Monday, September 21, 2009

Homemade Or Bought Foodie Controversy

Store bought or home made?

Here's the controversy of foodies around the world. Is it better to make the product or simply buy it? What do we value more,? Good taste ? Made with love? Or just simple convenience? For some foodstuffs , yes , homemade is the better choice. For others, nothing beats factory produced, surprisingly and even sadly enough. In the end it's up to the individual foodie.

What food does taste better if it's home cooked? Pasta with homemade sauce is at the top of my list. As much as I love eating Italian food out, nothing compares with a well made, stove top sauce. The tomatoes are fresh ,and the basil is just picked from my garden. As for fresh made pasta, this is a labor intensive . Creating it is fun though and can be done quicker if you have help. Hamburgers are better at home than they are out. You can add to the chopped meat, something a chain restaurant can 't do. Let's face it. Wendy's or Burger King are not going to toss in chopped onions or mix in ground pork to their patties. You can. Plank fries are better if you cut and fry them yourself. Soups are another food that taste better made from scratch than out of a can. They also don't have the whopping amount of sodium that their canned cousins have.

What foods should be store bought? Breads for one. They are fun to make if you have a bread maker and some spare time . Yet, so many grocery stores these days have excellent in house bakeries where you can buy a wide range of breads. The same philosophy goes for cakes, cup cakes and cookies. Roast chicken and ribs are also good if they're already cooked. This saves time s especially if you're coming home late from work. Some sides like baked potatoes and vegetables can go either way. You can make up sides on the weekend and freeze them or you can just snap them up from your store's frozen food department.

There will always be this controversy of fresh versus pre made. The choice depends on you. If you feel better serving yourself and your family fresh than do it. However if you don't have the time, then reach for the quick easy to make items. It's your decision. Whatever works for you and your family as well as your dietary needs.

1 comment:

Angel said...

I think that homemade generally tastes better and of course is cheaper and better for you than store bought. I couldn't believe how easy it is to make guacamole, for example. But some things are just better to buy like dairy-free ice cream. No matter how many times I've tried, I can't seem to make coconut milk ice cream that tastes as good or has as creamy a texture as Purely Decadent's. And since they use all natural ingredients, I feel good about buying and eating it, as opposed to making it myself.