It's healthier to cook your own meals rather than buy boxed or pre-made foods. But why?

Why are homemade meals generally healthier? It's because they are usually less expensive, made with fewer ingredients, made with more nutritious ingredients, and great opportunities for family time, cooking, and bonding in the kitchen.  What's not to love about that?!

If you aim to stock your pantry with items that will be used over time (i.e. more than once), your money ends up getting you more at the grocery store.  And by choosing recipes that are simple to make, cooking at home doesn't seem so difficult!  Easy recipes are also the ones we tend to remember, so they become favorite "go-to" recipes.  

Let's choose one of our quick recipes from the Desserts section of our recipe library. We will look at the number and the quality of the ingredients.

Nutty Apple Crisp

​The next time you're shopping for that perfect dessert for your guests, instead of heading to the frozen apple pies, keep walking on over to the produce section and the baking aisle to select the individual ingredients. SNAP4CT recommends this favorite fall recipe for Nutty Apple Crisp.  It's full of nutritious *whole* ingredients like apples, old fashioned oats, and whole wheat flour.  Here is the full list of of the nine simple ingredients in this recipe: 

apples
raisins
lemon juice
old fashioned oats
whole wheat flour
cinnamon
brown sugar
nuts
butter

Find the Nutty Apple Crisp Recipe here.

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First, let's contrast the ingredients in the Apple Crisp to the ingredients on the back of a frozen apple pie we found in the grocery store freezer aisle.  Here they are:

Filling:
Fresh Apples
Water
Sugar
Modified Food Starch
Salt
Spice
Citric Rod

Crust:
Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
Vegetable Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil)
Water
Dough Conditioner (Dextrose, Wheat Starch, Salt Baking Soda, Calcium Propionate, Vegetable Shortening (May Contain Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil), Sodium Bisulfite)
Salt

Crumb Topping:
Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
Brown Sugar
Vegetable Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils)
Sugar
Salt
Spice
Dextrose

Yikes!  Too many to count.  And some have partially hydrogenated oils which are definitely not good for us!

Secondly, let's explore the quality of one of those ingredients in both lists.  See that 5th ingredient in the Nutty Apple Crisp list - whole wheat flour.  SNAP4CT posted back in early October about using whole grains such as whole wheat.  Compared to enriched wheat flour, which has been stripped of its nutrition and given additives to put the nutrition back in, whole wheat flour has more fiber, and will keep you feeling fuller, longer.  Including whole grains in a dessert, which is typically sweet, means you probably won't taste the difference!  So if you've been wanting to try out (or make the complete switch to) whole wheat flour, use this recipe as a test. It's a perfect opportunity!

The last and final reason it's healthier to cook at home is the chance to cook alongside family members, and then share that meal together around the table.  Research shows us that children who have at least three meals around the table with family per week are 12% less likely to be overweight than children who don't share meals.  They are also 20% less likely to eat unhealthy foods, and 24% more likely to eat healthy foods than children who don't sit down with family to share a meal.1  So there is real evidence that spending time with family in a regular tradition of sharing meals together is good for kids!

Sticking with wholesome, homemade dishes cooked together with family at home is the healthiest way to cook!  

1. Hammons A and Fiese B.  Is Frequency of Shared Family Meals Related to the Nutritional Health of Children and Adolescents?  Pediatrics. 2011 Jun; 127(6): e1565–e1574.