Cooking from scratch, which can also be called homemade cooking, is making a comeback these days. People are realizing that scratch cooking provides multiple benefits. Food cooked using real ingredients is more digestable than prepackaged meals. Food cooked from scratch contains fewer of the chemicals foreign to our bodies. Scratch cooking lowers grocery bills. Lastly, and most importantly, food prepared from scratch just plain tastes better than those plastic- encapsulated, reconstituted, freezer-to-microwave meals. At least it tastes better in my house.

Just to be clear here --for easy daily cooking, I do believe in such things as premixed spice blends, frozen vegetables, and prepared sauces. I also believe that homemade cooking strategies are wide- open for adaptation.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Underrated In America!

Not everything has to be produced on our own stove tops. Scratch cooking can be as easy as placing a nice little chuck roast into a slow cooker with some carrots, peas, and diced potatoes. Adding a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning to the blend will provide exceptional flavor. Leave the mixture on low heat all day and you'll come home to an aroma reminiscent of grandma's loving kitchen.

Lately, I've been on an oatmeal kick. My kids and I can't get enough, especially after I started investigating the health benefits of whole grains and learned the easiest, most delicious way to get those grainy nutrients: soak thick-cut oatmeal overnight with a bit of whey, buttermilk or raw milk and cook it in the morning. It takes less than a minute the night before, and only a few minutes of active work in the morning, and I serve my oatmeal with fresh fruit in season, chopped-up nuts from local farmers, organic maple syrup, organic raw milk. Even though I'm using the luxi-est ingredients available and paying retail prices (often from the farmer's market, which is a pricey-but-sustainable choice), each serving costs me less than $1.50.

Enter Starbucks and their "perfect oatmeal." For $2.45, I can pick two of three mix-ins -- dried fruit (sweetened with sugar), nuts or brown sugar. At $2.45 for what is essentially just a cardboard cup with some chopped-up grains, and with that smug name, I expected something great. After all, this whole line of foods is part of CEO Howard Schultz' mission to eat more healthy himself; his cholesterol and weight were deemed too high by his physician. Oatmeal does, after all, seem a sensible and quick alternative to other fast breakfasts, like doughnuts, Egg McMuffins, and the like.

But Howie! What's with all that sugar? And what's with the instant oatmeal? I tried a bowl and was flummoxed. First: it wasn't that good, what with the instant oats and the skim milk. Not only would you eat a lot of processed sugar were you to choose either brown sugar or dried fruit on your perfect oatmeal, using instant oats removes a lot of the good nutrients. So you'll be messing with your body's metabolism (processed sugars and highly-processed grains trick your body into thinking it wants more, causing overeating and directly contributing to weight gain), in addition to paying more than you could if you made it at home.

Making your own oatmeal is cheaper, better for you, and it will prevent you from thinking you need a pastry too... and a grande mocha... paying off huge in lower health costs down the road.

FirstInHealth.com is offering a free copy of The Eating Right with Ann Cox Cookbook to anyone who will fill out this form.

I can't seem to find any information on Ms. Cox on Google. But that pizza does look good so give it a shot. It's free!

If you can never get enough cookbooks, here are some other ones I've recently written about for Fantastic Freebies:

• Fantastic Freebies! Diabetic Cookbook
• Fantastic Freebies: Cookbooks from Ragu and Jiffy
• Fantastic Freebies: Gooseberry Patch Fall Favorites Cookbook
• Fantastic Freebies! Light & Easy Recipes cookbook from Merck

More than ever these days, people are rolling up their sleeves and finding ways to help themselves.They're also interested in helping their neighbors, their country and the planet. These attitudes are commendable, compelling and powerful.

That is why today I am bringing to you a few of my favorite responsible living links. The following websites have been created for you with great thought and care. Each of these sites will reward you for the time you spend there reading. Remember, reading equals knowledge and knowledge always pays dividends.

First on my list today is the blog, DIY Life. It's one of my favorites and it's a member of our Weblogs family. The site is a fast paced, informative blog which seeks to deliver to you the "cream of the crop" in do it yourself living. I must disclose that I'm a bit biased towards their blog because my extraordinary wife is a member of their fine writing crew. Check it out if you're into the fix it and make it yourself lifestyle. On their pages you'll find everything from home remodeling and gadget tweaks to jewelry making and unique home furnishings. Their staff is dedicated to bringing you up-to-the-minute do it yourself brain storms. In their capable hands, you can never go wrong.