Home Cooking

By Elder George

People have started to “eat in” more and “cook in” more as the price of foodstuffs in 2008 has inflated. Some might interpret this trend as a hardship that takes away a lot of their relatively little leisure time, however, I look upon it as a benefit thrust upon us by circumstance.

From the economic sense preparing food at home costs but a fraction of what it would cost in any type of eatery. The amount of money that people spend on restaurant food consumes a disproportionate share of their incomes, and the current food inflation accentuates this condition. A pound of chick peas made from the dried state might cost fifty cents, to buy it in a can might cost a dollar, to buy it in a salad bar could cost seven dollars. The savings on any other prepared item such as potatoes whether French-fried, baked, boiled, or in potato salad, is equally large.

Another advantage of home preparation is in knowing what went into it and its level of freshness. When you eat what you prepare you will naturally be selective in the purchase of the food and its preparation.

Home cooking is a step towards self-sufficiency in this era of complete dependence upon others for our survival.

Home cooking also provides a sense of satisfaction in its preparation; it serves as a vehicle for our creative expression. An increasing amount of employment consists of doing tasks. Fewer and fewer members of the work force can see any tangible result of their labors. A big benefit that accrues to homemakers or housewives is being able to see the physical results of their efforts. They made unmade beds, they washed unwashed dishes, and they cleaned out a closet. They could “see” the results of their efforts.

Also, the homemaker did not only perform tasks, but had the responsibility for an entire project. The preparation for the evening meal consisted of shopping, preparing, cooking, serving, cleaning, and washing. She saw hungry members of the family come to the table and she saw satisfied members leave it.

It is not necessary to prepare a big meal in order to get the sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing the fruits of your own labors. The weekly menus and the direction for preparation provided by Fizza on the Health and Nutrition page of TMO offer opportunity for creativity with minimum time and effort.

Lastly, home cooking contains an ingredient not often found in restaurants, especially in “fast food” chains, but which is very important to the well-being of the race. A wife, mother, or grandmother puts love into all the foods that she makes, and she serves them with love as well. Nutritionists cannot measure this ingredient, and the FDA has no minimum daily requirements for it, but it enhances all that we eat at home and all the services that we receive at home. That ingredient is severely lacking in the diets of modern man.  

One way to start to fulfill our need for this very important ingredient is to have family dinners more often. Perhaps one evening a week all members of the family could have dinner together and recharge themselves with the ingredient of love. It’s found in home cooking.

Elder George’s website is www.mensaction.net and he can be reached at 212-874-7900 ext. 1329.

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