Put Down That Packet / Jar / Tin

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I've been thinking more and more lately about how much tinned or packet food i used to use and how it's so readily available and 'easy' but is it REALLY?

I was wondering.

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you buy?
2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked?
3. Have you replaced some with home cooked?

I'd be really interested to see some of the main packets etc we buy and if you think you can change it?

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you do (or used to) buy? side dishes (alfredo, carbonara etc), tinned tomato, Pasta Sauce, soup, slow cooker dishes, cake mixes, Pizza bases

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked? Yes most of them.

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked? Yes - pasta sauce i make my own but used tinned tomato as we don't actually east tomato on it's own IYKWIM, have been making my own pumpkin soup & our own pizza bases

I want to get some nice basic cake recipes and start using them instead of cakes mixes aswell, would like to find some nice easy small portion side dish recipes for alfredo pasta etc

[feeb]

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you do (or used to) buy? Packet pasta in sauces and rice things, tomatoe paste, crushed tomatoes, some sauces, slow cooker packet seasoning, soup

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked? I do cook soup from scratch, Nope too lazy and no idea how to !!

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked?Cook soup from scratch but do like to have tinned soup in cupboard for easy meal

[Astrid]

Whilst I do a fair bit of cooking from scratch, I see no problem with things like tinned tomatoes. The tin is just a preserving technique, if I had the tomato crop at home I would be preserving it in jars.

[sloane]

there was a great thread a couple of years back about getting out of the packet/jar habit. it was so informative - i think the bear was the main instigator (doesn't post anymore i don't think) & if you said what you buy in a packet/jar, he (or someone else) would come back with how to make it from scratch.

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you do (or used to) buy? tomato paste, baked beans/spaghetti, diced tomatoes, occasionally things like a potato bake sauce, pasta bake sauce, chicken nuggets

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked? yes

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked? sometimes. i need to work out how to replace tinned tomatoes & tomato paste though. i'd really like to have a go at making those from scratch.

i have recently been making my own gnocchi (finally worked out the right consistency!) & i always bake cakes/muffins/biscuits etc from scratch.

[Jennifer13]

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you buy?
Tin tomatoes, lots!
Jam (but I try to buy homemade, especially marmalade, from our church stalls or from local fairs)
Mayonnaise
Tin tuna (but I buy sustainably sourced)
Occasionally tin spaghetti or baked beans to keep in the cupboard 'just in case'
Some slow cooker mixes (for those easy lazy meals)
Lollies
Nuts
Muesli and weet-bix (DP and DD)

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked?
If my tomatoes grow a lot better this summer I am going to try to preserve and jar more
I have ambitions to make jam, but haven't gotten around to it
Probably could make my own mayo, given we have chickens (I do buy the free range egg using mayo though!)
Don't think I can replace the tuna!
No to the others, but it's limited use (we make as much as we can from scratch, slow cooker is a work in progress!)
Lollies are an occasional treat (I have been given homemade butterscotch, but not sure how I could make others), nuts are not something I can grow
Muesli and weetbix, probably could put together our own muesli, but DP is a fussy pot. He at least gets a nutritionally good one. Haven't managed to convert DD to oats, but the kids weet-bix is pretty good IMO. So no to replacing those.

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked?
Yes, we now make our own pasta and pasta sauces
We make our own bread
We make our own soup
We only buy chocolate (fair trade) and all other treats are made from scratch (cakes, biscuits). DP is learning to bake cakes without packet mix, but I make the majority and don't use packet mixes (this also cuts back on how many treats you eat!)
Almost all meals are from scratch, with fresh ingredients
I grow vegies in the garden, especially salad vegies, herbs (so not much use for dried herbs) and chillies (which we also freeze to use throughout winter)

It's a constant work in progress, but I think we are much healthier for limiting processed foods in our diets.

I'm interested to read what everyone else has managed to do. Great thread!

[alish]

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you buy?

side dish pastas - rarely eat them though!
tomato/pizza paste
diced tomatoes
stir fry vegies
we buy alot of slow cooker/butter chicken/italian roast potato packets - stuff like that
canned corn
thai red curry

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked?

some of them - but some of them you cant match for taste!

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked?

i suppose i could, but i couldnt be bothered

[~Kim~]

I use far more pre-prepared than I used to. Part laziness, part juggling the single parent thing while DH lives away. I could make so much more.

Though you might be interested in this thread. It's old but has heaps of great ideas.

[RhiChiChi]

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you buy?

Stock, diced tomato, beetroot, tuna/salmon, biscuits

2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked?

Yes, I sometimes make my own stock and could use fresh tomatoes instead of tined plus bake my own biscuits.

3. Have you replaced some with home cooked?

As above plus I don't really use the packet mixes such as beef stroganoff etc... anymore b/c I find I can do a low fat version that tastes better.

[sloane]

I use far more pre-prepared than I used to. Part laziness, part juggling the single parent thing while DH lives away. I could make so much more.

Though you might be interested in this thread. It's old but has heaps of great ideas.

ah, that's the one i meant

[~Kim~]

lol I didn't refresh and read your post until after I'd posted Sloane, sorry.

[MrsFabuloso]

I'm thinking about trying to go packet/packaged food free. It's rather daunting though.

1. What are the tinned, jarred or packet foods you buy? I buy frozen chips, pasta sauce, pasta/rice/couscous side dishes, muesli bars, tiny teddies (and other kiddy snacks), tinned corn/tomatoes....loooots of stuff.
2. Do you think you could replace them with home cooked? Some of it. Alot of it! Bickies, muffins, pasta sauce (which I do make myself sometimes), homemade chips.......
3. Have you replaced some with home cooked? Some of it. I am trying to make more of my stuff home made stuff. I am making bread at home and want to try to make some yogurt too. Trying to have more cerials like porridge for breaky instead of processed stuff like corn flakes.

I would also love to make a veggie and herb patch for us to eat too, thoughI think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself at the moment! One thing at a time....

[Tinks]

I use heaps of jars, sachets and cans. Too many to list! When I come home from work at 5.30pm the last thing I want to do is cook anything from scratch so 3-4 days a week we eat anything I can cook in 10 minutes or whatever I put in the slow cooker that morning. The days I don't work I cook from scratch.

[feeb]

Ohh after reading what others have written on here I have lots lots more to add!!! Too many to bother listing.

[MissEm]

I only generally buy dried spices and herbs, and canned fruit/vegetables/lentils. I stay away from packet mixes and jarred sauces as I prefer the taste and satisfaction of home cooked. I also like to know what's in my food.
I personally think that home cooked doesn't really take that much longer than using a packet or jar if you were to know the recipe by heart. Once I have cooked a recipe once I pretty much remember the recipe from then on in. Also I will make pasta sauces etc and freeze them for those nights where I don't really feel up to cooking a whole meal from scratch.

[Cranky Kitten]

I use heaps of jars, sachets and cans. Too many to list! When I come home from work at 5.30pm the last thing I want to do is cook anything from scratch so 3-4 days a week we eat anything I can cook in 10 minutes or whatever I put in the slow cooker that morning. The days I don't work I cook from scratch.

I have the same problem at present. Week and a half to go (mat leave, yay!) and I might be able to play around with more fresh food and cooking from scratch, but when I finish work at 5pm, get home by 6pm and am absolutely stuffed, anything more than meat and veg/salad or a stir-fry from scratch is beyond me. Though we do tend to cook up a big lot to fill the freezer every so often on weekends.

[MrsFabuloso]

LOL, I was just hinking of this thread as I prepare my dinner tonight....

Chicken legs withone of those cook in a bag flavour thingos, frozen baby beans and carrots, frozen corn cobs, and a packet couscous side meal. A totally processed, packaged dinner! Mind you I have had practically no sleep for a few days, have a clingon 7mth old and 2 very over tired big(ger) kids (trying to cut out day sleeps! So not fun). I am ready for bed now. I just had no energy for more than a packaged dinner tonight. Lucky it wasn't something like frozen pizza!

[Rouge]

Some things are better tinned, frozen etc. But I pretty much cook EVERYTHING from scratch.

Tinned tomatoes are better than most fresh tomatoes you can get year round in aus. Frozen veg are similar. Dried herbs have their place too.

I make my own spice mixes, curry pastes, etc. I even make my own taco mix. I have lots of jars in my cupboard with mixes already made up so I can grab it easily and use.

I don't use packet mixes. Or premixed sauces/jars etc.