The Steve School of Cooking, Part I

Cooking is one of those skills in which all adults should have at least some basic proficiency: just like driving stick shift, or sewing, or being able to handle simple tools. Mastery may not be necessary for everyone, but even a little bit of skill can be quite useful. Luckily, being able to do some easy cooking is well within anyone’s ability.

I cook almost all of my food, for several reasons. One, it’s way cheaper than eating out. Two, I can make what I want, and know exactly what’s going into my food. Three, and this may be surprising to some, it’s actually faster and saves time. I’ll explain these more in a little bit.

Anyway, I get a lot of comments at school because I’m always carrying meals around in Tupperware. A lot of people say that they would cook more if they had the time, or if they knew how, etc. So I’ve decided to start a short series on this blog, teaching people how to prepare cheap, simple, tasty food.

Next week I’ll lay out a specific menu and a shopping list, but for now I’ll give you a brief taste of what’s in store.

The menu consists of four meals per day, plus a snack or two. Eating smaller meals spread out through the day is both healthier (keeps your blood sugar levels more even) and, for those like me with short attention spans, helps to break up a long work day.

It’s cheap. Last time I went to HEB, four days worth of meals following this plan cost $26.18, which works out to $6.54 a day, or just about $200 a month. Even eating one meal out per day is likely to cost more than $6.50 just by itself. Eat out for both lunch and dinner, and you’re easily looking at close to $500 a month for food.

It saves time. I cook four days worth of food at a time, and refrigerate it. Once you get used to the meal plan I’ll be describing, preparation can be done very efficiently, and I can make 12 meals in just about an hour, including cleanup. This works out to about 5 minutes per meal. How much time would you spend by eating out? Odds are you’ll spend at least 5 minutes just walking to a restaurant, at least 5 minutes ordering and waiting for your food, and 5 minutes walking back. You’re using up three times as much time, and two-and-a-half times the money of preparing food yourself. “I don’t have time” is NOT a good excuse.

It’s nutritious. I’ll outline a meal plan that provides about 2300 calories per day. 75 grams of fat (29% of total caloric intake, mostly consisting of healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats), 280 grams of carbs, and 135 grams of protein is very well-balanced and provides you with plenty of energy for your daily routine and some exercise. You’ll be getting over 3 times the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C, 7 times the RDA of Vitamin A, and less than half the allowable limit for sodium. Plus, there are no processed foods whatsoever included. It’s all fresh, inexpensive, basic foods: grains, produce, dairy, and meat.

It’s easy. No fancy ingredients or advanced cooking techniques. Even beginners at cooking can handle this, although it may take a little longer until your technique improves.

It’s tasty. I’ve been following this plan for several months now, and it’s evolved to its present state over the course of several years of experimenting. I like to eat and try new things, but if I’m still happy with the same meals for several months in a row, then they’re pretty darned yummy.

It’s flexible. Are you an athlete with greater caloric or protein requirements? Easy to fix. Trying to reduce weight by reducing your daily intake? Can do. Have a gluten allergy? A minor substitution or three and we’re good. The plan scales easily to most common dietary needs.

Anyway, hope I’ve whetted your appetite. Next time I’ll describe the meals and a shopping list; the following installment will give specific cooking instructions. Finally, I’ll wrap up with some examples of tailoring the plan to your own needs, and give some advice on how to come up with such a plan on your own.

Bon appetit!