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Meal prep costs less than takeout
Added up, the spending on restaurants and takeout looked bad, with delivery fees stacking on Uber Eats. So a person came in to lightly clean the house and do the meal prep. It costs more than cooking for yourself, and it saves money compared with the New York lifestyle it replaced.
The routine is five dinners, five lunches, and five breakfasts, which gets a little boring. It works because healthy food is already ready to go. The price is about what meal kits cost, but kit menus are built for taste, so they run saucy and add calories in things the kit thinks are important. The goal here is protein and veggies.
Why does home cooking tend to cut calories?
Researchers Julia Wolfson and Sara Bleich of Johns Hopkins published a 2015 study in Public Health Nutrition using national survey data. They found that adults who cooked dinner at home more often consumed fewer calories, sugar, and fat on average than those who cooked less. Restaurant and takeout meals tend to come in larger portions and with more added fat and sugar. The study was based on what people reported eating.
Why does food that is ready change what people eat?
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein described choice architecture in their 2008 book Nudge. People tend to pick whatever is easiest to reach, so the way options are arranged shapes what they choose. Making one option effortless works as a default. Supermarkets, cafeterias, and apps all arrange choices this way.