Cooking Newbies Turn To Home Dining
Arnisha Keyes admits she’s no Rachael Ray. Until recently, she spent $30 a day to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at restaurants.
But the high price of gas has her testing her cooking skills to save money, packing lunch for work and experimenting with dinner salads by microwaving frozen vegetables, mixing them with spinach and pouring ranch dressing on top.
“I’ve been going to the grocery store a little bit more frequently,” Keyes says, laughing sheepishly at her previous lifestyle. “It saves you a lot more money if you just buckle down and focus on eating at home.”
Keyes’ cooking ventures aren’t unusual — they’re part of a national trend to eat at home to save money, according to market research firms. But after years of eating out, many people have found they don’t have a pot to cook in or a cookbook to guide them.
The sudden rush to buy basic cooking necessities has driven up sales of cookbooks, inexpensive cookware and the basic foods needed to concoct a meal. And cooking magazines and websites are booming even as magazine sales overall have suffered.
Cookware sales overall have declined in the past year, but items selling for less than $100 are doing “remarkably well,” said Florence Sheffer, spokeswoman for the cookware distributor Meyer Corp. in Vallejo, Calif. Cast-iron cookware in that price category, for instance, has recorded a 19% sales increase over a year ago, the most popular being those with celebrity chef name tags.
Photo by leon-nanda.
CoolProducts on September 24th, 2008 10:54 am
Being a college student, I’ve experienced the dorm life, then the frat life. Both very comfortable in terms of food. With the dorms I had a huge cafeteria with a great selection of food, and in the fraternity we had out own cook, Cindy (boy was she great)! Now in my third year away from home, I’ve moved into an apartment! Now, having little money and being in college are synonymous, so eating out everyday.. not really an option for me! So therefore I must rely on my cooking skills, er should I say, my lack of them! It has been an exciting adventure, though, and learning to cook is just one thing I’ll be able to add to my personal resume!
jaeda on September 25th, 2008 1:55 am
i prefer to eat foods i prepare by myself than to order in any food chain, it’s satisfies my taste.
cassy on September 25th, 2008 9:51 pm
When it comes to cooking, im really got excited with it. I like to create and make my own recipe. Its really fun!
You can really save if you cook your own food. Aside from that you can be sure that what you eat is clean and nutritious!
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