All food begins from scratch it just depends where the process is done. My focus is to build meals that start as close to original form for ingredients as I can do. It is as simple as making a nice chili with cornbread from scratch.
Instead of going to the store and getting a pack of chili mix and some cans of beans you go to your cabinet and use the spices you probably already have hiding in there. The only thing you might need is to purchase is some dried beans that you will prepare as listed on their package.
“Beans and peas belong to the third largest family among the flowering plants (after the orchid and daisy families), and the second most important family in the human diet, after the grasses. The distinctive contribution of the legumes is their high content of protein, two to three times that of wheat and rice, which they develop thanks to their symbiosis with certain soil bacteria.”
Excerpt From: Harold McGee. “On Food and Cooking.”
Once I have all the ingredients prepared I start by sautéing large chopped onion in a stockpot. I then add the beans, canned tomatoes, the only canned product you need in the preparation. My reason for using canned tomatoes is a desire for constancy in batches. To thin out the chili I add in homemade vegetable stock. My spice blend is straight from my cabinet and consist of the following; granulated garlic, granulated onion, dark chili powder, cumin, black pepper and kosher salt. I add each spice and taste and adjust as needed. To keep it healthy I always add the salt towards the end of the cooking so that I can use less.
The cornbread recipe is the one provided on the bag of plain cornmeal if you want traditional cornbread. I prefer to use substitution of one can each of sweet corn and creamed-style corn and pickled jalapeños to add a bit of flair.
So, why am I going through all this effort to make meals from scratch? It is very simple the more I control what I eat the more in tune I will be in the healthfulness of the food and build in the desire to consume appropriate amounts. It is very simple to get in the habit of mindless eating. It is doubly so when your main diet consist of prepackage foods. It is way to easy to just pop open that bag of chips and start eating with out the care of what is in there or even what is a proper portion. I have tried many different diets and realistically the all work for me until I get in the mode of convenience over concerns related to what I am eating.
It is my goal to go Whole Food Plant Based by scratch so that through the effort of producing what I consume in the home I will avoid the pitfalls of the ‘convenience’ factor. Whole Food Plant Based from scratch does not necessary need to prevent the easy meals, it means that I need to plan my schedule so I give myself time to prepare food that will be available when I want it.
My basic rule for any prepackage store item is that the ingredients label must be understandable and the fewer ingredients will be the best. I will strive to keep prepackaged ingredients to a maximum 20% level of any dish.
I will work to provide weekly menus and recipes for each. It will take me a bit of time to develop this part but my goal is to post menus in the very near future.
