Poll of the Day > Man, cooking is just so much time and effort.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yesterday I decided to make a nice breakfast sandwich. I whipped up a ham and turkey with an egg with three cheese on an everything bagel. I wasn't counting the time, but I'm sure it took at least ten minutes from start to finish. Three minutes later I had already finished eating it.

That's really the main reason I avoid cooking; I feel like it's a lot of input for little payoff. I usually just try to get by with microwaving if I can. I should try to be a little more patient.
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Or go more Laissez-faire in your cooking and whatever works works.
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I totally understand. Spent yesterday doing meal prep for the week. Five lunches and dinners for two people. So much food to prep and put together, but it was considerably cheaper than a weeks worth of takeout and grocery runs. Bulk purchases.

>10 minutes
>time
>effort

Boi.

Cooking isn't an issue.. cleaning is.

The more ingredients you need to use, then most likely the more bowls, pots, pans, etc that need to be used (depending on what you're making). Having to clean all that, I am just too lazy to do. That's why I just keep my meals simple.
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It does indeed take more to to make a meal then it does to eat it in most cases but it tastes so much better then pre packed stuff so it's a trade off.
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This is probably the most millennial topic I've seen.
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HagenEx posted...

This is probably the most millennial topic I've seen.

I wouldn't consider it a millennial thing. One cousin of mine and her husband are in their early 40's and they tend to eat out/take out more than they cook at home. Granted in their case they have a 5 and 6 year old so time wise, probably just more efficient for them and they can afford it. Not everyone find joy in cooking no matter how simple.
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Making a nice ass dinner for people/days of leftovers is worth it if irs awesomelt good. For a snack the time aint worth it

InfestedAdam posted...

HagenEx posted...

This is probably the most millennial topic I've seen.

I wouldn't consider it a millennial thing. One cousin of mine and her husband are in their early 40's and they tend to eat out/take out more than they cook at home. Granted in their case they have a 5 and 6 year old so time wise, probably just more efficient for them and they can afford it. Not everyone find joy in cooking no matter how simple.

It's not about finding joy in it. If you consider taking 10 minutes to prepare something FOR YOURSELF a waste of time and a hassle, then there's something seriously wrong with your sense of entitlement.

I'd understand TC if he was making beef wellington or something, which takes a long ass time. But a fucking sandwich?

JFC.
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Cooking isn't a problem for me, it's washing the dishes afterwards.

I'd rather spend the entire day scooping horse poop in the barn than spend 10 minutes washing dishes.

HagenEx posted...

This is probably the most millennial topic I've seen.

Every generation seems to teach the next generation less of the important stuff. I'm quite lucky to have been interested in cooking, but a lot of baby boomers didn't cook as much as their parents, so in turn their kids missed out. I did not luckily.
There are a lot of shortcuts that could be taken like using plastic ware to serve your food in so you can just place in the fridge when done. Also, I'll use prepackaged foods to save time as well. Those instant potatoes are such a time saver
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Why bother?

All your efforts turn to shit.

So 10 minutes is too much work for a basic necessity to surviving. Geeze good thing you didn't live back when you had to also hunt or grow your own food.

And to the people saying clean up is the main time waste in my house hold we go with who ever cooks doesn't do the dishes someone else does.

Tc would hate fried chicken if ten minutes is too much.

I really need to learn more cooking though I only know super easy things. Think fried chicken is the most complicated thing I know aside from things that come with the cooking directions on the box
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GanglyKhan posted...

>10 minutes
>time
>effort

Boi.

"At least" ten minutes excluding cleanup, for a simple sandwich. Regular cooking is bound to take longer than th..

argonautweakend posted...

Making a nice ass dinner for people/days of leftovers is worth it if irs awesomelt good. For a snack the time aint worth it

Nani the fuck
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keyblader1985 posted...

"At least" ten minutes excluding cleanup, for a simple sandwich. Regular cooking is bound to take longer

Then don't make a sandwich. Make multiple sandwiches for a few days, learn shortcuts, prep meals. I can leave 8 lbs of chicken in a bag full of vinegar, fresh garlic, and soysauce while I go to work, then boil it in a pot and have adobo for the entire week for 20 minutes of work.

I'm also curious as to how you then think cleanup would take even more than 5 minutes for a sandwich and on an assumption here, why you think 15 minutes out of your day is as high priority as I'm inferring it to be. Like, that's a honest, non-judgemental wonder of mine, is your schedule that packed or is it some sort of cleaning anxiety or what all keeps you in that state of mind?

HagenEx posted...

If you consider taking 10 minutes to prepare something FOR YOURSELF a waste of time and a hassle, then there's something seriously wrong with your sense of entitlement.

Everyone is bound to have different sense of priorities though. I'd rather spend 30 minutes changing my own car motor oil while some folks I know would rather spend an hour driving to the dealership, getting that 10-20 minute oil change if they're not busy, paying for labor, and then driving back home.

Speaking of spending 10 minutes to make a sandwich, I know folks in their mid 30's who are essentially like that. They'd rather get in their car and drive out for fast food than just make a simple sandwich for themselves.
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GRTooCool posted...

Cooking isn't an issue.. cleaning is.

The more ingredients you need to use, then most likely the more bowls, pots, pans, etc that need to be used (depending on what you're making). Having to clean all that, I am just too lazy to do. That's why I just keep my meals simple.

Have to confess, I'm pretty similar.

GanglyKhan posted...

Then don't make a sandwich. Make multiple sandwiches for a few days, learn shortcuts, prep meals.

True, that kind of thing is a major time saver, but I don't consider future meal prep "regular" cooking as I described it. In any case, there seems to be some confusion on a few points in this topic. For one, that sandwich was a spur of the moment thing, and meal prep is the total opposite of that. One doesn't spontaneously make meals for days in advance unless you keep your kitchen well stocked at all times.

Second, the sandwich is just what got me thinking in general about cooking. I only ever said that cooking takes time; the only thing I ever said about the sandwich was just how much time it took. Anything else was just inference.

GanglyKhan posted...

I'm also curious as to how you then think cleanup would take even more than 5 minutes for a sandwich

What?

GanglyKhan posted...

and on an assumption here, why you think 15 minutes out of your day is as high priority as I'm inferring it to be.

It's not about priorities or entitlement; it's a lack of motivation. I don't have a lot of drive to do things for my own sake due to self-esteem issues. Cooking is just one department.
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mooreandrew58 posted...

So 10 minutes is too much work for a basic necessity to surviving.

Yes. I'd rather just stick a tin of baked beans in a microwave for several minutes, toast in a toaster while the beans are in the microwave and then once all done add some grated cheese and boom. Cheese and beans on toast in under 5 minutes!
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wwinterj25 posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

So 10 minutes is too much work for a basic necessity to surviving.

Yes. I'd rather just stick a tin of baked beans in a microwave for several minutes, toast in a toaster while the beans are in the microwave and then once all done add some grated cheese and boom. Cheese and beans on toast in under 5 minutes!

Well its more than just about getting a meal in too I suppose. Its a matter of taste also sometimes something tastes good but takes more time. If what you like takes less time well congrats then you lucked out.

I mean I do know how it is I lived on ramen and microwave pizzas for months. Not because I couldn't get better just too poor to eat out and too lazy to cook. Which has changed since but yeah
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If you guys are interested, I highly recommend meal prepping. It's a lot of work for one day, but with that one day, you're done with the week and can utilize the time enjoying life or just doing other stuff.

WastelandCowboy posted...

If you guys are interested, I highly recommend meal prepping. It's a lot of work for one day, but with that one day, you're done with the week and can utilize the time enjoying life or just doing other stuff.

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.
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mooreandrew58 posted...

Its a matter of taste also sometimes something tastes good but takes more time. If what you like takes less time well congrats then you lucked out.

Cheese and beans on toast is fucking awesome.
I also love super Noodles, flavoured pasta and many other microwave products. Granted cooking from scratch does taste better but that doesn't mean microwave food tastes bad. Now Yorkshire puddings in the microwave is fucking sacrilege!
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I haven't read the entire topic, but I think you guys may be misunderstanding something. You keep mentioning how he said 10 minutes was too long. But it wasn't just that. He was comparing it to the time it took to eat it. It took only 30% on the time he spent making it to eat it. That's why he was complaining. It took 10 minutes to make something that he ate in half the time. Which is a little different than him complaining about cooking for 10 minutes. At least, that's how I see it. And it does feel like a waste if you spent more than double the time prepare something that you finished insanely fast.
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wwinterj25 posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Its a matter of taste also sometimes something tastes good but takes more time. If what you like takes less time well congrats then you lucked out.

Cheese and beans on toast is fucking awesome.
I also love super Noodles, flavoured pasta and many other microwave products. Granted cooking from scratch does taste better but that doesn't mean microwave food tastes bad. Now Yorkshire puddings in the microwave is fucking sacrilege!

I have no issues with microwave food. Hell I know a way to make a grilled cheese using the toaster and microwave. I wouldn't say its better or worse than the normal way just different as the bread is more like toast now. But it saves on clean up.
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LinkPizza posted...

It took 10 minutes to make something that he ate in half the time.

Always the case I find. Most things take longer to make then they do to eat hence why fast food and the like is so popular. Get others to cook for you to save on the time. On that note... perhaps the TC should get a servant.
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mooreandrew58 posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

If you guys are interested, I highly recommend meal prepping. It's a lot of work for one day, but with that one day, you're done with the week and can utilize the time enjoying life or just doing other stuff.

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/meal-prep-101-a-beginners-guide/

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...
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LinkPizza posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...

There is this hamburger helper meal tomato basil. And I vastly prefer it as leftovers. I don't even heat it up just pull it out of the fridge and chow down
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LinkPizza posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...

Freeze. Make food on Sunday and freeze your dishes for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The night before, take your meal out so it has time to defrost. Since you put it in the freezer after cooking, it's practically fresh. It's a different approach to cooking, but it's easier when you get home from work and just don't want to cook, but also don't want to waste money ordering out. Better when you're dieting, too.

mooreandrew58 posted...

LinkPizza posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...

There is this hamburger helper meal tomato basil. And I vastly prefer it as leftovers. I don't even heat it up just pull it out of the fridge and chow down

I use to do a lot of hamburger helper. Some of it was ok as leftovers. Some, not so much. But, either way, I don't even really have the time anymore. I feel like I'm always working. And I don't really feel like it when I get off work. Even right now, I have to go running at the gym and then get back to get some sleep before work tomorrow...
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WastelandCowboy posted...

LinkPizza posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...

Freeze. Make food on Sunday and freeze your dishes for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The night before, take your meal out so it has time to defrost. Since you put it in the freezer after cooking, it's practically fresh. It's a different approach to cooking, but it's easier when you get home from work and just don't want to cook, but also don't want to waste money ordering out. Better when you're dieting, too.

Idk. Reheated pork chops have always tasted off to me.
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WastelandCowboy posted...

LinkPizza posted...

mooreandrew58 posted...

Depends on what it is. Some things I prefer as "leftovers" other things I'd much rather be freshly cooked.

This is probably the reason I don't meal prep anymore... I feel like most things I cook, I would rather have freshly made...

Freeze. Make food on Sunday and freeze your dishes for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The night before, take your meal out so it has time to defrost. Since you put it in the freezer after cooking, it's practically fresh. It's a different approach to cooking, but it's easier when you get home from work and just don't want to cook, but also don't want to waste money ordering out. Better when you're dieting, too.

Maybe. I mean, it could probably help a little. But it's also the reheating problem. Some stuff just doesn't reheat well. or have the same taste. Not to mention, I definitely will get sick of whatever I made for the week by like day 3 most likely. Haha. Which is probably why I don't like cooking for just me a lot. Haha.
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Never been that big into cooking. Lot of time, effort, and clean-up.

WastelandCowboy posted...

If you guys are interested, I highly recommend meal prepping. It's a lot of work for one day, but with that one day, you're done with the week and can utilize the time enjoying life or just doing other stuff.

How does the time save work? Are you making larger portions of certain meals then just saving it for several days (like I used to do with lasagna) or making lots of meals with similar instructions that can be cooked together?
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It is time and effort, but you need to eat every day, it's a valuable skill
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Doctor Foxx posted...

It is time and effort, but you need to eat every day, it's a valuable skill

Nah you don't NEED to eat everyday. Just probably should, but I know I've gone days without eating before. Think the most was 5.
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Give me the meal pill. Or the device that makes a full chicken instant dinner like in The Fifth Element.
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My landlord lives in, so I ain't gonna start cooking anytime soon.

Too self-conscious about dirtying a kitchen that's not mine.

I don't mind cooking, but I don't love it like some people do. I'm fortunate that my husband finds it relaxing, so he cooks 75~80% of the time. Odd as it may sound, I LOVE baking and immensely enjoy the process (and eating the final product, yum). Cleanup has never bothered me, personally, but I can see why it's a drudgery for some.
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wwinterj25 posted...

Now Yorkshire puddings in the microwave is f***ing sacrilege

Making yorkshire puddings in a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan, however, is an excellent way to save time without having to compromise on the quality of the product. You even get out of washing a knife because you don't need one to serve it.

Zeus posted...

How does the time save work? Are you making larger portions of certain meals then just saving it for several days (like I used to do with lasagna) or making lots of meals with similar instructions that can be cooked together?

Generally a bit of both, but even if you aren't just scaling up a recipe or working on ones with some overlap, the fact that you don't leave the kitchen between dishes (and therefore don't completely wash and put everything away) saves some time and opens the door to opportunities to be more efficient.

It also potentially means that you only have to find one time block in which to do it all, rather than having to allocate a certain amount of time before every dinner. While that doesn't necessarily save any time overall, it's going to give you a greater number of small pockets of free time, which can be nice. That's going to depend on just how your schedule looks, though.
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Cooking is fun! Trying recipes, cooking old favorites. And easier than ever, with microwave, toaster oven, hot pot, slow cooker, in addition to traditional stove, broiler, oven, etc. I get a lot of use from the pressure cooker I bought as a young bride 50 years ago, plus I have more pots and pans than ever. I used to subscribe to Taste Of Home and Southern Cooking for more recipes, and still use my old Betty Crocker Cookbook with tons of notes in the margins.

It's more of a hobby than a chore.
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I have almost zero skill in the kitchen as it is (see: losing most of my sense of smell when I caught myself on fire trying to fry up tofu with too much oil and too much tofu at one time), but the time involved in prepping, cooking, and clean-up can be prohibitive, especially if every member of the household works full-time and comes home completely drained. The missus and I still cook (i.e. she cooks and I clean to avoid disasters like the aforementioned), but it is almost never anything complicated. Time is a valuable resource.
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if you don't (want to) cook your food, you're a failure of an adult human being really.
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What_The_Chris posted...

if you don't (want to) cook your food, you're a failure of an adult human being really.

Not really. But you do you...
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I_Abibde posted...

I have almost zero skill in the kitchen as it is (see: losing most of my sense of smell when I caught myself on fire trying to fry up tofu with too much oil and too much tofu at one time), but the time involved in prepping, cooking, and clean-up can be prohibitive, especially if every member of the household works full-time and comes home completely drained. The missus and I still cook (i.e. she cooks and I clean to avoid disasters like the aforementioned), but it is almost never anything complicated. Time is a valuable resource.

I used to not have a sense of smell but it didn't really affect my ability to cook. But I'm more of a follow the directions to a t then go by eye sight to judge if I got right.

Sense of smell is nice though as I've learned a lot of things cooked in the oven you can start to smell it, its usually not that long till its done.
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WastelandCowboy posted...

Freeze. Make food on Sunday and freeze your dishes for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The night before, take your meal out so it has time to defrost. Since you put it in the freezer after cooking, it's practically fresh. It's a different approach to cooking, but it's easier when you get home from work and just don't want to cook, but also don't want to waste money ordering out. Better when you're dieting, too.

Do you do this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
I've done meal prepping before, but I focused on solely lunches.

Xfma100 posted...

WastelandCowboy posted...

Freeze. Make food on Sunday and freeze your dishes for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The night before, take your meal out so it has time to defrost. Since you put it in the freezer after cooking, it's practically fresh. It's a different approach to cooking, but it's easier when you get home from work and just don't want to cook, but also don't want to waste money ordering out. Better when you're dieting, too.

Do you do this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
I've done meal prepping before, but I focused on solely lunches.

Usually just lunch and dinner. Overnight oats for breakfast are delicious.

LinkPizza posted...

I haven't read the entire topic, but I think you guys may be misunderstanding something. You keep mentioning how he said 10 minutes was too long. But it wasn't just that. He was comparing it to the time it took to eat it. It took only 30% on the time he spent making it to eat it. That's why he was complaining. It took 10 minutes to make something that he ate in half the time. Which is a little different than him complaining about cooking for 10 minutes. At least, that's how I see it. And it does feel like a waste if you spent more than double the time prepare something that you finished insanely fast.

It will always take more time to make food and clean up than it will to eat it.

So what?

If he had instead driven to a breakfast place, ordered the same sandwich, waited for it to be made, then driven back home, how much total time would that have been?
Seems like a better starting point for comparison.

keyblader1985 posted...

it's a lack of motivation. I don't have a lot of drive to do things for my own sake due to self-esteem issues. Cooking is just one department.

Ah, I feel you there. I was asking cause I've been in a similar boat before. Instead of cooking big meals with a variety of healthy options, I'd make eggs every morning, have a sandwich with some carrots or something at lunch, and rice and fish or chicken for dinner like every single day. It was all out of laziness and lack of energy to commit more time to it.