Beat the Box: Homemade Cake vs. Cake Mix From a Box

Do you ever pick up a box, bag, or container of food and flip it over to look at the ingredients listed on the back? Do you ever wonder what some of those ingredients are? We all lead busy lives, so many of us turn to these packaged foods because they are quick and easy; however, many of the ingredients in processed foods aren’t great for our health. 

Are you ready to get rid of some of the processed foods in your diet?

If so, this post is for you! On the first Thursday of each month, I’ll compare common packaged foods to the healthier homemade versions.

“Eat anything you want. Just cook it yourself.”

— Michael Pollan

This is one of my favorite quotes because it emphasizes the importance of cooking more at home. Making French fries, fried chicken, or cake with whole ingredients will be much better for your health in the long-run than purchasing the more processed versions of those foods at a grocery store or restaurant. Also, because many of these foods will take longer to cook (and make a bigger mess in your kitchen!), you aren’t as likely to cook them as often!

Last week, both my husband and I celebrated birthdays, so what better food to discuss this week than CAKE! I love cake and firmly believe that it can fit into a healthy diet, as long as it is something you don’t eat all the time.

Here is the chocolate peanut butter cake my mom made for us last week! It was so delicious. The only part of the cake that wasn’t homemade was the Reese’s peanut butter cups, which are still okay to eat every once in a while.

Let’s compare ingredients in a homemade cake to a boxed cake mix.

Chocolate cake from scratch:

• Flour 

• Sugar

• Unsweetened cocoa powder

• Baking soda

• Baking powder

• Salt

• Eggs

• Buttermilk 

• Oil

• Pure vanilla extract

I’m guessing you’ve probably heard of these ingredients before, and may even have most of them already on hand.

Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix:

• Enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)

• Sugar

• Cocoa pressed with alkali

• Corn syrup

• Leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate)

• Contains 2% or less of:

  • Corn starch

  • Modified corn starch

  • Palm oil

  • Carob powder

  • Propylene glycol mono and diesters

  • Monoglycerides

  • Salt

  • Dicalcium phosphate

  • Sodium stearoyl lactylate

  • Xanthan gum

  • Cellulose gum

  • Artificial flavor

You may have a few of these ingredients at home, but likely not most of them!

What about frosting?

The peanut butter frosting my mom made included just 4 ingredients:

• Butter

• Natural peanut butter (contains just peanuts and salt)

• Powdered sugar

• Milk 

Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting:

• Sugar

• Water

• Palm Oil

• Corn syrup

• Corn starch

• Cocoa processed with alkali

• Contains 2% of less of:

  • Salt

  • Monoglycerides

  • Polysorbate 60

  • Natural and artificial flavor

  • Sodium stearoyl lactylate

  • Citric acid

  • Sodium acid pyrophosphate

  • Color added

  • Nonfat milk

  • Potassium sorbate

If you can’t pronounce an ingredient listed in your food, you probably shouldn’t be eating it regularly. Many of these items listed above are preservatives (potassium sorbate, citric acid, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and monoglycerides), which extend the shelf life of packaged foods. This is why packaged foods last so much longer than the foods you make at home. Stay tuned for a future post about the different oils used in packaged foods!

Why are processed foods not great for your health?

• They may contribute to inflammation in the body, which often makes it harder to lose weight and can raise your risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancers.

• They tend to contain large amounts of unhealthy fats, sodium, and added sugars, which our bodies are not meant to process.

• Cooking foods at home with whole ingredients (like those found in the homemade cake and frosting above) may reduce inflammation in the body, making it easier to lose weight and reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancers (though even homemade cake and frosting should still only be consumed sometimes!).

The bottom line: Make your own cake and frosting at home with whole ingredients. It may take a little extra time, but it will be well worth it for the taste and your health!

Leave a comment if there are other packaged vs. homemade foods you would like me to focus on in future posts!