I don't really like cooking.
In my perspective, it is a pure chore; a thing to do simply because I have to do it to stay alive. A painful admission on my part is that I am quite lazy. I would rather go to a restaurant, or pick up a pre-made food unit from the grocery store, but in all honesty I am not made of money and I have far more important priorities that demand my attention at this point.
So I have picked up trying to cook more but minimize what I feel is the agony of the process.
My self imposed restriction besides attempting to make the best food I can with the least amount of effort possible, is that I cannot use any pre-prepared ingredients or mixes, and I am not to care about finding recipes to do online. If I am to cook, and make an ass of myself, I'm not going to be half-assed. I am going to explore proper use and combination of ingredients. I figure that this will also allow my meals to be a little more healthy.
Minimizing time
My first goal is to minimize the amount of time I have to take to prepare food each week. I am not very good at cooking yet, so I cannot rely on my skills to fly through things.
I looked to a simple question: How did people find time to cook in times where they were required to work far longer and harder than we do today?
In the gilded age, a working class family would make a large extravagant Sunday roast, eat it, and package the leftovers for the dinners during the next couple of days. Leftover vegetables and odds and ends would then be quickly refried and eaten over the course of the week. In a world with 12 hour work days across all members of the family, this practical measure would allow them to avoid spending too much time making food during work days. Breakfasts and lunches would be quick affairs consisting of bread and butter, or porridge.
I think a similar principle would be good for me, so I have decided to thus cook only a two days a week, in big batches to be either refrigerated or frozen depending on how quickly I intend to eat them. This sacrifices some time compared to the working class method in exchange for a little more variety. If I make more than I can eat that week, things frozen can then be defrosted later, allowing even more variety than just what I made this week. Eventually, I imagine that this can stack up enough that I can pick and choose from several meals.
I have spoiled myself by having a larger lunch every day for many years as well. It was convenient, as I could simply walk to any of countless restaurants or food trucks that I choose instead of having to pack a lunch. My strategy is going to shift into having a lighter working-class breakfast instead, as that is easier to prepare and pack for, and will incidentally reduce food loss.
Minimizing equipment
I don't want to spend a whole lot of time making things that require 5 different pots and pans and different cooking times when it's too much effort and I won't appreciate the differences all that much anyway. I dread washing dishes more than the prospect of making a one-bowl meal.
I elected to restrict myself in the following ways: I use a couple bowls, a knife set, a spoon, and then either a slow cooker, the oven, or a soup pot. This also gives a reasonable variety in cooking variation without requiring me to add all that much. And it means I have to have basically zero investment into new equipment, besides some storage containers for the food itself.
One particular thing I've been considering, is to put away any excess stock of plates, silverware, and bowls to storage as well. This means that cleanup becomes a necessity and is generally not as painful each time it needs to be done.
Minimizing expense
I want to eat well, but I don't want to spend a whole lot on food. While it seems silly, I won't sacrifice going to a higher end grocery store to get fresh ingredients. From my research it seems like it's very reasonable and possible to reduce the bill to around $20-40/week per person, even if you are shopping at a ritzier store. You just need to be careful about what you buy.
I imagine the big key is: keep stock on base ingredients, use what you have, and use sales to help guide what to pick for your stock that week.
I also choose to eat less. Currently, I only have two meals a day, as I did since college. This works pretty well, though I have a feeling that at this point I can handle eating less.
Minimizing loss
Food waste is huge. Both in my household and in aggregate with what everyone else is doing. If I am just going to throw food away, I am throwing money away that could have gone to something more productive. I notice in my case in particular: drinks are almost always consumed on time, while fruit and breads tend to be the loss leader.
I started taking note of what I can eat and can't eat within the short relative trips taken to the grocery store, so I can later pare down my perishable purchases to meet my consumption rate.