Wrapping Things Up

Free Range Chicken Project has surprised me in many ways. I assumed that it would be expensive. I felt that the food we would cook would not measure up to what we had been eating. I did not realize how tiring it must have been to be a housewife before the 1960s. I believed that it was difficult to make restaurant-quality food at home. And I had no idea how much I would grow to love chickens. But almost everything I thought was wrong.

COST
Our average grocery bill before the experiment was $250-$300 per week. During the experiment, even though we were buying fresh foods from the farmer’s markets and organic whenever possible, our bill never went over $200. That is a savings of between $200-$400 per month eating cardboard-free.

TASTE
The food we ate during our trial simply tasted better than store-bought packaged food. I may never know if this heightened taste was due to having created the meals ourselves or if they truly tasted better, but in the end, it probably does not matter.

EFFORT
Making your own meals can be exhausting. There is no other way to look at it. It takes effort to eat well. For anyone that does cook all day long, hats off to you! I am impressed. And while not every meal since we ended has been from scratch, I have actually surprised myself with how many have been.

AFFECT
Going out to dinner has fallen flat many times since our test. We are much more discerning about what tastes good and what is simply not worth it. With the exception of a few outstanding restaurants, I now prefer to have a good meal in.

THE FUTURE
Looking forward, I see chickens. We need our own supply of eggs. Not to be too repetitive, but if you have not tried fresh eggs from a farm, you should. This is assuming that you can get more after trying. If this is not the case, DO NOT try them or you will be pining for them the rest of your life.

As I sit here sipping my Earl Grey tea, reflecting on our sojourn from processed eats, I cannot help but look back fondly. While a couple of months have passed since our experiment ended, we still cook several of our meals from scratch, simply because they taste better. And the fact that there is something therapeutic about creating food in a loving fashion adds to the overall result, and is just icing on the cake—from scratch of course!

I envy the millions people around the world that knew this all along. For them, food is not only a source of sustenance, but also the foundation of love and family. It binds them together like flour and eggs.