Tastes just like?

Before I launch into a discussion about the comforting and supportive powers of soup, which is kinda funny because I'm not a huge soup fan, I got to thinking about homemade soup vs canned soup and that got me thinking about anything homemade vs anything store bought. Turns out it's a big debate. Wow! What a can of something I just opened!

I didn't really want to compare per se, just figure out in my head what foods I preferred to make myself and which ones I like better store bought (or at a restaurant, same thing.) And I think at first the only criteria I was using was taste. The first thing that came to my mind was chai tea latte. I make it at home but it's soooooooooo much better at Panera or Starbucks. Then I wondered what other people prefer to buy rather than make. My go-to girls on all things like this are always the great gals at fertilethoughts.com. You can look up the thread yourself but here's the link. http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/general-parenting/676739-what-foods-just-better.html Turns out that french fries, fish/sushi and pizza top the list of things that we just can't replicate at home. Chinese/ethnic food is also on the list.

Taste isn't the only reason to prefer eat in to take out. There's other stuff like being able to control what goes into the food, cost and convenience. Face it, some things like french fries are just easier to buy out. They don't call it convenience food for nothing.

Except for the days when I don't really need convenience. Those are the days when I find comfort in making something myself. On those days making the food is as nurturing to me as the actual food is itself. The self satisfaction thing definitely has to be factored into the equation.
Of course there's the debate about whether it's cheaper or more expensive to make food from scratch. An article in Slate on how cost effective pantry staples like bagels and yogurt (I have a friend who is making yogurt in her crock pot right now) are to make shows that for the most part it is CHEAPER to make things at home. http://www.slate.com/id/2216611

The cheaper argument then spawns a sub argument (as most arguments do) about whether the word "cheaper" takes into account the cost of energy used at home? Energy-shmenergy (ok, I probably shouldn't say that) let's talk MOM energy. Cost of a box of macaroni and cheese = cheap. Cost of household energy to make it again probably =s cheap. Mom energy to make it also cheap. Cost of macaroni and cheese made from scratch probably =s cheaper. Cost of household energy to make it from scratch probably the same as the box stuff. Mom energy and time to make it = LOTS. And therein lies the difference. Because when it comes to mom energy and time really are money. And ease is not associated with love.

My kids had boxed macaroni and cheese (KD for the Canadian contingent) for lunch today. The cheap stuff no less. No veggies, nothing on the side, just plain old KD and it's not the first time this week they've had it. Truth be told the other day we had popcorn for dinner. Should I feel guilty? Ahhhhhh guilt. Motherhood and guilt goes together like? Well, like macaroni and cheese. I'm learning that depression and guilt go together as well. In fact I'm willing to bet that the depression I suffer is party (largely?) made up of guilt. So far in the equation we have motherhood + food + guilt, what are we missing? What else goes with food? Love of course? Come on, who hasn't nurtured an injured child with a cookie? Who hasn't nurtured their own inner injury with a cookie? In fact just as each of my pregnancies brings its own unique cravings so does each one of my griefs. The best was the time I grieved with the help of chocolate/peanut butter oreos. My current loss drives me to drink. Apple juice that is! And I'm willing to bet that it has as many if not more calories than cookies. Note to self, must learn to self nurture with healthy food.

So now we have one of the truths of the matter: the homemade vs store bought debate doesn't only center around factors like which is: better for you, tastes better, cheaper to make but really that there's an unwritten thing in our culture that says homemade means love. If food is how we express love then it would seem that the more effort put into making the food; the more love we are showing. Right? Taking a shortcut, buying it from the store means we don't care as much? Did the macaroni from the box mean that I don't love my kids? Nope. It means a combination of factors: it's something that they'll consistently eat, it's cheap and I'm having a busy day. I express love to them in other ways (some of which make me feel guilty.) Does anybody remember the pre made Rice Krispies treats commercial that went something along the lines of fooling people into thinking that you spent all day making them? Why lie? Why can't we be honest and say to each other "I love you. I'm choosing to feed you store bought treats not because I don't love you but because ****(insert real reason here and turn away from the guilt.)

There's also the wow factor. In this day and age where time is so rare homemade stuff is definitely the way to go to impress someone because making stuff from scratch takes so much time. And that probably goes back to the love thing as well. Wow! You love me so much that you made this birthday cake (that took 5 days to make and 3 seconds to eat) from scratch? You must really love me.

The other dynamic that nobody talks about is quality. Which is the highest standard? Is it homemade or store bought? Does life imitate art here or is it the other way around? For the most part off the top of my head I'd guess that homemade is the good thing here. I can think of more products that claim to be "just like mamma made" than I can that boast that they were made in a factory. Although like my informal pole indicated there are a few things like pizza that we would love to be able to make at restaurant quality. Do a search, there's a big industry in copycat recipes. This website looks good: http://www.copykat.com/ Olive Gardens Zuppa Toscana anyone?

In the end it doesn't really matter where the food came from or who prepared it. During a busy dinnertime the only thing I care about is if my youngest son will eat it and not not spit it out and then use a napkin to wipe the remains off his tongue.