I think your analysis is fair. Not everyone likes cooking and if you can afford eating out, and it makes for an enjoyable evening then go for it!

It's one thing to say "I make a tremendous salary so shopping and cooking and making food at home isn't worth it to me" but it's also totally false to say eating out is cheaper than eating at home.

A salad from Chop or a meal from ChikFilA is easily $15 per person. If you're ordering sushi or Thai or something it's easily $25-30 a person + delivery fees.

Let's say you eat Italian at home (store brand, nice ingredients):
- 1/4 box of pasta is 40 cents.
- 1/4 jar of Rao's is $2
- veggies for a small salad are about $2, but with dressing let's round up to $3
- $1 for 1/3 of a nice baguette
- throw a portion of meat and you're maybe close, but it would have to be steak or lobster on the daily to rival the $15 per portion price

Regular people food is more like $2 of a rotisserie chicken or chicken thighs, $2 worth of potato or rice/butter/cheese, $2 of veggies (half a bunch of asparagus, broccoli and lemon, bell pepper and spinach, whatever).

Figure that sometimes you eat a $5 Trader Joe's frozen butter chicken with some salad and sometimes you eat a steak, and you're breaking even.

I can see why you'd want to order food or pick it up and keep working. But honestly, it's not cheaper.

I do think if you are smart you can eat out relatively healthy with choices like sushi or salads with moderate dressing or home dressing, veggie-forward choices at fast casual places, fish, True Food Kitchen or Beefsteak instead of Five Guys or Chipotle.

Anonymous wrote:Lawyer here, too.

If you're cooking and cleaning for 90 minutes total versus ordering, driving and waiting and then driving home for take out, it really isn't 90 min billable lost to cooking. It is 90 min billable lost OR 45 min billable lost. The question is whether on a daily basis that 45 extra minutes you're losing is worth it. I think there is an issue with HOW you cook that is causing it to be a 90 min. process including clean up. You could get partially made meals (Trader Joe's, Costco, etc.) which would cut your time down significantly, and would most likely make the cooking/cleaning time LESS than the 45 min to get take out.

Therefore, I don't think the real issue is the lost billable hours. I think the issue is you don't want to cook, as you said. So don't. Your billable rate and job are irrelevant.

+1

OP you spent $100 on this thread

I feel bad for your kid because your bad attitude has rubbed off to the point where they don’t enjoy cooking.

I love to cook. I find that I can prep most meals within within half an hour, and then dinner is ready in another hour.

I’ve gotten some really simple and delicious recipes from this site. But honestly, you can cook most meals with very little prep. You don’t need to have restaurant quality food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many ways to prep ahead, clean as you go, and generally make it easier for yourself. But if you are committed to not learning any of those techniques or skills and are instead convinced that cooking = making a huge mess and doing it all in the moment, then what is there to say?

For *you,* it does sound better to eat at a restaurant. For people willing to learn some basic skills, techniques, tips, and tricks, and put in some practice, it's well worth it--rewarding, satisfying, even--to cook at home.

OP here. Actually I do know how to cook. My mother taught me in my childhood in Europe, mostly French and Austrian dishes. Because she was busy working, as a teenager it was me who would cook for our family of four on a daily basis. I dare even say that I am an excellent cook. But I just do not enjoy it, and now that I am older, I tire more easily than in my youth.

I kind of doubt this because an excellent cook who has cooked her whole life would know how to create simple healthy meals. We should be asking you for advice

OP here. The French and Austrian dishes that I learned in my childhood or neither simple nor particularly healthy.

I don’t cook. I hate it. So my husband cooks.

You must not know how to add. Entrees are running $20 each. $40 for 2. $80 for 4 plus tax and tip. I can make 2-3 dinner for $$120 including steak and shrimp.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many ways to prep ahead, clean as you go, and generally make it easier for yourself. But if you are committed to not learning any of those techniques or skills and are instead convinced that cooking = making a huge mess and doing it all in the moment, then what is there to say?

For *you,* it does sound better to eat at a restaurant. For people willing to learn some basic skills, techniques, tips, and tricks, and put in some practice, it's well worth it--rewarding, satisfying, even--to cook at home.

OP here. Actually I do know how to cook. My mother taught me in my childhood in Europe, mostly French and Austrian dishes. Because she was busy working, as a teenager it was me who would cook for our family of four on a daily basis. I dare even say that I am an excellent cook. But I just do not enjoy it, and now that I am older, I tire more easily than in my youth.

I kind of doubt this because an excellent cook who has cooked her whole life would know how to create simple healthy meals. We should be asking you for advice

I buy some ready made foods at specialty stores and buy stir fry mixes of peppers , broccoli and snow peas put together at the supermarket, simple recipes like chicken stir fry, avocado toast with toppings, pasta with ready made sauce, ready made salads.

It’s not hard.

I love cooking for my family (me and DD). There is never any real cleanup since I do it as I go. I make 150/hr as a personal trainer. That time whit my kid is precious -- even though I oculd have seen 2-3 clients.

I get it OP, except I bill $450/hour.

Still, your meals are taking too long. It rarely takes me more than 15 minutes of active labor to cook dinner, and I clean as I go. Very quick and tasty, healthy meals. An hour start to finish maybe, but like tonight, I dumped rice and chicken stock in the rice cooker and pressed the button. When there are 15 minutes left I will trim and sauté some pork tenderloin medallions, and assemble salad and a homemade lemon garlic vinaigrette. Toss everything in the dishwasher when I am done. Active work is more like 5 minutes because I’ll be surfing DCUM once I flip the pork medallions, salad will be done by then.

Lawyer here, too.

If you're cooking and cleaning for 90 minutes total versus ordering, driving and waiting and then driving home for take out, it really isn't 90 min billable lost to cooking. It is 90 min billable lost OR 45 min billable lost. The question is whether on a daily basis that 45 extra minutes you're losing is worth it. I think there is an issue with HOW you cook that is causing it to be a 90 min. process including clean up. You could get partially made meals (Trader Joe's, Costco, etc.) which would cut your time down significantly, and would most likely make the cooking/cleaning time LESS than the 45 min to get take out.

Therefore, I don't think the real issue is the lost billable hours. I think the issue is you don't want to cook, as you said. So don't. Your billable rate and job are irrelevant.

I have a great friend in London who is very busy. She cooks dinner - basically the same dinner every night. Vegetable and meat (no sauce). I was super impressed that she had dinner on the table in 10 minutes and her kids didn't complain the way mine do about not liking this or that.

Use a service like Blue Apron to save time. Get a cleaner who does food prep.