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In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

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Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#21

Post by alberth »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #17
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]: Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook. I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probabl…

> I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probably not actually cooking, but rather buying prepackaged meals and heating them up.

I don't think that's the case.

When a person can have an entire dinner meal at Taco Bell for less than $5, or jumbo hot dog + drink at Costco for $1.25 ... cooking at home is definitely more expensive.

https://www.tacobell.com/food

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#22

Post by MontyCarloHall »

alberth wrote: post #21
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]: Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook. I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probabl…

> I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probably not actually cooking, but rather buying prepackaged meals and heating them up. I don't think that's the case. When a person can have an entire dinner meal at Taco Bell for less than $5, or jumbo hot dog + drink at Costco for $1.25 ... cooking at home is definitely more expensive. https://…

Buy ground beef, beans, rice, and tortillas in bulk (or even cheaper, make them yourself—it’s not hard!) and be smart about planning to use vegetables and other perishables efficiently across multiple dishes, and you’re going to be making Taco Bell menu items at home that are far superior to Taco Bell for much less than $5.

Buying hotdogs, buns, and soda in bulk will probably cost ~$1.25 per meal, if not less. You can freeze the dogs and buns; the latter will still taste great after a light toasting.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#23

Post by ghaff »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #17
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

Yup. Exhibit A, found on this very site [0]: Cooking for one in the US with ingredients that aren’t laced with preservatives is incredibly expensive, especially if you live in a city. I found it to be the case even 6-7 years ago that it was cheaper to eat out every night than it was to cook. I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probabl…

If your sole metric is price, there is some very cheap takeout out there. And, yes, it may well be as cheap or cheaper than meals in the supermarket freezer section.

But while some planning and a little work is needed, stick to cheaper proteins (chicken/pork), vegetables, and things like rice/beans and home cooking, even for one, can be pretty inexpensive and doesn't need to mean eating the same leftover stew for a week.

I do think a lot of "cooking at home is too expensive" is actually "I don't want to cook at home and would rather just get takeout."

ADDED: And especially if you relax the cost constraint a little bit, there are a ton of meals I can make from unprocessed or minimally processed frozen food in about 15 minutes from freezer to table. Less than $10 for a meal is trivial--and can be significantly less than that.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#24

Post by lettergram »

belugacat wrote: post #13
SilverBirch wrote: post #9

>Although this was a gourmet meal, in many ways it was just as great as the store-bought hot dogs and macaroni salad we had eaten together hundreds of times before; the quality of a meal is really a reflection of the company you share it with as well as the long process and coordination it takes to get everything on the table. This is such a strange phrase to me. I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed…

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

I think this has more to do with the breakdown of family. My family growing up (and now as the parent) ensure we sit down and eat together for breakfast and dinner. Home cooked from scratch 3-4 times a week fresh and left overs the other nights. I eat totally different foods than my parents cooked, but the community is key. My Wife and I got really good at making a few dishes from various cultures (Greek, Mexican, Irish, French). It wasn’t our culture matters, it’s the idea of making and sharing a meal.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#25

Post by ilikecakeandpie »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #22
alberth wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probably not actually cooking, but rather buying prepackaged meals and heating them up. I don't think that's the case. When a person can have an entire dinner meal at Taco Bell for less than $5, or jumbo hot dog + drink at Costco for $1.25 ... cooking at home is definitely more expensive. https://…

Buy ground beef, beans, rice, and tortillas in bulk (or even cheaper, make them yourself—it’s not hard!) and be smart about planning to use vegetables and other perishables efficiently across multiple dishes, and you’re going to be making Taco Bell menu items at home that are far superior to Taco Bell for much less than $5. Buying hotdogs, buns, and soda in bulk will probably cost ~$1.25 per meal, if not less. You ca…

There's the opportunity and comfort cost as well though. I can definitely see how one could see spending $5 on a box they can grab from the drive thru and immediately throw away is a better choice than going to the store, meal planning, ensuring there's proper refrigerator and freezer space, making sure the perishables are used, and then also taking the time to clean the dishes used afterwards.

$5 for a few minutes of effort vs spending slightly less for usually at least half an hour to an hour when off hours during the work week are at a premium can make that extra spend very attractive, especially if they're single

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#26

Post by Semaphor »

ilikecakeandpie wrote: post #25
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy ground beef, beans, rice, and tortillas in bulk (or even cheaper, make them yourself—it’s not hard!) and be smart about planning to use vegetables and other perishables efficiently across multiple dishes, and you’re going to be making Taco Bell menu items at home that are far superior to Taco Bell for much less than $5. Buying hotdogs, buns, and soda in bulk will probably cost ~$1.25 per meal, if not less. You ca…

There's the opportunity and comfort cost as well though. I can definitely see how one could see spending $5 on a box they can grab from the drive thru and immediately throw away is a better choice than going to the store, meal planning, ensuring there's proper refrigerator and freezer space, making sure the perishables are used, and then also taking the time to clean the dishes used afterwards. $5 for a few minutes o…

I can really see that, $5 gets you a LOT at Taco Bell (funnily enough, they refused to load any images till I switched my IP to a USA one O.o). I’m actually shocked how much you get. Here in Germany, McDonalds / Burger King (not sure what other fast food places we have) are disgusting AND expensive :D

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#27

Post by burntsushi »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #22
alberth wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was scratching my head at how so many people in the thread could possibly believe this, until I realized that they’re probably not actually cooking, but rather buying prepackaged meals and heating them up. I don't think that's the case. When a person can have an entire dinner meal at Taco Bell for less than $5, or jumbo hot dog + drink at Costco for $1.25 ... cooking at home is definitely more expensive. https://…

Buy ground beef, beans, rice, and tortillas in bulk (or even cheaper, make them yourself—it’s not hard!) and be smart about planning to use vegetables and other perishables efficiently across multiple dishes, and you’re going to be making Taco Bell menu items at home that are far superior to Taco Bell for much less than $5. Buying hotdogs, buns, and soda in bulk will probably cost ~$1.25 per meal, if not less. You ca…

This is roughly what I do (in the sense that I buy in bulk and freeze stuff), but note that it essentially requires you to not only purchase an extra freezer, but also run it and have the extra space for it. So this strategy does require some capital investment. It's not much, but I have friends that just couldn't do this. (Not necessarily because of the capital required, but because there is just no space for a freezer.)

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#28

Post by tallanvor »

lettergram wrote: post #24
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

I think this has more to do with the breakdown of family. My family growing up (and now as the parent) ensure we sit down and eat together for breakfast and dinner. Home cooked from scratch 3-4 times a week fresh and left overs the other nights. I eat totally different foods than my parents cooked, but the community is key. My Wife and I got really good at making a few dishes from various cultures (Greek, Mexican, Ir…

Blaming "the breakdown of family" is a rather privileged view.

Consider that in the US, wages for lower income families haven't kept up with inflation for decades. That means even when a family consists of two parents, there often isn't enough money to make ends meet, and one or both parents often end up working a second (or third) job. When you have both parents working more than 40 hours a week, are you really surprised that they don't have the energy to cook from scratch?

Even in the case of "broken" families, a mother and her children that escape domestic violence are probably still better off overall, even though it's harder for them to make ends meet. I'm sure you wouldn't advocate that they stay in a harmful environment just to maintain the family structure?

Finally, and perhaps most important, many people live in food deserts. --They don't have easy access to reasonably priced raw ingredients. In some neighborhoods, the corner store is only place for them to buy stuff, and processed foods are often cheaper than the meager selection of raw goods.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#29

Post by watwut »

lettergram wrote: post #24
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

I think this has more to do with the breakdown of family. My family growing up (and now as the parent) ensure we sit down and eat together for breakfast and dinner. Home cooked from scratch 3-4 times a week fresh and left overs the other nights. I eat totally different foods than my parents cooked, but the community is key. My Wife and I got really good at making a few dishes from various cultures (Greek, Mexican, Ir…

Afaik multiple countries with "food culture" have higher divorce rates then USA. It is no only factor how you measure "breakdown of family" of course, but it strongly suggest the reason will be different.

If I had to guess, I would relate it more to "culture of working long hours or multiple jobs and culture of traveling a far away for work every day" might be more of the cause.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#30

Post by ghaff »

Semaphor wrote: post #26
ilikecakeandpie wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's the opportunity and comfort cost as well though. I can definitely see how one could see spending $5 on a box they can grab from the drive thru and immediately throw away is a better choice than going to the store, meal planning, ensuring there's proper refrigerator and freezer space, making sure the perishables are used, and then also taking the time to clean the dishes used afterwards. $5 for a few minutes o…

I can really see that, $5 gets you a LOT at Taco Bell (funnily enough, they refused to load any images till I switched my IP to a USA one O.o). I’m actually shocked how much you get. Here in Germany, McDonalds / Burger King (not sure what other fast food places we have) are disgusting AND expensive :D

Cheap (and even not so cheap) "Mexican" food in particular is a great opportunity for the restaurant to bulk up a little protein with lots of cheap filler like rice and beans. With a burger, you have a floor set by a certain weight of ground beef. And, yes, while I very rarely go into a McDonald's or Burger King, my sense is that they're not a particularly cheap meal. And the better "fast casual" burger chains certainly are not.
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