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.

From the list on the jar OP used, modified maize starch has no research indicating it is bad for our health (it's a thickener) and xanthan gum is used in medications and toothpaste, ice cream, gluten free and vegan products. Do you follow a paleo diet?

There's more shite in shop bought bread than that sauce

Adding a jar of sauce to chicken is basically the same as a ready meal

😂 oh my god

No one cares if you're using a jar or not

But I would have just added salt and oil to my chicken thighs with some mixed herbs or paprika or garlic

Definitely not a jar of sludge

Chicken tonight is very 80's I didn't think anyone still used that kind of stuff anymore

Some on Mn are obsessed with cooking everything from scratch. I use very labour saving process I can find - ready prepared vegetables, chopped fruit, bags of salad, frozen jacket potatoes, bags of frozen rice and vegetables, jars of sauces etc - all taste good and save me precious time

I mean at what point do you draw the line? Is it from scratch if you add soy sauce from a bottle? Should we all be brewing our own soya beans to make said soy sauce? Can you add an oxo cube or does that instantly lower your meal to ready meal or takeaway level? Does anyone back in the real world actually give a fuck?!

I never make my own sauce. 😬😬

It's a 'cheat meal'. Not the best and not the worst. I'd chuck in a wodge of spinach in it or something.

'There's nothing wrong with using a jar of sauce occasionally, especially if ill or pressed for time, etc, but it wouldn't be great for your health or pocket to use them on a regular basis. '

Your pocket? How much do you think a jar of sauce costs? Asda tomato pasta sauce is 65p.

That's not actually true that there's no research that indicates modified starches are problematic. Likewise xanthan gum - just because it's widely used doesn't mean it's healthy. There is research into xanthan, carrageenan and gums generally which show a negative impact on the gut microbiome. And vegan readymade food is some of the worst for UPFs!

And we're waaay behind with all this - so far, the vast majority of food trials have focused on whether an ingredient is toxic in the 'traditional' sense - does it cause cancer, birth defects etc.

It's increasingly clear that the gut is where much of the toxic effects have been happening - and that the gut regulates inflammation, and that inflammation fucks with us in numerous ways, from dementia to anxiety to cancer.

Apparently they do give a fuck 😂 but are happy to use shop bought stock to make all their slow cooked nutritious meals 😂

Exactly this. You work full-time and only get two days per week to spend time together as a family? No worries, just sacrifice one of those days to spend the day working away in the kitchen batch cooking meals for the week ahead. Problem solved.

No judgement here do whatever you want in your own kitchen

I hate cooking sometimes

My quick meals are chicken breast or pork chop or thin steak in a pan 3 or 4 minutes on each side

With some veg either fresh or frozen or a salad

I often cook the veg in the juices of the meat in the same pan

It is home-cooked (as in cooked at home) just not made from scratch
I do make my own tomato sauces and white/cheese sauce because for me it's pretty easy and doesn't take long (I don't need an ingredient list as have been making it for years, I also find the jar ones too sweet )
But when it comes to a curry, I,m not prepared to spend the time doing it properly with caramelising onions for 20 minutes etc, so an Aldi curry sauce (the one with the separate spices on top) is my go-to and I bloody love them

Sweet and sour sauce - dead easy. Actually it's not going to make a pot of it... But...

Stir fry your meat and veg - whatever you like...
Add a tablespoon of tomato piree
Same again with honey - then add a dash of rice wine vinegar (I've got cider vinegar so I just use that at the mo)
This will give you a lovely sweet and sour glaze. If you like it more Kung Po, add some chilli flakes...

Trial and error bit by bit, def don't put too much vinegar in - heartburn!

I use jars. Some jars are better than others, I avoid artificial ingredients and sugar. If you add loads of veg, it is a pretty good meal.

Well, yeah, I do.

And as i said earlier, it's not processed foods like soy sauce which are the problem - the problem is the additional industrial shit they put in SOME soy sauces and most convenience foods.

Invariably, the additional shit (emulsifiers, preservatives, antioxidants) are there because they make more money for the food industry.

Choose the soy sauce without the shit.

Choose the pasta sauce with the least amount of shit (try Mr Organic it's v good).

I'd call it home cooked because you cooked it at home (as opposed to a ready meal). I don't buy jar sauces as its no hassle to cook from scratch. I dont like the salt and preservatives. They don't taste bad per se. I just think they are a rip off and not healthy.

For a weeknight don't beat yourself up. It's fine. As would be a shop bought ready meal.

I personally never make a curry from scratch

I use Pataks paste ( not sauce but paste)

I'm actually too embarrassed to say this in front of some friends whereas other friends couldn't give 2 shiny shits how or what I cook

Also, for 'instant' gravy, after roasting meat/ bones with some veg under it, I simply separate the fat and save the juices and freeze them to make the next gravy. This way, it doesn't really cost me any more time as I refrigerate it and can then easily separate the fat and the jelly/juices. Depending on what meat has been roasted, I may keep the fat as well for cooking the next roasties I make.

What about if she'd cooked chicken thighs, pasta and peas but not poured sauce over them? Would it have been home cooked then?

Pataks is fine though!

Water, Ground Spices (19%) ^Turmeric, Paprika (4%), Cumin (3%), Coriander (3%), Spices], Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Maize Flour, Acids (Acetic Acid, Citric Acid), Tamarind, Garlic Powder, Cumin Seed, Paprika Extract, Dried Fenugreek Leaf, Dried Coriander Leaf

I try and avoid industial rapeseed oil but only when i can. The rest is great!

It's not about becoming a surrendered wife, it's about becoming an informed consumer.

It's better than most takeaways and most ready meals. But not as good as a sauce made from raw ingredients. You do what you need to do!
I don't use jars but have plenty of time on my hands and like cooking.
If I can't be bothered to cook properly, I might have a jacket potato or omelette. Or a portion of chilli from the freezer. Sometimes fish fingers (Waitrose big ones are really nice and have very few ingredients) with oven chips (many are just potatoes and oil).
Today we had chicken, rice and veg - my sauce was made of noilly prat, vinegar, cream and tarragon. Low effort but absolutely delish.

I definitely didn’t come here for the recipes.

I wouldn't call it home cooked, personally. I guess if I was being pedantic I'd say it was "home prepared"?

Either way, I'd say it's likely to be better than a takeaway and better than a lot of other home prepared foods like chicken nuggets and chips etc.

On that note, not all jars of sauce are created equal- some of the Lloyd Grossman ones for example aren't UHP and contain only ingredients I have in my cupboards. They're better than the ones full of crap but I only buy them on offer.

I just added my shortcuts/ what I do as the OP asked for that info in one of her posts.