Cooking from scratch

[KatyCooks]

Cooking with mostly ready made ingredients is at least a step in the right direction. For some people, it may be as much as they will likely ever cook. But, for people who might have leanings towards real cooking, it can be a start.

Rather than criticize their "cooking" or meal, making a suggestion for an easy improvement is what I would do. Of course, you have to think of the easy improvement while on the topic of that meal.

Absolutely, and encouragement is where I am trying to go. It is kind of astonishing to me that the youngsters around me (at work, anywhere from 18 to 35) are running marathons, going to the gym, doing weights... and eating absolute rubbish. I have a 25 year old lad who is maybe listening currently, so I am going to focus on getting some basic stuff into his larder!

 

[taxlady]

Tater tots are delicious.

Absolutely, and encouragement is where I am trying to go. It is kind of astonishing to me that the youngsters around me (at work, anywhere from 18 to 35) are running marathons, going to the gym, doing weights... and eating absolute rubbish. I have a 25 year old lad who is maybe listening currently, so I am going to focus on getting some basic stuff into his larder!

Hmm, if they are doing all that healthy stuff, maybe pointing out the health benefits of homemade food and the amount of unhealthy additives in the cook by heating foods, might get them interested in some easy home cooking. i think it would be really good to have a very simple recipe or two to give someone who *might* be convinced to eat healthier.

 

[taxlady]

Ahhh, now taxy, if I could think on my feet that quickly I would be the darling of the new cooks fan club.

So, plan ahead and have some of easy ideas handy.

 

[taxlady]

Tater tots have reached Britain! I first encountered them in the US (obviously) and man, so delicious! (and so unhealthy!) I am basically trying to avoid them.

What is it about tater tots that you consider to be "so unhealthy". I'm not saying they are healthy, but I had a look at the ingredients and I have seen much worse.

 

[taxlady]

Has anyone here tried making tater tots from scratch? These sound pretty good:

Homemade Tater Tots

Homemade tater tots made with fluffy potatoes and fresh parsley. This recipe is a quick and easy copycat version of everyone's childhood favorite!

www.allrecipes.com

 

[pictonguy]

I always enjoy making and eating a good croquette, which is a little different than a tot but same idea basically.

 

[GotGarlic]

What is it about tater tots that you consider to be "so unhealthy". I'm not saying they are healthy, but I had a look at the ingredients and I have seen much worse.

I think a lot of people have been conditioned to believe that anything fried is unhealthy. If food is fried correctly, though, it doesn't absorb a whole lot of oil and we all need some fat in our diets anyway.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Sad to say, from talking to young work colleagues, cooking is not happening at all.

25 year olds are proud of getting a jar of sauce, heating it in a microwave and plonking it on top a packet of pre-cooked chicken. This is their version of "cooking" compared to just dialling up a delivery.

I can't be critical, because I want them to realise that it isn't cooking, so I do talk about actual cooking in hopes some of them might be listening.

I notice it too!

I also notice that many young people have lost any notion of eating things in season or a realistic understanding of good value.

It’s good to share our cross generation experiences without being preachy or judgmental.

I’ve had a few light bulb moments when talking to young folks or watching FB reels and TikTok clips.

As I get older, I’m more than ok with heating a jar of sauce in the microwave and plonking it onto a rotisserie chicken from the deli.

 

[Badjak]

I seem to recall a bbc cooking program that basically took people eating unhealthy and coming up with a healthy alternative to what they liked and thought them to cook it.
I remember some builders and cooking gyros or something like it.
I liked the idea

 

[EvieVaughn]

Once, I stumbled upon this amazing recipe for a creamy chicken casserole. It sounded heavenly until I realized it called for a can of mushroom soup. Now, I'm all for homemade, so I decided to whip up my own version of the soup from scratch.

 

[dragnlaw]

I have nothing against using canned soups as they are very "user friendly" with one exception, often they are extremely salty. It is difficult to find them with less salt.
That's the main reason I prefer to make from scratch. Many times I go in the wrong direction and don't add enough salt! LOL>

 

[blissful]

@dragnlaw you can always add salt at the table or when you serve it.
Salt can be addictive. It sure was for me. Lay's potato chips, oil and salt, no one can eat just one.

 

[taxlady]

It's not just the salt in the canned soups that puts me off. The list of ingredients is full of things I wouldn't cook with and most home cooks wouldn't cook with to make a similar soup. One definition I read for ultra processed foods is foods that contain an number of ingredients that are not commonly used by home cooks. "... food substances of no or rare culinary use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified starches and protein isolates)." That definition also mentioned that sugar, oils, and salt are very often present in large amounts. There is a lot of debate about what constitutes ultra processed foods.

 

[jennyema]

I think a lot of people have been conditioned to believe that anything fried is unhealthy. If food is fried correctly, though, it doesn't absorb a whole lot of oil and we all need some fat in our diets anyway.

I dont fry my tots. I bake them. I know they are fried before frozen, but I dont think they are that bad.

I could eat them all the time but usually less than once a month.

Ive tried making homemade tater tots and they dont hold a candle to Ore Ida.

 

[Andy M.]

They're also great as a base for hash browns. I just nuke to defrost then break them up and fry them in some fat to crisp them up.

 

[KatyCooks]

There have been a few letters in the Daily Telegraph (in the UK) recently, deploring the "awful American import of hash browns" into the standard British breakfast. However, I adore hash browns and am very pleased with this "American import"!! Almost everyone I know also loves them - so I think the letter writers are boring old fogeys!

 

[Aunt Bea]

There have been a few letters in the Daily Telegraph (in the UK) recently, deploring the "awful American import of hash browns" into the standard British breakfast. However, I adore hash browns and am very pleased with this "American import"!! Almost everyone I know also loves them - so I think the letter writers are boring old fogeys!

Different strokes for different folks.

I’m sure that Americans would write letters deploring the awful British import of beans or black pudding into a standard American breakfast.

 

[KatyCooks]

Different strokes for different folks.

View attachment 69496

I’m sure that Americans would write letters deploring the awful British import of beans or black pudding into a standard American breakfast.

Can't beat some nice black pudding with a bit of brown sauce! In fact some of them were complaining about baked beans being included as well. The only thing I would drop is the toast (and the sausages).

 

[dragnlaw]

My brother LOVED black pudding. I know my mum and dad used to have it but to the best of my knowledge, I never did, nor do I think I even knew what it was. While my bro was living with me he got some, asked if I'd like some but I asked first just exactly what it was... and gagged.
TTT I've never tasted it, so although I appreciate the whole animal being used, not sure I could handle it.

 

[taxlady]

My brother LOVED black pudding. I know my mum and dad used to have it but to the best of my knowledge, I never did, nor do I think I even knew what it was. While my bro was living with me he got some, asked if I'd like some but I asked first just exactly what it was... and gagged.
TTT I've never tasted it, so although I appreciate the whole animal being used, not sure I could handle it.

So, I guess you aren't interested in trying Saami blood pancakes, eh?