The opinion that homemade food is always better than restaurant food is a thing of the past. Now you don’t have to go to the supermarket and stand by the stove all evening: delivery services will do all the work for you. Let’s look at the pros and cons of home-delivery services. Of course, we got used to the delivery of rolls and pizza a long time ago, but it’s not for every day, you say, and only on holidays or weekends, a couple of times a month. Agree, if your usual dinner – a pizza, then a slim figure you can forget, and in addition, you can immediately make an appointment with a gastroenterologist.
Meanwhile, food delivery services have moved on. It seems that now we can order everything from black caviar to lotus root or banana leaves. Of course, sophisticated foodies can taste all the delights of trendy deliveries mostly in big cities, but smaller cities are trying to keep up, and resourceful entrepreneurs are opening new delivery services with an original range of dishes. In addition, restaurants, too, do not doze off and have long been offering their customers the opportunity to order any dish from the menu to their home or office. Add to that the services that develop complete meal programs for us. A logical question arises: really, meal delivery services can discourage us from cooking? What are their pros and cons, and what can they offer us? And most importantly, is it more expensive to cook food at home yourself or to order take-out?
Delivering Ready-Made Meals from Restaurants
As we said, pizza and rolls are not all that can bring you home. Go to your favorite restaurant’s website, order your favorite dish, and it will be on your table at a certain hour. The price of the dishes is exactly the same as in the restaurant itself, or even cheaper. You’re unlikely to make shrimp tartare after a long day at work, and here – everything is ready, fresh, and very tasty.
Pros:
-you’re sure the dish will taste good if you’ve already tried it at a particular restaurant;
-the site often indicates the weight of the dish, calories, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content;
a very large selection of dishes (the more restaurants in your city offer delivery, the better the assortment);
-the opportunity to try new dishes from the chef without leaving home.
Cons:
-No beautifully served dishes; food arrives chilled;
-A full dinner at home will cost as much as a full dinner at a restaurant;
-delivery takes a little longer (compared with pizza/rolls).
Food Delivery With Recipes
Delivery for those who do not mind cooking something delicious for dinner by themselves, but a) does not want to choose products in the supermarket, b) does not want to think up or look for new recipes, c) does not want to spend too much time on cooking.
Pros:
-you can cook lunch or dinner even for those who are not friendly with cooking;
-You save yourself from tedious trips to grocery stores, but do not lose the pleasure of cooking -dinner with your own hands;
-if you want, groceries will be delivered to your home for a whole week;
-a new and unusual dish every day;
-Calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates are always listed on the website and in the instructions.
Cons:
-you have to order one meal or sets in advance (delivery terms vary, but more often than not, to -get 5 dinners on a Sunday, you have to order by Thursday night;
-if you do not prepare dinner on a certain day, the food may go bad;
-the menu for the week is service: one dish cannot be replaced by another (but you can always –order something separately);
The Overall Benefits of Food Delivery:
You save time
You don’t go to the supermarket, don’t look for expiration dates on every item, don’t stand in line at the cash register, don’t think of something new to cook. The services do it for you.
A different dinner every day
You no longer need to eat buckwheat and cutlets all week: order a different meal every day and enjoy it.
No more piles of dishes
Sure, you’ll still get dishes dirty (especially if you order food to cook recipes), but there will be a lot less. Run the dishwasher once a week, and the rest of the time you’re doing more important things.
Disadvantages of Delivery:
Feeding a large family every day is too expensive
No matter what the delivery services themselves prove, their services aren’t cheap. Especially if you need to feed four or five people (again, pizza is inexpensive, but it’s not a normal meal for every day).
You don’t know the conditions under which the food is prepared
Of course, good services won’t allow themselves to slice unwashed vegetables or marinate meat with dirty hands. Still, there are always concerns. You may have a suspicion that flavor enhancers have been added to the dishes. Same thing: proven and quality services do not sin with this, but there is little else.
You cannot snack for 10-15 minutes
Even the pizza will be delivered in at least an hour. What to do when you do not have time to order a set for a week or came unexpectedly guests? You have to go back to the supermarket and buy something “just in case”.
Home Cooking
In the modern world, when time is becoming more and more expensive, many people have learned to value their labor and apply all kinds of techniques to increase the efficiency of the use of their working time. One of these habits is cooking at home and thinking that it is cheaper than ordering cooked food at home, especially if it is food delivery from restaurants. We are used to cooking at home. And we think it’s cheaper. But in fact, it’s not! You only need at least half an hour – an hour on the road, an hour in the store, the queues at the cash register. Fresh vegetables are even better to buy in vegetable stalls or at the market, it takes time. From the store with heavy bags go home. More time – more money we spend!
Bottom Line
If you’re lazy to cook, want something new every day, and don’t like to wash dishes – there are plenty of business lunches and simply delicious dishes in hundreds of establishments in your city, and you can also order food at home. If you’re a frugal or thrifty person who likes pasta and sausages and is disgusted by rolls, pizza, and other delicacies – cook at home, it’s more familiar and tastier. The choice is yours!