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In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

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Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#111

Post by HWR_14 »

DoughnutHole wrote: post #74
jefftk wrote: post #50

Earlier 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 prices seem very low for the US (except for the pork). I also see you're leaving out the salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine, Parmesan, and spices/(dried) herbs. Yes, all the things you left out will last for a long time (except the 1/4 bottle of wine) but they are a huge upfront cost for a single meal.

Cooking is a financial commitment.

I'll also say the first recipe I found suggested 1kg of pork to go with that much pasta and vegetables.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#112

Post by katbyte »

paulmd wrote: post #92
katbyte wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 cucu…

Well, space is something else that is at a premium in a city... I have two 5.5cu-ft freezers for storing bulk stuff that I see cheap on sale... have fun with that in an apartment. And especially if you are doing soups and other liquids, you really kinda want a chamber vacuum sealer, which is a big dealie that sits on your counter with a 1/4hp motor. Even keeping the sealing area very clean (wiping down the foam seals…

Tbh I don’t vacuum seal soups, toss it in a glasslock and freeze. Year later it’s still fine because soup.

I live in an apartment, have a good commercial sealer, but it sits in my office, and just my fridge and a 7cuft (upright being key) freezer that’s in a closet. It’s more then enough space then I need to buy bulk from Costco, have a wide selection, and space for portions. 15 cu ft seems like way more then you need to just buy bulk and freeze?

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#113

Post by katbyte »

pfranz wrote: post #103
katbyte wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 cucu…

Do you have any resources? When I've tried repacking and vacu-sealing bulk meats it seemed like a huge waste in time, plastic, and counter space.

sorry i don't off hand :(. mostly it was trial, error, and googling. If i buy something from costco and it doesn't last i would try different was to store it and if none work just stopped buying it. really only couldn't get blackberries and raspberries to keep long thou.

suggest getting commercial food storage bins, they stack and can seal in moisture, great for storing something like sliced peppers. Don't just toss everything in with the package they came in, do a little prep and get them in better containers. If things go moldy paper towel does wonders to manage moisture.

as for vacpack i got a good commercial one, and then put it in another room out of the way. i prep in the kitchen then i take it over to seal. it would be a lot of counter space but its not so bad in the corner of my office. Also i only use it for ingredients like meat. soups and sauces i just toss in glasslocks and freeze as they seem to do just fine that way.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#114

Post by evnix »

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://…

in Ireland, as someone living alone, I spend close to 40 euros a week. 4 euros for a kilo of ground beef 4 euros for a kilo of whole chicken 7 euros for a kilo of pork and 4 to 5 euros for fish and 2 to 4 euros for rice and wraps. onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes are around a euro for a pack that's enough for a week. 5 to 10 euros for spices but they last for atleast a month. I throw in a few frozen veggies into rice which again is euro or two. I dont order or eat out, I generally do this to eat clean healthy food but the addon benefit is I notice I save a lot more when compared to my colleagues and I generally look healthier even though I eat a lot more.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#115

Post by buescher »

stonemetal12 wrote: post #84
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 I go to McDonalds, I can get a hamburger for a dollar. At the grocery store I can't get the meat for a hamburger for a dollar.

True, but you should be able to make 20 burgers for less than $20; easily if you already have condiments on hand. McDonald's burgers have 1.6 oz (1/10 lb) ground beef patties, and 80:20 ground beef is about $4/lb in most of the US.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#116

Post by tdeck »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #73
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…

>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 w…

> Hotdogs and pasta salad sounds like something a desperate college student would cobble together. Not something the average american would consider eating.

This is just.. not true? These are typical picnic foods.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#117

Post by tdeck »

lovich wrote: post #11
NegativeLatency wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Found an old associated press article about that: >Sam Krogstad of Bush Consolidators, which specializes in sending construction materials via the mail, says the Postal Service’s losses are partly self-inflicted because the postal system pays 10 times as much to send the building materials by air freight as it charges Krogstad to mail them. https://apnews.com/article/281d3e682569b2cc5edd890bf600d17e

They’re not self inflicted losses because it’s a constitutionally guaranteed service. Making a profit is not the point. Ensuring that every citizen has access to the communication network as a right is why the USPS does this

The USPS didn't even offer parcel post until 1913.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#118

Post by GoodbyeMrChips »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #73
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…

>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 w…

WOW!

Posts removed for saying OP's statement that "UK isn't exactly known for its food" is both outdated and prejudiced!

Explanation needed methinks.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#119

Post by ghaff »

schnevets wrote: post #106
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…

It just seems like the end result of a culture that believes it has conquered food scarcity. Gourmet develops in response to different environmental restrictions; coastal nations eat more seafood, temperate climates have "hearty" meals for winter, dispersed communities recreate treasured recipes with local ingredients. But agricultural and transportation revolutions in the 20th century have lead to promises of any fo…

>It's clear that taste is losing to convenience in this culture war

On the other hand, anyone with the slightest interest in food quality and variety would be absolutely horrified to be transported back and forced to do all their shopping in a 1970s US supermarket. Yes, near major cities, you had farmers markets, butchers, fish markets, bakers, etc. My mother would go to the nearby farmers market that had all those things every Saturday morning. But supermarkets were pretty limited by today's standards.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#120

Post by granshaw »

solardev wrote: post #79
granshaw wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Keep an eye on moisture of rice or ingredients too, the less moisture the better to avoid a soggy end product
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