i loved this analysis, i think it is spot on. i love to cook and dont mind buying more expensive ingredients (organic, locally grown, free range, etc) because i know it is so much better for my wallet, my body, and the planet than me hopping in my car, driving out each night wasting gas, etc.

i discuss the value in a fast food meal, and i wanted to include time costs. your calculation was extremely useful!

The True Cost of a Meal: Nutrition, Dollars… and Time?

The cost of expensive staples, as discussed a bit here in the comments, can be slashed drastically with a few steps. Buy spices from a place that sells them in bulk. Not to buy bulk levels of them, but to enjoy the huge cost savings. You do have to watch that the place you go keeps fresh supplies, however.

And I have an olive oil secret: Aldi sells a really, really good extra virgin. The price has fallen off my bottle but I think it runs about $4 for 500mL. I just opened mine up to sniff. Pure fresh, green, super-olivey aroma.

Also, some cost-effective cooking that may seem labor-intensive doesn’t have to be. I’ve taken to soaking and cooking my own beans, then freezing the cooked beans in can-portioned quantities. My gods, woman! I hear you say, beans take hours!

Not really. Maybe ten minutes to pick through them, rinse them and put them on to soak, either quick or overnight. Five minutes to replace the water afterward, if that’s your wont, and turn on the stove. Two hours or so later, spend ten minutes portioning out the cooked beans.

Ha, yeah, the XP you get from cooking has to be way more than the XP for walking to a restaurant! Plus, cooking is a tradeskill.

That said, a good way to get over the initial shock of stocking a pantry is to pick a cuisine. Rather than planning to bake cupcakes, make lasagna, grill brisket, and freeze burritos in your first week, just get some basics for Mexican food. Make tacos, burritos, flank steak, and huevos for a few days and you’ll probably use a much higher proportion of those initial purchases. Or – even better – tag along with your foodie friend and split pantry staples so you only end up with a cup of olive oil instead of a barrel.

The cost of cooking can also be cut by a lot if people cooked with fruits and vegetables that are in season and if they just planned their meals based on what is on sale. Almost all grocery stores post their sales each week online so planning a meal based on what is on sale is relatively easy.

For me, the joy of cooking is based on the skills I learn as I practice cooking more and also the joy I get from feeding people some delicious food that I created.

I definitely agree with Chris and Scott that most benefits I get from cooking are NOT economic. Using it as a stress reliever is something I’ve done for awhile.

@Mimi. Good luck! Hang in there. It can be incredibly hard to change your eating habits, but very worth it in the long run.

Thanks for adding to the discussion everybody.

Your friend’s say it is cost but they don’t mean it in terms of money. We’ve become a society who outsources all of it’s work. A new elite that does not have to raise our kids, do our lawn, scrub our toilet or make food. When your friends don’t cook for themselves, they are really taking advantage of the fact that someone is being their personal chef. They have yet someone else to delegate to. When they outsource their meal to a restaurant, they get the benefit of someone doing the labor, using their gas/electricity, they do the grocery shopping and they do the cleanup. In a way it is cheap but it is terms of one’s own personal effort.

I have always loved to cook, but I am lazy as hell. For years, I would pay restaurants and fast food dives to provide me with food so that I could be lazy. I paid for it dearly with 70 extra pounds of weight. Weight Watchers is now the beneficiary of my outsourcing. They get my money now to reteach me how to eat and think. What a bargain!