4 ms·

I really don't understand the mentality that eating and/or cooking is a "waste of time". Not picking on you specifically it is a common idea and part of the ide

I really don't understand the mentality that eating and/or cooking is a "waste of time". Not picking on you specifically it is a common idea and part of the idea behind products like Soylent. I prefer to enjoy the moments of preparing my food and eating it.

jsonmez 11y ago
I cook my dinner, but I rather not cook multiple meals a day.
beachstartup 11y ago
i'm a food guy, but i only really "enjoy" cooking on the weekends when i can take hours to do it, or try totally new things without having worked all day (more energy and mental horsepower to dedicated to it). for example 80% of my weekdays are: 2 eggs s.s.u. in the morning for breakfast. chicken leg and vegetable seared and roasted for 30 mins. in cast iron and a basic salad for dinner. lunch is the same 5 or 6 restaurants that i know are cheap fast and healthy around my office, or i skip if i'm too busy. i do fast occasionally when i've overeaten as part of my weight management strategy. i think the main reason i couldn't fast at lunch is social/habitual. also, friday team lunches are more elaborate.
JeremyNT 11y ago
> I really don't understand the mentality that eating and/or cooking is a "waste of time". Not picking on you specifically it is a common idea and part of the idea behind products like Soylent. I prefer to enjoy the moments of preparing my food and eating it. I think it's best summed up as "people enjoy different things." An example for you: I'm a cyclist. I love to assemble and work on my bikes, because I derive enjoyment from the process of working on the things I will use. This is incredibly similar conceptually to a cook who enjoys cooking their meals; it's not a "waste" of time for either of us, because in each case we derive satisfaction from the act of working on the thing we will eventually enjoy. I also really enjoy eating (good) food. And so you might think that I would share the same interest in food preparation that I have in bicycle maintenance, but I absolutely do not. I cannot stand cooking, for reasons that I could not really articulate. It simply does not quite manage to tickle the right parts of my brain. Left to my own devices I'd probably subsist mostly on "good enough" food that requires little or no preparation (such as nuts and fruit). I understand Soylent from this perspective, and the intermittent fasting / one meal a day thing makes a great deal of sense to me as well.
clentaminator 11y ago
I think it just comes down to frequency, "necessity" of an activity, and context. Someone might like driving, but are they going to enjoy driving to and from a work environment every day of the week? Perhaps. They might enjoy it so much that they love it. And the work might make it worthwhile. But making that thing a requirement seems like an easy way to transform it into something that's just not as fun as go-where-you-want-when-you-want free drive. I think it just comes down to whether or not you you're forced into doing something as a means to an end. Cooking for subsistence rather than for pleasure, for example.
Nadya 11y ago
If dishes cleaned themselves I would cook more. I don't mind cooking but I hate having to clean dishes so I avoid cooking anything that dirties more than two dishes. Cooking leaves me with two options: 1) Clean immediately after preparing my meal. Food is now cold and unenjoyable, but dishes are done! 2) Put off cleaning dishes until after my meal and food has settled so I can actually enjoy my food and the result of my labor. Food is now stuck to the pots/pans and things need to be scrubbed rather than rinsed. God help me if it was oatmeal I had forgotten about for 30~ minutes. That stuff turns into glue! So I buy Soylent. I prepare it when I get home. I give the blender a quick rinse and I'm done. Since it is better cold than warm I can put it in the fridge and forget about it until I'm hungry.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  Put water into every cooking vessel immediately; leave and clean at your leisure. Its simple.
  - Nadya 11y ago
    If you're going to bother filling each cooking utensil with water you're better off giving them a quick rinse with a spray faucet. As it's faster to spray each utensil than to fill each container. Your "simple" method is a worse version of method 1 and doesn't actually solve the problem.
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      Oh chill. Just put a little water in, drop it in the sink. 2 seconds max. And for a guy that doesn't cook, you sure are an expert.
      - Nadya 11y ago
        I handwashed dishes for 9 years. I also cooked dinner for the family (my mother and three sisters, stepfather was usually still at work) daily. I was also left with the dishes (as we did not have a mechanical dishwasher). Not liking to cook has fuck all to do with not knowing how to cook. People who make that assumption and then are judgmental about people who dislike to cook piss me off. My issue is not that I've never cooked in my life or that I don't cook. Sure, I could solve this by getting frozen lasagna and baking it for an hour ten. Absolutely no cleaning involved there! But that isn't cooking so much as preparing a pre-made meal. What's something you don't like doing so I can judge and belittle you for it?
neves 11y ago
Don't forget the cultural aspects. Cultures like the French or Italian enjoy more their food moments. In their ultra efficient society, the Americans — generalization warning! — don't think is really an important social moment. No mystery that Soylent is an American thing.

jsonmez 11y ago

I cook my dinner, but I rather not cook multiple meals a day.

beachstartup 11y ago

i'm a food guy, but i only really "enjoy" cooking on the weekends when i can take hours to do it, or try totally new things without having worked all day (more energy and mental horsepower to dedicated to it). for example 80% of my weekdays are: 2 eggs s.s.u. in the morning for breakfast. chicken leg and vegetable seared and roasted for 30 mins. in cast iron and a basic salad for dinner. lunch is the same 5 or 6 restaurants that i know are cheap fast and healthy around my office, or i skip if i'm too busy. i do fast occasionally when i've overeaten as part of my weight management strategy. i think the main reason i couldn't fast at lunch is social/habitual. also, friday team lunches are more elaborate.

JeremyNT 11y ago

> I really don't understand the mentality that eating and/or cooking is a "waste of time". Not picking on you specifically it is a common idea and part of the idea behind products like Soylent. I prefer to enjoy the moments of preparing my food and eating it. I think it's best summed up as "people enjoy different things." An example for you: I'm a cyclist. I love to assemble and work on my bikes, because I derive enjoyment from the process of working on the things I will use. This is incredibly similar conceptually to a cook who enjoys cooking their meals; it's not a "waste" of time for either of us, because in each case we derive satisfaction from the act of working on the thing we will eventually enjoy. I also really enjoy eating (good) food. And so you might think that I would share the same interest in food preparation that I have in bicycle maintenance, but I absolutely do not. I cannot stand cooking, for reasons that I could not really articulate. It simply does not quite manage to tickle the right parts of my brain. Left to my own devices I'd probably subsist mostly on "good enough" food that requires little or no preparation (such as nuts and fruit). I understand Soylent from this perspective, and the intermittent fasting / one meal a day thing makes a great deal of sense to me as well.

clentaminator 11y ago

I think it just comes down to frequency, "necessity" of an activity, and context. Someone might like driving, but are they going to enjoy driving to and from a work environment every day of the week? Perhaps. They might enjoy it so much that they love it. And the work might make it worthwhile. But making that thing a requirement seems like an easy way to transform it into something that's just not as fun as go-where-you-want-when-you-want free drive. I think it just comes down to whether or not you you're forced into doing something as a means to an end. Cooking for subsistence rather than for pleasure, for example.

Nadya 11y ago

If dishes cleaned themselves I would cook more. I don't mind cooking but I hate having to clean dishes so I avoid cooking anything that dirties more than two dishes. Cooking leaves me with two options: 1) Clean immediately after preparing my meal. Food is now cold and unenjoyable, but dishes are done! 2) Put off cleaning dishes until after my meal and food has settled so I can actually enjoy my food and the result of my labor. Food is now stuck to the pots/pans and things need to be scrubbed rather than rinsed. God help me if it was oatmeal I had forgotten about for 30~ minutes. That stuff turns into glue! So I buy Soylent. I prepare it when I get home. I give the blender a quick rinse and I'm done. Since it is better cold than warm I can put it in the fridge and forget about it until I'm hungry.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago
Put water into every cooking vessel immediately; leave and clean at your leisure. Its simple.
- Nadya 11y ago
  If you're going to bother filling each cooking utensil with water you're better off giving them a quick rinse with a spray faucet. As it's faster to spray each utensil than to fill each container. Your "simple" method is a worse version of method 1 and doesn't actually solve the problem.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Oh chill. Just put a little water in, drop it in the sink. 2 seconds max. And for a guy that doesn't cook, you sure are an expert.
    - Nadya 11y ago
      I handwashed dishes for 9 years. I also cooked dinner for the family (my mother and three sisters, stepfather was usually still at work) daily. I was also left with the dishes (as we did not have a mechanical dishwasher). Not liking to cook has fuck all to do with not knowing how to cook. People who make that assumption and then are judgmental about people who dislike to cook piss me off. My issue is not that I've never cooked in my life or that I don't cook. Sure, I could solve this by getting frozen lasagna and baking it for an hour ten. Absolutely no cleaning involved there! But that isn't cooking so much as preparing a pre-made meal. What's something you don't like doing so I can judge and belittle you for it?

neves 11y ago

Don't forget the cultural aspects. Cultures like the French or Italian enjoy more their food moments. In their ultra efficient society, the Americans — generalization warning! — don't think is really an important social moment. No mystery that Soylent is an American thing.