On July 18 2012 03:47 Wegandi wrote: Most college people eat ramen because it is cheap and they are budgeting, not because they necessarily like it better than other foods, or that they do not know how to cook. I see a lot of assumptions in the OP and very little reasoning behind their assertion.
One of the easiest things to cook is grilled steak and if you asked your random college student if they would rather eat and cook grilled steak everyday other than ramen, the majority would cook the steak (honestly it takes all of ten minutes and requires little effort). The reason why you don't see the prevalence of cooking a variety of foods, is because again, college student's are generally poor and can't afford to 'spice things up'.
I don't know anything about the prices of food in the States, but I'm pretty sure there are always cheaper, tastier and easier (at least equally easy) meals than ramen fucking noodles. Everything in Sweden is generally expensive, but if you have a freezer you can eat like a fucking boss every day of the week for very little money, even if you're cooking only for one person. You just have to be smart with what you're buying.
You can't eat cheaper than Ramen. They're usually around 10 cents a pack here in the States, so for less than a dollar you can feed yourself for the day. Let me know what meals you can make that would sufficiently satiate your hunger for the entire day on less than one dollar.
You make a claim then provide no examples...what was the point of your post exactly?
Lol I just turned 25 and have been living independently since i was 18 I love to cook and can do variety. but i have to admit I cook better enhanced ramen now then i ever did before :p (just not as often)
Instant ramen are so bad. There's a reason they cost some cents. The only way to eat ramen is in a dedicated ramen shop, preferably in japan. Everything else is, oh dear.
On July 18 2012 12:06 FullNatural wrote: Dollar store. I live on less than $90 for eating per month (3 meals per day, all month. Almost no eating out). I buy my fresh fruits/veggies at Lucky or something though, cuz the Dollar store doesn't have those.
Now that I think of it that $90 per month also gets me whatever supplies I need as well, on top of food. Toothpaste, paper towels, etc etc.
I want to get married in a Dollar store.
If you love deals you'll love Costco better. The only way to get legit deals is buying in bulk. Or else how would dollar stores make money?
I have to agree that taking the time to learn how to cook for yourself, then realizing you can support yourself food-wise is a very satisfying feeling. Although I haven't moved out yet, I'm still going to develop my culinary skills + other basic life skills for the real world
On July 18 2012 12:06 FullNatural wrote: Dollar store. I live on less than $90 for eating per month (3 meals per day, all month. Almost no eating out). I buy my fresh fruits/veggies at Lucky or something though, cuz the Dollar store doesn't have those.
Now that I think of it that $90 per month also gets me whatever supplies I need as well, on top of food. Toothpaste, paper towels, etc etc.
I want to get married in a Dollar store.
If you love deals you'll love Costco better. The only way to get legit deals is buying in bulk. Or else how would dollar stores make money?
I agree sometimes costco is the way to go. However, I live in a 280 sqaure foot studio with no real kitchen. So I dont have much space. Also bulk isn't always the cheapest way. ie the dollar store still wins out alot of the time.
Dollar stores make money by selling off brands, selling products closer to their expiration dates, selling products with miss shaped and/or very slightly damaged packages, selling odd size products that werent a hit with the big stores, selling domestic goods made in the USA (which is ironic, cuz this is obviously good for our country), not allowing refunds (exchanges only with recepit generally), having a very good product to employee ratio, having no fresh produce (costly to have in stores), low maintenance products (no forkllifts/pallets needed to stock etc), strategic placement of stores (along bus routes and low income areas etc), stores with nothing other than pure product (no silly displays etc), and just simply having less arogant prices. I have never seen a store with so many made in the USA products before.
Great blog! So much extrapolation from ramen. I love it.
I'm going to be heading off to college soon, and I am trying to teach myself how to cook day by day. Eating out everyday at dorm cafeterias is going to get tiresome (doesn't matter if the dorm food is rated #2 in the US), and I have this weird thing where I cannot stand eating the same thing twice in a row. (e.g McDonald's for lunch on Monday, no burgers or fries on Tuesday).
Reminds me of the stories my uncle tells me of his college days, eating microwave burritos that cost $1 for 3 burritos. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Terrible lifestyle, imo.
Btw, Nongshim is overrated. Samyang Ramen and Jin Ramen is the way to go. Avoid Cup Noodle btw. If you have only eaten Cup Noodle brand instant ramen before, you're missing out. If you really want a cup noodle, get Nongshim Kimchi cup noodles or just the regular ones.
Not really a fan of those cheap ramen noodle packs... that shit is death.
Before my wife moved into my apartment, I use to cook chicken breasts with vegetables... EVERY DAY! I never got tired of eating chicken breast because I had some delicious seasonings that I mixed the chicken in, but my food diet worked perfectly with my workout routines. Now my wife always cooks, but I'd prefer my own cooking. >,< DON'T TELL HER I SAID THAT!
On July 19 2012 13:54 Silentness wrote: Not really a fan of those cheap ramen noodle packs... that shit is death.
Before my wife moved into my apartment, I use to cook chicken breasts with vegetables... EVERY DAY! I never got tired of eating chicken breast because I had some delicious seasonings that I mixed the chicken in, but my food diet worked perfectly with my workout routines. Now my wife always cooks, but I'd prefer my own cooking. >,< DON'T TELL HER I SAID THAT!
I'm fucking telling you so hard. I too can never get tired of chicken breast. I moved in with my cousin and his fiance a while back and they had one of those things (can't remember the shit name right now -_-) where you just dump a chicken and add some sauce mixture and it just cooks in a few hours along with having a rice maker oh man was it delicious every time.
I just went downatairs to make myself.. Instant ramen...
I really wish parents - especially asian ones in my case - involved their kids in life skills more. I'm kind of in the same hole: sheltered when it comes to cooking, and while i'll be okay for a bit cause i'll be dorming, my forages into cooking have been very, very lackluster.
On July 19 2012 09:09 Steveling wrote: Instant ramen are so bad. There's a reason they cost some cents. The only way to eat ramen is in a dedicated ramen shop, preferably in japan. Everything else is, oh dear.
I just went downatairs to make myself.. Instant ramen...
I really wish parents - especially asian ones in my case - involved their kids in life skills more. I'm kind of in the same hole: sheltered when it comes to cooking, and while i'll be okay for a bit cause i'll be dorming, my forages into cooking have been very, very lackluster.
On July 17 2012 14:01 Wangsta wrote: It's really not difficult to cook
Cooking takes a lot more time than you realize. Getting ingredients, cooking, cleaning up, it's very easy to spend an hour on a meal on average (much more than that if you want to cook more than really simple dishes)
As a young working professional in the city, eating out is also one of the most common social activities outside of drinking. It's really hard to have a social life if you don't eat out with people. It's also just fun to eat out
The way I see it, cooking makes sense if you are cooking for more than 1 person. If you just cook for yourself, you are better off eating out. The only exception is if you don't make enough money to do anything else, but honestly cooking for yourself is not much cheaper than eating out (unless you buy dirt cheap crap)
I agree with this, with the caveat that while cooking may cost just as much as eating out, dollar for dollar, regardless where you live, you are guaranteed to eat better food.
Cooking for yourself (and/or others) is only more expensive if you choose particularly more expensive ingredients and/or count your time invested as cost.
dishes like fried rice which contains: rice, carrots, peas, corn, green bean, (usually can get this pre-packed and frozen), egg, condiment/spice, and optionally chicken or shrimp or pork is far cheaper than at restaurant cost,
or spaghetti: spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, ground beef, spice, and optionally various vegetables is really cheap too
If you're going to marinate a prime-grade steak in wine and cook artichokes sprinkled with saffron sure you'll get some pretty high costs.
For those who eat lots of instant noodles, or even maybe knowledgeable enough to cook plain rice, a pretty good way to fancy it up and make it a bit more nutritious would be to use some dehydrated vegetable bits (like soup mix). Should be able to buy it in bulk bins at grocery stores or possibly pre-packed bags. It looks like this stuff, but you should maybe find a better price than that Adding seasonings like paprika (or much more) can also help.
You can even save money if you buy the instant noodles as plain as can be (quite plain types that just have one simple flavor/powder package) and make & add all the extra ingredients they have yourself, stuff like: ([exclusively chili] chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ginger powder, curry powder, chives, oil/fat of choice.
EPT![[image loading]](http://disney-clipart.com/Ratatouille/jpg/Gusteau.jpg)
