[vanwalj]

As many of my friends, I love to eat and I love to cook, but unfortunately, my time, kitchen room and budget is limited. So I prefer by far for the same time/budget having let's say 3 poor (joylent/queal) meals and 1 excellent meal than 4 passable meals.

[bpicolo]

Yeah, I definitely realize there's a big tradeoff here. I try to cook extra for each dinner, so that my lunch the following day is leftovers. (3 sameish-meals in a row is rough but 2 is fine by me).

Another thing that's been helpful is big roasts. turkey breast, pork shoulder, etc are very easy to toss a quick seasoning on throw in the oven for 2-6 hours, plus are pretty cheap ($2-$3 a lb, though a bit of that is bone). Gives you some meat to work into all sorts of things for the week with pretty low effort cooking.

With that, a carb staple and random sauteed veg you can get pretty far.

[rietta]

I don't understand the budget angle, at least if it's referring to the financial budget. One of the first tenants of financial counseling for people who are struggling to pay their bills is that they have to quit eating out immediately. Dave Ramsey has a quip on the radio about that the person who is getting out of debt should not see the inside of a restaurant unless it is his or her second job.

[athenot]

Kitchen room doesn't need to be big. In fact, a small kitchen can be a plus as long as it's organized: it's like the bus is faster between the processing and storage units.

If you look at some of the traditional kitchens in the South of France (just as an example), you'll see tiny spaces with very small counter spaces and limited cooking/sink areas and yet awesome food come out of those kitchens.