There are many foods I wouldn’t think of attempting at home – and then there are these…..

Although it saves you time (and money in certain types of products), buying ready-made products can be the hassle-free choice for mums-on-the-go. But, with all the added ingredients in ready-made products sold in the market, you’ll never really know how healthy it is. If you want to be sure that only the right types of food (and ingredients) go into your kid’s tummy, it’s better to be making from scratch.

We’ve got you more than 40 of the food products found in the supermarket and restaurants that you can make from scratch — we even have copycat recipes in here (click on the food to go to the recipe!). It tastes way better and I can have as many servings as I can!

1. Breads and Pastries:

Bread Mixes

You might think bread is pretty cheap to buy at the supermarket already – and to a certain degree, you would be correct. With a loaf of white bread as cheap as 80c a loaf – is it really worth making from scratch? Well, I think yes. But if you need gluten-free bread which I’ve seen for up to $7 per loaf at the supermarket – here is where you can make some really significant savings.

Personally, I like to buy the wholemeal and multi-grain bread mixes and make them up at home in my breadmaker, with reduced yeast (as yeast makes my belly bloat). It works out to cost about $1.30 per loaf – and it is always fresh and delicious. Plus waking up every morning to the smell of fresh bread is just amazing. Breadmakers aren’t much work – I can usually get a loaf of bread on and cooking within a minute!

Some suppliers of bulk bread mixes and flours include:

Amazon Australia has a range of bulk bread mixes available.
Lollipop Cake Supplies has bulk quantities of bread mixes available.
The Source Bulk Foods has a great range of gluten-free bread mixes.
Yummy Nuts Market has the Laucke Bread Mixes available online.
Latorta has a 12.5kg wholemeal bread mix bag available for $48.95

Naan Bread

The pre-made Naan Bread you buy at the supermarket is NASTY. Bread should be made nice and fresh – and Naan Bread is super easy to make at home – and it is sooooo good! Add a little minced garlic to the pan for a taste sensation – then use the Naan Bread as wraps in school lunches or even use it as a pizza base!

We have a great recipe on How to Make Homemade Naan Bread that is super easy!

Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread is another item I never buy anymore at the supermarket. I like to buy Turkish Bread from Aldi and make huge batches of my cheesy garlicky garlic bread in huge batches. They freeze beautifully and are so good – you’ll never buy stale shop-bought varieties again.

40+ Foods to Stop Buying and Start Making From Scratch | Stay At Home Mum — 44 Foods You Can Make From Scratch at Home

Plus a recipe for Cheesy Chewy Garlic Bread!

Croutons

Did you know that Fran Descher (the lady that played The Nanny) is an heir to a Crouton fortune? Yet croutons are unbelievably easy to make! Heat a pan on hot, add a little oil and throw some cut-up bread in the pan. Alternatively, you can make them in the oven. You can make loads of different flavours and really any sort of bread will do. They only take a few minutes to make – so never buy them again!

Banana Bread

The last time I was in Sydney, I had a hankering for Banana Bread. I was shocked when the local cafe I tried was charged $6 for one slice of Banana Bread. Insanity! I could make three whole loaves of banana bread for that kind of price. Banana Bread is a great use of old manky black bananas and again (like most of my recipes) freezes well. I think next time I go to Sydney I’ll pop a few slices in my suitcase!

Pancake Mix

Pancake Mix is really easy to make yourself at home, but if you aren’t keen on the taste of the homemade variety, you can often save a heap of money by buying bulk pancake mixes which work out so cheap it is hardly worth making it at home!

Here are some really easy pancake recipes:

Where can you get bulk Pancake Mix?

The Source Bulk Foods have Organic Buckwheat Pancake Mix that can be bought by the gram.

Cakes

If you have kids at home, seriously you never need to buy a cake ever again in your life. Kids LOVE to bake – and it teaches them so much. Maths, estimation, temperatures, how to clean up their damn mess when they are finished. All important life skills.

You can pick up really cheap cake mixes for as little as 80c each from all the major supermarkets.

Here are some super easy cake recipes to make at home: