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The cooking thing really hits home. I work in a high stress, banking environment at a fortune 500 company, and I eat out most days. I know theoretically how to
by inform880 7y ago
The cooking thing really hits home. I work in a high stress, banking environment at a fortune 500 company, and I eat out most days. I know theoretically how to cook, but between the time it takes to shop, cook, and clean, AND I'm doing well financially it's so hard to convince myself to cook. Living alone doesn't help either.
- a_bonobo 7y agoIf you have the money (and it sounds like you have), there are quite a few recipe box companies which send you boxes of ingredients and recipes every few days. It's a nice stepping stone towards fully cooking for yourself as it cuts out the shopping/deciding part.
- inform880 7y agoAnyone have suggestions for these?
- Linell 7y agoHello Fresh has been my favorite.
- leandot 7y agoHellofresh. Super happy with them in Switzerland - quality ingredients and good recipes.
- maypeacepreva1l 7y agoThis is good way to start cooking and hit the kitchen. Eventually though you may feel like you want to mix and match and start buying your own grocery.
- kthejoker2 7y agoWe used Hello Fresh to reduce the time spent picking recipes, food shopping, etc Highly recommended, but definitely pricier than acquiring it all yourself. Kroger now has a recipe thing where you can add it all to your cart, so we went back to that for the time being.
- exdsq 7y agoI use Riverford in the UK. Comes with all your ingredients and a recipe - I've learnt to make quite a few of my favorite dishes thanks to these guys.
- Narty 7y agoI'll throw Gousto in there as well for the UK.
- nske 7y agoI've used Gousto on and off for years, great variety of recipes and never disappointed -it actually works out not very expensive per meal if you order the 4-people package, though you need some organizing to cook/freeze the extra meals in time.
- Spellman 7y agoHello Fresh and Blue Apron are the big players. Blue Apron tends to focus on interesting recipes. Hello Fresh tends to be a bit more focused on fresh ingredients. But honestly I couldn't really tell them apart. Alternatively, several super markets now sell kits you can buy with the ingredients and directions.
- chrissnell 7y agoIf you have never cooked before, start with one of the big companies mentioned by other posters. Once you build up recipes (HF and BA send you the recipes on notecards!), you can cancel and get everything at the local grocery. These days, most grocers have order-online options with quick pick-up or delivery.
- reaperducer 7y agoAnd if you don't want to invest in a subscription until you're sure that meal kits are right for you, most supermarkets sell their own.
- danenania 7y agoGet a slow cooker and have your groceries delivered. You can make delicious, nutritious 1 pot meals that last you 2 or 3 days a pop with minimal prep time and cleanup.
- ravenstine 7y agoIn a similar vain, I recommend getting a sous vide circulator. You'll make perfect steaks and pork chops every time, and it's extremely clean and convenient. You can cook all sorts of other things sous vide style as well. I recently got one, and I've been cooking at home a lot more often as a result. I think more people would cook their own food if they knew how to make it taste really good.
- komali2 7y agoI fully support the value system here in that we both want people cooking for themselves more, but I have to say that sous vide cooked steaks taste like boiled meat to me, aka terrible. People around me are swear by it until I slap a ribeye onto the pan for them, high heat, making sure to render the fat. To each their own but imo a sous vide is a big, expensive, plastic waste of counter space.
- tashoecraft 7y agoIf sous vide is tasting really bad to you, you’re doing it wrong. Almost certainly you’re not doing the final step, finish in a pan. You shouldn’t take something right from the sous vide to the plate, hit it in the pan at the highest heat you possible can to get the Maillard reaction and develop the crust.
- komali2 7y agoSo you're getting the pan out, oiled, and hot anyway. You're gonna have to clean it. And while on the pan a rare is slowly turning to well. Why not just do it all on the pan??
- balfirevic 7y agoIf you happen to enjoy it, cook. If you don't want to cook, you don't have to. It's also possible to eat healthily if you eat out, especially if you have enough money.
- ryanmercer 7y agoInstant pot (best kitchen purchase I've ever made) and meal prep. There's entire subreddits dedicated to meal prep with a lot of good ideas.
- colecut 7y agoSorry you're being downvoted. I guess the instant pot isn't hacker trendy enough
- ryanmercer 7y agoIt was probably the mention of reddit. I've found most of the time I mention a subreddit that is relevant to a topic I get downvoted.
- mywittyname 7y agoThe IP is pretty overrated. I have one and use it really often, but it has serious limitations that fad blogs just kind of ignore. Like, it's not really a huge time saver because it's low pressure and takes so long to come to pressure anyway. Also, pressure cooked meat is very often gross and spongy, so you should use it as a slow cooker in those situations. It's great for rice, beans, sauce & soup bases. Plus, it doesn't heat up the house in the summer. But I think it's limitations make it a poor suggestion for a novice cook.
- Kihashi 7y ago> pressure cooked meat is very often gross and spongy I haven't cooked much beef in it that hasn't become part of a stew, but my experience cooking chicken and turkey is that it comes out incredibly juicy and flavorful. Even better if you have the air fryer/convection add on. I've done turkey in it for the past several years for potlucks and family meals and it always gets rave reviews. For beef, part of the appeal was that I could brown it, saute aromatics, and then cook it in the same pot.
- chrissnell 7y agoI love my instant pot. My favorite recipe is red beans and rice. My mother-in-law is Cajun from down on the bayou and this was one that I adapted from hers. Happy to post it if anyone is interested. It makes enough for about 6-8 one-bowl meals and freezes wonderfully, so you can always have a quick meal ready in a pinch. Takes about 10 minutes of prep and an hour to cook.