Author Topic: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary  (Read 2892 times)

eav

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Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« on: December 09, 2018, 03:30:43 PM »
After ordering GrubHub last night and seeing I was being charged a $3.99 delivery fee and giving a $6.26 tip (15% is the lowest I feel comfortable tipping)...

I have decided to remove the word "delivery" from my vocabulary for myself and my boyfriend this year in regards to food. If we're with friends the rule doesn't apply (he hosts football Sunday bi-weekly and someone else usually orders pizza and wings).

This will mean always keeping ingredients for an acceptable meal in the house for nights when the weather is horrible and/or all of my weekly meal planning has run out.

It is just such a waste each and every time you order delivery from restaurants or utilize GrubHub, DoorDash, Postmates, Seamless, etc. It's like throwing money away! If I want food prepared for me that badly, I will get off my butt and go pick it up in store and save ~10 bucks each time. I'm sure if most of you are hardcore Mustachians, you probably already don't get delivery. But I'm newer and am now completely fed up with the money suck. I estimate this will save me/us $350 a year in extra fees/tipping just for takeout food - figuring I order delivery once weekly on the more frequent side and throw an average of $7 dollars down the drain each time.

Let the challenge begin!

englishteacheralex

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2018, 03:58:32 PM »
Yeah. Food delivery should not be a thing. The only time I ever did pizza delivery was once when I was single, lived alone, and had the flu. Definitely keep this one alive in your life.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2018, 04:22:11 PM »
We've been in our house 6 years and never had anything delivered here.

I've only used Postmates and GrubHub on expense for work and am astonished how expensive they are.

RWD

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2018, 05:25:15 PM »
I don't think I've ever ordered delivery in my life...

Serendip

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2018, 08:27:54 PM »
Good work @eav --it will feel great to cut out delivery. The convenience is definitely not worth that much of a charge/tip.
Maybe you could plan to buy a monthly allotment of freezer pizza or make your own burritos and freeze them?  Then you will have food available for those bad weather moments.

We have a favorite dal that we keep a bag of in the freezer for dinner emergencies, its highly flavourful so if we need a quick meal, just need to make some rice and heat the Indian food up!

mountain mustache

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2018, 08:33:16 PM »
I remember getting delivery once when I had really awful, debilitating cramps and literally couldn't get off the couch. I think it was $2 extra. That's the only time in my life I've ever gotten it. But I just don't really buy food out at all, too expensive!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2018, 09:12:27 PM »
There's nothing like starting a Gauntlet thread to help you cut out a thing and then having lots of people comment about how you shouldn't do that thing and how they never do that thing... So helpful ;)

I AM IN! I've ordered via UberEats maybe 6 or 7 times this year and yes it's a waste of money.

Great tips @Serendip . I think I'll be a bit more organised about having meal ingredients in and also a frozen pizza. An additional idea to make it work for us - I combine the above with a note on the fridge explaining what we have, so that it's not all down to me. I frequently get exhausted or have migraines.




Cassie

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2018, 09:36:51 PM »
I keep easy things in the freezer to just heat up when I don’t feel well.  No delivery for us.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2018, 10:48:43 PM »
I used to order something or get takeout once a week for dinner... it was a little lazy treat at the end of the work week. But it is so expensive and adds up so fast! And it can be really wasteful in terms of packaging (some cuisines/restaurants more than others). I've cut way down, not completely to zero, but from 52/year to maybe 2-3 times a year. It's really nice for small things like a pizza or Chinese food delivery to feel like a BIG DEAL treat. Sometimes on Christmas or Christmas Eve if my friend is working (he's a bartender) I'll go hang out with him and order pizza for us at midnight. Having pizza delivered to a bar at midnight on Christmas is so fun, and totally worth it. Special occasion. And maybe if I'm really sick or injured I'll order some dinner and it will make me feel so good that I can slide into utter decadence for a night by having hot food brought to my door. How magical is it to have someone deliver you chicken soup at the push of a button when you're sick? Worth it! But it's totally out of my life as far as "I'm tired and hungry" or "it's Friday and I deserve it" or "I didn't buy groceries." I was spending $1000+ a year on delivery! Ack. Now it's like $50/yr.

It really does help to keep stuff in the pantry/freezer that is extremely easy to make - frozen pizzas, pasta with cheese and (frozen) broccoli or peas, etc. I can make that stuff faster than I can get food delivered.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2018, 10:54:21 PM »
It really does help to keep stuff in the pantry/freezer that is extremely easy to make - frozen pizzas, pasta with cheese and (frozen) broccoli or peas, etc. I can make that stuff faster than I can get food delivered.

That's a really good point @Dollar Slice. In my set of ready to go meals I'm going to include fresh stuffed pasta in the fridge and a jar of sauce. The brands that we get here normally have an expiry of a month or so. The pasta takes about five mins as it's fresh, so way quicker than choosing, ordering and receiving takeaway.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2018, 01:52:50 AM »
It really does help to keep stuff in the pantry/freezer that is extremely easy to make - frozen pizzas, pasta with cheese and (frozen) broccoli or peas, etc. I can make that stuff faster than I can get food delivered.

Each time we have cooked too much food, we freeze the leftover, with a date and content description. This is used to a quick meal when that is applicable. When we make pizza from scratch, we always make a whole plate and eat only half, freezing 2 portions. But as mentioned, frozen pizza from the shop is also an option.

We have always lived in a place with a difficult and steep road. It would appear in my mind to have anything delivered at my house in the winter. When it comes to food, we between 2 town centers that have pizza delivery shops. But I have always thought that I wouldn't want to pay the price for delivery at my home.

Some people of this site binch cook many portions of several dishes in the weekend to have something available on days they don't want to cook a meal.

remizidae

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2018, 07:25:28 AM »
I agree with, well, everybody. There are good reasons to have convenience meals. There is not a good reason to pay for delivery.

  • Frozen turkey burgers and buns
  • Canned soup with rice
  • Boxed pasta with jarred sauce, canned beans and frozen veggies
  • Ramen with added vegetables and tofu (yes, you can freeze tofu)
  • Canned tuna with mac and cheese

Might not be the healthiest or even cheapest food in the world, but it's satisfying, quick and a lot cheaper than delivery. And you can have all of these things on hand at all times--they'll almost never go bad.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2018, 07:29:05 AM »
There's nothing like starting a Gauntlet thread to help you cut out a thing and then having lots of people comment about how you shouldn't do that thing and how they never do that thing... So helpful ;)

I AM IN! I've ordered via UberEats maybe 6 or 7 times this year and yes it's a waste of money.

Great tips @Serendip . I think I'll be a bit more organised about having meal ingredients in and also a frozen pizza. An additional idea to make it work for us - I combine the above with a note on the fridge explaining what we have, so that it's not all down to me. I frequently get exhausted or have migraines.

My comment was more in the vein of "this is totally possible" than "why the eff did you ever do that in the first place."

Personally I have low standards for lazy meals- I do a bowl of cereal. 
We make pizza from scratch, so a frozen pizza just won't cut it.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2018, 07:36:07 AM »
We've had delivery twice in the past year. Both times, I regretted it. Once was because I had multiple offers for UberEats & thought it would be reasonably price after the discounts. Mistake. The second time was when we ended up with unexpected company, & I ordered pizza delivery. The pizza was good, but a couple of frozen pizzas would have been an okay substitute. I should have run to the store & picked those up instead, saving half the cost.

GuitarStv

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2018, 07:42:12 AM »
The problem is not getting food delivered to you, it's failing to plan for and cook your own meals.  If you're blowing a ton of money to live like a king and order others to feed you, you might as well blow a bit more and order one of your servant slaves to bring it to your door.  :P

GuitarStv

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2018, 08:51:18 AM »
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eav

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2018, 09:07:44 PM »
Made it through two days guys! Lol

I am going to try my hand at homemade pizza (dough from scratch) this week! I'm hoping if it goes well, I can either freeze dough balls or possibly freeze par-baked pizzas. I need to look into this further. I detest store bought frozen pizzas, which has probably led to more delivery orders in the past.

Also considering buying frozen bagged dinners from Aldi tomorrow (first time back there in a while!) to keep as easy dinners.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2018, 09:15:24 PM »
@eav - I've found these tips helpful in the past

ketchup

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2018, 10:44:36 PM »
I don't think I've ever ordered delivery in my life...
Same here.  I've done takeout a handful of times over the years, but it's always felt weird.  If I'm shelling out for restaurant food, and driving to a restaurant, I don't want to have to clean up or do dishes, dammit.

OP, just keep some bone-in chicken thighs in your fridge, and frozen broccoli florets in your freezer.  Throw a few chicken thighs on a baking sheet, dump some broccoli around them, pile on salt/pepper/paprika/garlic/oregano, bake for 42m at 400F.  90 seconds of prep tops, once you get the hang of it. $1.50-$3.00 depending on desired quantities and prices in your area.

Or, 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 cup milk, water, or cream (depending on desired calorie content), and a dash of salt, microwaved for three minutes.  Dump a bunch of cinnamon in afterwards, mix in a big spoonful of peanut butter and you're good to go.  5 minutes of prep start to finish.  <$1.

No need for hilariously expensive pre-made frozen meals, though I suppose those could work as training wheels.  Frozen pizza is pretty economical though from what I gather, though I've never bought or made it because I'm a space alien and hate pizza to the point where you'd have to pay me a lot of money to take a bite.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2018, 10:46:19 PM by ketchup »

Linea_Norway

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2018, 01:24:09 AM »
I don't think I've ever ordered delivery in my life...
Same here.  I've done takeout a handful of times over the years, but it's always felt weird.  If I'm shelling out for restaurant food, and driving to a restaurant, I don't want to have to clean up or do dishes, dammit.

I have never ordered delivery either.
Last time I got take-out was before 1998.

Some people solve the "I don't want to clean dishes" problem by using paper plates. And lots of others eat pizza from a box on napkins and with hands only, something I hate to do when we eat delivered pizza at work.

Off topic: There are even people who eat from paper plates and plastic cutlery each time they visit their cabin that has no running water. They are fine by create a pile of unnecessary garbage each time they visit, just because they are too lazy to heat some water and wash dishes. I find this so sad.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2018, 04:10:36 AM »
I detest store bought frozen pizzas, which has probably led to more delivery orders in the past.

I think of frozen pizzas as... not really pizza, but a food loosely inspired by pizza that I don't mind eating in a pinch. :-P

Hopefully you can find something that works for you. My problem is that I struggle with having the energy to grocery shop and cook, and sometimes I just need to rest (chronic pain etc. which is aggravated by being on my feet a lot). So when I'm exhausted and wanting instafood, the answer isn't "spend two hours last weekend shopping and cooking and putting it in the freezer," it's "have something relatively inexpensive in the pantry or freezer that can be made with almost no effort." For you it might be different. I think identifying the core problem helps - are you exhausted, are you too disorganized to keep the pantry stocked with groceries, do you not go grocery shopping frequently enough, do you need to do more meal planning, are you craving specific foods that you don't know how to make, etc. etc.

Duchess of Stratosphear

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #21 on: December 11, 2018, 06:08:30 AM »
When I was young and foolish, I ordered takeout every so often. I also lived in a town then, and now I live in the hinterlands, where I'm not even sure I could get delivery, and it would cost a fortune and take forever and be cold even if someone would bring it out here. So, problem solved.

But the other thing is that I've learned to like meal prep. I keep it pretty simple, but making food is an excuse to listen to a podcast and be on my feet (not on my ass like I am at work all day). I used to hate making food, and I'm not sure when I began to embrace it. Honestly, what have you got to do that's more important than making healthy food for yourself and family? Probably not THAT many things if you really think about it. I also find that if I eat healthy during the day, I have more energy in the evening for doing things like prepping food. When I reach for crappy snacks at work and then come home in a quasi-diabetic haze, that's when I am too lazy to fix something nice. Too bad for me, since I can't get delivery out here. I have to cook (or unfreeze) something anyway.

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #22 on: December 11, 2018, 02:51:30 PM »
It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno!

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #23 on: December 11, 2018, 03:44:00 PM »
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ketchup

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #24 on: December 11, 2018, 03:57:36 PM »
DM me for a sign up code if you are interested in biking/driving for Postmates

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Raenia

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #25 on: December 14, 2018, 07:29:14 AM »
Made it through two days guys! Lol

I am going to try my hand at homemade pizza (dough from scratch) this week! I'm hoping if it goes well, I can either freeze dough balls or possibly freeze par-baked pizzas. I need to look into this further. I detest store bought frozen pizzas, which has probably led to more delivery orders in the past.

Also considering buying frozen bagged dinners from Aldi tomorrow (first time back there in a while!) to keep as easy dinners.

Personally, I prefer freezing par-baked crusts.  Makes it so much easier to throw together on a night when you really don't want to.  Plus they store flat in the freezer!  My dough recipe makes enough for 4 crusts, so each time I make it we eat one fresh and stack the other 3 in the freezer for the next few weeks.

We were pretty good this year about not ordering when we were home, but we have started ordering at game nights at my friend's place.  Gonna try to fix that, maybe encourage him to make it pot-luck style, or maybe just bring something from home to eat.

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #26 on: December 15, 2018, 08:34:55 AM »
Good work @eav
We have a favorite dal that we keep a bag of in the freezer for dinner emergencies, its highly flavourful so if we need a quick meal, just need to make some rice and heat the Indian food up!

That is a fantastic idea!  Next time I'm making a big batch and freezing extra; can't believe I didn't think of it before.

When we're low on everything else and don't have a dinner plan, there are always eggs.  Quick, tasty and a good source of protein.

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Re: Removing "Delivery" from the Food Vocabulary
« Reply #27 on: December 15, 2018, 09:23:40 AM »
I haven't ordered a pizza in years, ever since I bought a bread machine for $30 off Craigslist. It's so much better to have my robot servant make pizza dough for me while I play video games and then take a couple of minutes of actual effort to put the pizza together with only 30 minutes of actual baking time in my oven. I save roughly $17 every time I do it over the cost of a delivery pizza.

Then, if you want hot wings, just buy a big bag of frozen chicken wings at a warehouse store and take less than five minutes to make your own hot sauce for them. It's actually really simple to do.

 

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