Cooking is the Perl of life activities in that "There are many ways to do it." and we all tend to optimize for different things. I live with people with dietar

Cooking is the Perl of life activities in that "There are many ways to do it." and we all tend to optimize for different things. I live with people with dietary restrictions, so I tend to make everything from scratch because I optimize for not killing my housemates. But I have found it's an added advantage in that if I'm mostly getting staples and assembling things myself, I both have a simpler time shopping and much less trouble meal planning because I can late-bind what I'm making since I've got ingredients for most common (for our household :) meals handy. But that doesn't mean mixes/pre-made stuff is bad. If it's optimal for you, go for it. :)