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