Cooking From Scratch for Beginners

Why learn how to cook from scratch?

Cooking from scratch is better for your health and your wallet. Anyone can learn the skills it takes to get delicious, from scratch meals on the dinner table.

When I began having health issues a few years ago, I started to look into what could be causing them. That led me down the path to real food. I started reading labels and researching what the long list of ingredients meant. After being horrified at what is allowed into processed foods, I decided I wanted to learn how to cook things from scratch.

At first it was just dinner recipes. I couldn’t have gluten so all of the gravy and seasoning packs were out anyways. Learning how to mix your own seasoning blends was easy. Then I moved on to baking. From there I have learned the skills to even make our snack foods from scratch. As long as I stick to from scratch foods, leaving out gluten and eating real food, my health has greatly improved.

I am able to keep up with three little ones all while growing and preserving a lot of our food. This wouldn’t have been possible without a huge diet change. Cooking from scratch is a stepping stone towards better health and more self-sufficiency.

What does “from scratch” really mean?

Cooking from scratch is simply taking single ingredient food items and putting them together to make a meal or dish. Such as ground beef, veggies, broth and herbs to make a soup.

However, I still consider cooking a meal with store bought cheese or coconut aminos for example, as still being a from scratch meal. While I would love to make my own cheese, we don’t yet have a dairy animal on our homestead. And I would love to be able to even make something like coconut aminos myself (as if I have any clue how to do that!). But, I still use those ingredients in my from scratch cooking. Why? Because it’s less processed than the junk food and pre-made meals at the store.

Even if there is an ingredient that is store bought, that you didn’t make yourself, it can still be okay. It really comes down to how and how much something has been processed.

Doesn’t cooking from scratch take up a lot of time?

Maybe at first it will. But there are so many recipes for “dump and go” or slow cooker from scratch recipes that are easy and quick. It may take you time to build skills and find the right recipes at first, but after awhile, it becomes second nature.

You will learn what it is you need to do to get meals and snacks on the table. Don’t let that “maybe at first” scare you though. With planning and prep, you will learn how to be very efficient in the kitchen.

For example, if you’ve only got one day to meal prep for the whole month, you could bake four loaves of bread, make several dump and go freezer meals and make a meal plan. The rest of the month is just throwing things together very quickly.

From scratch cooking saves you money!

Another bonus to from scratch cooking that I quickly discovered was how much money it saved us on our grocery budget. I was so used to buying convenience meals or eating out before we had kids, that the difference was huge.

While I do understand that grocery prices have greatly increased, you can still eat well on a budget if you are cooking from scratch. For us, and I do believe for most people, buying pre-made and super processed foods isn’t sustainable. What if the grocery stores run out of food and the supply chain breaks? Will you know how to take simple ingredients from your pantry to make meals? Or how to cook only the food you can grow yourself? That’s another reason that from scratch cooking is better!

Here are a few tips to save money when stocking your pantry:

• Make the swap from processed to whole food when shopping. Slowly take away a couple of processed foods each week and use those savings to swap to a whole food you can add to your pantry. Buying things like rice and beans is still very affordable and can last a long time before going bad. Swap out buying that bag of potato chips or instant meal for rice and beans. You will get a lot more out of them!
• Shop in bulk. Big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco have great deals. You can also check out Azure Standard for more organic and naturally grown options. They also carry canned goods, baking ingredients and herbs all with the options to buy in bulk.
• Use up what you have. Before grocery shopping again, make sure you have used up all of your fresh fruits and veggies. Also check expiration dates in your pantry and make sure nothing is about to expire. Wasting less food also wastes less money.
• Get creative. Pinterest is absolutely full of frugal recipes and depression era recipes. Sometimes a simple soup or stew makes a delicious and filling meal that is going to be way better for your health and your wallet.
• Learn what from scratch ingredients you can swap when you’re out of something. While there will be slight measurement variations, things such as oils & fats can easily be swapped around in recipes. This goes for sweeteners too.

So how do I get started cooking from scratch?

1. The first thing you need to do is find a handful of things you want to swap out the processed version for homemade. Maybe it’s a loaf of bread, granola bars or meatballs. Make your list and find recipes you want to try. Don’t try them all at once. Take it one at a time until you get good at making that one thing. Before you know it, you will have a rhythm down for making that particular food.
2. Look at your pantry and start reading labels. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients in the item, think about how you can swap it out for it’s less processed counterpart.
3. Stock your pantry with the right ingredients. For us, it’s always keeping staples like flour, sugar, rice, beans, oils, fats, salt and vinegars on hand at all times. Our list is much longer, but those are the absolute must have items. Everyone’s stocked pantry will look different.
4. Learn to meal plan. The weeks that I have skipped this usually ends in me scrambling to get something on the table which is no fun for anyone. While I know not everyone is wired this way, try it out. Start by meal planning just a couple of days at a time until you get the hang of it. Then move on to a full week of planned meals.
5. Meal prep! If you have a busy life, meal prepping a couple days a month will save you lots of stress and money. Make up soups, casseroles, loaves of bread and snacks for the freezer. If you want to get really into it, make big batches of things like cream of mushroom soup to freeze or marinades.

Cooking from scratch for beginners doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. Take it one step at a time. You don’t have to swap everything all at once. To conclude, here are a few ideas for from scratch recipes to try first.

• Taco Seasoning
• Pancakes or waffles
• Granola bars
• Brownies
• Cookies
• Gravy
• Salad dressing
• Ranch
• Vanilla extract

Feeling a little more adventurous? Here are some intermediate ideas to try for from scratch cooking:

• Sandwich bread
• Dinner rolls
• Cream of … soup
• Pasta
• Pickles
• Banana bread
• Mayonnaise
• Mustard
• Cakes

Don’t forget to have fun learning a new skill

The great thing about learning to cook from scratch is that you can tailor it to you and your family’s tastes. It will allow you to be creative and maybe you will make a few new recipes of your own. If you would like some ideas on how to stock you pantry, check out this post here.

I hope this has encouraged you to get started cooking from scratch. Don’t let it overwhelm you, but take it one recipe at a time.

Before you know it, you’ll be creating delicious from scratch meals everyday and getting healthier too! Let me know of any recipes that got you started cooking from scratch in the comments below.