Let’s go over some of the basics.

It saves you money.  This is true.  I can buy a grass fed prime steak with asparagus, mashed potatoes and a glass of wine for less than half of what it costs to eat out at a comparable quality restaurant.  My average prime steak dinner with the fixings costs me an average of $14 per plate, including the glass of wine.  Increase to $16 if I have 2 glasses of wine.  Tipping is not necessary, but compliments ensures there will be no crying.  This dinner with wine at my favorite restaurant in Seattle would cost me close to $60 per plate.

You don’t need to be ultra frugal to do this.  Whole Foods isn’t known for being cheap eats, but grass fed steak is delicious.  If you want to save a few bucks, meat from the chain supermarkets are fine (but rather bland).   If you are just learning to cook, don’t practice with the finest steaks from Whole Foods right away.  Cooking steak to temperature is an advanced skill that takes some practice to learn to do right.

I buy my veggies and produce from farmer’s markets, which are in abundance in Seattle. 

The wine usually comes from Trader Joe’s.  A good bottle of wine doesn’t have to cost a fortune.   It’s even easier to get a great quality wine for under $10 if you live in wine country like Washington or California.

You know what ingredients are in it.  I’m certain there’s never any spit in my food.  Or food coloring, or pig feet, or whatever.

It’s Healthier.  Most restaurants go very heavy on the fat and oil.  It tastes gooood, but it also packs on extra calories.  Most of us have desk jobs, so this is a bad combo.  Restaurants typically serve portions 2-3 sizes larger than we need.  This can also contribute to the ‘spread’.  Over the years, I’ve become very good at making single serve portions for 1 or 2 people.  My food waste is down, not to mention my girly waist.

So those are the basics that are usually covered by most personal finance enthusiasts.  How do you find time to do this as a young career professional?

Cooking Classes.  First, you need to learn how to cook.  You need to know how to use your knives and pans.  If you have a good paying job, look around in your area for cooking classes taught by chefs.  They are not cheap, so pick wisely when you are first starting out.  I recommend classes with knife skills, and cooking basics to start with.  Cooking classes are also great to mingle, at least, in the Seattle area.  A lot of single professionals here take cooking classes to network or meet other singles.  With the economic downturn, this is probably a more expensive option that can easily be replaced with alternatives.

If your budget is tight, there’s the Food Network on cable TV.  I learned most of my cooking skills and techniques from Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” and Rachael Ray’s “30 Minute Meals”.  I’ve now graduated to Martha Stewart.  Rachael Ray’s methods works really well for what I’m talking about here.  Chop stuff up, throw it in a pot, and eat.  Plus she shows you how to multitask many dishes.  Start the pasta boiling while chopping up veggies for your sauce.  Alton Brown is geeky fun that you can eat.

If you canceled your cable because you’re so bogged down in debt and are cutting out lattes, then there’s the internet.  Search on YouTube for free videos on how to dice or chop an onion.  Then go to All Recipes and find recipes for stir fry.

Once you have a few basic skills, you can make almost anything.  I still can’t make Indian curries.

Get a CrockPot. They’re not just for church picnics and soccer moms!  They are so freaking easy.  Chop an onion (see YouTube above), chop a carrot, celery, potatoes, stew meat, a can of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, salt/pepper, and throw it in your pot section the night before you go to work.  Put in the the fridge.  In the morning before you go to work, put it in the crockpot base and turn on low.  When you come home, dinner’s done!  Get a bowl, a spoon and your Netflix.

Grocery Shopping.  Where to find the time to go grocery shopping?  The weekends.  I buy a week’s worth of produce and meat on Sunday, which as a single person is not much.  A 1 pound steak (which makes two-three steak dinners with the proper portion control) and a package with 4 chicken breasts.   Because I live in Seattle, there’s usually 1/4 lb of fresh salmon in there too. I tend to pre-prepare my food chopping for the week.  I call it my “Martha Stewart” Sundays.  I chop up an onion and bell peppers, then put it in a container in the fridge.  When I cook during the week, I’ve already done my chopping.  I just need to throw it in the pan.  I used to buy my produce (and a croissant) at Pike Place Market in the morning, do my chopping mid morning, then meet my friends somewhere fun in the afternoon.  There is no slaving in the kitchen all day in my life.

The Downside. Now the really crappy part to all of this is the dishes.  I feel your pain – I hate dishes.  But it’s got to be done.  I find that if I wash dishes as I go, after chopping and throwing in the pan, that it’s easier to maintain.  A bit of multitasking.  A dishwasher is also a darn fine thing.

Between Rachael Ray’s 30 minute cooking style and a crockpot, I eat healthy meals at home most days of the week.  I still have time to go to the gym, read/write blogs, do my homework, have fun with friends and hold down a full time job.  I go out for happy hour or a nice dinner a couple times a week.