Do you live in an 'ingredient household'?

[Jilly_in_VA]

The term “ingredient household” is making rounds on TikTok, but the term has been part of Google searches for years. Which means people want to know: what is it?

The term refers to a household where there is no ready-to-eat food, but rather ingredients that need to be prepared in order to eat. That means no frozen lasagna, breakfast pastries and so forth.

In December, terms “ingredient house” and “ingredient only household” have become more popularly searched but the term is not new. Google Trends records show that the term was searched for as early as 2004.

One blog explains that the choice to buy ingredients may help people save money, be more environmentally conscious, eat healthier food and have more control over what they consume. To run an ingredient household, however, there has to be enough time in the day to plan, shop for and cook from scratch.

A household where pre-made food is available could just be an indicator of a busy family life, not necessarily any disagreement with the motivations mentioned above.

https://www.wate.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/do-you-live-in-an-ingredient-household-2/

I do not. I admit to sometimes buying Costco MREs, All-Ready piecrusts, etc. because I'm getting up there. I was an "Earth Mother" when my kids were young though.

[cilla4progress]

1. I do!

Maybe 5% of our food is processed?

Processed is muy bad for health!

[LakeArenal]

2. I am a good cook and I also use prepared foods.

I certainly don’t squeeze my own orange juice and I use frozen vegetables.

I will buy Marie Calendar pot pies

[2naSalit]

3. I have been...

Since I came off the road, decades, but now as I age I am enjoying cooking a lot less and have been opting for some convenience foods but am usually grossed out by them so they end up being a one off thing.

[Jilly_in_VA]

10. That's kind of how I am

I'm 79 and I like to cook but I will use prepared ingredients in my cooking. For instance, last night I made pasta with veggie marinara. For starters, I do not make my own pasta! ( do make gnocchi once in a blue moon though.) I chopped all the veggies but used half a jar of Victoria marinara sauce that was in the fridge. The other half had been used in some killer baked ziti I made last week.)

Costco MREs are generally decent and made from good stuff. We buy them for time savers when we know we have something else going on.

[3catwoman3]

4. We do not. We are serious label readers, and I have no problem with somethiing prepared...

...by someone else if the ingredients are decent, and the list of ingredients is short without a lot a unpronounceable crap in it.

For me, there is a definite difference between prepared and processed.

[ggma]

5. Life itself has a lot to do with it.

I always cooked from scratch when I had a house full of kids and their friends; it was cheaper. I have three girls and I encouraged them to entertain at home so I could keep an eye on them. The other mothers appreciated a safe place for their girls - I seldom went out on the weekends and there was not a man in my house. Most weekends my house looked like a college dorm and I never had leftovers 🙂.

Now, I'm cooking for one and most of my favorite foods are big pot (beans, casseroles, etc) and I can only eat so much - and not very much. If I don't have a kid or grandkid who wants what I'm cooking, it goes to waste. So I do buy frozen and pre-made meals; but I do miss my time in the kitchen.

Just my two cents...

gg

[Nittersing]

24. This website might be helpful

https://onedishkitchen.com/

Lots of recipes. Mostly for one person.

[ggma]

26. Only took five seconds to make this a favorite!

So many choices; I am amazed... and I know what I'll be reading for the next few days. I also plan to share it with my friends, who will probably be as excited as I am.

DU is such an awesome place, thanks to members like you, Nittersing 😊.

gg

[Nittersing]

27. Oh good!!

Two of my favorites: French Onion Soup (except I saute the onions a LOT longer than the recipe calls for)
https://onedishkitchen.com/french-onion-soup/

and Banana Bread
https://onedishkitchen.com/banana-bread/

Happy cooking!!!

[Luciferous]

32. Thanks for the link! I live with picky eaters so I usually end up with a ton

of leftovers. I'll definitely be trying some of the recipes on that site.

[Thunderbeast]

6. I think we live in an "ingredient" household

Other than pasta sauce and cold cereal, the pantry is devoid of most packaged food. Veggies are fresh

I found that having a couple of instant pots makes cooking food from scratch much easier. We keep dry beans and brown rice stocked to reduce meat consumption.

[Kali]

7. mostly we are an ingredient only house, BUT

we also buy a fair amount (too much) junk/take out.
Not too much premade food in house but a lot brought in or eaten in car.

[Nanuke]

8. Conundrum

I like to think I make most meals from scratch but the more I think about it, I realize I do rely on many pre-made items. Bread, peanut butter, yogurt, cheese, pizza crusts, tomato sauce, flour tortillas, soda crackers, mayo, canned tuna, etc. Wow.

[Major Nikon]

9. Most ingredients are far from basic

Not many people churn their own butter from their own cows and goats, make their own sugar from canes or beets, separate raw wheat from it's constituent parts, etc. Most "ingredients" people buy are processed in one way or another to greatly varying extent.

The whole idea of eating unprocessed foods has a lot more to do with smoke and mirrors than anything truly meaningful. All sorts of things are processed before you get them and will need to be processed more to turn them into culinary products whether this is done at home or somewhere else.

Rather than promoting this whole idea that "processed" always is bad and somehow "unprocessed" or even less processed food is always good. A better approach is learning how macro and micro nutrients really work, what effect those things along with fiber has, and in what proportions everything should be for your lifestyle and health needs.

[ChazInAz]

11. I worked for years as a cook.

When I moved to Arizona, my Equity membership was useless...it's a "Right To Work" state, and local theater companies simply would not cast local union members. To survive and support my family, I went into food service, as I knew how to cook "ingredients only" as the current buzzword has it. Theater became a nonprofit side gig, and the only thing that kept me sane as I sweated in kitchens during the day.
Those years were probably the worst in my life, leaving me with a bad case of PTSD. Nightmares about working in the food industry are even now a regular occurrence. I am still uneasy in restaurants. Cooking anything more elaborate than an omelette or a steak is something I just can't do.
So..no. I don't do ingredients only.

[RockRaven]

12. It depends on where the line gets drawn on the definition...

Do potato chips cross the line? They are ready-to-eat, but are not a meal by themselves.

Does jarred pasta sauce cross the line? It is ready-to-eat once combined with other things which require cooking, but not a meal by itself. Same question for sandwich rolls or hamburger buns...

Does homemade lasagna or chicken soup which has been portioned and frozen for future use cross the line? It's a full meal/complete dish and ready-to-eat/pre-made, but not by anyone outside the home (which seems to be the spirit of the question).

[Backseat Driver]

19. I buy organic multi-grain ingredient chips fried in healthy oils, and

natural though processed colorings without preservatives except salt(s).

I make sauce from home-grown tomatos - no pesticides in augmented soil: composted manure, a water retainer mineral. Next year, perhaps some biochar. I call my garden the North 40 inches. It's small.

I also grow and dry some of my own spices like basil and parsley.

I sometimes use a bread machine with organic whole grain flour(s) for breads and doughs. It has a dough setting so mix, shape into buns, rise, top with seeds or onion and bake outside of machine. Breads are finished without intervention in 3 hours.

No I don't make my own pasta, but I've discovered alternatives to wheat

[brewens]

13. I do. My freezer is full of meal as you describe, but I made all that myself. I make all my soups

and everything. Even English muffins.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

14. I'd say I'm 75% ingredients only

25% dairy, frozen veggies, etc. I make my own yogurt, nut butters, hummus, kimchee, kombucha, bread and baked goods. I do love to cook.

[Backseat Driver]

15. There's just the two of us now. I guess you'd call me

a "seasonal ingredient/meat(s)" household making more oven/Dutch oven entree/dishes in the winter, and more quick, kitchen energy saving things in summer that don't heat up the kitchen. I do try to use more organic fresh/frozen/canned ingredients and buy bulk pasta and rice than the processed stuff...It's more healthy, tastes and satisfies more so no need to pig out on the processed stuff even though it means higher costs. Olive and avocado oils; real butter, and need lactose-free dairy milk; love the nut/oat milks! We use a lot of onions, garlic, colored peppers, condiments and spices. Love my sets of 50-year-old Revereware, a couple cast iron frypans, and an inexpensive but still nearly new no-stick ceramic sets; Hate my food processor; love my blender, knives, and gadgets! Happy cooking!

[tishaLA]

16. I have a few premade things (Impossible burgers...

and a couple of the TJ's heat and serve stuff, but otherwise no. I do bread and almost all meals from scratch, but I also tend to make large batches of things that I freeze or eat throughout the week.

On edit: reading other posts, maybe I misunderstood the question because I understood it to mean preparing meals rather than buying prepared meals. I certainly don't make my own mayo most of the time or make my own yogurt or cheese.

[Martin68]

17. We are 95% an ingredient household. We do get the occasional pizza, shepherd's pie or what have you.

[hippywife]

18. Not entirely...

but when I was just a bit younger and had the stamina, energy and less pain, I bought only ingredients, never anything prepared/processed. I still would if I were more able.

These days I estimate my grocery list is still probably at least 85% or so ingredients. I've just switched to making more simple, less complicated and time consuming meals.

The majority of the things that are prepared are for the convenience of my husband. He struggles with chronic pain and is up with it through the night, so I keep things around that he can easily eat following the THC edibles I make for him. Eating something, especially fats, on top of them helps push the THC thru the blood-brain barrier more quickly, as it does with other pain meds.

And it really does save a bunch of money.

[Warpy]

20. A bit of both, really

I'm old and there are nights now and then when I really don't want to cook, so having a "chippy tea" of battered fish, frozen sweet potato fries, and maybe a little coleslaw with prefab dressing is just going to be it. So sue me.

The one thing I balk at are the prefab pie crusts. They always have an off flavor to me and if I'm going to go to the trouble of making a pie, that means making the crust. It's not a big deal once you realize you need to rest that dough.

[patricia92243]

21. I'm not sure. Example: I make my own spaghetti sauce but use canned tomatoes.

[mike_c]

23. canned tomatoes are better quality than store bought fresh 90% of the time

I don't garden so I almost always cook with canned peeled tomatoes. I use ripe Romas when I need fresh tomatoes, like in a salad. When big heirloom tomatoes are available I save em for sandwiches.

[hippywife]

25. That counts.

Canned tomatoes are definitely ingredients, as opposed to jarred prepared sauce.

[mike_c]

22. we have some prepared snacks and Ms K usually microwaves something in cellophane...

...for breakfast, but I cook mostly from scratch and do about 80% of our cooking. I do use frozen dumplings rather than making my own most of the time. I might make tamales once a year, but buy prepared ones occasionally. I do make noodles but also keep boxes of pasta and Ah-sha noodle packs. I make my own stocks but keep a few cartons in the cabinet just in case, and so on. I bake most of our bread, but we'll buy midweek loaves if needed. We can have our cake and eat it, too!

[chowmama]

28. More ingredients than not

but it's still probably a 70:30 split. I don't know how to make half my 'ingredients' like hoisin, brown bean, oyster and soy sauces. I seldom make pasta. DH likes Honey Nut Cheerios and I like Grape Nuts. I make a good ketchup, but DH still prefers Heinz. And we buy a particular whole-grain-like bread. (It's still mostly white flour, I do believe.)

[MissMillie]

29. I would say we're at least 80% ingredient

I don't make my own bread, pasta or pie crusts. And I do have boxes of broth/stock on hand (though when I have leftover chicken or turkey, I do make my own stock).

[Retrograde]

30. Mostly ingredients

although I do keep some frozen things like Trader Joe's tamales for days when I need a quick lunch. I keep a few cans of soup around as my earthquake emergency supplies.

I gave up buying tomato sauces years ago when Mr. Retrograde learned how to make them starting with a can of tomatoes, adding onions, garlic, and maybe other ingredients to taste.

[Duppers]

31. Mostly here too.

Hubby will seldom go out and we both agree that frozen "heat & eat" foods aren't as healthy. Just look at the strange ingredients on the labels.

I cook. Hubby & i eat.