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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think cooking from scratch is not always cheaper?

233 replies

IonaNE · 13/09/2015 15:19

A few posts on another thread (not primarily about this) have got me thinking.

In my local ASDA Weight Watchers ready meals are £2 each. If I buy one for each night of the week (to make life easier for when I get home from work), that's £10 for a hot meal on every evening of the week. For this I get a balanced meal that, over the whole week, contains chicken, beef, prawns, pasta, rice and potatoes, vegetables and a variety of sauces. On top of that it's exactly as much as I need to eat, there are no leftovers, I am not using energy by cooling unnecessary stuff in the fridge. I don't need to keep a host of jars of sauces, oils and spices which would otherwise be needed to cook all this from scratch either. And finally, I am not using energy to cook all that from scratch, and then to wash up all that was used in the process. (I do use energy to microwave the meals, 5 mins each; and the microwave is very cheap to run.)

I can cook from scratch all that is in those meals. I don't enjoy cooking but I can do it if necessary. But I don't think that I would get that variety of hot food for just £10 a week. Furthermore, if I bought all the ingredients, they would be in portions much bigger than what I need for one supper. Then I would either need to freeze them; but also: does everyone who cooks from scratch only eat a WW meal-portion of everything before they freeze the rest? I find I eat larger portions if I cook. And while I'm not overweight, I really don't need to put on weight.

So I think eating ready meals is actually cheaper than cooking from scratch. It is also less time consuming (=more time for other things) and provided you choose the right ones and read the labels, not necessarily less healthy either.

OP posts:

overthemill · 13/09/2015 16:19

I think it costs money to 'set up' your store cupboard but if you could take the costs of that plus fresh and other ingredients eg pasta you would find that over a year it could be cheaper to cook from scratch. I cook meals that double up mostly and free the rest in portion sizes. I'm quite strict about portion ie 500g of mince is 6 portions of chilli and 400g chicken breast is 4 portions and I weigh out rice and pasta too. But sometimes I eat micro meals too and find the m and s ones quite good and they have nice veggie options. Never had a weight watchers one though

whois · 13/09/2015 16:20

You can always make a bit of extra for the freezer.

Assuming you have a freezer. Loads of people in small modern flats just have a small fridge with one freezer compartment.

Our flat has a large fridge and a small freezer. We keep frozen veg in on drawer and a loaf of bread in the other. That's all the fits!

jonicomelately · 13/09/2015 16:21

muminthecity
There are six and a half cubes of sugar in Dolmio Bolognese Sauce. Obviously if you are cooking your own sauce from fresh ingredients you wouldn't add so much sugar to your food.

MaxieMouse · 13/09/2015 16:22

I don't get the initial outlay argument. Of course it costs money to buy pots and pans. But it costs money to buy knives and forks and plates, that doesn't mean we should live off milkshakes. You wouldn't sleep on the floor either just because it's cheaper than buying a bed. Unless you had no choice, of course.

OneDay103 · 13/09/2015 16:23

Yes you might not have a freezer, that shouldn't stop you though. And as for not having pots, or utensils that's a poor excuse as well.

TheBunnyOfDoom · 13/09/2015 16:27

How can people cook from scratch if the cost of equipment too expensive for them?

OneDay103 · 13/09/2015 16:30

if you can't afford pots and pans how do you afford takeaway meals. Sorry that's a stupid excuse. Pots, pans and the basic utensils are far cheaper than eating ready meals all the time. Seriously, is that what should stop people?

CrotchetQuaverMinim · 13/09/2015 16:30

Why does it have to be an excuse? If someone has worked out that for their circumstances, they find some ready-meals cheaper, why not? Most people don't eat them every single time. And people who live alone and who do use some prepared stuff get quite good as discerning which ones are good or not. You can get a bolognaise sauce in Waitrose, for example, that doesn't have added sugar. You can read the labels and make choices about what's healthy. Many of the meals there are just, say, raw chicken breasts, but with veg/herbs/sauce on, the way you'd make for yourself, but without having to buy more ingredients than you need. Or they're pork fillet rounds, but with an apple sauce that saves you buying all the stuff for that. I've even known some people buy them and just use the meat, not the sauce. You don't have to just get cheap mince ones. So Weight Watchers ones might not be the ones you want, but other ones are fine. Having loads of extra ingredients really does end up taking loads of cupboard or fridge space, and goes off before you can use them, or you have to plan incredibly carefully and/or have less variety.

I think you just have to see what fits your circumstances. There are times when they are quite handy, even the actual pre-cooked microwave ones. I like the Waitrose Pad Thai one. I doubt I'd made it on my own very often, but it's a nice change.

jonicomelately · 13/09/2015 16:31

TheBunnyOfDoom You don't really need very many utensils. A couple of pans and a pyrex dish is pretty much enough to do most cooking.

TheBunnyOfDoom · 13/09/2015 16:32

Well, it depends, doesn't it.

If your budget is, for example, £40 a week for a family, and you have no way of going over that (no savings, no spare cash), and you have no pots/pans, you're not going to go and buy some. Pots and pans cost money - say even cheaply you wouldn't get a couple of pans for less than a tenner.

That's 1/4 of their weekly budget. That could feed people for 2-3 days. I would rather feed my kids than buy pots and pans.

jonicomelately · 13/09/2015 16:32

How many people who are on a tight budget shop at Waitrose CrochetQuaverMinim?

OneDay103 · 13/09/2015 16:33

I'm not saying theres anything wrong with eating ready made over cooked from scratch, I'm referring to using the excuse of not buying a few pots and pans as the reason for not attempting any cooking.

LeBoob · 13/09/2015 16:33

YABU OP weightwatchers meals are £1 in jack fultons/Iceland

autumnintheair · 13/09/2015 16:33

I have never understood this either, the lack of variety confuses me

Am sure been mentioned but I stupidly realised the key is to make up large batches then freeze/ so large batch mince, do meat balls, spag bol, chili con carne, then freeze, then same with other stuff. That way you cook from scratch do the batch bit, then also get varieyy.

00100001 · 13/09/2015 16:33

you can buy pots and pans for a couple of quid - goodnees, you could get them for less at chairty shops/carboots

you can use exisiting cutlery/crockery for cooking. forks for whisks etc

You can do most things in one pot and one saucepan. and u might need o buy one sharp knife.

not exactly breaking the bank.

OneDay103 · 13/09/2015 16:35

TheBunny how on earth do you think someone gets to the stage of having children but not a single pot or spoon. If ever there was an excuse!

TheBunnyOfDoom · 13/09/2015 16:35

What if you don't have an oven? Or can't afford the electric to buy one?

And saying pots and pans aren't expensive - true, in the grand scheme of things, they're not. But that doesn't matter. If you don't have a few quid spare, you don't have it.

jonicomelately · 13/09/2015 16:35

In all honesty TheBunny I would ask for pots and pans for birthday and Christmas presents (for myself) if it meant I could then cook decent, nutritious stuff for my dc because the chances are if you are feeding them all processed food, it isn't doing them much good. Failing that, ask around. Most people have a spare pan they could do without. Ask around. There are definitely ways to get hold of cooking utensils without paying out a fortune.

TheBunnyOfDoom · 13/09/2015 16:37

TheBunny how on earth do you think someone gets to the stage of having children but not a single pot or spoon. If ever there was an excuse!

Oh, I don't know. Fleeing an abusive relationship. Losing your house in a fire. Losing your job and not being able to afford the electric to run an oven. Your oven breaking and not being able to replace it.

I'm not saying people don't have spoons, mostly you do, but if you don't have an oven, you're very limited in what you can actually do.

00100001 · 13/09/2015 16:38

bunnyofdoom if they;re managing to spend only £40 week for a family of four, and have NO way of cooking,what are they spending the money on?

you can get three pans from tesco for £6.50, so to say you can;t get them for under a tenner is not correct

OneDay103 · 13/09/2015 16:39

bunny so these ready meals, I guess people are eating them cold then?

00100001 · 13/09/2015 16:39

bunny so this theoretical fmaily has no way of cooking food.

so how are they anging to only spend £40 on hot food a week?

00100001 · 13/09/2015 16:39

managing*

00100001 · 13/09/2015 16:40

or are they eating cold meals only?

ElderlyKoreanLady · 13/09/2015 16:42

Some of these arguments are a touch silly. Who can't afford a pan but can afford a microwave?

Alternatively, sell the microwave and buy some cheap pans.

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