Six months, no processed food

[canetoad]

At the end of last year I gave up my couple of days in the office to work from home. Made two resolutions: to buy loose tobacco and roll my own ciggies and not to purchase any food I could easily make.

Have pretty well kept to both intentions. Foodwise, I'm not dedicated enough to make my own condiments or grind flour, but have had an interesting 6 months, eating nothing but self-prepared food.

For the past month or so have even been making all breads by hand. Used to have a sweet tooth, ate a big block of choccie over a week or so, so replaced that with slices, cheesecakes etc until I couldn't be arsed baking!

Still buy milk, cheese, cream, condiments, flours, pasta (which are technically processed) and the odd can of cooked chickpeas for falafel. Everything else - made from scratch. Have been considering making paneer (indian cottage) cheese but since basic ricotta is only about $4 kg it's hardly worth it.

The main thing I've noticed is the change in routine. A portion of each day is set aside for cooking/baking/preparing - whether it be soups, breads and doughs or semi-preserved veg like pickled cucumber or relishes. The dogs are doing well because I've extended the regimen to their food apart from some dried chow.

About 3 weeks ago I had an uncontrollable urge for bought fish and chip. Not being a total martyr, I succumbed

Biggest shock was how easy it was to adapt to cooking with yeast on a regular basis. IMO wanting to be too precious and/or fancy puts people off yeast. Simple white dough for rolls, pizza base or scones (biscuits?) is pretty well idiot-proof and a great way to learn the chemistry of bread and yeast.

I'd cut down on sugar and salt over the years to preserve the narrowing conduits formerly known as arteries. A pleasant surprise was how little of either are needed to enhance food.

This regimen started as a mild experiment and way to reduce costs. Can honestly say I've enjoyed every moment and ever mouthful over the past six months.

[Lucinda]

1. Excellent!

I am in the process of doing that myself.

I actually succumbed to the "fish" part of fish and chips last night and paid the price for it.
It was delecious going down, but something in the batter really gave me trouble.

I have also started juicing too.

[Warpy]

2. Nothing beats fresh food, prepared simply

And all the fussing, tweaking and layering in the world doesn't improve it.

My condiments these days are mayo, brown mustard, tamari. I could probably do the mayo myself, but I use very little and like you, I just couldn't be arsed to do it.

Then again, today's lunch is Chinese takeout. I'm not a martyr, either.

[kestrel91316]

3. Paneer is easy to make and tastes great. I like it in the traditional Indian

recipe with peas, and also the one with spinach.

[csziggy]

4. I've moved to making my breads with half all purpose and half whole grain flour

For everything, including rolls, pizza, whatever, since I am trying to go more whole grain.

My basic recipe is:
2 cups whole wheat flour (can substitute 1/2 cup with a multigrain cut cereal or rolled oats, or with various flours: oat, rye, spelt, millet, barley, buckwheat, etc.)
2 Tblspns wheat gluten (optional)
1-1/12 cups hot water
1-1/2-2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp yeast

If using a cereal, heat 1 cup water to boiling, pour over cereal and let soak for 10 mins, then proceed with the following.
Put whole grain flours and gluten in mixing bowl and mix with hot tap water, enough to make a sticky "dough". Let soak for 1 hour.
Add rest of ingredients, mix by hand, in mixer or in bread machine to make a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Lightly oil, cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
Shape loaf (will make 1 12x4x4" loaf), let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
Bake at 350F (325 F in convection oven) for 35-40 minutes.

If I want a smaller loaf, I cut 1/3 off the ball of dough and use that to make rolls, cinnamon buns, whatever. The version with oatmeal makes a really nice base for cinnamon rolls and is a lovely soft, moist bread.

[Retrograde]

5. It's just anecdotal evidence

but when I cook for my diabetic mother her blood glucose levels are noticeably and consistently lower than when her normal caretaker does. The difference is that I don't use prepared foods. It can be a challenge finding fresh foods in the wilds of western NYS, since the large groceries mostly stock produce from California (and sell it cheaper than they do h_ere for some reason), but at least half the year there are decent farmers' markets: I scored a quart of delicious peas a couple of weeks ago.

I'm not a purist: I have a bag of Trader Joe's pot stickers in the freezer, and I do keep canned tomatoes and occasionally tomato sauce, refried beans and various condiments on hand. I'm not going to condemn anyone for using processed and prepared foods, but I do wish they'd give freshly prepared ones a chance.

[WhiteTara]

6. Congrats! Making your own food is fun. I made mustard

today! I made a small jar so I could try out different recipes. But so easy and spicy.

1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/3 cup vinegar (I used apple cider)
2 tbl water
1/2 tsp spices (tumeric for color and allspice)
a dash of salt
ground white pepper

Let the seeds soak in the liquid for 48 hours. Pulse in the processer with the spices until it's the consistency you want. I made mine fairly smooth but I like the seeds whole too, so I left it a little lumpy. Let sit in the fridge a couple days to make it milder.

[NashVegas]

7. Good For You!