Let me preface this by saying that many people have written about this topic. If you do research online you can find a lot of information on the economy of cooking your own meals. I think about food a lot, if you hadn't noticed, and I have a tendency to talk about it quite frequently. There are a few reoccurring comment that I hear from people that just stop me dead in my tracks.
1. I do not have time to cook. - By doing some of the meals at work in a short lunch break that is proven wrong and it shows that there are many, many meals that you can do in short order, sometimes even quicker than driving to a fast food restaurant and waiting to get poor quality food for what ends up costing you much more in food bills and medical bills. If it is just a lack of motivation, that is another topic which I cannot help with. If you have the motivation you will find a way to cook home meals.
2. Cooking at home is too expensive compared to fast food meals. This I have to dispute as this makes no sense to me. You can buy food at discount in bulk and that can last you from 2-50 meals depending on what the food product is.
Jed and I purchase rice and beans in large amounts. We have a tendency to eat rice in large amounts so the bag might last you a year or more, while for Jed and I we can go through it in one month. That bag can give you over 40 cups of rice. If you're purchasing that bag for $20 dollars (it's usually less and you can buy different types for different prices) then you're paying about 50 cents per every cup of rice you make. When you eat rice from a restaurant (Chinese or anything else) they usually charge you between $2.50 or more for that same amount. You can add it as a filler for many meals and you can make rice quickly while you are preparing the rest of your meal. Not only is the ingredient inexpensive, but the time you spend on it is minimal. If you're thinking about your time as money, then prepping rice to cook (white rice) is about a minute. You pour water into a pot and turn it on, wait for it to come to boil then add your rice, lower the temperature and set the timer. This takes even less time if you have a rice cooker: pour water and rice into bowl and it's done when it dings. The time you spent on a home cooked meal plus the money you would be paying someone else to cook that meal is all being pulled back into your income. You are saving in ingredients, in medical bills as you are not putting processed food into your (and your families) body, your time that you get to share with your family, and on money.
An example, today I made some linguica sandwiches. I purchased 12 buns for $2.59, 5 large links of linguica (each of which make two sandwiches) for $6.35, and a white onion for $.73. These ingredients (plus a little bit of oil and mustard) can make 10 sandwiches and if everyone is hungry and eats two sandwiches can feed 5 people, with two extra buns, or for people who don't want that much meat it can be divided into 12 sandwiches and 6 servings of two sandwiches. The total cost is: $9.67 making each sandwich cost about $.81. You pay $5 per sandwich if you go anywhere else or more if you add fries. A meal that is under a dollar can cost you 10 times that if you go out to buy it. This can feed your family for a couple of meals, making your food cost for a day fairly low.
Another example is making home granola, you can get as fancy as you want or as plain as you like, either way, you will end up paying a lot less than if you were to purchase already made granola. Today I picked up 5lbs of rolled oats at $.69 a lb, 3lbs of 8 rolled grains at $.89 a lb, raw mix of seeds, nuts, and raisins at $3.59 a lb for 1 lb. You'll need honey for your granola and that can add a little more if you don't have honey already, or just use some that you purchased in large quantities and the cost will be less. In total we'll end up with a little over 9lbs of granola for $10.71 (added a dollar for honey as I buy it in large 5lb containers for $13, which I won't use that much for this quantity) meaning each lb of granola I make at home (for this batch) is about $1.19, which you will agree is much less than anything you can purchase already made at the store, even in bulk. This way you'll know exactly what is going into your granola, you get to enjoy making it, the heat of it will in the oven will heat your house, you'll spend time with your family or friends, and you get to enjoy great tasting granola for a while.
You can do it. If you look at ways to bring things home you'll understand how much better it is to cook your own food and to create your own meals. Enjoying time with friends and family is an added perk to the process, but the main goal is to understand that your efforts are helping you save money and enjoy great tasting food that you made. Next time you are about to pick up a hamburger or a hotdog, think about how much cheaper and delicious that meal would be if you made it, or for any other food for that matter. You can cook at home or in the office, all it takes is a little effort. Your time is definitely worth it.
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