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Automatic Mail Meals

There is a new trend in cooking, the pre prepared meal. The idea is , you get all the ingredients and seasonings (pre measured) for a few meals, plus the recipes, and all you have to do is cook according to the directions. This saves you time in shopping and planning.

I know someone who has tried one of these, and she liked the idea. she found, however, that predicting just when her family of nearly grown kids might be around made it difficult , and resulted in food waste ( which is one of the things she was trying to avoid).

I have never used one of these mail meals myself. I suspect that you wind up paying more per ounce than you ever would if you shopped for it all.

Another disadvantage, and this is a big one, is that you don't learn how to cook intuitively. You have to have your hands in the entire process of cooking to really get the touch. Judging how much garlic you like by taste, or how much butter to add ect. , comes with time and practice.

That is why I suggest you build your pantry with very inexpensive ingredients like beans, rice, and pasta. Add ready made stock, or bullion, and wine, too. Then you have some room in your budget to make mistakes.

Cooking can be just another chore after a long work day. But using fresh veggies or a good cut of meat , added to something from your pantry , and tossing in a few herbs, you can have something healthy and good to eat. If you are lucky enough to eat with someone else who has helped cook , that's all the better!




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