Does anyone here cook fresh 7 nights a week?

[Deleted member 17990]

I really want to get into cooking but the only thing putting me off is how expensive fresh food is.

Ever since living by myself I've been cooking microwave meals and eating take out and I'm just at the point where I'm sick of it, I want to eat good again.

Just want to know what the average budget is and if I can make good meals from $5 or whatever.

 

[Zojirushi]

Honestly where I'm at premade microwave food and takeout is WAY more expensive than fresh food. Get some chicken, some form of carbs and vegetables and bam, cheap healthy meal.

 

[Joeytj]

Yes. Especially now that I'm stuck at home for the last couple of months.

80% fresh or semi-fresh (frozen produce that's used to cook) for all three meals a day.

When things get back to normal or something like it, it will go down, but I've gotten the hang of it and I can at least do 50% of the time during the week.

Even after spending more on groceries and produce to cook at home, I've managed to save compared to going out or having take out. No contest.

I'm not sure about budget, but since I live in a cheap-ish country in terms of fresh fruit, vegetables and generally cheap produce, it's definitely a no-brainer.

But it's not that different in the U.S. Some produce is just as cheap and canned and processed foods that can be used to cook are also cheap. Each meal might very well come out at $5 or even less.

Buy one of those green mix salads from Costco ($3.64), then some artichokes, and tuna. You've got a good salad lunch for several days and that's less than $5 per meal. Even add some bread or pesto.

 

[John_Videogames]

I cook every day, and since I've been in lockdown I sometimes cook twice a day for good measure. The lady love is vegetarian, so we eat lots of eggs, tofu and fresh vegetables.

We spend about £5 each a day on all our shopping -- we could spend less but we like our bougie foods.

 

[Freezasaurus]

I used to eat fast food pretty frequently but got real tired of it. It also makes you feel shitty.

I generally cook at home 5-6 nights per week now. Not usually anything extravagant. Chicken breast, pasta, steak, pancakes & bacon, etc. Occasionally I'll make a meat & noodles stew. It's definitely cheaper than takeout.

 

[Revolver_Ocelot]

If you count leftovers a day or two a week, yes.

 

[dotpatrick]

Just about.

Wife and I eat out a couple of times a month and never eat microwave or other frozen quick foods. We found that making a meal plan for the week and doing meal prep several days before really helped with both spending and having time to cook after we get back from work.

I would venture to guess that we spend somewhere around $70/week for food. We are super fortunate because we live near a small mom and pop grocery store that gets all its stuff veggies and fruits from local farmers and it costs a lot less than stuff in the big supermarkets. We also eat more chicken and fish than pork and beef, which where we are is a lot cheaper.

 

[jiggle]

Combine that $5 a day and make a big pot of something you can eat for 7 days or more

 

[sirap]

Yeah, vegetables and eggs from my own garden.

 

[ronpontelle]

The closest I get to not coming every day is a curry sauce also can't get decent individual ingredients in rural France.

Other than that, yep, every day. Fresh food is really expensive here in France, but the ready made stuff is just awful.

 

[Amnixia]

Most weeks, I do reheat something I made the day before (since I live alone).

Buy spices in bulk, buy things like pasta, rice, potatoes, legumes etc.

It can actually be quite cheap.

 

[Neece]

We eat leftovers so no.

 

[Martinski]

No i am too lazy to cook everyday. But i try to limit my take out when i don't work. And if i make something i try to make a batch of the sauce or such so i can heat it up as leftovers.

 

[CupOfDoom]

Me and my roommate alternate cooking fresh every other day and its always for under $5/meal. Meals like chili, spaghetti with meat sauce, sausages and potatoes, chicken curry (with store bought sauce) are all super easy to make and come under the $5 price tag.

 

[SquirrelSaysNuts]

Honestly where I'm at premade microwave food and takeout is WAY more expensive than fresh food. Get some chicken, some form of carbs and vegetables and bam, cheap healthy meal.

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This is my impression as well.

 

[WarAdept]

I usually batch cook so that dinners (and lunches for tha matter) last 2-3 days at a time.

Tend to not grab takeaway or frozen/canned food as it's just nowhere near as economical from a monetary perspective (and it tastes nowhere near as good).

Plus I can actually control what is going into my body. (which is also important to me as I'm pretty big into fitness)

 

[Deleted member 17990]

I think I might give youfoodz a go as I'm not a good cook.

 

[oledome]

I don't have a microwave and haven't ordered anything the whole pandemic. That's not to say it's all fresh, I cook frozen things alongside fresh items.

Next to ordering food, making your own is substantially cheaper every time, and if you cook in bulk it will be even cheaper.

I think it comes down to convenience, you need to set time aside for cooking, reading some instructions. It's also about knowing what to buy to be able to make a variety of things. You can save time and money by making dishes with a few portions, get your Tupperware, figure out the basics of herbs, cooking rice, beans, some sauces.

During lockdown I've spent between £200-£300/month on food but that includes alcohol and bits for my brother whom I live with.

I think I might give youfoodz a go as I'm not a good cook.

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Sounds more like you can't be bothered, you know if you cut up a sweet potato yourself and put it in the oven for half an hour it will cook and you can eat it right?

 

[Wackamole]

Yes. Often. Although in Corona time we try to support local restaurants more by ordering out.
We both like cooking and cooking with fresh ingredients beats any shit from any supermarket.

 

[Pixels]

You crazy bro?

 

[Akira86]

its all in your tools, procedures, routines, and basic skills.
you lock some starter things in, and you don't have to be a good cook, because you'll be a serviceable cook that can improve with time. and since you're only feeding yourself, no one else will complain.
get some ok cookware, knives, cutting boards, cooking pans for the oven, etc. Then you can take any staple food, combine ingredients, and turn it into a meal.

chicken, vegetables, rice, potatos, and so on. You can make 90% of it in 30-45 minutes.

 

[jb1234]

Every day? No, that's what leftovers are for. I try to keep my meals under $2. Just don't have the money living on disability.

 

[Jintor]

We do about 5-6 a week for almost all meals (what with work from home). it rules. but make your meals stretch (try and cook for about two meal's worth at least, if not three - for meat dishes anyway, egg and veges cook in moments so it's not as rough)

easiest is rice + steamed/stir fry veggies and meat and/or an omelette. easy as hell. obviously you want to go for different stuff for variety but yeah

 

[Shudouken]

Just want to know what the average budget is and if I can make good meals from $5 or whatever.

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Staple foods like rice, pasta, couscous with some veggies on the side if you want to save on the money.
Check out some vegetarian/vegan recipes they are usually a lot cheaper.

 

[Nivash]

I cook 2-3 times a week and eat leftovers for dinner in between and buy lunch with colleagues on weekdays. I wish I had time to cook more often but I just don't, with my commute I can either go to the gym, go for a run or cook but not all the same night.

Upside is I can usually spend more time on cooking the nights that I do, so my meals tend to get a bit elaborate.

 

[dark_prinny]

Yes. I'm Spaniard.

I also put a lot of interest in nutrition and like to eat healthy.

 

[sugar bear]

All I eat is home cooked. I'll make up massive batches of chicken burritos and freeze them for later, plus pasta with sausage and onions, BBQ chicken, etc. My raspberry plants started generating fruit this week and I'll get around 10 pounds of berries. I used to eat tons of processed food and take-out when I chubby and depressed.

 

[CrimsonN0]

Just want to know what the average budget is and if I can make good meals from $5 or whatever.

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I mean, you can get somewhere between 4-6 pounds of hamburger for $5.
You could also get 10 pounds of potatoes for $5.

 

[skeezx]

I really want to get into cooking but the only thing putting me off is how expensive fresh food is.

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actually it's pretty cheaper but YMMV if you're buying all organic from Whole Foods, or whatever

main challenge is stocking up on veggies and remembering when you bought them. for example i probably waste $20-$50 a month stocking up and simply forgetting about them before they spoil. though i suppose not everybody makes one and done massive grocery hauls a week like i do

 

[Borgus]

The key is to do some research and find out the "best" way to cook the most simple dishes. I'm in the service industry with some kitchen experience, so I've been lucky to have been surrounded with chefs who are constantly backseat cooking with me. I learned the importance of balancing fat, acid and spice early on and if you can wrap your head around how this balance makes things taste good, you can start adjusting your recipes (and others!) to suit your palette and really start cooking the food you want to eat. Cooking super simple at first really helps drive in these basics.

Here are some good resources on youtube that can help. I'm not a professional (and a much better bartender than I was a cook) but I know my cooking improved from watching these.



Most people have probably seen this but I cannot emphasize how important it is that you put down everything right away and just make that fucking recipe. I'm not even a big Ramsay fan but this video teaches you how just understanding a fraction of how eggs react to seasoning/temperature can vastly improve your scrambled egg game. This is also a fairly healthy breakfast that doesn't get old.



Basics with Babish is a great series for this, and super easy to digest. Babish tends to do pretty good research on how to get the most out of a dish, and the videos are great for giving you an idea of how everything should be looking throughout the process. He admittedly has a stupid amount of kitchen goodies that most people don't/can't afford, but they're rarely necessary or can be easily subbed in with something else.

On the topic of consistently cooking "fresh" food, it can be hard but thats why I personally buy produce in small amounts and do micro-groceries a little more frequently. This can be expensive depending on where you live, but like anything else you gotta learn some smart-shopping. If you have farmers markets near you jump on that too. Smaller markets in general are inexpensive and also may be a good opportunity to aid your research in cooking. The more you talk to local producers about their food and where it comes from, the better your cooking is going to get.

EDIT: I think about food a lot and have more to say. Surprise!

OP, do you have friends you see regularly too? Cause you should suggest cooking together with them more often too. I'm personally more eager to cook when its with friends, and it can be a good way to save money too. When I was 18-20, I would call a friend and say something like "I got a potato, some chives and a can of beer" and they would respond with something like "great, I only have tomatoes and beans. Lets make a chili!"

 

[RankFTW]

I work 4 on 4 off 12 hour shifts. When I'm working I eat from the canteen so that's freshly made meals. When I'm off I cook from scratch on 3 of those days and usually get a take away the night before I'm due back. My household consists of my wife and I as well as 4 children. Sometimes we do eat processed food like chicken nuggets etc but I'm not a huge fan and prefer home made. Between us all we spend around £60-80 a week on food.

 

[JohnPaulv2.0]

Maybe this is just a UK thing but the idea of fresh ingredients being expensive is strange to me. Say, for example, you want to have a Shepherd's pie. Looking at Tesco's online store I can see:

Onion: 10p
Carrot: 5p
Courgette: 40p
Aubergine: 70p
Chestnut Mushrooms 250g: £1
Garlic: 16p
Potatoes (x4): 44p
Quorn mince 300g: £2
(And a few extras like stock, thyme etc that are good for dozens of meals)

Total: £4.85 (serves 4 portions)

Whereas if you're buying premade:

Tesco's Shepherd's Pie (x4): £10

However, looking at Walmart online I can see a single onion for 68 cents vs a premade shepherd's pie for $3.37 ($13.47 for 4). I can't be bothered to do the maths but yeah, that does seem disproportionate.

 

[Zutroy]

Occasionally have a takeaway one day in the weekend, but for the most part I cook dinner from fresh every night.

Getting a meal planner app that tells you the ingredients to buy definitely helps, otherwise I'd probably struggle to decide what I'd eat most weeks.

 

[FaceHugger]

No I make a lot of large batch food. Stuff that lasts for days.

 

[Horp]

Almost. Perhaps every other weekend I go get pizza/sushi/thai food for the family

 

[Segafreak]

I really want to get into cooking but the only thing putting me off is how expensive fresh food is.

Ever since living by myself I've been cooking microwave meals and eating take out and I'm just at the point where I'm sick of it, I want to eat good again.

Just want to know what the average budget is and if I can make good meals from $5 or whatever.

Click to shrink...

Have you ever even looked at the price of fresh food? It's way cheaper than microwave food. Just say you're too lazy to cook lmao.

Sounds more like you can't be bothered, you know if you cut up a sweet potato yourself and put it in the oven for half an hour it will cook and you can eat it right?

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Instructions unclear, potato in dishwasher.

 

[Redcrayon]

Locked at op request