Wow, I can't imagine living somewhere so remote. I wish I was better at meal planning/prepping/organizing, but it's a work in progress. I also want to get into preserving, pickling, etc. I think since fresh food is readily available where I live and I have the privilege of usually being able to afford fresh produce I've lost touch with how to have a "cushion" in case of emergency (which is something I was raised with).
In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
71–80 of 140 posts
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 surp…
"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?"
Yes, because cooking costs like zero energy. The physical activity consists of standing for some 20-30 mins.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#73>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…
>I'm in the UK and it is always the case that processed, mass manufactured food is looked down upon.
This from the country that brought us beans on toast? Maybe this is more of a middle class phenomenon, but the UK isn't exactly known for its food.
Hotdogs and pasta salad sounds like something a desperate college student would cobble together. Not something the average american would consider eating. Given how well we assimilate different cultures in the US, the food is one of my favorite things.
I can drive less than a few miles and literally have the best food of any number of cultures from any corner of the globe, and if I wish to cook it myself, any number of ethnic grocers to choose from. Not even to mention the food that is purely US in origin.
There are many criticisms of the US but food isn't one of them.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#74Earlier 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://…
Our household spends ~$670/month cooking for two adults, two children, and an infant (all meals). [1] That's $5.50/person/day ignoring the baby, and we're not trying to minimize costs (fresh fruit and veg, meat, etc). Cooking at home is more expensive if you count the time of the cook, sure, but not if you just compare dollar costs. [1] https://www.jefftk.com/p/spending-update-2022
Yea I'm not sure how someone can claim "$5 for a meal for one" could possibly be cheaper than cooking unless you're deliberately cooking something expensive?
Now maybe I'm missing some cultural context for the price of produce in the US but for €5 per person here in Ireland I could make an absolute feast. Say I make a ragu for 4-5 people, here's what my shopping list might look like (checking prices on tesco.ie):
- Pasta 500g (€0.65)
- Ground pork 400g (€3.50)
- Bag of onions 1kg (€0.60)
- 4 bulbs of garlic (€0.80)
- Bag of carrots 500g (€0.60)
- Celery 450G (€0.79)
- Tinned Tomatos (€0.45)
So for €7.39 I could feed 4-5 people and have most of the onions, garlic and celery left over for another dish.
If I had the budget to get 5 people Taco Bell at €5 a head, I could cook that recipe twice over and have enough left over to buy a half-decent bottle of wine.
I know scale changes if you live on your own say, but that's when you save stuff for lunches, make smaller recipes etc. And I live in one of the highest cost-of-living countries in the EU - is the situation really so dire in much of the US as to be drastically different?
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
There is also a great appreciation for people who cook at restaurant / food truck etc. I have cooked very decent meals for family and friends, putting great deal of effort, attention and love and all people could say was "yeah, not bad". Same people will go to restaurant eat a rather bad meal for good money but show deep respect to restaurant.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
> 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. This is something a freezer handles very well. Chicken that's been frozen before cooking isn't quite as good, but it's very nearly, and for many dishes you can't tell.
My freezer is fairly well stocked with frozen meat (a good but not overly large chest freezer).
A whole chicken doesn't freeze as well as chicken parts. And chicken parts, if not vacuum sealed don't have quite the freezer stability as those that are vacuum sealed (and we're back to the individual portion problem).
When I do get raw (not frozen) meat, I've got to have a corresponding meal plan to use it all within a reasonable amount of time.
Realizing the "I am again paying a little bit of a premium here" I've ordered from an online meat company that does have individually packaged units of meat that are delivered frozen and then went right into my freezer and have been thawed as needed.
The main issue is that when buying in a grocery store, purchasing in units that a single person can reasonably cook without waste is higher price per unit than if one was purchasing in family sized units. Purchasing in the larger sizes requires an additional amount of effort and planning for meal planning, saving of ingredients so they don't spoil, and an increased tolerance for half serving leftovers.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Our household spends ~$670/month cooking for two adults, two children, and an infant (all meals). [1] That's $5.50/person/day ignoring the baby, and we're not trying to minimize costs (fresh fruit and veg, meat, etc). Cooking at home is more expensive if you count the time of the cook, sure, but not if you just compare dollar costs. [1] https://www.jefftk.com/p/spending-update-2022
Yea I'm not sure how someone can claim "$5 for a meal for one" could possibly be cheaper than cooking unless you're deliberately cooking something expensive? Now maybe I'm missing some cultural context for the price of produce in the US but for €5 per person here in Ireland I could make an absolute feast. Say I make a ragu for 4-5 people, here's what my shopping list might look like (checking prices on tesco.ie): - P…
Your prices are in the same range I'd see here.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 t…
What are the meals you don't like, and cook anyway? Why do you even stock ingredients for them then? Are they just easier to make, or?
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Learn how to make a dish you really like. Expand from there.
Thanks that’s probably good advice Pineapple fried rice here I come
Man, I've been trying to make good fried rice for like thirty years. Let me know if you figure it out... supposedly needs a lava-hot wok and a gallon of oil or something.
Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Our household spends ~$670/month cooking for two adults, two children, and an infant (all meals). [1] That's $5.50/person/day ignoring the baby, and we're not trying to minimize costs (fresh fruit and veg, meat, etc). Cooking at home is more expensive if you count the time of the cook, sure, but not if you just compare dollar costs. [1] https://www.jefftk.com/p/spending-update-2022
Yea I'm not sure how someone can claim "$5 for a meal for one" could possibly be cheaper than cooking unless you're deliberately cooking something expensive? Now maybe I'm missing some cultural context for the price of produce in the US but for €5 per person here in Ireland I could make an absolute feast. Say I make a ragu for 4-5 people, here's what my shopping list might look like (checking prices on tesco.ie): - P…
Those vegetable prices are very cheap compared to a US supermarket--like maybe 1/3 or 1/4 the price?