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In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

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Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#61

Post by tempe1h1 »

shagie wrote: post #42
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…

The cost for cooking for one becomes evident when buying meat and produce (things that aren't shelf stable) in units small enough to do meal planing without significant waste. There are things like the difference in the cost of a single, reasonable, serving of chicken. Buying a chicken breast is more expensive in price per pound than the family pack of chicken breasts or an entire chicken. Similar things with carrots…

the trick is to cook about one and a half servings everytime. this way you eat one serving, store the half and heat up a previously stored side dish (previously remaining half serving)

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#62

Post by bitxbitxbitcoin »

mhb wrote: post #47
burntsushi wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 free…

You really don't need an extra freezer to buy 3/5/10 pounds of chicken instead of 1/2 pound.

The savings really add up at that 10 pound level. Chicken quarters are still under a dollar a pound at Walmarts in that quantity.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#63

Post by mbg721 »

dahfizz wrote: post #32
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed, mass manufactured food is looked down upon. UK food (with the exception of dishes imported from India) is some of the blandest cuisine I have ever tasted. I would probably prefer store-bought hotdogs, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

Seriously, though. There are Thai, Chinese, Mexican, indian, moroccan, Italian etc restaurants all within a few minutes from me. I've never seen a British restaurant. The closest you get is a UK themed pub, which just serves American bar food plus Guinness.

I think the reason you don't see British restaurants that much in the US isn't that it's bad food, it's that a lot of traditional British dishes have sufficiently close equivalents in "down-home cookin'" American restaurants (as in a roast beef dinner) or in bar food (as in fish and chips) that there isn't much demand for anything more specialized. The full fry-up breakfast is something isn't so easily found here, but near me there's at least one themed pub that does serve one (although it's Irish rather than English).

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#64

Post by [deleted] »

shagie wrote: post #42
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…

The cost for cooking for one becomes evident when buying meat and produce (things that aren't shelf stable) in units small enough to do meal planing without significant waste. There are things like the difference in the cost of a single, reasonable, serving of chicken. Buying a chicken breast is more expensive in price per pound than the family pack of chicken breasts or an entire chicken. Similar things with carrots…

[deleted]

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#65

Post by bpicolo »

jacksnipe wrote: post #40
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 live in NYC and you’re wrong. If you are cooking with meat and you insist on buying organic, then it is cheaper to go to a food truck than to cook for one. Additionally, unless you meal plan very well, some of your ingredients are going to go bad; you can’t really purchase enough celery for just one meal.

"Insist on buying organic" is a big qualifier. That food truck isn't cooking organic.

I purchase meat in Chinatown on the regular for remarkably good prices.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#66

Post by fleddr »

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…

Recently on Twitter a lady was complaining about inflation. She posted a photo of about a week's worth of groceries and its combined new price, as this was what she typically bought every week.

The inflation part was instantly forgotten due to the "food" itself. The picture pretty much contained none. A carnaval of over processed food, carbs, sugars, supplemented with giant containers of sugar water. Not a single fresh thing, not a single high quality thing, not a single ingredient, nothing of any solid nutritional value.

And she has a family. This is what their two young children also eat. Nothing but garbage.

I'm not at all elitist, I enjoy junk food in moderation nor am I anything more than a reasonable cook. But I consider the above example of this culture an extreme case of neglect to the point it is actively harmful to the entire family.

It makes me mad because there's zero reasons for it. Every adult should be able to cook something basic, even more so if you have children. Surely it can't be rocket science to buy basic things like an egg, potatoes, veggies, rice...whichever, and prepare something semi-fresh? It costs less time than eating out.

If even that is too difficult, Youtube tells you how. If even that is too much effort, there's services dropping fresh ingredients at your home with instructions on what to do with it.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#67

Post by abeppu »

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…

When I lived in NYC, I felt this was often true, but my hypothesis was that it was a reflection of the real estate footprint of grocery stores. A restaurant can receive daily shipments from vendors based in the outer boroughs (or further). If I really wanted to, I could have taken the subway to Queens for grocery runs, but that wasn't actually going to happen. But the Whole Foods on Houston takes up a large footprint of valuable real estate, and of course that drives up the price of everything. The choice between cooking and eating takeout weighs the labor of the kitchen staff (ideally low in a high throughput kitchen) vs the overhead of a supply chain which uses more high-value space.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#68

Post by geodel »

ghaff wrote: post #23
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…

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 w…

Well, we cook at home almost every meal throughout the year. Something I noticed compared to old country that for lot of people here each meal is always about the food they like to eat at that time. Whereas for us that likeness/preferred meal is only couple times a week or so. Most meals are really like rotation of stuff from pantry and fridge.

If I were to eat only meals I feel like eating all the time it would be too much of mental hassle even if I could afford to purchase ingredients.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#69

Post by katbyte »

shagie wrote: post #42
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…

The cost for cooking for one becomes evident when buying meat and produce (things that aren't shelf stable) in units small enough to do meal planing without significant waste. There are things like the difference in the cost of a single, reasonable, serving of chicken. Buying a chicken breast is more expensive in price per pound than the family pack of chicken breasts or an entire chicken. Similar things with carrots…

trick is to get higher quality produce, make multiple services, and lean how to store things. Cheap produce goes back quicker. I live alone yet go to Costco every 2-3 weeks and I expect everything I get to last.

Meat is split up, vacpacked and frozen. produce is put in the fridge in containers that best store them: some lined with paper town, some not, some with lids, some not. I have 2 week old tomatoes peppers cucumbers romain for salad that is totally fine. Onion garlic and potatoes go in burlap in the pantry. Rice and grains are put in sealed containers. And so forth.

And when I cook it’s always multiple servings. Today and tomorrows dinner, 5-10 servings of soup and I freeze most.

Storing food so it keeps is a skill.

150-200$ every 2-3 weeks, much cheaper and healthier then ordering in or frozen.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#70

Post by granshaw »

prometheus76 wrote: post #60
granshaw wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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." Well, yeah, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many don’t like the actual acts of planning, prepping, and cooking, and would rather eat takeout everyday if it was nutritious and affordable enough, or have their meals cooked for them EDIT: I struggle with this too and am trying to change…

Learn how to make a dish you really like. Expand from there.

Thanks that’s probably good advice

Pineapple fried rice here I come

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