Help me write in a proper grammar. Let it seem like it was written by a professional writer. I DON’T COOK MY MEALS WITH ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS I come from a home where we prioritize natural ingredients, no additives, no artificial seasonings like th
**I Don’t Cook My Meals with Artificial Ingredients**
I come from a household that prioritizes natural ingredients, steering clear of additives and artificial seasonings, such as those overly processed spices. The sole seasoning my mother employs is a modest amount of seasoning cubes—typically just one or two. She uses these only when steaming meat stock; one cube if there’s a small amount of meat and two if there’s a bit more. Beyond this, she refrains from adding any extra seasoning cubes while preparing the main meal. Remarkably, even without these artificial enhancements, her dishes are incredibly flavorful—trust me!
I inherited this philosophy from my mother and have adopted the same practice in my own cooking; I do not prepare meals with processed ingredients.
In 2020, as a freshman at university, I had a neighbor who was also new to campus and relied heavily on seasoning cubes in her cooking. It was astonishing to witness her adding them even to eggs before frying.
One day, while I was preparing a pot of beans, she happened to be in the kitchen with me. Curiously, she asked, “Aren’t you going to add Maggi?” I replied, “I don’t use Maggi to cook beans.” She looked at me incredulously, asking, “What kind of thing is that?” I explained that in my home, we don’t use Maggi and that beans are naturally sweet—adding Maggi to them would simply be unnecessary.
My neighbor was always left wondering how my food could possibly be so tasty without the liberal use of Maggi. To clarify, while I do use seasoning cubes, my approach is minimal compared to some people I’ve encountered, both online and offline, who add six or seven cubes to a small portion of food.
On another occasion, my neighbor's younger sister visited and prepared sweet potato porridge. To my astonishment, I watched her add five cubes of seasoning to the naturally sweet sweet potato. I couldn't fathom why she would use so many cubes in a dish that was already delightful on its own. When the porridge was finally done, they found it inedible because the overwhelming Maggi flavor rendered it unpleasant—similar to the distaste one feels when there’s too much salt in a dish. I couldn’t help but laugh as they discarded the food due to its terrible taste.
As I mentioned earlier, we avoid using these overly processed ingredients at home, yet our meals remain delicious. However, there came a time during my university days when I began adding seasoning cubes to my beans out of a desire to enhance their flavor. This shift occurred during a particularly challenging period as an unemployed student, when I felt the pressure of creating tastier meals. I would add these cubes in private, hoping my neighbor wouldn’t catch on and start asking questions about my newfound use of Maggi.
Whenever I returned home during breaks and had the opportunity to cook, I would once again find myself hiding seasoning cubes—even in my beans. Unfortunately, my mother could always detect the difference. She would inquire, “Did you add Maggi to this beans?” To which I would sheepishly reply, “Yes.” Her reaction was often, “It tastes overly sweet,” and at that point, my mother would lose all appetite for the meal.
My mother introduced us to the benefits of using fresh ginger and garlic for our stews—true, whole ginger and garlic rather than their powdered or processed counterparts. The only seasoning cube that finds its way into our stews is the one used for steaming the meat—part of the meat stock.
I must admit that, nowadays, I do include processed spices alongside my seasoning cubes, albeit sparingly. This practice primarily occurs while I’m at university. However, when I return home for holidays, I stick to my roots and refrain from using processed ingredients. You won't find such products in our family kitchen. At home, I prepare meals without artificial ingredients, and everyone enjoys the result because it’s always delicious.
Attached photo: College girl on March 19, 2020. 😄
📸: Jasper
Do you cook your beans with Maggi?