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I live alone, and have been eating out pretty much exclusively since forever. Been wanting to cook more at home to save money, but also not put in any real effort. If those meal replacement shakes were better studied and tested I probably would be drinking them instead of eating. I digress. Instapots, Ninja Foodi, and slow cookers sort of sit at the pinnacle of low effort cooking. I still don't want to meal plan, though. And I don't really want to do a meal subscription plan. Vegetables in a pressure cooker don't cook at the same rate as other things, like quinoa or rice. They'd turn to mush. And meats certainly don't cook at the same rate as vegetables. Enter the dehydrator https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_dry_fruit.pdf I started with fruits, cutting them up, dunking them in ascorbic acid. They come out really well and aren't covered in sugar like store bought dehydrated fruit. It also can be done for pennies, in bulk. Vegetables - once dehydrated, will cook at the same rate as grains in a pressyre cooker, and come out great! Enter the foodsaver You can vacuum seal dried foods without much fear of botulism, making them last even longer. You can also buy family packs of say meat, and seal it up for freezing, and just keep a bunch of different types of meats on hand to cook without having to plan too much. It's as good as going to a restaurant and ordering off a menu. You can vacuum-can dehydrated foods as well, making them last longer, allowing you to prep in bulk. Enter the pressure canner https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE01_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf I haven't reached this level of peak homesteading libertarian-ism yet, yet I hear the banjos panging away in the distance. There are different methods of canning foods, low acid vegetables, acidic fruits, hot pack vs cold pack meats. It's probably a touch cheaper than buying canned food outright at a grocery store, and pairs well with something like a pressure cooker, since precooked food you can just dump in at the end and stir. Other ideas Sous Vide It's nice for cooking meats from frozen to a consistent state without having to thaw. They are coming out with machines that have built in refrigeration, you can dump in a protein, set a timer, and come back to nearly complete food. The wands can be a bit of a pain in the butt, while they are low effort, you still need to wait an hour or two to eat. No dirty pots and pans. Plastic bag to throw out, or a reusable silicone one. Air Fryer The Ninja Foodi is both a pressure cooker and air fryer, saving precious counter space. It pairs well with frozen foods like fries, or for adding texture to foods cooked sous vide, rendering fats that don't break down via sous vide. Long story short, while it seems like food preservation is a lot of work - it lets you do prep in bulk for weeks worth of meal prep at a time. That means less dishes, less prep on a day to day basis. Quinoa, canned chicken, and dehydrated mushrooms takes 10 minutes in a pressure cooker, no planning required. Frozen salmon can be cooked sous vide on a timer and be done when you get home from work, ready to finish in 5 minutes in an air fryer. Something like the Ninja Foodi - all components fit into the dishwasher and stow away easy, which is nice for me because I only have a countertop dishwasher. It also saves money for single individuals - the container of mushrooms I just got, instead of using 1/3rd and throwing it out, I dehydrated the whole thing and will use in the upcoming weeks as I desire. Buying in bulk is much cheaper too. Long story short, you can save money, save time, prepare in bulk so you don't have to plan on a day to day basis, but there's a bit of a startup investment. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jun 6, 2019 |
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Jun 6, 2019 00:07
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 Two whole pineapples. Should be good for like 6 months, or more if I was to actually vacuum seal it and put it in the basement. It won’t remain that long, already ate 2/3rds of it over the course of a few weeks. SSH IT ZOMBIE fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Jun 6, 2019 |
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Jun 6, 2019 00:16
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I have a vacuum sealer, and an air fryer, but never considered preserving the way you describe. What I generally end up doing is to make a bunch of components on one day, and turn it into an actual dish through the week. Like. I’ll boil up a pound of beans. Or cook a bunch of rice. Or make a pound of pasta and toss it in a bit of oil. Then during the week, I’ll add a few different spices to the things, microwave it for a few minutes, and dinner is sorted.
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Jul 8, 2019 11:43
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