Eat Cheap, Not Fast
It's one of those tiresome left-wing cliches -- people eat junk food because it's cheaper than regular old supermarket food. How can people be expected to eat well if bad, high-fat foods are so close and so cheap?
Bravo to Mark Bittman, the NYTimes food writer -- and author of the indispensable How to Cook Everything -- for kicking that old left wing shibboleth to the curb. I know, I know: he's an NYTimes writer. But give credit where it's due. From the NYTimes:
THE “fact” that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli ...” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”
This is just plain wrong. In fact it isn’t cheaper to eat highly processed food: a typical order for a family of four — for example, two Big Macs, a cheeseburger, six chicken McNuggets, two medium and two small fries, and two medium and two small sodas — costs, at the McDonald’s a hundred steps from where I write, about $28. (Judicious ordering of “Happy Meals” can reduce that to about $23 — and you get a few apple slices in addition to the fries!)
In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home. You can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14, and feed four or even six people. If that’s too much money, substitute a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; it’s easily enough for four people and costs about $9. (Omitting the bacon, using dried beans, which are also lower in sodium, or substituting carrots for the peppers reduces the price further, of course.)
And I particularly liked this passage:
Taking the long route to putting food on the table may not be easy, but for almost all Americans it remains a choice, and if you can drive to McDonald’s you can drive to Safeway. It’s cooking that’s the real challenge. (The real challenge is not “I’m too busy to cook.” In 2010 the average American, regardless of weekly earnings, watched no less than an hour and a half of television per day. The time is there.)
The time is there. It's cheaper. It used to be something that all families just did together, without thinking about it, rich or poor. Cooking meals and eating them as a family was one of those institutions that crossed all economic compartments.
These days, cooking is something that rich people do -- food shopping is something that's been elevated and polished, by Whole Foods and chic farmers' markets, into an expensive and upper class hobby, like skiing or yoga. But not too long ago -- before the welfare state began its slow dismantling of social institutions like family and marriage; before the poor became the "underprivileged" and the objects of the enlightened meddling of the academic left; before the disintegration of the family came to be seen as "liberation" and "progressive;" before all of that, poor families and rich families had one thing in common: they sat around a table at night and ate with their families.
Not so these days. Now they feast on Big Macs and excuses. Good for Bittman for pointing it out.
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Comments :
Sep '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
I don't know, Rob. On weekdays I think it's more a function of mothers working full-time jobs and not having the energy to check for the best deals, do comprehensive rather than spot shopping, and then cook meals and clean up afterward. My mother, who's 93, agrees with the NYT writer completely and is always complaining about people spending too much money on eating out. It's the time and effort, I say, reminding her how much time she spends each week cutting out coupons, making shopping lists, cooking, and freezing leftovers. I clean up and afterward usually feel too tired to do something creative before bed, which makes me wish I hadn't had to sit down and eat. I totally agree, though, that eating fast food is not any cheaper than eating at home.
Aug '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Maybe families that "don't have time to cook" because both parents work full-time wouldn't NEED two incomes if one of the parents stayed home and cooked.
It's totally a chicken/egg scenario. I can't cook because I work too hard, and I work hard because I don't cook and I need to pay for expensive food.
Jul '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
When's the last time the food editor at the NYTimes ate simple roasted chicken with vegetables?
Let them eat brioche!
Dec '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
I do the working and the cooking in my house. I suppose I'm just lucky that I enjoy cooking.
Nov '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Dec '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
And if you have old enough children you have automatic dishwashers as well. The only drawback is that model has to be kick started sometimes.
Apr '11
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
I do the cooking at my house as I'm a sad and unloved bachelor. I've long noticed that eating out costs more than cooking myself. Even going home to make a sandwich for lunch has proven cheaper than a packaged, processed meal bought at a grocery store. I've also long known that fast food wasn't good for me. Newsflash Big Media: I don't go to Wendy's because I expect a balanced meal; I go because those burgers and fries taste so dreadfully good.
Of course, the narrative is: It's not their fault that they eat unhealthy. It's evil fast food offering cheap and unhealthy food. Oh the horror!
Jun '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
It's exactly for this reason that I work at McDonald's and force my wife and kids to work there as well. Best of both worlds.
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
One of my recent addictions: cooking blogs.
I recently discovered that you went to culinary school, Mr. Long. And Troy Senik, who's had the privilege of attending one of your renowned dinner parties, says you're the best cook he knows.
So my proposition: share a recipe and a photograph once a week. Or once a month. Nothing too, too difficult, mind you. But something delicious.
Also -- for all of those people who complain that cooking is too time consuming, too expensive, or whatever: buy a slow cooker. Throw a few things in it, turn it on, come back 6-8 hours later, and you have dinner. Cheap. Hearty. Delicious. Stupidly simple.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 3:51pmJun '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Where are all of these food deserts? I think I'd like to open a hot dog stand in one?
Do people in food deserts find it ironic that desert and dessert are only one letter apart?
I got a million.
This sounds awesome! Can the recipes have ironic names too?
Apr '11
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
As my dad taught me, the only real way to cook something is on a BBQ grill out back. I'm fairly certain he'd grill soup if he could find an ideal way.
May '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Couldn't bring yourself to say "Crock Pot," could ya?
Jun '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Misthiocracy: Maybe families that "don't have time to cook" because both parents work full-time wouldn't NEED two incomes if one of the parents stayed home and cooked.
It's totally a chicken/egg scenario. I can't cook because I work too hard, and I work hard because I don't cook and I need to pay for expensive food. · Oct 3 at 3:29pm
Though especially among the lower income families an increasingly large percentage are single mothers stopping at the drive through on the way home from work. Unless they are on welfare, in which case they should have plenty of time to cook...
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 4:15pmNov '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Matthew Gilley
Couldn't bring yourself to say "Crock Pot," could ya? · Oct 3 at 4:01pm
I actually typed "Crock Pot" first, then deleted it. I realized that my slow cooker isn't Crock Pot brand, so I can't actually vouch for Crock Pots.
Jun '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
When averaged out over the course of the week, it costs me between $3-$4/day to feed myself and my wife. I buy local and don't skimp on quality, but I plan well and make enough per meal for leftovers. I don't spend more than 45 minutes cooking, either. Good preparation is key, but it's not hard.
May '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Matthew Gilley
Couldn't bring yourself to say "Crock Pot," could ya? · Oct 3 at 4:01pm
I actually typed "Crock Pot" first, then deleted it. I realized that my slow cooker isn't Crock Pot brand, so I can't actually vouch for Crock Pots. · Oct 3 at 4:11pm
At this point, "Crock Pot" has basically achieved brand name parity with "Kleenex." I'm Baptist, and never fail to get a kick out of watching everyone jockey for open electrical outlets in the fellowship hall during a potluck supper. It's also a high honor to present a soon-to-be-married couple with their first Crock Pot during a wedding shower. I've dubbed them the Baptist Menorah.
May '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
I thought you only ate MREs.
Jun '10
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
Matthew Gilley
I thought you only ate MREs. · Oct 3 at 4:23pm
Those suckers are over $8 a pop! I can't afford that!
Plus, my bachelor diet consisted of barbed wire and gunpowder. The wife tamed that a bit.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 4:37pmApr '11
Re: Eat Cheap, Not Fast
And don't forget leftovers. Cooking for eight doesn't take much more time than cooking for four--who says it has to be eight at the same meal.
Even during my long bachelorhood, including grad school, I did real cooking twice a week (e.g., two quiches Saturday afternoon, pasta or chicken one evening). By alternating entrees and varying sides and salads, I could cover most lunches and dinners for a week. The rest of the time I fixed a sandwich or by choice or per force enjoyed fast-food or a Philly cheese-steak.
My wife is of the same opinion. Most dinners yield a microwavable lunch for me to take to work. A big pot of stew or soup or spaghetti sauce, especially if you freeze part of it, keeps giving for a long time. Extra baked or mashed potatoes at dinner become breakfast's hash browns or potato pancakes, perhaps with a bit of steak left over from Saturday night's grilling session, for a hearty, inexpensive steak-and-eggs breakfast that has my internist chewing the table leg.
Edited on Oct 3, 2011 at 5:49pm