Most of the time dinner kits are not a bargain. Convenience costs money......sometimes more than other times. I bought a enchaladas kit from Grocery Outlet. I did it because the kit was a dollar and it cost more than that for the enchaladas sauce . That’s an exception to the rule. Most times you are paying dearly for some cornstarch and seasoning.
Years ago, my daughter and I tore apart a box of hamburger meal box. The upshot of it was that there was about 4 ounces of macaroni and a ‘cheese sauce’ envelope that was 1.57 ounces and did not have an ounce of cheese in it. At that rate , we figured you were paying 13.00 a pound for cheese sauce that didnt have any cheese in it. It contained dried cheese whey. The cost of the meal was over two dollars. Pasta is a dollar a pound or less if you can get it on sale with a coupon ...right now, it is 2.00 for a pound of Barilla at safeways. The bottom line was that at the time, what you got was a .22 bag of pasta and a envelope of less than two ounces of a sauce mix that had a butload of things we couldn’t pronounce. It was 2.40 for about .25 worth of merchandise. You still added meat and I think milk. You can have better nutrition for less money.
Next time you are tempted to buy a meal kit. Take a look at the ingredients and the weight. With the invent of counter top appliances, scratch cooking just got a whole lot faster. Pasta cooks i the insta pot , unwatched, in two minutes. The big thing is that you set it up, and walk away to make your sauce and a side dish and go back and release the pot and drain your pasta. No watching a pot and stirring.
A pizza crust cost 2.00 I am told at central market. Pizza crust cost .17 and about 5 minutes work.
Our 5 yo granddaughter can fill a pizza.
There are a lot of recipes out there that take minutes to put together and the cooking pretty much takes care of itself. We all know how helpful the slow cookers are. The price of slow cookers have gone down and the goodwill is full of them. Besides a coffee pot if you drink coffee and a toaster, I would invest in a slow cooker and a bread maker if I was just starting out. It’s minutes in the machine, and the rewards are remarkable. Both can be had at thrift stores and estate sales for little money. Of course, I am a insta pot enthusiast because dollar for dollar, it is one of the most efficient countertop appliances in your kitchen. The insta pot and a food processer pay for themselves in savings with very little physical work.
The difference between being able to buy food and have enough for the week with food left over and just barely having enough food or running out of money can be as simple as learning to cook basics from scratch.
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