$15 to eat once at Chipotle. For $15 worth of groceries, you can make your own Chipotle for a week. Rice and beans are cheap. Salsa is easy to make. A pound of chicken and a pound of skirt steak is a week’s worth of double protein. Spices are relatively inexpensive. My college kid eats like this plus fresh fruit and vegetables for under $60/week.
Americans are poor and unhealthy because they willingly pay for convenience and processed foods.
No way in hell it tastes the same. It will be good but it won't taste the same. Restaurant food is always better because it's all they do.
$15 to eat once at Chipotle. For $15 worth of groceries, you can make your own Chipotle for a week. Rice and beans are cheap. Salsa is easy to make. A pound of chicken and a pound of skirt steak is a week’s worth of double protein. Spices are relatively inexpensive. My college kid eats like this plus fresh fruit and vegetables for under $60/week.
Americans are poor and unhealthy because they willingly pay for convenience and processed foods.
No way in hell it tastes the same. It will be good but it won't taste the same. Restaurant food is always better because it's all they do.
I can cook better than most restaurant food because I bothered learning some easy techniques that I can control better than a place mass producing meals. The vast majority of restaurant food is prepped hours if not days in advance, freshness matters presuming you know what you're doing.
No way in hell it tastes the same. It will be good but it won't taste the same. Restaurant food is always better because it's all they do.
I can cook better than most restaurant food because I bothered learning some easy techniques that I can control better than a place mass producing meals. The vast majority of restaurant food is prepped hours if not days in advance, freshness matters presuming you know what you're doing.
Correct.
Anyone who thinks that restaurant is better than homemade never had a mother or grandmother who cooked at home, or a father who did the same - and transmitted those skills to their children.
I can cook better than most restaurant food because I bothered learning some easy techniques that I can control better than a place mass producing meals. The vast majority of restaurant food is prepped hours if not days in advance, freshness matters presuming you know what you're doing.
Correct.
Anyone who thinks that restaurant is better than homemade never had a mother or grandmother who cooked at home, or a father who did the same - and transmitted those skills to their children.
So your saying a dad who cooks for his kids at home can outperform a professional chef at a restaurant?
I swapped out faucets, replaced water shutoff valves and do my own sink unclogs, therefore I can outperform a master plumber.
All the "time is money" folks are lying to themselves. Just like everyone else, they regularly waste massive amounts of time. It may be that it's time wasted on activities higher in self-indulgent immediate pleasure than cooking like self-stimulation or video games or chatting away with random strangers via webcam or posting to meaningless threads on internet message boards. Yet it's still wasted.
Spending time on pleasurable activities isn’t wasteful. People need rest and enjoyment in their lives.
I use DoorDash for dinner delivery most nights. After a long day of work, I don’t want to fuss around in the kitchen. Cooking and cleaning up after dinner takes time AND energy, and I’d rather spend my time after work recharging my batteries by resting and doing things I enjoy.
I know I spend more money on food that way, but the savings I get on time and energy expenditure are worth it for me.
My wife just brought home the salmon I will grill tomorrow night. 2½ pounds: $24.98. I will use a dill mayo marinade. Plenty for the meal and some leftover we can eat cold the following day. Cost of the propane is less than $1.
You can cook incredible meals at home for bargain prices, but we are both retired. Time is not a consideration for us.
Last I saw at my local Carrs(Safeway) was a 1.4lb salmon fillet for $53 ($39/lb). That's why I shop at Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Walmart 99% of the time.
$15 to eat once at Chipotle. For $15 worth of groceries, you can make your own Chipotle for a week. Rice and beans are cheap. Salsa is easy to make. A pound of chicken and a pound of skirt steak is a week’s worth of double protein. Spices are relatively inexpensive. My college kid eats like this plus fresh fruit and vegetables for under $60/week.
Americans are poor and unhealthy because they willingly pay for convenience and processed foods.
No way in hell it tastes the same. It will be good but it won't taste the same. Restaurant food is always better because it's all they do.
Restaurant food = salt, salt, and more salt. not to mention taxes, tips, delivery costs, etc.
It's not wasting time if you are doing something you like to do vs something you dislike.
Duh. It's a delusion that time spent cooking food you enjoy is "wasted" or worthless.
The other side is that if you suck as a cook and are unwilling to easily learn how to improve then yes, your feeling that it's wasted time is accurate.
My wife just brought home the salmon I will grill tomorrow night. 2½ pounds: $24.98. I will use a dill mayo marinade. Plenty for the meal and some leftover we can eat cold the following day. Cost of the propane is less than $1.
You can cook incredible meals at home for bargain prices, but we are both retired. Time is not a consideration for us.
Last I saw at my local Carrs(Safeway) was a 1.4lb salmon fillet for $53 ($39/lb). That's why I shop at Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Walmart 99% of the time.
All the "time is money" folks are lying to themselves.
I agree that people can go overboard with this justification, but it makes sense for people who have jobs where extra work means extra money, either directly (paid by the hour or unit of output) or indirectly (putting in more hours to deliver better on projects opens up career advancement potential).
For example, let's say you're a lawyer who can work an extra 3 hours over the weekend to start and finish a case that earns you $2000. Well, why would you instead spend 3 hours and some money trying to save $10 by cooking instead of just ordering out?
There are other problems with cooking at home:
(1) Always cutting yourself with knives, sometimes dangerously.
(2) Oven fires, or accidentally burn yourself with hot oil from the frying pan.
(3) Food safety issues such as forgetting that the marinade for the chicken contains raw chicken and this you can't drizzle it on top at the end for extra flavor.
(4) Running the dishwasher actually costs a lot money and there are risks like it could leak and ruin your hardwood floor.
Etc.
Or you can eat restaurant food and don't have to worry about any of this.
All the "time is money" folks are lying to themselves.
I agree that people can go overboard with this justification, but it makes sense for people who have jobs where extra work means extra money, either directly (paid by the hour or unit of output) or indirectly (putting in more hours to deliver better on projects opens up career advancement potential).
For example, let's say you're a lawyer who can work an extra 3 hours over the weekend to start and finish a case that earns you $2000. Well, why would you instead spend 3 hours and some money trying to save $10 by cooking instead of just ordering out?
There are other problems with cooking at home:
(1) Always cutting yourself with knives, sometimes dangerously.
(2) Oven fires, or accidentally burn yourself with hot oil from the frying pan.
(3) Food safety issues such as forgetting that the marinade for the chicken contains raw chicken and this you can't drizzle it on top at the end for extra flavor.
(4) Running the dishwasher actually costs a lot money and there are risks like it could leak and ruin your hardwood floor.
Etc.
Or you can eat restaurant food and don't have to worry about any of this.
Most of these are extremely basic skill issues. Re: extremely high earning careers, yes you're correct. Those people aren't the ones debating the relative expense of eating out v. cooking at home, though.
I agree that people can go overboard with this justification, but it makes sense for people who have jobs where extra work means extra money, either directly (paid by the hour or unit of output) or indirectly (putting in more hours to deliver better on projects opens up career advancement potential).
For example, let's say you're a lawyer who can work an extra 3 hours over the weekend to start and finish a case that earns you $2000. Well, why would you instead spend 3 hours and some money trying to save $10 by cooking instead of just ordering out?
There are other problems with cooking at home:
(1) Always cutting yourself with knives, sometimes dangerously.
(2) Oven fires, or accidentally burn yourself with hot oil from the frying pan.
(3) Food safety issues such as forgetting that the marinade for the chicken contains raw chicken and this you can't drizzle it on top at the end for extra flavor.
(4) Running the dishwasher actually costs a lot money and there are risks like it could leak and ruin your hardwood floor.
Etc.
Or you can eat restaurant food and don't have to worry about any of this.
Most of these are extremely basic skill issues. Re: extremely high earning careers, yes you're correct. Those people aren't the ones debating the relative expense of eating out v. cooking at home, though.
It doesn't only apply to extremely high earners. Glenn the Account II at Initech will probably come out ahead spending 3 hours on the weekend polishing his resume, practicing case studies, studying for additional credentials and applying for jobs at higher paying companies, compared to saving $10 by cooking at home.
That was a stupid post on X. [1] The $$$ savings is far more substantial. [2] You're going to eat a healthier diet (way less sodium). [3] Plus if you enjoy cooking, it's fun.
You can get a head of lettuce, one tomato, one cucumber, one stalk of celery, some croutons and a salad dressing for a total of, what $7?
Those ingredients will last you 2 meals minimum. That's at least $8 a pop at a restaurant, so $16 total minimum.
Buy chicken breasts for $4.
Penne pasta? 1 lb box of the good stuff at grocery store is $4. Can of sauce is $8. You're going to get 2 meals at least out of that. A single meal of that at a cheap Italian restaurant is $14 minimum.
TL;DR. On a single meal basis it's not significantly cheaper but you're always going to save money by cooking at home most meals and eating leftovers.