IMO, I think it breaks even, but eating out saves a lot of time! Healthier cooking at home? Yes. I studied this for myself (N=1), and my cooking is about US$10/meal give or take (asparagus, chicken, rice, water to drink). If you cook for two or more people, then I think cooking at home comes out ahead financially.
>cooking is about US$10/meal give or take (asparagus, chicken, rice, water to drink).
You must be eating an absolute TON to eat $10 worth of chicken, asparagus, and rice. I just checked the prices at Target and rice is $1.89 for 2 pounds, chicken thighs are $1.69 a pound. Asparagus is spendier at $5 for 1 pound.
How many pounds of chicken and asparagus are you eating? Even if you ate two pounds of chicken and the entire pound of asparagus you aren't hitting $10.
...and add the time for preparation, cleaning up etc.: Thats one of the most frustrating things when cooking for one person - you invest 45min to eat 5min and the rest is "organisation & logistics"
45 minutes is crazy. I have a chicken and rice dish I can make in 20 minutes (yes, I've timed myself because I'm weirdo and enjoy those chef shows). It takes 20 minutes because that's how long the rice takes. It can be faster if I use shrimp instead of chicken (more expensive though) and noodles instead of rice. It also makes ~3 servings.
Wow, i got downvoted for complaining about my cooking times on HackerNews, this is a real innovation:
so:
- 5 min walk to supermarket
- 10 min in there
- 5 min walk back home
- washing & cutting wedgetables 7 - 10 min
- maybe cutting some meat: 5 min on top
- eating 5 - 10 min
- cleaning up the kitchen 5 min
Haha...I didn't downvote you, but 45 minutes to cook seemed crazy to me unless you're making something new or complicated or you're socializing. You also kept eating separate from cooking in your first post.
I don't count the walk to the supermarket since even if you eat out almost every meal, you still tend to need to go to the grocery for items either way. And if you eat out, you still have to go there and back.
Cutting should be in parallel with cooking. Similar to cutting, cleaning should also be in parallel with cooking. For example, my knife and cutting board are washed, dried and put away before my sauce finishes simmering down.
That's why when it's just me I don't really do much cooking. I'll eat ultra-low prep stuff like toast (w/beans, hummus or avocado), bagged salad, frozen food, or grilled tofu.
