The per person time commitment and food options for cooking for one is difficult. I would contend it's harder to cook a balanced meal for one person than it is for a family of four.
Buying things with portions for single servings has a premium on the price. Buying things at family size portions means that you have to have that for four nights in a row otherwise you've got wasted food (that is more expensive than the single portions).
For example, I've got a wok and can do a reasonable stir fry. Going and getting chicken for it meant that I had to get a pack of four chicken breasts... and I need to cook it before they spoil in my refrigerator. The vegetables (broccoli, pepper, carrots) were a bit better for keeping but you tended not to have one or two carrots unless you shopped the more expensive organic section. You get a 1lb bundle of carrots... and a lot of times, I'd end up throwing out some at the end of the week.
I can get a 3500 calorie deep dish pizza from Little Caesars for $15 ... and that's a good two days of caloric intake right there (there are even less expensive ones - I'm a fan of Detroit style). Four meals for $4 per meal. I think it was $12 when I was unemployed for a while a couple years ago.
I still have difficulty with grocery shopping portions for single servings and getting enough variety. I currently have a meal delivery / ready meal subscription that sends boxed raw ingredients that are 2 minutes of prep for a toaster oven and is about $12 per meal (600 - 800 calories). It's less expensive than door dash, the local diner, or the sit down casual dining and is portioned for cooking for one (and a lot healthier than four meals of pizza).
... However, being able to pay that much per meal isn't something that people who are getting priced out of McDs are able to do.
That is certainly cheaper than individual and gets benefits from the scale. It isn't something that everyone can do (or tolerate eating the same thing every day for the next week).
No, it doesn't. It does serve as an ok proxy for "if I eat 600 calories, will I be hungry in an hour?"
The people who are buying pizza or McDonald's aren't after healthy food. They know it isn't healthy. They're after the an inexpensive way to not be hungry when they go to bed.
I don't know why you all have such good opinions of McDonald's, but when I went there I was maybe full, but still hungry. Not an hour later, but immediately. To me it is an absolute waste of money.
It is not cheap, the local kebap or pizza store is cheaper, and the local grocery store has hot dishes for way cheaper. The ordering experience is crappy, you need to use that weird screen instead of ordering directly, long waiting times, the food tastes awful, you have a huge garbage pile on your plate, even larger than the "food" you ate, and you are still hungry after.
Buying things with portions for single servings has a premium on the price. Buying things at family size portions means that you have to have that for four nights in a row otherwise you've got wasted food (that is more expensive than the single portions).
For example, I've got a wok and can do a reasonable stir fry. Going and getting chicken for it meant that I had to get a pack of four chicken breasts... and I need to cook it before they spoil in my refrigerator. The vegetables (broccoli, pepper, carrots) were a bit better for keeping but you tended not to have one or two carrots unless you shopped the more expensive organic section. You get a 1lb bundle of carrots... and a lot of times, I'd end up throwing out some at the end of the week.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/ just isn't something that I can do and stay sane.
I can get a 3500 calorie deep dish pizza from Little Caesars for $15 ... and that's a good two days of caloric intake right there (there are even less expensive ones - I'm a fan of Detroit style). Four meals for $4 per meal. I think it was $12 when I was unemployed for a while a couple years ago.
I still have difficulty with grocery shopping portions for single servings and getting enough variety. I currently have a meal delivery / ready meal subscription that sends boxed raw ingredients that are 2 minutes of prep for a toaster oven and is about $12 per meal (600 - 800 calories). It's less expensive than door dash, the local diner, or the sit down casual dining and is portioned for cooking for one (and a lot healthier than four meals of pizza).
... However, being able to pay that much per meal isn't something that people who are getting priced out of McDs are able to do.