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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Is your home-cooking as unhealthy as fast food?

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Lots of people like to point at the increasing portion-size trend in restaurants and fast food as being the source of their extra pounds.

But is this any different than what we've done at home?  I thought it would be interesting to see how the calorie levels and serving sizes of our home-cooked recipes have changed with time -- say, over the past 75 years.

We took the classic book, the Joy of Cooking, and we analyzed the calories and serving size of the recipes that were common to all 8 editions, (1937-2006).  All but one of the recipes we had analyzed had increased in calories per serving.  The average increased by 63%.  About 2/3 of this was due to more caloric ingredients (more fat, sugar, sauces, meat, nuts, and so on), and 1/3 was due to larger servings (6 vs. 8 slices to a pie).

Home-cooked meals are a great way to get the family together and to save money.  They don't always save us calories.  Just because its home-cooked doesn't mean it's 5 times better than the drive-through.

[photo credit: Getty Images]

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Comments 1-2 of 2
  • Cranberry Lips's Avatar
    Posted by Cranberry Lips Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:43pm PST

    Actually, it probably is 5 times better than the drive-through. You have to remember that most of the food people cook at home, and especially from Joy of Cooking (I have the 1967 print), is made from scratch.

    No preservatives, no MSG, no thousands of milligrams of sodium, no synthetic colors and flavors, and no trans-fats, unless you're using margarine.

    I would rather eat a homemade burger soaked in bacon grease, than a McDonald's burger any day.

    Report Abuse
  • Jezabel's Avatar
    Posted by Jezabel Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:06am PST

    The Joy of Cooking is only one cookbook of many. I have to admit I am ignorant on the history of cookbooks in the 20th century but I would think we have more health themed ones today than in the 1930s which might offset the calorie increase in one book. Either way, it is up to the cook to replace butter quanitities and portion sizes so the calorie count can rise and fall each time he cooks the same recipe.

    At any rate I doubt you will find many nutrionists and dieticians recommending eating out for health reasons.

    Report Abuse
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