4 ms·

Time/ability is a big factor when it comes to what people eat. Throwing a frozen pizza in the oven is fast, easy and requires no extra dishes. You can even just

by nimos 10y ago

Time/ability is a big factor when it comes to what people eat. Throwing a frozen pizza in the oven is fast, easy and requires no extra dishes. You can even just use the box it came in is a plate, so I've heard. Being comfortable in the kitchen is important too. If you have to go looking up recipes and following them exactly that can make cooking at home a lot slower and tedious. It's easy to point out things like dried beans and cheap root vegetables but those only really compete on the cost perspective, convenience and ease are just as important IMO.

VLM 10y ago
Consider that a banana is both easier to unwrap, faster to unwrap, cheaper, and healthier than a granola bar... So are carrots and they don't even need unwrapping (although I'd rinse off a carrot before eating it) Or at the very bottom of the hierarchy, below the bags of salad you dump in a bowl you provide, there are salads sold already in a plastic bowl, simply break the seal and eat them. Usually you have to tear open a plastic envelope of salad dressing but its not that hard. They're still cheaper and more filling than a big mac. Food is a multidimensional problem. The opposite of a big mac is probably not a Rutabaga or a cactus leaf or a bag of uncooked unseasoned rice.
- ConceptJunkie 10y ago
  The opposite of a Big Mac is a Wendy's burger. I always used to joke that McDonald's sucked all the joy out of their burgers and sold it to Wendy's and other fast food places to keep their profits up. Of course, I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now.
  - Havoc 10y ago
    > I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now. 10/10 optimism
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - white-flame 10y ago
    > Of course, I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now. Having seen one recently after a few decades, I think it should be renamed "Mac" to keep in line with truth in advertising laws. I've seen currency larger in diameter than a "Big" Mac.
- bluedino 10y ago
  >> Consider that a banana is both easier to unwrap, faster to unwrap, cheaper, and healthier than a granola bar... I can keep a granola bar in my desk for a month though....Bananas I have to get every week.
  - smallnamespace 10y ago
    Every time I'm in a Google microkitchen though, I'm struck by how many people grab the prepackaged snacks and candy while ignoring the fresh, seasonal fruit on the counter.
    - bagacrap 10y ago
      The bananas are always green.
- noxToken 10y ago
  > there are salads sold already in a plastic bowl, simply break the seal and eat them....They're still cheaper and more filling than a big mac Where do you live such that a premade salad in a bowl is cheaper than a Big Mac? I'd argue that a bagged salad with multiple servings without the dressing (in same cases, with the dressing) would be as much or cheaper. I don't think I'd be able to find an open-and-eat salad under ~$4. Not at a grocer and certainly not at a convenience store nor restaurant. Bagged salads are definitely cheaper per server by a wide margin though.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    This whole thread is really poor without knowing the locality of commenters. In UK a Big Mac is £2.99 [1] (ie ~$3.75), [2] says it's ~214g and 500kcal. Apparently it has 42g of salad in it [4]. Tesco, one of the biggest UK supermarkets, sell bowled salads at around the £1 mark, [3]; that's for 100g and about 100kcal. Per kcal the Big Mac is cheaper. Assuming you need food to meet a particular energy intake per day then eating _these_ salads will be ~60% more expensive than eating Big Macs. [1] Google.co.uk [2] http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter/fast_food.htm http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counte... [3] http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=salad&icid=tescohp_sws-1_salad&N=4294153460 http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?s... [4] http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questions/food/business-operations/whats-the-average-weight-in-grams-of-a-big-mac-in-the-uk.html http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questio...
    - mrob 10y ago
      That Big Mac is bad value for money. Burger King sells double cheeseburgers for £1.50, which gives you twice the protein and 1.7x the calories for the money.
white-flame 10y ago
"Ease" and "comfortable" are just familiarity, and can be very easily acquired. To flip your statement, "Just throw some $FOOD on the stove" sounds simpler and easier than "Deal with messy, gross frozen pizza and cardboard" to many, so the example shows its subjectivity. If you care even a bit about health, it's a no-brainer to acquire some basic kitchen skills. People have been doing such things for thousands of years; 20xx first-worlders living with sanitation and kitchen conveniences should have no problem.
smileysteve 10y ago
My George Foreman does this for me eating chicken. I can just throw a mostly thawed chicken breast on there, wait for it to click at temperature, check to make sure it has browned, and then eat it.

by nimos 10y ago

VLM 10y ago

Consider that a banana is both easier to unwrap, faster to unwrap, cheaper, and healthier than a granola bar... So are carrots and they don't even need unwrapping (although I'd rinse off a carrot before eating it) Or at the very bottom of the hierarchy, below the bags of salad you dump in a bowl you provide, there are salads sold already in a plastic bowl, simply break the seal and eat them. Usually you have to tear open a plastic envelope of salad dressing but its not that hard. They're still cheaper and more filling than a big mac. Food is a multidimensional problem. The opposite of a big mac is probably not a Rutabaga or a cactus leaf or a bag of uncooked unseasoned rice.

ConceptJunkie 10y ago
The opposite of a Big Mac is a Wendy's burger. I always used to joke that McDonald's sucked all the joy out of their burgers and sold it to Wendy's and other fast food places to keep their profits up. Of course, I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now.
- Havoc 10y ago
  > I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now. 10/10 optimism
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- white-flame 10y ago
  > Of course, I haven't had a Big Mac in about 25 years... maybe they're better now. Having seen one recently after a few decades, I think it should be renamed "Mac" to keep in line with truth in advertising laws. I've seen currency larger in diameter than a "Big" Mac.
bluedino 10y ago
>> Consider that a banana is both easier to unwrap, faster to unwrap, cheaper, and healthier than a granola bar... I can keep a granola bar in my desk for a month though....Bananas I have to get every week.
- smallnamespace 10y ago
  Every time I'm in a Google microkitchen though, I'm struck by how many people grab the prepackaged snacks and candy while ignoring the fresh, seasonal fruit on the counter.
  - bagacrap 10y ago
    The bananas are always green.
noxToken 10y ago
> there are salads sold already in a plastic bowl, simply break the seal and eat them....They're still cheaper and more filling than a big mac Where do you live such that a premade salad in a bowl is cheaper than a Big Mac? I'd argue that a bagged salad with multiple servings without the dressing (in same cases, with the dressing) would be as much or cheaper. I don't think I'd be able to find an open-and-eat salad under ~$4. Not at a grocer and certainly not at a convenience store nor restaurant. Bagged salads are definitely cheaper per server by a wide margin though.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  This whole thread is really poor without knowing the locality of commenters. In UK a Big Mac is £2.99 [1] (ie ~$3.75), [2] says it's ~214g and 500kcal. Apparently it has 42g of salad in it [4]. Tesco, one of the biggest UK supermarkets, sell bowled salads at around the £1 mark, [3]; that's for 100g and about 100kcal. Per kcal the Big Mac is cheaper. Assuming you need food to meet a particular energy intake per day then eating _these_ salads will be ~60% more expensive than eating Big Macs. [1] Google.co.uk [2] http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter/fast_food.htm http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counte... [3] http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=salad&icid=tescohp_sws-1_salad&N=4294153460 http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?s... [4] http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questions/food/business-operations/whats-the-average-weight-in-grams-of-a-big-mac-in-the-uk.html http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/whatmakesmcdonalds/questio...
  - mrob 10y ago
    That Big Mac is bad value for money. Burger King sells double cheeseburgers for £1.50, which gives you twice the protein and 1.7x the calories for the money.

white-flame 10y ago

"Ease" and "comfortable" are just familiarity, and can be very easily acquired. To flip your statement, "Just throw some $FOOD on the stove" sounds simpler and easier than "Deal with messy, gross frozen pizza and cardboard" to many, so the example shows its subjectivity. If you care even a bit about health, it's a no-brainer to acquire some basic kitchen skills. People have been doing such things for thousands of years; 20xx first-worlders living with sanitation and kitchen conveniences should have no problem.

smileysteve 10y ago

My George Foreman does this for me eating chicken. I can just throw a mostly thawed chicken breast on there, wait for it to click at temperature, check to make sure it has browned, and then eat it.