4 ms·

I was reminded of another recent HN post (Suppose I wanted to kill a lot of pilots) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37209309 https://news.ycombinator.com/i

by qwerpy 3y ago

I was reminded of another recent HN post (Suppose I wanted to kill a lot of pilots) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37209309 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37209309 after I read that comment. Whatever he's doing, do the exact opposite. I have a family of 4 and I can feed the entire family for one meal for $10. For example, pasta ($2), sauce ($3), and a protein ($5). Rice ($1), protein ($5), and a veggie ($4). For breakfast, milk ($1) and cereal ($1). On the other hand I took the family out to sushi yesterday which cost $100 and was admittedly more delicious than a home-cooked pasta meal.

bombcar 3y ago
And I know families that absolutely refuse to buy cereal because they feel it’s an overpriced rip-off. The main thing I’ve found with food prices is how processed you buy - the simpler the ingredients you use, likely the cheaper overall you’ll be. This isn’t always the case (I’m pretty sure I can buy sauce for less than buying the component parts) but you can easily hit $20-30 a day per person and still feel you’re “cooking at home”.
- RetroTechie 3y ago
  ^^^ This. Buy ingredients. Not ready-to-eat, highly processed foods. Where possible, buy from local producers (directly from farmer, bakery on the corner) rather than big box store. Like dried beans: soak overnight, cook, add some veggies & spices, enjoy. Tastier & cheaper than canned food.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    One thing people get surprised by is that “local” is often more expensive. But that’s local at retail. If you keep digging, you can find things like CSA (community supported agriculture) and get to personally know farmers, and then you can get the price for some things down (roadside stands around here in season beat Walmart handily). But for things like meat, you’ll never get small farm steak for cheaper than Walmart or Aldi - because the cows aren’t shoved in intensive dense cages. But the price will beat similar quality meats. The other key is learning to cook what is “in season” (see https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/ https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/ for general advice) - there’s a short period locally where strawberries become almost free. Get in tune with the seasons and eat the appropriate foods and your bills drop precipitously. Sure, you won’t eat strawberries in winter because you’re not having them shipped from Brazil, but you’ll also get a varied table. The other main thing I would say is get used to eating ugly foods. A local farmer can give you “factory seconds” - plants that are perfectly fine but LOOK bad - for cheap. Also keep an eye on waste - buying fifty pounds of potatoes for cheap from Costco is NOT a deal if half of them end up going to seed; getting a feel for how much you will actually use and not throw away brings the costs down further. Otherwise you’re throwing money directly in the trash (or compost pile, if you’re cooking at home you should be composting because soon you’ll be wanting to grow your own, even if it’s just herbs).
- qwerpy 3y ago
  Yeah, cereal was perhaps a bad example for “cheap and healthy”. I get unsugared minimally processed cereal like wheat flakes or muesli, but something like oatmeal would be even better. The trade off for buying less and less processed ingredients is spending more time to prepare them. I like to be on the side of “more time less processed food” but with two kids we are only able to accomplish that by having parents or a nanny live with us.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    I've loved using the crockpot (and somewhat less the pressure cooker) to counteract that, as total time for meal prep is less important than active time (including monitoring).

by qwerpy 3y ago

bombcar 3y ago

And I know families that absolutely refuse to buy cereal because they feel it’s an overpriced rip-off. The main thing I’ve found with food prices is how processed you buy - the simpler the ingredients you use, likely the cheaper overall you’ll be. This isn’t always the case (I’m pretty sure I can buy sauce for less than buying the component parts) but you can easily hit $20-30 a day per person and still feel you’re “cooking at home”.

RetroTechie 3y ago
^^^ This. Buy ingredients. Not ready-to-eat, highly processed foods. Where possible, buy from local producers (directly from farmer, bakery on the corner) rather than big box store. Like dried beans: soak overnight, cook, add some veggies & spices, enjoy. Tastier & cheaper than canned food.
- bombcar 3y ago
  One thing people get surprised by is that “local” is often more expensive. But that’s local at retail. If you keep digging, you can find things like CSA (community supported agriculture) and get to personally know farmers, and then you can get the price for some things down (roadside stands around here in season beat Walmart handily). But for things like meat, you’ll never get small farm steak for cheaper than Walmart or Aldi - because the cows aren’t shoved in intensive dense cages. But the price will beat similar quality meats. The other key is learning to cook what is “in season” (see https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/ https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/ for general advice) - there’s a short period locally where strawberries become almost free. Get in tune with the seasons and eat the appropriate foods and your bills drop precipitously. Sure, you won’t eat strawberries in winter because you’re not having them shipped from Brazil, but you’ll also get a varied table. The other main thing I would say is get used to eating ugly foods. A local farmer can give you “factory seconds” - plants that are perfectly fine but LOOK bad - for cheap. Also keep an eye on waste - buying fifty pounds of potatoes for cheap from Costco is NOT a deal if half of them end up going to seed; getting a feel for how much you will actually use and not throw away brings the costs down further. Otherwise you’re throwing money directly in the trash (or compost pile, if you’re cooking at home you should be composting because soon you’ll be wanting to grow your own, even if it’s just herbs).
qwerpy 3y ago
Yeah, cereal was perhaps a bad example for “cheap and healthy”. I get unsugared minimally processed cereal like wheat flakes or muesli, but something like oatmeal would be even better. The trade off for buying less and less processed ingredients is spending more time to prepare them. I like to be on the side of “more time less processed food” but with two kids we are only able to accomplish that by having parents or a nanny live with us.
- bombcar 3y ago
  I've loved using the crockpot (and somewhat less the pressure cooker) to counteract that, as total time for meal prep is less important than active time (including monitoring).