (you can find the Pin here) along with the potatoes and green beans. Everything turned out so, so well. Except the potatoes. I didn’t say anything though and I figured I was the only one who noticed. Nope.
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It’s nearly midnight, we’re off to bed pretty late and I’m starting to drift off to sleep, and what do I hear…
Mario whispers, “I didn’t like those potatoes”. “Yeah, me either”, I said, thinking the conversation would be over. But no. This guy decided it was time for a heart-to-heart about my cooking and how he really loves and appreciates that I make things from scratch. Y’all, I never knew he cared. I mainly started cooking from scratch from a cost-savings perspective and because it can be healthier. I honestly hadn’t thought much about the fact that things would actually taste significantly better too. It’s just a given, I guess, but I didn’t think that anyone else ever noticed accept me. As late as it was I was still flattered to hear Mario’s speech about not cooking from a box because he just loves my homemade food so much!
So yeah, now it’s like a requirement. I’m definitely going to have to teach these child(ren) how to help out even more in the kitchen (because cooking isn’t Mario’s thing — you can read why that’s okay here). I know that cooking from scratch takes time but it becomes second nature the more you do it and eventually isn’t that big of a deal (except maybe when you’re pregnant). If there are some things that you absolutely must cook from scratch I’d love to hear about them and pin it on Pinterest. Feel free to share in the comments!
Be intentional,
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Photo by Olenka Kotyk
So sweet! Thank you for sharing!
That is so sweet about Mario and his appreciation! I am single and don't do a lot of scratch cooking, but would like to move toward doing more. – Trish
I have to cook from scratch often as well. It gives me a piece of mind and my husband prefers it. My kids could care less lol. Unfortunately, I do not enjoy cooking, but as you mentioned, because of budget constraints and for my family's health, it's a requirement.
hahah this sounds like something I'd do to my mom. She always cooks from scratch and did so my entire childhood. Anything less than is definitely noticed! At least your family now knows the difference between the taste of real food and processed 😛 hope you're feeling great during pregnancy and getting lots of rest though! ♥
So cool that he affirmed how much he loves it when you cook from scratch. Families definitely notice when things change a little. My mom made her spaghetti sauce slightly different once… I guess my sister-in-law make it slightly different so my mom thought she'd try it. It was fine, but my mom's version is definitely the best, and since it's one she came up with by experimenting with different flavors, etc. over the years I think she appreciated our declaration of love for it. 🙂
It's actually so nice that they noticed though! I think it would be worse if they didn't. Now you know your cooking is appreciated 🙂 I personally don't make a lot of things from tins or boxes or whatever, but mainly because I live in a foreign country and I don't understand what half of it is hahaha.
I only cook from scratch and when I don't eyes and heads roll, lol! I bought some salsa from the store once and my husband acted like eating it was going to give him some disease. They get spoiled on that from scratch goodness, girl! I completely understand how you feel right now though. When I was pregnant I hardly ever cooked and when I did it was quick and easy.
We pretty much make every meal from scratch all the time. That is just our lifestyle. I always laugh at how many dishes there are to clean up and wash, but we love eating real food and healthy.
Yes we mostly cook from scratch. Especially pasta sauce. My husband and I both cook and we make different types of sauces, mine is just a little more labor intensive than his. I tried to skate by one Sunday with a jar sauce because I was going away for business the next week and wanted to make a meal that would last them an extra night while I was away. I still needed to lay out clothes for the kids, pack, etc. Well he almost had a fit! Needless to say, I made homemade sauce that night.