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Old 01-18-2014, 10:56 AM
 
Location: Michigan
2,198 posts, read 2,720,532 times
Reputation: 2105

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Quote:
Originally Posted by weltschmerz View Post
I have no idea what you're talking about. Halal means permitted in the Muslim faith. It's like Kosher in Judaism. You can't buy a case of Kosher.
Exactly what I was thinking.
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Old 01-19-2014, 05:37 AM
 
Location: Striving for Avalon
1,431 posts, read 2,472,164 times
Reputation: 3451
This varies wildly based on area and costs. ATM, I live in Australia

I spend approx $3-4 on breakfast and $5-9 on lunch/dinner while eating at home.
That covers fresh fruit, fresh salad/vegetables, frozen vegetables, oils & spices, fresh meat, rice, and bottled water. The water comes out of the faucet at 80F and tasting stale, so I buy bottled for $1per 1.5L. That means $100/week as a singleton isn't out of the ordinary.

Fresh produce is the killer. For taste and health, I avoid beef. Chicken thighs are $5/lb.

In New York, I face similar problems. I am a captive of a small supermarket (don't own a car). Meals end up costing $5+. A steak starts at $7, and they're often terrible until you start hitting $15. Forget lamb if you're budget conscious.

Problematically, I really struggle with weight (under control at present), so I try and limit carbohydrates. I don't eat cheese. I have an easier time satiating myself and limiting calories with rice rather than potato or wheat products, but even so, I find my meals don't lend themselves to $40 per week. My problem is stocking a variety of ingredients and maintaining freshness. Buying variety involves sinking significant $$$ at once. While restaurants have high premiums, they also benefit from bulk buying. With a large $1.20 egg roll cut in half, it would even be generous, for $3.10 per meal. The cheapest meal I would cook is spaghetti, Italian pork sausage, and sauce for about $3.50. The problem is that it's a nutritional nightmare. It's basically carbs and fat. Sides of salad/veg/fruit increase could easily double that.

Fresh can lead to waste. Frozen may not deliver quality. Buying quantities I can use in a reasonable time often leads to higher prices. Also, the items I buy (mostly rice/rarely pasta, vegetables, fruit, meat, and spices) seldom or never go on sale. The only ingredient I use regularly which always has an option on sale is olive oil. Oh well.

In contrast:
I can get a healthy "lunch plate" from my local Chinese place (steamed chicken, steamed veggies, brown rice, for example) for $5. It could stretch to 2 meals easily. Local delicatessens offer various deals for $5-7 that might include a huge sandwich + drink or a chicken cutlet, pasta, and drink. The (really good) local sushi place offers more balanced, nutritious lunch specials for $8 and up.
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Old 01-19-2014, 06:23 AM
 
14,294 posts, read 13,135,403 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ View Post
I know how to cook, I'm actually a pretty good cook when I want to be.

For a single person, I just don't see how it's economical to make a big meal. I price things at the grocery store and once I get done buying the noodles, the pasta sauce, the chicken, the garlic bread, etc...I keep thinking it's probably cheaper if I just go out and eat. If I buy a steak, vegetables, potatoes, etc...I've spent damn near $15 already.

I never cook in bulk because I don't eat leftovers. When I was growing up, it seemed that every few nights my mom cleaned out the fridge and forced us kids to eat the leftovers from the past three nightly meals. Now that I'm in my 30's...I really don't like leftovers.
Even leftovers can be creatively enhanced. But when I cook in bulk, I don't tend to look at the results as leftovers. When making burgers, for instance, if I am going to make and form 1 burger, it is almost as easy to form 6. Freeze the individual burgers for later use. Heck I freeze the buns too. Takes the pressure off to eat all the burger and buns before they go bad.

If I make an enchilada casserole, it is just as easy to make 4. Freeze 3. Talk about an easy night. Take the casserole out to thaw the day before. Come home. Place in oven. Love.


Quote:
I frequent four particular restaurants in Scottsdale and I'm such a regular customer that the two waitresses who usually have the section I sit in, know me by name and know what I want to drink as soon as I enter. I usually order one of three things on the menu and they know not to even ask if I want a to-go box because honestly...it would just sit in my fridge and get moldy. I don't do leftovers, I just can't after going through what I went through as a kid.
My hat is off to you that it makes it to the fridge. I usually forget mine either on the table or in the car.

Quote:
I'm just curious to what everyone else does. Being single, I really don't see it being cheaper eating in versus eating out. I'm almost forced to eat out during lunch because my group of co-workers always try different eateries close to work. With tips included, I probably spend around $30-$40/ day for food. I never think this is unreasonable?
What is reasonable is what YOU find reasonable. It is your budget after all. If you WANTED to eat more cheaply, one way to do it would be to shop more carefully, and cook at home. But if what you are doing works for you, have at it.
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Old 01-20-2014, 11:32 AM
 
143 posts, read 331,102 times
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If you need to spend $30-$40 a day for food, then you really don't know how to cook effectively. We spend $400 a month for 6 people.
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Old 01-20-2014, 02:10 PM
 
6,476 posts, read 4,872,040 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ View Post
With tips included, I probably spend around $30-$40/ day for food. I never think this is unreasonable?
I could eat for a WEEK on that - with meat!

Who needs burger buns? Cut out the soda. Have two burgers if you're that hungry, they're better for you. What I like to do is put some ground beef in a cast iron pan with veggies and sometimes rice. Maybe I'll add some broth and make "soup" from it. I don't mind leftovers though.

Buy in bulk and only cook what you want for that night. Freeze the rest.

Even when I'm away from home I don't spend that much on food in a day!

Last edited by WouldLoveTo; 01-20-2014 at 03:24 PM.. Reason: dumb typo
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Old 01-20-2014, 09:58 PM
 
Location: Volcano
12,969 posts, read 28,297,366 times
Reputation: 10755
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ View Post
I never said I was trying to necessarily be the most economical person ever but I just wanted a comparison between the costs of eating out versus eating at home.
Cutting through some of the smoke here, food in restaurants is typically priced at 3-4X the cost of the ingredients. So, in round numbers you can prepare 3 - 4 meals at home for the cost of eating a single meal out.

In addition, it's important to factor in that restaurants make their food more enticing by including more fat and more sugar and more salt than you'd ever use at home, so it is fundamentally less healthy to eat.

And lets not ignore the fact that eating out for every meal chews up a lot of time... traveling to the place, waiting to place an order, waiting for the food to be served, paying, traveling home... so in many cases, if I have done just a little planning, I can save time by cooking at home... especially when I cook a few meals at a time.
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Old 10-02-2015, 04:37 AM
 
Location: Floribama
18,933 posts, read 43,298,885 times
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Sometimes when I'm by myself I can cook a meal and then eat the leftovers for the next two days.
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Old 10-02-2015, 05:00 AM
 
162 posts, read 210,390 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ View Post
I know how to cook, I'm actually a pretty good cook when I want to be.


I never cook in bulk because I don't eat leftovers. When I was growing up, it seemed that every few nights my mom cleaned out the fridge and forced us kids to eat the leftovers from the past three nightly meals. Now that I'm in my 30's...I really don't like leftovers.
My poor children! I do the exact same thing to them. I think I'm the opposite. I hate to waste food. I'm going to have to push them into high paying careers, so they can afford to eat out for every meal!

For the hamburger example, buy the pound of ground beef and make 3 or 4 hamburger patties. Eat one and put the rest in the freezer uncooked. Pull out, thaw and cook when you're ready. Or you could make meat sauce or tacos with the rest. Other than that, you can make a pot or soup, stew, chili or spaghetti sauce and freeze individual portions for another week.

I can definitely see your thought process. There are things I don't make at home due to the cost. I made hot and sour soup one time. It came out pretty good, but cost at least $20. It's not something that you want to eat several nights in a row and doesn't freeze well. So now I just get it at our local Chinese restaurant for $3 when I want it.
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Old 10-02-2015, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Seoul
11,556 posts, read 9,276,364 times
Reputation: 4655
Depends on what you're cooking it can be either way cheaper or way more expensive. Anything based on wheat, rice, cornmeal, semolina is going to be really cheap. Like polenta, crepes, semolina porridge, etc. Some desserts can be cheap too, eight portions of flan only takes like 3-4 dollars to make.

The thing is tho, if you're looking for something exotic, like Thai or Indian, you're better off going to a restaurant. Those cuisines use a lot of ingredients not found in your pantry, so in order to make one dish you'll have to essentially get a completely new spice rack. Also I dont mean to be a cheese snob, but good cheese is like really ****ing expensive you guys. When I get parmesan cheese I dont get the **** in a green bottle, I like to get high quality goods. And of course quality aint cheap. Overall cooking at home is still a bit cheaper if you're single, but it's not exactly a blowout
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Old 10-03-2015, 12:31 AM
 
Location: USA
6,230 posts, read 6,893,948 times
Reputation: 10773
I live in a rented room with no cooking facilities other than a travel sized microwave. Very rarely eat out at a actual restaurant. My meals typically come from the local 7 Eleven and the local corner shop which makes fresh sandwiches. When on sale I purchase Lean Cuisine to microwave. I only spend $8-10 on a food a day.
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