Is it still good home cooked food if you use a jar?

[Hsundbfhdi]

We've had a pretty rubbish day here, I'm heavily pregnant and feeling rough and my husband is working crazy hours. Our childcare fell through so we've been trying to juggle a toddler too.

It's time to get dinner ready and I've popped open a jar of honey and mustard chicken tonight. Poured it over some chicken thighs. Will make pasta and peas to go with it.

Curious to know where people stand on how unhealthy it is to use jars? I've never really cared before, but now we've got a little one, I'm more conscious of the food I'm making. Growing up, my mum would use jars quite regularly e.g dolmio, curry, chicken tonight etc she'd also make amazing Mediterranean food from scratch too. It was a real mix.

Anyway, would you still consider this a healthy, home cooked meal? Do you think it's still better than a takeaway (I do)? I've started trying to make my own sauces when I've got time, but my husband and I both work full time, long hours, and trying to get something together after work and before baby bedtime is a real mission! So I'm still partial to a jar here and there.

Just curious for thoughts.

In the same breath better to have the egg with the vodka than just the vodka. As in, better to eat a small amount of upf alongside some nutritious food than just the upf right?

So ops sauce with her chicken veg and pasta vs a hotdog in a bun for example, inherently better right? Not perfect but perfectly okay.

Yep. This.

I don't think MN is at all "well unless you bred the chicken yourself...." either. I think that's what some people say to try and justify calling something predominantly made in a factory "home cooking". That way they can apply the term to themselves.

But it adds all sorts of additives, often emulsifiers, etc, which have been shown to have a negative impact on gut and digestive health.

😂😂

Absolutely @Ottervision, bit better to have just the egg though?

Look, I'm more interested in eating food that tastes great, and generally highly processed food doesn't taste great. That's where I am. I'm very much about the eating, I eat veal and foie gras (I do buy rosè veal and non-force-fed foie gras though).

I don't judge anyone else's eating habits, food and diet are so wrapped in all kinds of bollockry.

On a personal taste/opinion, I don't use jars for sauces. Not even in a rush.

I think the taste is vile on a lot of them, and nothing like fresh, especially bolagnaise, which is so easy to make anyway.

I've had them in food at friends' houses and managed to eat them, but they aren't for me. I haven't enjoyed them.

However, you're better doing that you've made more than a ready meal or takeaway. It's not a terrible choice.

It's just that I don't like the taste of sauces you buy, and as well, they are full of chemicals and e-no's, etc

I am really a cook from scratch person. However, my original career was in cheffing, so it's natural to me.

I get that people, can't always do it, especially today when both parents are working. It's just not feasible

Yes obviously, but must of us don't eat perfectly and for me that's okay.

Admittedly I'm not a foodie at all, I've got a lot of unusual adhd related food habits and so I'm a bit more relaxed than others because my diet can already be a bit restricted. On the whole it's alright but some days are definitely worse than others but cutting out all upfs would make it a hell of a lot more restricted so I'm content with moderation. I think moderation with most things is a good approach to be honest (not all before anyone suggests class a's or other wild shit)

Sorry if that sounds a bit (insert whatever word takes your fancy).

Sanctimonious?

I’ve always tried to cook from scratch because my mum was a ‘cook from the jar’ mum when I was small (I’m the youngest of four, she was probably low on time), then she became more adventurous in the kitchen as I got older and I remember being thrilled as her food was just so much better.

I don’t have kids, so probably have more free time than OP, but I’ve invested a bit of time in finding quick recipes I can churn out on busy week nights. Eating is not just a chore for me to get through; I really want to look forward to tasty food I enjoy and I want to fuel my body well for the sports I do. There are lots of good modern recipe sites that help you pick meals and build shopping lists. I like Mob.co.uk best of all. I also find lots of ideas on Instagram.

I’ve just read Chris vanT’s book and found it fascinating. I’ve known for years that I feel sluggish and crap when I eat too much processed food, but it really seems like there could be a health problem with a lot of products in the supermarket. I’m now actively avoiding upf. I didn’t eat too much of it anyway and some of the snacks I did really enjoy just don’t seem very appealing after the book. I’m working on filling my freezer with homemade desserts, pastry, pizza dough and bread so that I can have better quality food on hand for when I want it/need it. I get that I’m privileged to have the time, money and motivation to be able to do so.

I saw OPs post as asking for advice on how to improve the nutrition in her evening meal, and so I don’t think it’s awful for others to say, based on current literature, the chicken and veg is great, the jar, not so much. As others have said, if you’re going to prep some chicken and veg, it’s not much more effort to prep a quick sauce at the same time and avoid the unknown ingredients in the UPF jar. The hardest part (I think) comes from finding out how to make your own sauces, if you don’t already know. It’s really worth spending a little bit of time searching for recipes you can have ready to use for when you’re running on exhausted.

Everything is fine in moderation. A pint of vodka doesn't sound like moderation to me.

A jar of sauce every once in a while can still be part of a nutritious meal.

I'd actually like to know of some nice sauces to cook with. I either make from scratch meals, or buy complete ready meals. I see jars of curry sauces and "chicken" sauces and don't have the first clue what to do with them really, or, if they are horrible taste wise.

It must be so much quicker, and great to keep ready to go in the cupboards. In fact, might start a thread about best packet mixes and pre bought sauce meals to get some tried and tested suggestions. I've done the spice tailor kits, they've been tasty.

I think it depends on the jar. A jar as an ingredient in a meal I would consider home made. A jar / tin just heated up and served not home made.

Some recipes / meals are better made with a jar / tin eg if I ordered a cooked breakfast I would expect the beans to come out of a tin.

@StopInhalingRevels the only way to find out is to try one. They usually have instructions on the jar / tin.

I'm a from scratch cook myself. But only because I love cooking.

But I do hate judgement and sanctimony about food. No, jars are fine. Absolutely fine.

And I don't actually believe the "they taste like shit" people. They don't. They are specifically and expensively designed to taste good. Because that's the point!

I think the main issue is that it’s only recently we’ve realised how bad all these ingredients they add to jars are for us. So once in a while, fine. Though I can understand why people avoid.

I shudder to think of all the crap I was brought up on. For some parents (not all) the introduction of convenience food in the 80s was seen as a great thing. I was basically brought up on convenience food. My Mum hated cooking and worked nights so not her fault. And there wasn’t the knowledge then how bad these heavily processed foods are for us.

I think the tide is turning and I wish there were more laws about what companies can actually put in food.

I'm a good cook, I cook from scratch every night and it rarely takes more than half an hour to prepare dinner.

The processed foods I buy quite often are premium sausages (and other charcuterie), ready-made gnocchi, dried pasta and asian noodles. Obviously cans of beans, tomatoes, coconut milk etc. I usually have a jar of pesto in the cupboard for emergencies, along with jams and chutneys - but I try to buy 'homemade' from farm shops etc when I can. And yes, I buy wraps occasionally so good to know about the Crosta Mollica ones.

I read ingredients lists and will avoid anything which has a long list of chemicals I wouldn't have in my own kitchen. I buy organic sourdough bread (from Riverford).

Crosta Mollica have a whole range for those that are interested- so wraps, sauces, pizza, bread, nibbles. All without the additives and emulsifiers.

Some days you just need to get food on the table without being paranoid about every little detail.

My Mum also brought me up in the 70s on a lot of crap convenience food - Findus Crispy Pancakes, fish fingers and Angel Delight. She's actually a good cook. I think that modern convenience foods probably have even more crap in them now, although awareness has increased meaning some things are banned.

My pet hate is processed food that pretends to be 'healthy'. e.g. those awful Skyr yoghurts with artificial sweeteners in and all the fat removed to increase the protein. What's wrong with plain natural yoghurt.

@CurlewKate- I disagree- some of them do taste pretty average once you've made/ had your own sauce- but not all of them. There is a significant amount of sugar and preservatives added to stop them going bad, and the taste difference is there- I never realised bolognaise sauces tasted pretty yuck in comparison until I made my own- and realised how easy it was to do so. I am not a from scratch dinner maker, by any means but you can taste a difference

That's hilarious. I have worked in diabetes for many, many years, and we used Xanthun gum as a treatment for Type 2 for a long time. There is absolutely no reliable evidence that it can cause diabetes!

Well if the status of their job is "surgeon", "pilot", "astrophysicist", yes that's precisely what I'd be doing.

@gingercat02 Xanthan gum is an interesting one as there is research showing benefits to blood glucose because it swells in the intestine and slows the absorption of blood sugar but also research showing significant disruption to the gut microbiome (it is made from a fermented bacteria). Jury seems to be out at the moment on the impact on the latter to long term health and whether it is of benefit or harm. I think the issue maybe that because it is so ubiquitous in UPF people are consuming so much of it it can cause an imbalance, if is is consumed in moderation it could be beneficial.
https://www.integrativepractitioner.com/whole-systems-medicine/2022-04-14-how-xanthan-gum-effects-the-gut-microbiome#:~:text=Results%20from%20a%20new%20study,Norwegian%20University%20of%20Life%20Sciences.

The main things to watch out for in UPF for gut heath are emulsifiers (especially mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids) and preservatives as they kill off the good bacteria.

DS is coeliac so we have to add Xanthan gum to cakes to bind them together as a substitute for gluten.

I find that adding a bit more egg works well, @NetZeroZealot

I've just bought me and the DC a KFC so I would think you with your jar and peas are doing way better than I am! I hope today has been a better day for you x