On Aug 4, 12:01*pm, Scooter > wrote:
> I have been thinking about trying an experiment. (Okay, not really
> thinking about it, more like daydreaming about it. Musing. I'm only
> about half serious at this point.) We eat fairly well as a family,
> relatively speaking—we cook a lot from scratch, we don't eat frozen
> convenience dinners or meal-in-a-box things, etc—but there are still a
> lot of processed/prepared items in my shopping cart every Saturday
> morning. We certainly could do better.
>
> So I was thinking, what if I only bought basic single-ingredient food
> and we made everything else ourselves from those single ingredients?
> If we want cookies, we make cookies—no more buying Oreos. Shredded
> Wheat is fine, but Honey Bunches of Oats is not. (That's okay; I make
> a damn fine granola.) Brownie mix? Nix. I buy chocolate, butter, eggs,
> sugar, flour, vanilla, and nuts instead. We don't buy anything
> prepared if it can reasonably be prepared in a home kitchen. Basics
> all the way.
>
> How would life change under this new approach? I think we would eat
> better. I think, but am not certain, that our grocery bills would be
> lower (or at least not higher). I think initially we would spend a
> whole lot more time cooking, but I think over time we would gravitate
> toward meals that were either simple and quick to prepare or were good
> enough to justify the extra effort.
>
> If you were to adopt this approach, how would your life change? Are
> there prepared items that you would particularly miss? Any deal-
> breakers for you? (I'm close to calling no more Diet Coke a deal-
> breaker, but that's me.) Would your life be better or worse?
>
> Scooter

You'll eat better, save a lot of money and KNOW pretty much what's
going in your bod.

I'd like to see the supermkts set up a Basic Ingredient aisle, so some
of us could get thru the store faster. My aisle would include
oils, flours, vinegar, maybe some raisins, oatmeal, coffee....

I don't buy 'prepared items' - I guess by that you mean salad
dressings, taco flavoring, Hamburger Helper type stuff. Yes, I do buy
mayo, but if I ever get that immersion blender -- Hellmanns, look out.