Why Making, Instead of Buying, Dinner Could Make You Thinner
wired.com
wired.com
Because I can see something interesting happening here, when compared to UI and processes. People hate 'harder' processes, even when the end result is better.
We're told that we need simple UI's, and given what people think of even "simple" (to hackers) complexity, I think this principle is NOT in play. None of my relatives ever said "I really like watching this show, it was HARD to program the VCR to record it!" (Yes I know).
The again, as a hacker I DO derive more pleasure from completing a difficult task. So maybe it's problem solvers VS everyone else.
When I buy something compared to make something, I basically bring it down to how much I get paid per hour. If I get paid 30 dollars an hour, and it takes me 30 minutes to make something, my time is better spent doing something else if I can pay less than 15 bucks for it.
If you're cooking by yourself don't alter the recipe for a single person, freeze it! You'll likely spend much less $/minute for all of the meals and definitely eat healthier. Not to mention $/minute is a silly thing to use unless you get paid hourly and for any hour of the day. I don't think I've ever ordered a pizza and then got down to business while I waited.
A stir fry with noodles
Kedgeree
Steak Frites
Blackened Chicken, cajun beans and rice
Moules Mariniere
An incredible range of salads the likes of which would convince you you're not eating something incredibly healthy
Almost any soup
A dry Indian Chicken Garam Masala-based curry
As an example, take cheese on toast. I use cheddar on mine, you might not have it as easily available. Get some cheddar, cut four small slices, toast either side of the bread lightly, stick the cheese on, turn the heat down and melt for five minutes. All good stuff but plain. On the other hand, put some cumin in, or coriander, or garlic salt, onion granules, rosemary and thyme. Completely different.
Take some tinned tuna, stick it in a bowl. Add paprika, cayenne pepper, a squeeze of tomato puree, a couple of teaspoons of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of mustard, basil (I think it's cilantro in US English) and dried coriander. Mix it all up. You can eat it straight like that, you can boil up a bit of rice and mix it in, you can pour it onto toast, you can stick it in the oven with lightly crushed plain potato chips and cheese on top for 15 minutes, you can boil up some pasta and mix it in, you can mix it in a salad, you can put it in a sandwich or you can make 4 times as much, stick it in an air tight tub and put it in the fridge, then you have enough for a week.
Here's another one that's cheap and has hardly any washing up. Get two round cobs of bread, slice the top off and hollow them out, tear up the bread you pulled from inside into small pieces, wet the underside of the cob slightly with water and put the cobs in a warm oven for 2-5 minutes.
Get some soup, any soup but nice soup is better, spring onion or vegetable soup better still and warm it up. Pour it into the cob once warm. Have the soup using the top slice as a spoon and hollowed out bread bits as dipping chunks, then eat the cob when you're finished if you're still hungry. Don't forget to fill the pan you heated the soup with up with water when it's empty, it's the only thing you have to wash. I do this as an entree with a leek and stilton soup, it takes about two or three times to perfect but it's definitely a great starter when you're inviting someone over for dinner.
Food you prepare at home tends to have less fat/sugar than food you buy already prepared (especially when you're using raw ingredients)
Also, when I make a food for myself, laziness plays a role. Cooking a second serving takes more effort.
I do not have industrial size cooking ware, so there is a physical limitation to how much food I can cook at once.
I am not inclined to go through the whole process a second time, even when I might have eaten more if it was offered to me.
We always have leftovers that end up feeding us for multiple meals, if anything I eat MORE when I home cook because I don't have to stop!