Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Sept 5, 2014 6:26:01 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2014 6:43:13 GMT -5
I've been eating at home for about a month now. I've become a believer that eating healthy is expensive. Especially when you have to start basically from scratch stocking your kitchen.
I spent a lot of money eating out all the time and eating processed meals. So far I'm spending a lot MORE money eating healthier, unprocessed food and preparing all my meals at home.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Sept 5, 2014 6:50:51 GMT -5
When I was baking bread, I would buy those little packets of yeast. And, you get three and they are not cheap. I was able to buy a huge bag of yeast online and I keep it in the refrigerator. I do a lot of baking so over time that should probably make sense for me. I like to make lasagna and I can make a delicious one (we like meat) but honestly, the frozen one is probably cheaper than me buying the ingredients and the cost of heating up the house, etc. I made homemade oreo cookies the other day. There were delish. But cocoa powder isn't cheap. And, certainly a lot of time involved as well. But, it was fun and those were a big hit with the kids.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2014 6:51:02 GMT -5
Yes, that's the thing. I'm not getting organic potatoes and pastured beef when I eat out, so it probably is cheaper.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Sept 5, 2014 7:12:54 GMT -5
I buy Rinaldi tomato sauce for a $1 a jar. I once tried to make my own - it was way more expensive, took forever and didn't taste that good. I am talking making it from scratch - row tomatoes and everything. Now, I know that many people think that jarred tomato sauce is gross, but I/we like it and we don't use it that much that it would be detrimental to our health.
I do kind of make my own using canned crushed tomatoes, but I am not making it from raw tomatoes unless my life will depend on it or something.
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 5, 2014 7:13:58 GMT -5
Economies of scale certainly make it cheaper for large company to mass produce certain food items versus making the same thing at home.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 5, 2014 7:18:37 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa? A cooked rotisserie chicken bought at the store comes to mind. Easier than cooking one at home.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 7:40:33 GMT -5
For some things cooking from scratch is cheaper especially... Most always in my mind, it is better. I almost never eat frozen pre-made meals. I have never in my life had one and thought "damn, this is good" making bread is crazy cheap. A loaf of my favorite bread would be $4-6 at the store, I don't care for packaged bread... I don't eat bread often, but when I do... I want it to be a religious experience. Homemade pasta is amazing... But i only do it once or twice a year. Pasta, in our house is something we have in a pinch a couple times a month when we are too tired to really cook or too lazy etc. Soup is also something that I prefer to have homemade. DH and I weren't feeling well over then weekend and I grabbed some canned soup... As we were eating it I proclaimed that I needed to make some chicken soup and keep it portioned in the freezer for times like this because canned soup was BLAH. He wholeheartedly agreed.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 7:46:55 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa? A cooked rotisserie chicken bought at the store comes to mind. Easier than cooking one at home. My DH has a rotisserie ( my parents bought it for him years ago after he gushed over theirs) so he makes rotisserie chicken once or twice a month. Last week he picked up one from the store and as he was eating it exclaimed that his was way better and cheaper and he wouldn't be buying one again. My DH is a man of convenience and doesn't do much cooking aside from grilling so I found that to be quite a bold statement! And the benefit of making your own... Being able to make stock! Which is waaay better than the canned stuff. Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 5, 2014 7:52:48 GMT -5
A cooked rotisserie chicken bought at the store comes to mind. Easier than cooking one at home. My DH has a rotisserie ( my parents bought it for him years ago after he gushed over theirs) so he makes rotisserie chicken once or twice a month. Last week he picked up one from the store and as he was eating it exclaimed that his was way better and cheaper and he wouldn't be buying one again. My DH is a man of convenience and doesn't do much cooking aside from grilling so I found that to be quite a bold statement! And the benefit of making your own... Being able to make stock! Which is waaay better than the canned stuff. Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards Why can't you make stock from a store bought rotisserie? It still has bones.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 7:58:31 GMT -5
My DH has a rotisserie ( my parents bought it for him years ago after he gushed over theirs) so he makes rotisserie chicken once or twice a month. Last week he picked up one from the store and as he was eating it exclaimed that his was way better and cheaper and he wouldn't be buying one again. My DH is a man of convenience and doesn't do much cooking aside from grilling so I found that to be quite a bold statement! And the benefit of making your own... Being able to make stock! Which is waaay better than the canned stuff. Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards Why can't you make stock from a store bought rotisserie? It still has bones. I suppose you could, but since I have no idea what they put in/ on the chickens, I probably wouldn't. That was only the 2nd time I'd bought one pre-made ever... Unless you count dining out while vacationing, because there is a place on at. Croix that makes the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had in my life! I would buy that a million times over lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 5, 2014 8:06:35 GMT -5
Why can't you make stock from a store bought rotisserie? It still has bones. I suppose you could, but since I have no idea what they put in/ on the chickens, I probably wouldn't. That was only the 2nd time I'd bought one pre-made ever... Unless you count dining out while vacationing, because there is a place on at. Croix that makes the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had in my life! I would buy that a million times over lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards Huh? Chemicals? Hormones? How do you know what they put in a raw whole chicken bought in your fresh poultry section of your food store?
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 5, 2014 8:07:24 GMT -5
Why can't you make stock from a store bought rotisserie? It still has bones. I suppose you could, but since I have no idea what they put in/ on the chickens, I probably wouldn't. That was only the 2nd time I'd bought one pre-made ever... Unless you count dining out while vacationing, because there is a place on at. Croix that makes the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had in my life! I would buy that a million times over lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards But you eat the chicken...
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Sept 5, 2014 8:14:02 GMT -5
I believe in doing semi-homemade. For potato casserole, I'm not going to stand there and prep 2-3# of potatoes then shred them by hand (I don't own a food processor). I'm not going to buy a big block of cheese and again, stand there and grate the cheese. I also at times buy packages of frozen chopped onions. Why not take advantage of what is easily available and make my life easier?
Compared to eating out however, I do think preparing most food at home is far less expensive than eating out.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Sept 5, 2014 8:17:09 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa? Some of the other posters have already stated this but: Cheaper (and usually better to buy then make) 1. Spaghetti Sauce 2. Pasta 3. Bread - although this one is close. We don't like cheap bread and I buy loaves that are $3-4 each. French baguettes being the exception cause I can usually get those for a buck. 4. Sushi - yep - we do take home sushi about once a month. Better to make then buy (taste and cost) 1. Roasted Chicken 2. Any kind of soup (they get $3.99 for a 12oz serving downtown!!!) 3. Breakfast (cooking at home as opposed to dining out) so when we go out, it's absolutely about being waited upon. 4. Any kind of steak dinner - I can't remember the last time I've ordered steak while out. My local ethnic store charges $12 for a quarter pan of lasagna. That would be maybe three servings. I can make a whole pan for way less than that but there is the time factor as well (although mine tastes better!).
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 8:18:50 GMT -5
I suppose you could, but since I have no idea what they put in/ on the chickens, I probably wouldn't. That was only the 2nd time I'd bought one pre-made ever... Unless you count dining out while vacationing, because there is a place on at. Croix that makes the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had in my life! I would buy that a million times over lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards Huh? Chemicals? Hormones? How do you know what they put in a raw whole chicken bought in your fresh poultry section of your food store? no, i don't mean chemicals and hormones, i mean seasonings, butter etc.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 8:20:47 GMT -5
I suppose you could, but since I have no idea what they put in/ on the chickens, I probably wouldn't. That was only the 2nd time I'd bought one pre-made ever... Unless you count dining out while vacationing, because there is a place on at. Croix that makes the best rotisserie chicken I have ever had in my life! I would buy that a million times over lol Sent from my Nexus 4 using proboards But you eat the chicken... I had one bite of the rotisserie chicken DH bought last week. DH bought it for HIM, not for me. and for the record, it wasn't that great, and it was really greasy...
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ArchietheDragon
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Post by ArchietheDragon on Sept 5, 2014 8:22:25 GMT -5
But you eat the chicken... I had one bite of the rotisserie chicken DH bought last week. DH bought it for HIM, not for me. So you wouldn't eat rotisserie chicken, but if you did, would you then feel comfortable making stock from the carcass?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2014 8:26:15 GMT -5
I've been eating at home for about a month now. I've become a believer that eating healthy is expensive. Especially when you have to start basically from scratch stocking your kitchen. I spent a lot of money eating out all the time and eating processed meals. So far I'm spending a lot MORE money eating healthier, unprocessed food and preparing all my meals at home. Health wise, do you feel any better?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2014 8:31:58 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa? I don't cook from scratch to save money. I do it because I don't think processed foods are good for us. Simply reading the ingredients on some of those products makes me shudder.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Sept 5, 2014 8:55:15 GMT -5
I think it depends on what you're making from scratch if it is really cheaper. You might like the cookbook "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter". It's part cookbook, part autobiography. The author goes on a quest to make EVERYTHING she uses from scratch and at the end of every recipe she gives you a break down of costs and effort vs just buying it from the store.
It's a good read even if you never actually cook anything from it.
For me I find it makes more sense to buy pasta sauce. I can get sugar free Hunt's for as little as 0.39 a can and then doctor it as I please when I go to use it. I like making my own sauce from time to time, but when I just want to get a dang meal on the table Hunt's is my go too.
Same for cornbread. It's really not that hard to make it from scratch but I can get a box of Jiffy for 0.40 a box or less. Everything is premeasured and I just add eggs/milk. I make a much bigger mess when I do cornbread from scratch. Plus DH grew up with Jiffy, I get way more compliments when I use the boxed mix than when I make it from scratch.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 9:07:01 GMT -5
I had one bite of the rotisserie chicken DH bought last week. DH bought it for HIM, not for me. So you wouldn't eat rotisserie chicken, but if you did, would you then feel comfortable making stock from the carcass? You can make stock from a store bought rotisserie chicken. I did not say you couldn't. From my limited experience with rotisserie chickens bought at the grocery store, the TWO that my husband has bought for himself in the 6+ years we've been together, i would not make stock from them. my guess is that people who are buying all of their rotisserie chickens at the grocery store, probably aren't making their own stock- but hey, i could be wrong.
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Sept 5, 2014 9:17:39 GMT -5
I'm not much on cooking from scratch because neither I (or my wife) can really cook. I try to eat pretty healthy and "raw" for most of the day so I am ok with using store-bought stuff for our meals at night. And when I say "store bought", I'm not talking about frozen foods but things like pasta sauce.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 5, 2014 9:37:34 GMT -5
Homemade macaroni and cheese is hella expensive when you're using the really good cheeses.
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Sept 5, 2014 9:49:05 GMT -5
Homemade macaroni and cheese is hella expensive when you're using the really good cheeses. But oh so good.................. Beats the hell out of Velveeta
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Sept 5, 2014 9:56:03 GMT -5
Homemade macaroni and cheese is hella expensive when you're using the really good cheeses. But oh so good.................. Beats the hell out of Velveeta I printed out the recipe from David Venable of QVC for his ultimate mac & cheese. By the time I buy 4 or 5 different cheeses, in the eggs then the bacon, there is no way I'm going to make that recipe. I was thinking of making it for our monthly community pot luck dinner, but doing it for at least 20-30 people is out of the question. Therefore, I go back to my potato casserole recipe since there is never anything left of it to bring home.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 10:04:53 GMT -5
Homemade macaroni and cheese is hella expensive when you're using the really good cheeses. but SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it every now and then!
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 5, 2014 10:05:32 GMT -5
Homemade macaroni and cheese is hella expensive when you're using the really good cheeses. but SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it every now and then! Agreed.
I bought some bacon cheddar at a specialty store last month. I'm going to try mac and cheese with that this weekend.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Sept 5, 2014 10:10:53 GMT -5
I think there is a tendency to overestimate the savings of cooking from scratch versus buying premade items. What are you thoughts on this? Obviously, there are things you prefer homemade for in terms of taste and quality. But, are there items you have found make more sense to buy versus making at home or vice versa? My biggie is a Hollandaise sauce. I don't like making it from scratch. And the dry mix at the store is like 59 cents. The only thing I eat it on is asparagus and an egg and cheese omelet. Much easier and the taste isn't that much different from home-made. By the time you use a 1/2 stick of butter, eggs that you have to separate, lemon juice, etc., I can't see how making it from scratch is much cheaper.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 5, 2014 10:30:35 GMT -5
but SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it every now and then! Agreed.
I bought some bacon cheddar at a specialty store last month. I'm going to try mac and cheese with that this weekend.
what time should I be over?
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