Let's make "homemade bread" great again!
2025-09-27 19:43:18
Manjola Lloja Bushati
I often think that I will slowly have to stop these notes. I tell myself that the topics I cover in them will one day be exhausted, and I would never want to become annoying or repetitive... but here I am, being present in situations or hearing dialogues like the following:
It's a weekday, early morning. I'm preparing some things that I'll take with me to the office, to eat during the day. From the open balcony door in my kitchen, I hear the voice of a mother following her daughter, saying: please, don't leave without eating again, at least take the egg, eat it on the way...
And the girl who answers: oh mom, don't leave me, where can I go with the eggs because I'm struggling, I'm getting a pie from the bakery... don't worry in vain!
Mom returns with an egg in her hand, the girl runs away to get the pie before getting on the school van. I, out of curiosity, went out to see the age of the girl who is embarrassed by the egg... I am left on the balcony with some questions.
What does it mean to be ashamed of eating a boiled egg? Why is an egg shameful, but a pie from the corner bakery is not?
Why does the girl think pie makes her better?
Why hasn't mom managed to convince him over the years that it's best not to go out without eating breakfast?
Why are all kinds of packaged or even instantly produced items allowed to be sold near schools, for the quality of which no one is responsible?
Why are we not managing to "normalize" normal in this country?
But why the hell did it get so complicated?
Is it worth mentioning today some things that seem so clear to me and that I think everyone should know?
Every day we hear more and more about obesity, the lack of physical activity in children, and the dozens of problems this brings to their physical and emotional health, cementing concerns that will accompany them into their adult lives.
So why the hell do we think that teaching children to eat home-cooked food is a better choice?
It is certain that what we cook ourselves contains more nutritional value. We can control not only the quantity and quality, but also avoid any excessive ingredients, sugars, salt, fats... not to mention the concentrates, colors and additional flavors that ready-made or fast food have. So 1 in hand: what we cook ourselves is much healthier. This way we provide a strong contribution against diseases and obesity.
No less important: by cooking at home and getting used to homemade foods, we have the opportunity to strengthen communication (I'm not adding this out of my obsession with verbal parent-child interaction, science says so :), to foster family relationships, and to create good eating habits from childhood. Thirdly, and here I believe we all agree: cooking at home is much more economical. Ready-made food costs you much more, for your pocket, for your health, and for the future of your immunity.
Now I know that there are plenty of parents who say they don't have time to cook. But I don't want to accept this logic. 10 minutes less sleep in the morning to make a simple sandwich or boil an egg, are the opportunity cost of many problems that we can solve ourselves, and educate our children as well.
I don't want to go on too long. I'm not a food expert, but this seems to me to be a matter of education, upbringing, and normal communication in the family.
That's what I think, as I peel a couple of carrots and laugh to myself...our generation has some of the strangest challenges...we need work and strategy for this too...we need to bring the egg back into fashion.
