A Cook from Scratch Mindset

Anything we can buy at the store we can make – this is a cook from scratch mindset.

When my husband said these words my life changed.  I had never thought of it that way.

I grew up indoctrinated in a belief system that demanded you adhere to society’s norms regarding grocery shopping and recipes. Meal planning included about five tried and true recipes that my mother could pull out of her toolbox each week. The elite practiced fancy cooking, and they did so by strictly following specific chefs’ cookbooks and using carefully prescribed ingredients. My father practiced the elite cooking version.

Needless to say, I had to overhaul my belief system.  As I raised my children I discovered allergies that demanded we change our “food” lifestyle. We couldn’t rely on society’s grocery stores, mainstream recipe books, or doctor’s nutritional recommendations. The doctors I took my youngest child to had no answers for me, unless it was a steroid cream.  Grocery stores did not have palatable food choices to accommodate my child’s allergies. The idea of eating out became obsolete. Health insurance companies denied my child health insurance due to weight issues. The further we dug, the more we discovered. Food allergies were also compromising my husband’s health. We went through some dark days to re-invent our family’s food system so that everyone could thrive.

Perhaps you have endured and survived a similar situation. Some of my most challenging moments were while attending birthday parties in which my youngest child was unable to eat the cake. I quickly learned how to bake a gluten-free cake and freeze slices to bring to these parties. It’s a small thing, but it is so much more when you are watching children be children, and your child cannot participate.

Cooking from scratch became a passion, as well as an entry point into homesteading.

I wear the scars and feel the anger toward a system that ultimately causes illness to its society. Our food system harms us, and I don’t have time to fight the system daily, hoping things will change. It was necessary for me to figure out the food situation for my family, and that is what still do today. At first, my youngest could eat almost nothing. The good news was that my oldest child could eat everything and loved everything – that was a godsend as I began to delve into specific food and flavors that were not society’s norm. Through diet elimination of various food sources we finally pinned it to gluten and dairy. After healing from the gluten inflammation he is now able to eat dairy in moderation and can eat gluten via einkorn grain.

I am not here to advise others on gluten and/or my personal beliefs about the processing of pretty much anything that comes from a store. I am simply here to share that I believe cooking from scratch is by far the easiest and most immediate solution, one that I take seriously, and continually add “items from scratch” to my repertoire. When you are raising children, here-and-now is everything – we can’t wait for society, politicians or communities to jump up to help us. Sometimes you have to create your own community, your own food system and do what you know your family needs to thrive.

So, I’ll say it again, anything we can buy at the store we can make. That’s my mantra and I’m happy to share everything I know as well as what I continue to learn! All of my cooking is gluten-free, however, you can make anything I share, with gluten if you choose. Simply use regular flour in my recipes and you’re good to go!