Cook from Scratch

Simple introduction to my thinking with recipes to follow below, or jump to recipes.

Anything we can buy at the store we can make. 

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

I grew up indoctrinated into a belief system that demanded you adhere to society’s norms regarding grocery shopping, recipes, diet fads and more. Meal planning strictly adhered to cookbooks with about five tried and true recipes that my mother could pull out of her toolbox each week for a quick meal. Fancy cooking was for the elite and only could be ventured into via strict adherence to specific chefs’ cookbooks and very specific ingredients.

Needless to say, my belief system has been completely overhauled.  As I raised my children I discovered allergies that demanded we change our “food” lifestyle. Our meals could not be accommodated through society’s grocery stores, mainstream recipe books, doctor’s nutritional recommendations and more. I had to dig deep and examine every belief with which  I had been raised. Doctors I took my youngest child to did not have 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. My husband’s health was also being compromised due to food allergies. 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 as a mom were while attending birthday parties in which my youngest child was unable to eat the cake. I can assure that I quickly learned how to bake a gluten free cake and freeze slices to bring to these parties. It seems like a small thing, but it is so much more when you are watching children be children, yet your child cannot participate.

So, that being said, cooking from scratch is a passion for me and a right of passage that led me to homesteading. I wear the scars and feel the anger towards a system that is set up to ultimately cause illness to its society. We know our food system is damaged and I don’t have time to wait around and/or fight the system day in and day, out in the hopes that things change. It is and was necessary for me to figure out the food situation for my family, and that is what I did and 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 that 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 it’s necessary to create your own community, create your own food system and do what you know is needed for your family to thrive.

So, I’ll say it again, anything you can buy at the store you can make from scratch. 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, anything I make can be made with gluten. Simply use regular flour in my recipes and you’re good to go!