Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

When I buy wine for cooking, I buy cheap wine. Maybe if I'm making something fancy I will upgrade, but if I just need something to cook down into a sauce, I will happily buy a $6 wine. Whole Foods has a "Three Wishes" brand wine that is super cheap and I often grab if I need a wine reduction for just a weeknight sauce.

I buy the cheapest wine too but it is often around 8 bucks, which I think is still expensive to use each time I cook a meal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

?? cooking at home is MUCH cheaper - you just have to know what to cook. I never use red wine or weird dairy for italian. I just made a delicious dinner of meatballs and marinara for four people last night for around $20 (not counting the garlic, herbs & spices I already had at home). Honestly the most expensive thing was canned Cento tomatoes at around $7! That did shock me, but they are noticeably better than other brands.

I always have heavy cream, half-and-half, sour cream in the fridge, and my ideal fridge would also always have creme fraiche and mascarpone. The last 2 are only occasionally on-hand now that I'm poorer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

When I buy wine for cooking, I buy cheap wine. Maybe if I'm making something fancy I will upgrade, but if I just need something to cook down into a sauce, I will happily buy a $6 wine. Whole Foods has a "Three Wishes" brand wine that is super cheap and I often grab if I need a wine reduction for just a weeknight sauce.

Anonymous wrote:Costco box wine stays fresh forever and makes it very easy to put half a cup in your recipe. Got the tip from a professional chef friend!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

?? cooking at home is MUCH cheaper - you just have to know what to cook. I never use red wine or weird dairy for italian. I just made a delicious dinner of meatballs and marinara for four people last night for around $20 (not counting the garlic, herbs & spices I already had at home). Honestly the most expensive thing was canned Cento tomatoes at around $7! That did shock me, but they are noticeably better than other brands.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

When I buy wine for cooking, I buy cheap wine. Maybe if I'm making something fancy I will upgrade, but if I just need something to cook down into a sauce, I will happily buy a $6 wine. Whole Foods has a "Three Wishes" brand wine that is super cheap and I often grab if I need a wine reduction for just a weeknight sauce.

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

Anonymous wrote:Cooking at home is only meaningful cheaper when you kind of specialize in a type of food and have a lot of the ingredients in stock. I find that Italian cooking, for example, is not that cheap. Often I have to buy a bottle of wine (not a drinker here). And then I need to buy some kind of diary that goes bad, like cream or half and half, or sour cream. That stuff adds up.

Chinese cooking, in contrast, I find to be much more economical. A lot of the ingredients are shelf stable or can keep for a long time (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic etc).

Anonymous wrote:I mean you could but you're making choices about what youi're buying. Starting with guac, I make it. Not where near WF pre-prepared prices. Also do you need two meats? And what is "good salsa"? Again, I make pico and you can make hotter blender salsas (green, red, etc..).

Here's what I do:

Chicken: $10 for 1 lb organic tenders
Beans: $1 can
Rice: let's say $1 but likely pennies
Avocado: $4 for 2-3 depending on the week which is fine for a family of 4
Cilantro: $2
Onion: $1
Tomato: $2
Lettuce: $4
Jalapeno, bell peppers: $3
Lime: $2
Corn (frozen): $2
Sour cream: $4
Cheese: $4
Hot sauce: $4
Can of chipotle in adobo: $2
Spices and oils etc...: come on, you have these

This is $46 BUT except for the chicken and beans and avocados easily makes 2-3 meals or components (leftover veggies, rice, cheese, etc...). So really more like $20 a meal because I'm making salads, rice dishes, other things with the ingredients.

You will have ample leftovers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the ingredients list for the restaurant food. The stuff you made is a lot healthier.

Salt wise or seed oil wise?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you could but you're making choices about what youi're buying. Starting with guac, I make it. Not where near WF pre-prepared prices. Also do you need two meats? And what is "good salsa"? Again, I make pico and you can make hotter blender salsas (green, red, etc..).

Here's what I do:

Chicken: $10 for 1 lb organic tenders
Beans: $1 can
Rice: let's say $1 but likely pennies
Avocado: $4 for 2-3 depending on the week which is fine for a family of 4
Cilantro: $2
Onion: $1
Tomato: $2
Lettuce: $4
Jalapeno, bell peppers: $3
Lime: $2
Corn (frozen): $2
Sour cream: $4
Cheese: $4
Hot sauce: $4
Can of chipotle in adobo: $2
Spices and oils etc...: come on, you have these

This is $46 BUT except for the chicken and beans and avocados easily makes 2-3 meals or components (leftover veggies, rice, cheese, etc...). So really more like $20 a meal because I'm making salads, rice dishes, other things with the ingredients.

You will have ample leftovers.

10 bucks a pound for chicken is insane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TIL that people buy Whole Foods “guac.”

If you do your weekly grocery shopping at WF, why wouldn’t you buy their fresh made guacamole? It’s maybe a couple bucks more than mid-range grocers charge for a large container. It’s not shipped in, the employees told me they don’t carry it at times because it’s so labor intensive in the back. They make it fresh.

Anonymous wrote:TIL that people buy Whole Foods “guac.”