4 ways to simplify cooking + ingredients

 I used to be a cook from scratch person. I wanted to do as much home baking with single ingredients as possible. 

I have made and posted many salad dressing recipes, simple dinners,  baked goods, and more. 

It was all in the name of trying to eat the best possible with:

• no "toxins"
•  "real food"
• "organic"
• "gmo free"
• "real ingredients"
• "natural"
• "less chemicals"

Yes I meant to put ALL of those in quotes. For a long time I believed that less processing was better, that organic was best, that GMOs were evil, that there were chemicals and toxins smothering our food and I had to make sure I wasn't feeding that to my family. 

But the nice thing about having an open mind, listening to science, and continually educating yourself is that you learn new things and sometimes it can make your life so much simpler! 

I now know that organic isn't better, gmos are not dangerous, and that our food supply with all the additives and preservatives that have chemical-sounding names are not unhealthy for us. 

So here are 4 ways I have made ingredients and cooking more simple

1. I mostly buy salad dressing. I have a ton of dressing recipes, and making it really is easy, but I found a store-bought brand I LOVE and now I just grab a bottle. 
2. I buy boxed snacks. I was so afraid of sugar and other ingredients and really it is not that bad and vilifying food can actually be harmful. I cannot tell you how nice it is to buy some crackers or granola bars at the store. 
3. Soup - Even though soup is pretty simple, it is also simple to open up a can and heat it up. I ALWAYS used to make soup from scratch. And I still like to. But having those cans available to grab for a simple lunch or dinner is fantastic.
4. Frozen breakfast sandwiches - I would have NEVER bought these before. The ones you just heat up in the microwave. But I bought them not too long ago and again, having a breakfast I can nuke that is quick and filling makes my life so much happier! 

I still cook all the time and do enjoy making things from scratch. I love making cookies and usually never buy them. I bake bread almost weekly, I made homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade pizza with homemade dough, just to name a few. But I no longer feel bad about food with more than 10 ingredients, or food that is not labeled "real". It is so refreshing to simple eat without worry and judgement. 

This first appeared on ofordinarythings.com