Food and the single guy

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally posted by Creepy
3 meals a day x 7 days in a week = 21 meals per week.

$85 / 21 = $4.04 per meal.

I'm sure you can stay alive on that - even without cooking. (I survived for years on cheap fast food) but I can't imagine how you can "eat pretty good" spending an average of $4 per meal. You must not have very high standards for "good food"
I'm not much for cooking either, but eventually the fast food will catch up to you. Your metabolism will slow and you'll have to become concerned with nutrition, or become morbidly obese.
So - long story short: For me it wasn't saving money or or the joy of cooking that got me into home cooking - it's taking back control of your diet in regards to nutrition.
Also - your best solution is to find a girl friend who likes to cook.

Ok, maybe not EVERY meal, but you can do pretty good if you cut breakfast out of that equation. It would also depend on where you live; good food is cheap here in the Haight district of SF.

I have no fears of looking like Meatloaf. I am 26, and weigh 125 pounds. My whole family is like that. So perhaps gaining a little weight would be a good thing for me.

 

[Peter McFerrin]

I second the suggestion to make much, much more than you can eat in one sitting and live off of leftovers.

Also, people seem to be slagging on takeout Chinese as if it's unhealthy on the order of McDonald's or KFC. Well, yeah, it's going to be bad for you if you're ordering General Tso's chicken or egg foo young, but there's a huge variety of low-fat and/or vegan/veggie dishes on the menu at even the crappiest small-town Chinese joint staffed by illegal immigrant Mexicans. Plus, if the restaurant has access to relatively fresh produce, you can get an excellent selection of highly nutritious vegetables (carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers) in your meal, and stir-frying retains vitamins that other methods of vegetable preparation leave out.

Basstriaxis, since you're in the Bay Area, there's all manner of really cheap, really healthy food available to you, both at restaurants and at grocery stores. Take advantage of it. Those of us east of the Sierras can't get nearly as fresh of produce as you can. There's no reason that someone living in San Francisco can't eat in a healthful fashion.

 

[miko]

Originally posted by Sheep Man
My area of "expertise" in my apartment is Chinese food, and while the cooking itself never takes more than 10 minutes, the preparing is what really bugs me. Smashing/chopping garlic, slicing the ginger, washing the vegetables, cutting the meat, and all that...

invest in a food processor, even the smaller ones. it is a godsend in the kitchen for chopping, dicing, grating and slicing [not the meat, though].

definitely a key ingredient in extra-fast chinese!

 

[secretdonkey]

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin
...even the crappiest small-town Chinese joint staffed by illegal immigrant Mexicans.

Ahhh... so THAT'S why they offer enchiladas at my local Chinese mega-buffet!?!

[Edit - but what's REALLY scary is the smaller Chinese buffet just down the highway - their buffet offers mu shu pork with gummy white flour tortillas in lieu of the pancakes. In case you're wondering: No, it's not an acceptable substitute. A bad flour tortilla can ruin anything, though...]

 

[Peter McFerrin]

Just about every Chinese restaurant in the Midwest has a sizeable number of Mexicans working in the kitchen (the same as pretty much any restaurant here).

Amusingly, when I went to the little Mexican fast food joint at the student union at University of Washington in Seattle, the staff was entirely of East Asian descent.

 

[Sheep Man]

Originally posted by miko
invest in a food processor, even the smaller ones. it is a godsend in the kitchen for chopping, dicing, grating and slicing [not the meat, though].

definitely a key ingredient in extra-fast chinese!

I was considering it at one point, but I decided to go for the cleaver, which cost significantly less.

But honestly, I would much rather do it all by hand than slap it in a food processor. There's just something about doing it all by hand that seems to make it taste that much better to me. Kind of like eating with your hands, I guess.

 

[Sheep Man]

Another cool thing about being a single guy and knowing how to cook - chicks dig it!

Earlier this evening I was experimenting with some tempura batter, and ended up with a whole lot of tempura popcorn chicken, some tasty onion, and I even fried entire turkey dumplings leftover from Thanksgiving in the stuff.

Thumbs up from everyone who was sharing in the oily fried goodness.

 

[bill h]

Originally posted by Sheep Man
Another cool thing about being a single guy and knowing how to cook - chicks dig it!

How true

 

[Schwinn]

Originally posted by Creepy
Also - your best solution is to find a girl friend who likes to cook.

This is one reason why I want to live with my girlfriend starting next summer. I'm ashamed to admit it, but its the truth. (She doesn't come to talkbass, thank God!)


I typically work until around 8 p.m., so the last thing I want to do is cook at night. I usually get takeout on the way home. It's bad and expensive, but hopefully only temporary. BTW, my girfriend is the best cook ever! But not the only reason I love her.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally posted by Peter McFerrin


Also, people seem to be slagging on takeout Chinese as if it's unhealthy on the order of McDonald's or KFC. Well, yeah, it's going to be bad for you if you're ordering General Tso's chicken or egg foo young, but there's a huge variety of low-fat and/or vegan/veggie dishes on the menu at even the crappiest small-town Chinese joint staffed by illegal immigrant Mexicans. Plus, if the restaurant has access to relatively fresh produce, you can get an excellent selection of highly nutritious vegetables (carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers) in your meal, and stir-frying retains vitamins that other methods of vegetable preparation leave out.

I'm putting this together with what Michael said about food poisoning and kitchen staff, SARS virus, BSE, Salmonella etc and end up with :