as someone who habitually meal preps and eats 1 meal a day with a snack later on. i will say meal prep food should only last 6-8 days. canned food is terrible so you should invest in a pressure cooker if you want to make healthy bean dishes with veggies. you need to have a bridge food which helps when you fuck up your meal prep. for me that's a salad with tuna, sardines with rice, deviled ham(meat spread) with saltines, ramen with veggies and poached eggs ect. having simple meals you enjoy to bridge between cooking days makes it alot more easier to not go out to eat.  the argument from the grind set made since when i was doing my masters degree in 8 months while working 5x12's at my job. i ordered alot more pizza and ate out alot more not to mention at home junk food. but beyond that i only go out to eat for shit that takes to much time to make or avoid making it scratch for the same reason. such as pasta i will make bread but way to lazy to make pasta and wait for it to dry, just buy the box fuck it. fried chicken its more like crack to me so its best i do not fry up some home made korean fried chicken. cake, pies and ice cream way to much effort to make it right now but i would save alot more money if i did. a herb garden will save money but its a time factor for that.  other than that add more salt and fat to your foods when you cook so it emulates eating out if you have a taste issue with home made food being bland. i for one add butter to my ramen/veggies/poached eggs and it makes a world of difference. cooking is cheap so buy the good stuff it makes a difference.
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