REAL food

There have been countless times where my father has inserted his opinion on the reason my family is all super skinny. And I say super skinny, because we are. I'm not bragging, it's just a fact. One of his ideas is that my mom has always believed in cooking homemade food for us. She cooked wholesome meals within a reasonable budget, and made sure they were always well balanced and nutritious. She never busted bank, and we didn't eat everything organic, they were just good wholesome meals. But most importantly, they were homemade.

Homemade means this:
Hamburger helper.... is not homemade
Kraft macaroni and cheese... is not homemade
Neither is cake, bread, muffins, cookies or brownies from a box

We weren't starved from such things. Making cake from a box is MUCH easier and a lot less fail proof. But it is not homemade. Yeah, you made it at home... but I don't think it deserves the same praise and glory as a cake made from scratch. Especially if you use fake frosting. We would also occasionally eat Mac and cheese if we had a babysitter. But one mom found a really good recipe for Macaroni and cheese, we were all hooked on that.

Now, my father's reasoning I believe lies in the ingredients. Check the ingredients on a package of any store-bought processed meal or snack. Processed foods contain more fat, sugar, and salt. They might not blatanly tell you that, but they do. High fructose corn syrup, sodium, dextrose, anything -ose. Not to mention the unpronouncable "others". Preservatives, colorants, texture enhancers, flavor enhancers... The list goes on!

When my parents first got married, my mom told my dad that she did not make breakfast. If he wanted a big breakfast, he had to make it himself. I grew up on pancakes, literally almost every morning. I would eat 3-4 pancakes before soccer games, swim meets, school, and track. Cereal made rare appearances in our home. When we went to visit grandma she would call beforehand and buy our favorite cereals for us to eat during our stay. We would happily binge on Cocoa Pebbles for a few days, but always happily return to eating daddy's pancakes. He makes the best!!

So. We ate well. We had large breakfasts every morning, and wholesome, preservative, Red #40, and carageenan free meals. And all of my siblings and my parents have healthy weights, low blood pressure, and regular digestive systems.

I plan on cooking this way for my children. If I can afford it, I'll add some organic fruits and vegetables to the mix (I've been sold on organic apples. They actually have flavor, and appropriate skin thickness! That's really the only reason) I'd want a big garden and fruits trees around my yard. And someday I'll learn how to can!

I think mom cooked this way because it was cheaper. Making homemade meals is not always convenient, but I believe the long term benefits were far more convenient than anything else. :) Plus, the results taste SO MUCH BETTER!!

I'm off to enjoy a meal I just made of homemade chili, cinnamon rolls and a rare trat of fresh squeezed lemonade from my grandparents lemon tree!