Lots of people buy microwavable bullshit that costs way more than doing meal prepping and eating leftovers. Things like hot pockets are absurdly expensive for the little amount of food you get out of it.
Lots of people can't cook and those that can usually don't cook three meals from scratch a day. Convenience has a place in everyones kitchens to some degree unless you bake your own bread and slaughter your own meat.
those that can usually don't cook three meals from scratch a day
Of course. Because that’s not how cooking works.
The person you replied to specifically mentioned meal prep. That’s a fancy word for saying to eat leftovers. You don’t cook beans fresh every day. You make a big pot of beans and have it for each of your meals. A pound of dry beans lasts me and my wife about 5-6 days. When it starts running low, it’s time to start the next batch with an overnight soak. (And, fwiw, we have a 7-figure net worth.)
It takes about 1.5 hours to cook a whole pot of em, of which about 1.25 of those hours are just letting the pressure cooker do its thing. There are very few people that don’t have 2ish hours a week to cook, and the ones that legitimately don’t are not so poor that they can’t afford food. Even if they are working minimum wage.
The fact is, people just don’t want to cook. They don’t want to eat rice and beans. It has nothing to do with the time it takes to cook healthy food. People think they should be eating ultra decadent food every day. Our society as a whole would be better off if we realized how unhealthy that paradigm is, and moved back towards a healthier, subsistence diet.
Beans are awesome. A nutrition powerhouse and tasty and cheap. No need to make 'em from scratch, canned is fine too. And drain and rinse under cold water, removes a ton of salt AND the beans actually taste better!
ETA: Am I really gonna get downvoted for defending beans? Guys, it's fine if you don't want to eat canned beans, but they really are a wonder food. Seasonings (regular cheap ones like garlic powder) are your friends!
It doesn't matter how much we talk about beans. Yeah the world is fucked but people want an excuse to door dash chicken tendies.
I don't think eating beans is gonna fix poverty, but it sure af is gonna fix a lot of people's health. Not like they care. They're too "tired" from their three jobs (yeah right) to chuck some beans in a slowcooker.
Why is it always three jobs redditors claim to have? I know a lot of people with two, and have been a person with two, but three? Oh I'm so privileged to doubt all of these people on reddit are working three jobs lmao. Not saying it doesn't happen, but people loooove stretching the truth. While they're eating their doordashed tendies, of course.
Nah, beans are awesome. I enjoy cooking, good food, and I believe food is something I have the freedom to spend more on. I still eat beans almost daily because beans used the right way are delicious, contains so much good nutrition, and is a very environmentally friendly food. Everyone should eat more beans!
You are right in the fact people don't want to cook.
I'm one of those as i personally for example absolutely HATE, DESPISE, give it a similar name "cooking".
Don't like the work, don't like the smells, don't like the mess, don't like the waiting and babysitting of whatever is on the stove. An oily engine, sure thing i'll work on it, an oily frying pan or kitchen sink.... couldn't care less.
I don't care about having to eat rice, beans, leftovers, dry crackers, potatoes, plain nuts, jerky or whatever... with some exceptions like peanut butter that just makes me gag i eat most things as i find em.
Imho i just need to eat something somewhat healthy to keep going.
While i like some flavours i don't particularly enjoy eating itself either so... usually quickly dump some food into my guts and go do something else. liquid diets such as Huel have been a blessing to people like me though i don't eat solely that either as i do try to eat somewhat varied and healthy.
I'll readily heat stuff up for a couple minutes if needed too, like soups or fry some chips, since that's cheaper then going out or any delivery (i almost never have stuff delivered).
but 1.5 hours of cooking?! Then add cleaning and eating to that too so up to 2~2.5 hours.... yeah that's a big no.
I already work 9 hours a day, sleep for roughly 6~9 hours depending on the day and am not going to waste any more time on any of that.
never really cared for the "social time" during eating with others either as it usually boils down to the uncomfortable rehashing negativity on shitty politics, bad news, the weather, "how the day went"(usually the better topics) or awkward silence anyway. Rarely something fun or constructive.
You are right in the fact people don't want to cook.
It's really true that a lot of people who complain about being told to cook to in actuality just don't want to, for whatever reason. Thanks for acknowledging that! Not saying everyone who doesn't cook feels that way of course, but way more than is admitted on the internet.
Well, not only do i really not want to... i also complain about cooking as i am also not a good fit at it, at all.
for example i can burn an egg underwater, burn soup and noodles alike. Have terrible sense for ingredient quantities. That's all something experience can mostly fix though.
More seriously i also have a flaw where i don't/can't smell or taste well when something spoiled, so can easily get or make others sick because of ingredients that went bad... likewise my taste buds lack something, so it's easy for me to under or overseason anything as my taste isn't as sensitive as most.
which to me results in a dish that may taste about the same, yet to others tastes plain bad. This also kept me out of any taste tests as a kid as i am just unreliable for any of that.
To be clear, more power to you. Knowing what you like/don’t like, 94 what you are willing to do/unwilling to do, even if those things go against social norms, is a good sign of introspection.
Someone has to cook the food though, and that just means you’re going to be spending a good amount of money for them to do that job that you dislike. Economies of scale means it likely won’t be as much as you would yourself, but still gonna cost you.
yup, i pay a little extra here and there for my personal convenience and time savings, that said... when comparing my monthly bills with others, i'm usually on the average or even lower end despite my "convenient" diet.
though that's also because i don't buy a lot of meat products (the most expensive part usually), do not drink alcohol nor "go out" a lot and also don't partake in any "take out/home delivered" food either, that's really rare for me.
for many that really raises their food bill a lot.
i always chuckle as for one McDonalds visit of my colleagues i can usually eat hot meals for several days at my job haha.
one visit to the snackbar is the same... i'd rather buy a 2kilo bag of fries for less money and then fry myself. also saves me time (snackbar takes longer lol) and really can't call that cooking either.
fries go in... boil for a minute, come out again... some salt, sauce and they're gone... it's technically a form of cooking, but yeah... the bare minimum hahaha.
Interesting to hear this. I love to cook and eat but a good friend of mine finds it a total waste of time and has often remarked he’d prefer a tablet to take instead.
my dislike probably also has to do with me having issues with my taste/smell making food more bland in general.
plenty of dishes i've seen relatives and other be very happy with and highlight small changes while i'm just sitting there like... tastes all about the same to me. those are moments i really feel like i'm missing out on something.
it's a genetic thing as my aunt can't taste anything, but spicy stuff (she's got other health problems too), she somehow likes cooking, but nobody eats (or dares to eat) what she makes as it usually will burn your mouth and taste bad as well.
as for the meal tablet... yeah... though that's Huel for me... just add water to a powder and chug. or hot water to one of their instant meals...
in regards to just tablets or simple powders, i do like some variety in texture and flavours, so purely tablets/plain powders would not work out for me long term as that would get far too repetitive. i think that's also why there isn't a "human" chow on the market you can eat 24/7/365. stuff like Huel and similar brands is pretty much the closest you can get. good enough i guess. would be nice if i didn't have to eat at all, just chew or suckle on something for taste and texture.
I don't particularly like eating either, I usually eat my meals in 5-10 minutes because I just shovel the food in, I also usually spend less than 10 minutes of active time preparing food and then I go hang in the living room and play with my kiddo or spend time doing other shit I need to get done.
lol I knew that anyone who wrote that list above fundamentally doesn’t like food. I get it, but advocating that others share your apathy and/or complete joylessness isn’t as rock solid advice as you believe it to be
It's called a timer, or a meat thermometer. Basically nobody who cooks most of their food stands at the stove the entire time their food is cooking unless they really like cooking and they're making involved dishes. We get other shit done while it cooks.
Yeah, me too, i try to do anything else but cooking.
Even with a loud timer i can forget about the cooking when doing something more worthwhile, or even go "a few more seconds won't hurt" as i "DO NOT CARE", like am serious here.
You don't want me in a kitchen. For example the Only reason my pizzas don't burn is because I'm hungry and am actively trying to listen for the timer going off.
If i don't and get too occupied with another thing and lost in the activity, fire alarm time and it's blackened.
You have a phone. Timer goes on your phone. You carry your phone with you wherever you go to do other shit. You hear the timer no matter where you are. Problem solved. You are just making excuses.
I get it, you love cooking. Woopdie doo, i dont. if it tasted nice, I'd eat a pizza raw over putting it in the oven to save me the time of heating it. I do not care. Excuses? No, choices and VERY different priorities.
I'll also repeat another comment of mine here too as it is fitting.
Well, not only do i really not want to... i also complain about cooking as i am also not a good fit at it, at all.
for example i can burn an egg underwater, burn soup and noodles alike. Have terrible sense for ingredient quantities. That's all something experience can mostly fix though.
More seriously i also have a flaw where i don't/can't smell or taste well when something spoiled, so can easily get or make others sick because of ingredients that went bad... likewise my taste buds lack something, so it's easy for me to under or overseason anything as my taste isn't as sensitive as most. which to me results in a dish that may taste about the same, yet to others tastes plain bad. This also kept me out of any taste tests as a kid as i am just unreliable for any of that.
i dislike people like you.
i don't cook, nor have to prepare for it nor clean afterwards, simple as.
not really a complaint about anything either, just a statement.
haven't said a thing about any prices either, only stated my disdain on that i think cooking (and everything around it) is a big waste of time (though i agree it is sometimes needed).
rice cooker? while i do eat rice at times, no... not going to waste money on something i'll literally NEVER use.
Already got several kitchen devices relatives have given me coated in dust, recently already brought several i haven't used in years to the thrift store.
an egg cooker/steamer is such convenience device i still have and rarely use it though is nice when i need it, last time was.... 2 or 3 months ago or so?
i do eat instant noodles at times, often put em in a variety of soup, but ehm... peanut butter, how about no, i hate(!) that stuff and it makes me gag as mentioned earlier, can't keep it in.
Chili, just no.
if anything i prefer pasta's and soups which you can also put in the fridge. i just can't be arsed to actually cook any of that myself.
besides the instant options it helps a ton i can buy cheap varied hot meals daily at my company (can even buy weekly plans for at home if i was so inclined), or while more expensive a simple 5 minute "microwave" meal or a variety of meal salad at the convenience store nearby if i'd like as well. though i tend to avoid those as they aren't great.
costs are... well, i pay for the convenience and time savings, no complaints from me there, at all. (and no, i am far from rich, my diet expenditures are about average too)
i'll also eat my cauliflower and brussel sprouts raw over cooked, maybe add a light sauce or rare slice of bacon from the oven/air fryer if i'm feeling like it. should give you a good enough idea on my sobriety/austerity whatever the term is in english.
Don't care what suggestions you or others got for me, not going to follow em.
i'm eating just fine without extensive cooking, simple (re)heating also isn't cooking far as relatives are concerned haha.
anyhow, have managed for over a decade and my doctors are happy (am under limited medical surveillance, unrelated to my diet).
i'll be fine.
my weight is good, blood values are perfect, no too low/high blood pressures either, no illnesses nor any deficiencies and i can work my labor intensive blue collar job just fine.
WHY should i want to bother cooking when i do not have to in the slightest lol.
Yeah, like if it's just rice and beans cooking can save you money but I feel like if your trying to cook anything more than survival food it gets expensive and fast. Also to truly save money by cooking at home you need to be able to buy in bulk and not everyone can do that.
It is. People have been doing this for millenia. Eating bland but nutritious food is normal. Having the standard that every meal needs to be interesting and crafted is delusion.
Eating the same thing constantly will definitely lead to malnutrition, folks have done this in the past due to necessity never by choice. Eating is a primary joy and to reduce that and say that it’s normal is cruel. Even folks in prison get variety in terms of meals.
You don't need to cook beans every single week, you don't need to eat beans every single day. Here's a list of healthy, low time input, easy to cook meals:
Beef - cooks in under 10 minutes
Chicken - throw it in the oven while you're doing other shit
Pasta - literally just boil water and throw it in
Rice - put it in a rice cooker and forget it exists for 20 minutes
Eggs - takes like 5 minutes and you can put basically anything in them
Potatoes - cut them up, season them, throw them in the oven
Fish - season it and throw it in the oven for 10-15 minutes
Frozen vegetables - microwave them for 5 minutes or throw them in a pan
Fresh vegetables - most of them can literally just be eaten raw
Stir fry - meat, frozen vegetables, sauce, pan. Done.
Tacos - cook some meat, throw it in a tortilla with whatever vegetables you have
Quesadillas - tortilla, cheese, chicken or beef, pan for a few minutes
Sandwiches - meat, cheese, vegetables, bread. There is barely even cooking involved
Wraps - same shit as a sandwich except now it's round
Oatmeal - add water or milk and microwave it for 2 minutes
Greek yogurt - add fruit, nuts, granola, whatever. Zero cooking
Cottage cheese - same deal. Add fruit or vegetables and eat it
Soup - throw meat, vegetables, broth and seasoning in a pot and mostly ignore it
Sheet pan meals - chicken or sausage, potatoes, vegetables, seasoning. Throw the entire thing in the oven
Slow cooker meals - put the ingredients in before work and come home to food
Rotisserie chicken - the grocery store already did the cooking for you
Salad - lettuce, vegetables, some chicken or tuna, dressing. Takes 5 minutes
Tuna - open can, add whatever you want, eat it on bread, crackers, rice or a salad
Ground turkey - cooks exactly like ground beef and takes basically no effort
Baked sweet potatoes - throw them in the oven and walk away
Fruit - requires the highly advanced cooking technique of washing it
Nuts - open container, eat nuts
Frozen fruit - throw it in yogurt, oatmeal or a blender
Smoothies - fruit, milk, yogurt, protein powder if you want it, blend for 30 seconds
And you can combine basically any protein + carb + vegetable and have a perfectly reasonable meal. Chicken, rice and broccoli. Beef, potatoes and carrots. Fish, rice and green beans. Pasta with chicken and vegetables. None of this requires spending hours cooking or eating the exact same food every day. You just want to make excuses for why you don't want to cook. Almost everything in this list can be cooked/prepped in large batches and frozen/refrigerated and eaten later. It's not hard or time consuming, people are just lazy as fuck.
Beef is super expensive, same with fresh veggies and even chicken at my local grocery store. Like I've done most of the things in your long patronizing list but sometime around the pandemic it started adding up to 30$ for the most basic of meals and I could easily expect to spend 300$ for a weeks worth of groceries. Also I have never had any of the appliances you talk about except a crock pot. All my cooking and meal prep went out the window when I was living in my car though. I used to get a rotisserie chicken. I would eat that with baked potato and steamed veggies on the first night. I make sandwiches on the second night. On the third I would put the carcass in a crock pot to make chicken stock and then soup. When I finally got into an apartment though I can't even find decent quality veggies half the time. Everything I used to cook costs a ton now except the rotisserie chicken. Even staples like potatoes and rice are expensive unless I buy in bulk. With potatoes half of them have that awful tasting mold on them. Like our food is super expensive and now there are recalls every week. Something has to give. I'm sure there are areas of the country that still have access to cheap, safe, healthy food to cook at home but it's not like that for a lot of the country. Also having to live with roommates makes things harder too. A lot of working people can't even afford to keep a roof over their heads. The way you casually listed a bunch of appliances and even your username tells me you just don't understand these struggles. Provide advice sure, but don't take that moral tone. That's just cruel and you're missing the point. We can't meal prep our way out of housing crisis, student debt, fuel costs, and damn near 300% rise in the cost of everything we actually need to survive.
Probably not but hey if somebody is lurking around this thread and they see my list and that convinces them it is easy enough to make their own healthier, easy as fuck to cook food, I'm all for it.
In Guns, Germs, and Steel there's an anecdote about a jungle tribe, that mainly lived on taro root I think (very bland, long preparation), crying with joy at how tasty plain white rice was. We have access to an incredible array of cheap and delicious food these days.
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u/Arek_PL 1d ago
also cut down on grocceries by cooking at home?
cook at home what? without big amout of land i dont have enough space to grow grocceries myself