I love how you include the cost of buying the entire ingredient - it’s so frustrating to see meals that are “under $5” a plate but you have to buy $30 of ingredients.
@@thomaslorfils9613 and yet you can buy and entire chicken for that price, the cost of your food is affected by how you buy your food. Who just buys one chicken breast? You still have to eat tomorrow. Freezers work for single people too. I would love to know where he purchased his groceries, because they were expensive.
You spend $5 for the container of salt you use for like .2c a serving. its called cooking and making meals. its cheaper than going out, always has been. usually will be.
One thing I like about this series is that you don't just completely trash the fast food version of food just to prop up their own like other youtube chefs. Def one of the best food channels
One key reason I think people prefer takeout salads to an at-home preparation is the *elusive temperature* element. Takeout or restaurant salads are usually at room temperature or have some combination of warm and room temperature ingredients. It sounds funny but eating a warm salad is pretty night and day from the typical fridge-cold one you're likely to make at home. I think that's why Sweetgreen's use of roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, etc. make people so happy to eat them.
Agreed, I think that temperature of the salad is something we often overlook. I should have made a note of that in the video! I typically will take my cooked chicken straight from the grill, slice it and throw it on. There's something with the contrast of temps that I find appealing.
if you pre make it take out of the fridge 30 min/1 hr (depends what it is) before serving. Never ever would I pay that much for a salad. and we wonder why fast food are popular and people don't pick healthy(er) items
So interesting, because I much prefer my salads to be ice-cold. I freeze my plate (or bowl) and sometimes even throw the salad itself into the freezer to get it colder. I love love love super-crisp cold salad.
I bought a salad container that has a separate plate on top of the bowl. On that plate I put my protein so I can heat it up before I eat the salad that I made in bulk that I keep in the fridge.
@@thaliacrafts407 How clever...the point is that he's not just throwing the numbers up out of obligation he's giving you a real breakdown. it isn't helpful how much it is "per serving" if you don't have 70-115 dollars for all that stuff at one time then it doesn't matter how much you can put in the freezer. at least this guy is trying to give us actual help, unlike you.
@@caseyjones5145 Sorry, I assumed you were an adult and already knew that calculating costs per serving is the only way to maximize the bang you get for your buck.
I really like these “shopping trip” cooking videos. It’s one thing to showcase an individual recipe, but it’s next level to also discuss the use of all ingredients across multiple recipes in the context of a single shopping trip.
Love how your channel is still focused on education, innovation, and recipes - so many of my favorite food TH-cam channels have just become like talk shows or food production entertainment with recipes youre never intending the audience actually MAKE. I love your breakdown and approach!
Another salad tip is to season your greens with salt, rather than just adding more dressing to get to that final flavor level. Those pieces of lettuce/kale/ext. need some loving to really make them pop, and once you give it a try it’s honestly night and day. Enjoy!
One trick I learned from ordering so many Sweetgreen salads before the pandemic…squeeze of lemon juice before any ingredients or dressing are added. It’s a game changer.
I love these cost-driven breakdowns. Between this and your video a while back on making poblano tacos at home, I have yet to order out. Yesterday I found myself craving a veggie quesadilla and just made it from home instead of ordering out, and not only did I have everything I needed to make it, but it hit the exact notes I wanted, unlike takeout near me that always left me wanting more. I appreciate your work, and am excited to see more of it. Especially these cost breakdown vids, they’ve helped me curb my spending AND eat healthier. Thanks for that!
I honestly used to think I didn't like salads at all until I realized what I really didn't like was something you touched on here: I really disliked the change in texture you have when its big uncut leaves versus a finer cut. And what a difference that made to me too. Having fibromyalgia, I get weird hang ups about texture, but that simple change opened the door to a wide world of tasty salads.
I ran out and bought the ingredients and made this for dinner. I used jerk chicken since that was already marinating in my fridge. This salad was great. The almonds add crunch, the sweet potato add, you guessed it, sweetness and chew, and the dressing had a great texture and dill-iciousness. Great recipe. Thanks!
I really like you going out of your way to show full-price rather than just "serving size." And that you acknowledged that some ingredients are assumed to be "always there." Other cooking youtubers often clickbait and omit such details.
These techniques are awesome! I am just starting on a high-vegetable diet and I'm looking to up my salad game. Two little variations I woudl use: 1 - A little cayenne in the roast sweet potato/yam kicks everything up a notch. and 2 - Prep carrots for a salad with a potato peeler to get very fine sheets you can turn into flakes or shreds. Carrots in a salad should be shredded or at least thin enough to pierce with your fork. Diced carrots would all end up at the bottom of the bowl if I was eating them. A box grater works great too.
I'd definitely say Sweetgreens is fairly priced considering they've been losing money every year at the current prices they sell their salads. They source local produce rather than using national distributers. So you get better produce than you would otherwise get, but it also means higher pricing.
Former SweetGreem employee here, my reasons why i think the salads are expensive: 1. Fresh ingredients bought from individual farmers. 2. Dressings made from scratch 3. Prep time and employee labor 4. We got payed well and fair, especially the cooks When i would come to work, prep time, while basic for me, was longn. some things not used were thrown out in the end of the day (like chicken or wild rice) and a new batch was prepared daily.
I'm new to cooking, and I can honestly say this is the best chicken I'VE ever cooked. Literally ate like 1/2 lb before it even made it into the fridge. I will definitely be using this seasoning combo in the future. Thank you so much!
When I worked in Boston's Financial District, I would buy a Sweetgreen's salad once or twice a week for lunch. There was always a very long line to order ... I consider food like this "office lunch" food; I would never buy it to eat at home. One advantage is that you can have a huge variety in your salad. I would never prep 10 different things for myself, but it's easy to ask for 10 things in the salad they make for you. I would always customize my salad. It is expensive, but so is rent and labor.
When I was working, I would often make a salad at home to take to work. If you keep the lettuce separate from what my mother calls the "nice bits", and only mix it at the last minute, it stays crisp and delicious.
I just discovered Sweetgreen a couple months ago and was a little shocked at prices. I still pay for it because of the convenience of having a great tasting salad without the effort. I’m glad you made a video I might give it a try
I love this new series/concept. Very informative on comparing takeout to what you can make at home and much more practical for everyday vs a glorified/fancy version of a burger or pizza (which is great, but not something to cook on a normal day).
Just found your channel last week and am SO impressed with your dedication, explanation and creativity. I would really love to see you make your own versions of Sweetgreen salads like this one - the Kale Caesar is the reason me and all my friends got into even liking kale but we haven't been able to master it at home. Seeing your spin on even improving the Sweetgreen salad menu would be amazing. Thanks for your awesome channel it's a blessing!
The only way I've found salads like this worth it is if I commit to almost make it a meal prep/lunch for the week kind of thing. Then you can end up using pretty much everything. I personally don't mind eating the same thing for lunch 5 days in a row, but I know a lot of people (my family included) can't do that.
I am finishing up a homemade salad, somewhat inspired by this video, that I made with za'atar chicken. The pop of sumac and herbs whenever I get a piece is just perfect.
A trick I learned for sweet potatoes is while you’re prepping them, keep the cooking tray in the oven as it preheats. Toss the uncooked potatoes in a bowl and give them a stir to coat the pieces with oil evenly. When oven is done preheating, add them to the pan. It helps the pieces to not stick to the pan during baking.
absolutely love this series!!!!!! LOVE the real-life applicable grocery shopping/mealplanning tips & advice that really every other cooking channel/show overlooks!!! this is so incredibly helpful for so many people!!!! amazing work 🙌🙌
This is so honest and helpful! And delicious looking! The breakdown on costs is sooo important! Thanks again for a wonderful video. Love your stuff, and you help my kids learn good food habits and attitudes ❤
It would be awesome to have a quick run through at the end of videos like this, or a part 2 video where you quickly show us what you make with the left overs. Like a sandwich or wrap for lunch tomorrow and a side salad for tomorrow night’s dinner, or how even five nights later you use the sauce on a steak or a pizza
AHHHH i love this video. I worked at sweetgreen for like 2 weeks and got addicted to the summer BBQ salad. I tried making it at home and it was just as good.
One thing I’ve started doing with chicken breasts I a trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen. Cut the breast in two where it starts getting thin. Then spilt the thicker part in half horizontally. Pound until they are the same thickness. It’s great because you get three smaller pieces. Sometimes I’ll have one, if I’m having a salad like this where there is other protein. Other times two. It makes switching up portion sizes more flexible. And they fit on buns! I really like these videos where you go into how to make restaurant dishes at home. If I am at someplace like Sweetgrass, I try to order something I haven’t tried before, so I know what it tastes like so I can make it at home. Or if there is an ingredient I won’t be buying as a one person household, I’ll get it while out. Watermelon actually does make sense to buy for one. It’s mostly water, so you can eat a lot. If there is more than you can eat, throw it in the food processor for a tasty agua fresca. I also have a spice blend from Penzey’s to make Pica Fruta, which makes eating a lot of watermelon very easy.
To be fair sweetgreens cost factors in the logistics of working with multiple small farms rather than a large distribution company where you would normally get your produce so a more accurate shopping experience would be going to the farmers market
I started watching you because of your Macro Friendly Monday's and Low Cal vs. Restaurant Style videos. I'd really love to see more videos like that. 🥰
Honestly salad is the only thing that I won't order when eating out. I love veggies and almost always have at least 8 or 9 different ready-to-eat types in my fridge. Then it's just a mix and match game with the proteins, cheeses and nuts. Just so much cheaper and a lot more flexible.
I think what makes any takeout or restaurant salad good is that the salads are themed or have complimentary flavor profiles that an average person doesn’t make at home.
Loved this video and breakdown. Thanks for always making very doable recipes. Please do more sweetgreen salads or just salads in general, Ethan! Your salad videos are so helpful! I don't know if i missed it, but I didnt see the macro breakdown in this video
He's using MacroFactor now instead of MFP. In the app it includes the breakdown but you'd just have to eyeball the ingredient list from watching the video. Looks like about 40% protein, 33% fats, 27% carbs, which would be 46g protein, 17g fats, 31g carbs
The company does use food with integrity and organic ingredients, and a portion of premium sour dough bread and free filtered water, still a great video.
Ethan, as I often tell my young kids, "Woah, sensible bites!" Yet another excellent video. Can't wait to try this. We were just discussing GG dressing recipes at dinner tonight, so this is def on next week's menu.
I was going to make a related comment. But the other way around. I dig how you go after it, Ethan (I assume when not on camera you eat with less haste). At least I can believe he's tasted it before rendering his verdict on results. Can't honestly say that the dish is balanced on a petit forkful that drops elements.
Just recommended your channel last night! I used your to about veggie roasting and gave had much better results. Small tip- huge difference. Thanks for what you do.
One other component you used, but didn’t really comment on: we eat with out eyes too. Your playing is always lovely, without being too fussy or precious. I would have added red cabbage or yellow squash for additional color. All my salads are finished with leftover colorful veggies, and it makes a huge difference- especially if y end up eating the same ingredients several days in a row. Being able to add an Asian, Mexican, or Italian flare with one or two items is a game changer. Thanks for the wonderful breakdown. Once you have a method you can do mighty things with small changes.
Omg it’s so worth it to buy the goods and do it at home. What I spent at the store gave me different salads for over a week. Thanks Ethan for this info. Great Video by the way, I appreciate your research. Since I’ve been watching I’ve changed several old eating habits and lost 15 lbs 😁 I’m a happy Camper 😊 Your Awesome 😎
Yeah, this would be really country specific for costing. Here in New Zealand what you got there is still closer to $50. And if you add in the pantry stuff, a bottle of Mayo can be anywhere up to $9 here, the Greek yoghurt is also going to go you in the region of at least $5. Because although these are meant to be pantry items most people don't really have half of these things at the ready in their cupboard.
I’ve been hooked on Sweet Green salads and their green goddess dressing puts the icing on the cake. But everytime I go there, I spend roughly $16-$20 on a bowl of salad. I’m so happy that I can now make it myself at home for way less…Thank you so much for this video🙏🏾
When I worked there, my coworkers would be responsible for making the dressings daily, fresh and new almost every day. The dressings are really the icing on the cake. Green Goddess was a pretty popular choice as well.
Made this today, that dressing is seriously outstanding. I changed it a bit for my tastes: added some tarragon, replaced white vinegar with white wine vinegar and added some spicy honey.
Hey Ethan, I’m a long time watcher first time commenter. Excellent series like everyone else is saying. A suggestion for a future series: you’d shop for multiple meals, shows us every meal that can be made with that shopping, so at the end almost nothing (especially the perishable ones in fridge) is left. With a bit of variety. This would be great for someone like me who lives on their own. I’d imagine the cost per serving would be reasonable too. That’s it! Thanks for reading
Any chance you could cover how long things last? I'd love to make that ranch, but it would need to last long enough to be worth it for me. Just for future reference :)
Homemade ranch should last roughly a week. Super easy to make traditional ranch as well. Buttermilk, sour cream, mayo, salt, pepper, parsley, dill weed, chives. The only thing that you may not buy regularly is the buttermilk which at your average grocery store would likely cost $1-2 pending on size. You could also use the buttermilk for fried chicken.
Yea I can try to add that information when possible, it's a little tough to know an exact time frame, but for this one I'd say bare minimum a week. Try using it roasted vegetables...I only have one spoonful left after making it 5 days ago lol.
I'd say it varies quite a bit. Dairy products in my mother's refrigerator last a few weeks in line with the sell-by date but I've had them stay just fine in my own for far longer than you would reasonably expect, _long_ after the sell-by date because I keep the temperature lower and don't open it very often. Something that lasts months in my fridge might keep for a week in someone else's.
I just did a similar video about this with Farmers Fridge! I want to try Sweetgreen sometime, never had it as I live in a super small town 😂 Definitely trying the green goddess ranch!
nah. these corporations don't sell you the best, most cost-effective food. they sell you convenience. their target audience are people who work a lot and make a decent amount of money, meaning they don't have a lot of time but have the money to spend. the true cost of home cooking is time and management. as briefly touched upon in the video, buying all the ingredients at the grocery store locks you into those ingredients and forces you to manage them before they go bad and having to find ways to use them. it's not just the cooking time but also the mental effort behind all of that. getting a sweet green salad is throwing money at the problem of not having enough time for (or not wanting to spend the time on) home cooking. it's capitalism trying to find solutions for problems created by capitalism.
@@NMZS I agree with everything that you have said. There's definitely times where you're just not in the mood to cook or manage the simple process of consuming food. That's where Sweetgreen, Chopt, even Chipotle, I daresay, come in clutch. That being said, it's also a costly affair, and if you can be smart about the whole home cooking experience, you can get away with some easy simple meals without a lot of hassle(having put the time in for an initial prep, there is no escaping that). My approach has been, cook often, streamline that process (it's become therapeutic now) and save the eating-out bit for a more special occasion, but I always opt to eat something I know I can't make on my own: like authentic Ramen. I personally don't get salads from these joints, because it just is that expensive. The profit margins on these are huge. But I also understand how popular these are, especially with people into fitness and stuff. I see a trend.
It would be interesting to make a comparable salad to Salad And Go. I get a very similar salad to that summer barbeque salad and it comes out to $7.25 before tax. My wife and I get two salads and two green teas for $18 after tax. Awesome video, either way! It's always fun to see what goes into various fast foods.
The other strat for the 'way too many leftovers' issue is to consciously make salads that will last all week in the fridge. Use crunchier greens (cabbage, kale etc), store the dressing separately (keep the acid off stuff that wilts, just a bit of oil on them to avoid oxidization), store 'dry' ingredients like beans/roasted vege/proteins seperate from things that get wet (chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc). Then when you need just whip all together. Gets you a nice lil side salad for every meal all week.
TBH the only ingredients I'd have to buy specially for something like that would be the chickpeas, everything else is already in the household essentials list. It does seem pricey though as I used to spend around £4 a day (£8 across two days) buying premade components from a local supermarket. I was only paying around £7 to sit down somewhere and eat in!
Would love to see some videos about ingredients and how to use left over common ingredients like tomato dishes, carrot dishes, potatoes etc. Obviously stock is always an option.
Hey Ethan could u do a vid , on organ meat they are nutrient dense and cheap , and something which ppl don't really go after , would love to see ur take on it
the traders joe's vegan green goddess dressing is $4.99 and a really good choice. Change the chicken to airfryed tofu cubes and you've got a delicious vegan meal
My favorite thing about your videos is you break things down to only cooking for one person, and you don’t make things with so many leftovers they’ll go bad before you can eat them all. And love your healthy meals videos!
I think it's also probably worthwhile to consider the labor/time cost that goes into this. If you had to pay yourself minimum wage for all the shopping, prep, and cooking time, you get way over budget fast
I thought their salad looked delicious. Yours looked amazing in comparison. The wife and I generally stick to Cobb or Ceasar salads, but I'd definitely like to branch out more. Ceasar salad is legitimately one of my favorite foods though.
To get my One salad delivered it’s about $28 and I normally get the chicken pesto. Salad is almost $16 delivery fees and tip it is about $28 to $30 depending on the tip. Walking over to get it is $15.73 plus the time
Adding reddit to any search is a well known trick at this point since regular searches are so SEO optimized at this point as to be nothing but sales pages.
Just started watching…I feel like no one addresses this problem, obviously it’s cheaper to cook at home, but you can’t just buy individual servings. I love stuff like Weissman’s But Cheaper but the reality is I pay much more for those bc I need to buy large quantities and then don’t have a use for them. Thank you so much, I’m a big fan.
If you buy the ingredients you can make more salads later. You can also freeze the chicken and most of the salad vegies. Why you bought heaps of lettuce is a bit surprising: you are now committed to eating it all in the week. The cheese is fine on toast or bread or with crackers. But you did buy oversize portions....
This was soooooo interesting and persuasive. I had assumed it would be more expensive to make your own, considering how many ingredients are included in their salads! Guess I need to start making my own now. Also great to know I can google their dressing recipes!
I am a newer viewer and I found this interesting but what I picked out of it is I never understood the blackening process and the blackening herbs and seasonings did you ever do a show or a video on it previously that I can look up and find so I understand what I'm doing better
As someone who cooks only for myself, I much prefer this kind of video over the type where the recipes are shown to cost very little, but only if you buy gigantic portions that I wouldn't be able to finish by the time it expired
Great video! A few other things to think about, restaurants are in business to hopefully make a profit. With that in mind you left out all of the overhead such as labor, advertising, building, insurance & probably a lot more. All expenses have to be taken into consideration when pricing a plate of food at restaurants.
I love how you include the cost of buying the entire ingredient - it’s so frustrating to see meals that are “under $5” a plate but you have to buy $30 of ingredients.
Exactly the price of the chicken alone would be $5.69
@@thomaslorfils9613 and yet you can buy and entire chicken for that price, the cost of your food is affected by how you buy your food. Who just buys one chicken breast? You still have to eat tomorrow. Freezers work for single people too. I would love to know where he purchased his groceries, because they were expensive.
Yes!!!
Right!
You spend $5 for the container of salt you use for like .2c a serving. its called cooking and making meals. its cheaper than going out, always has been. usually will be.
One thing I like about this series is that you don't just completely trash the fast food version of food just to prop up their own like other youtube chefs. Def one of the best food channels
fax. Joshua weissman is so fkn obnoxious.
Cough cough Joshua Weissman
@@DarkHex2576 Joshua Doucheman
Joshua is a corn ball with the sense of humor of a 12 year old
@@stephenmulryan1917 Why you calling Joshua a Douche?
One key reason I think people prefer takeout salads to an at-home preparation is the *elusive temperature* element. Takeout or restaurant salads are usually at room temperature or have some combination of warm and room temperature ingredients. It sounds funny but eating a warm salad is pretty night and day from the typical fridge-cold one you're likely to make at home. I think that's why Sweetgreen's use of roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, etc. make people so happy to eat them.
Agreed, I think that temperature of the salad is something we often overlook. I should have made a note of that in the video! I typically will take my cooked chicken straight from the grill, slice it and throw it on. There's something with the contrast of temps that I find appealing.
if you pre make it take out of the fridge 30 min/1 hr (depends what it is) before serving. Never ever would I pay that much for a salad.
and we wonder why fast food are popular and people don't pick healthy(er) items
So interesting, because I much prefer my salads to be ice-cold. I freeze my plate (or bowl) and sometimes even throw the salad itself into the freezer to get it colder. I love love love super-crisp cold salad.
Absolutely, it makes such a difference if you use tomatoes raw or grill them slightly. Even just toasting some nuts changes the eating experience.
I bought a salad container that has a separate plate on top of the bowl. On that plate I put my protein so I can heat it up before I eat the salad that I made in bulk that I keep in the fridge.
Yes!! You are using the price to buy the whole ingredient as opposed to the less useful “per serving” price. Respect as always!
No shade at someone *cough* Joshua *cough*
Feels like hes not just another diconnected montasker or something...weird
Do you... Do you not realize you can use leftover ingredients for something else? Do you not know how a freezer works?
@@thaliacrafts407 How clever...the point is that he's not just throwing the numbers up out of obligation he's giving you a real breakdown. it isn't helpful how much it is "per serving" if you don't have 70-115 dollars for all that stuff at one time then it doesn't matter how much you can put in the freezer. at least this guy is trying to give us actual help, unlike you.
@@caseyjones5145 Sorry, I assumed you were an adult and already knew that calculating costs per serving is the only way to maximize the bang you get for your buck.
I really like these “shopping trip” cooking videos. It’s one thing to showcase an individual recipe, but it’s next level to also discuss the use of all ingredients across multiple recipes in the context of a single shopping trip.
Love how your channel is still focused on education, innovation, and recipes - so many of my favorite food TH-cam channels have just become like talk shows or food production entertainment with recipes youre never intending the audience actually MAKE. I love your breakdown and approach!
So true !!!!
Just say Babish already
@@rarra babish has been shit for quite some years now tbh. Foodtubers i watch are ethan, Kenji, Chef John
Another salad tip is to season your greens with salt, rather than just adding more dressing to get to that final flavor level. Those pieces of lettuce/kale/ext. need some loving to really make them pop, and once you give it a try it’s honestly night and day. Enjoy!
And add lemon juice too, that Will give a lot of flavour and You finally use, less sauce, so you will taste every ingredient and not only the sauce
One trick I learned from ordering so many Sweetgreen salads before the pandemic…squeeze of lemon juice before any ingredients or dressing are added. It’s a game changer.
I love these cost-driven breakdowns. Between this and your video a while back on making poblano tacos at home, I have yet to order out. Yesterday I found myself craving a veggie quesadilla and just made it from home instead of ordering out, and not only did I have everything I needed to make it, but it hit the exact notes I wanted, unlike takeout near me that always left me wanting more.
I appreciate your work, and am excited to see more of it. Especially these cost breakdown vids, they’ve helped me curb my spending AND eat healthier. Thanks for that!
I honestly used to think I didn't like salads at all until I realized what I really didn't like was something you touched on here: I really disliked the change in texture you have when its big uncut leaves versus a finer cut. And what a difference that made to me too. Having fibromyalgia, I get weird hang ups about texture, but that simple change opened the door to a wide world of tasty salads.
I ran out and bought the ingredients and made this for dinner. I used jerk chicken since that was already marinating in my fridge. This salad was great. The almonds add crunch, the sweet potato add, you guessed it, sweetness and chew, and the dressing had a great texture and dill-iciousness. Great recipe. Thanks!
I really like you going out of your way to show full-price rather than just "serving size." And that you acknowledged that some ingredients are assumed to be "always there." Other cooking youtubers often clickbait and omit such details.
These techniques are awesome! I am just starting on a high-vegetable diet and I'm looking to up my salad game.
Two little variations I woudl use: 1 - A little cayenne in the roast sweet potato/yam kicks everything up a notch. and 2 - Prep carrots for a salad with a potato peeler to get very fine sheets you can turn into flakes or shreds. Carrots in a salad should be shredded or at least thin enough to pierce with your fork. Diced carrots would all end up at the bottom of the bowl if I was eating them. A box grater works great too.
I'd definitely say Sweetgreens is fairly priced considering they've been losing money every year at the current prices they sell their salads. They source local produce rather than using national distributers. So you get better produce than you would otherwise get, but it also means higher pricing.
You are definitely the best food channels out of all the ones I've seen. Thank you for your work :)
Can't say the best, but top tier nonetheless.
To be fair, they surely can say the best "out of all the ones [they've] seen."
Former SweetGreem employee here, my reasons why i think the salads are expensive:
1. Fresh ingredients bought from individual farmers.
2. Dressings made from scratch
3. Prep time and employee labor
4. We got payed well and fair, especially the cooks
When i would come to work, prep time, while basic for me, was longn. some things not used were thrown out in the end of the day (like chicken or wild rice) and a new batch was prepared daily.
I'm new to cooking, and I can honestly say this is the best chicken I'VE ever cooked. Literally ate like 1/2 lb before it even made it into the fridge. I will definitely be using this seasoning combo in the future. Thank you so much!
Really good, You can add a little mustard too
I respect this take on making a cheaper version of our favorite franchise foods. With the whole grocery list cost
This is a food channel that feels like a science program! Thank you for all of your hard work, your content is simply brilliant.
When I worked in Boston's Financial District, I would buy a Sweetgreen's salad once or twice a week for lunch. There was always a very long line to order ... I consider food like this "office lunch" food; I would never buy it to eat at home.
One advantage is that you can have a huge variety in your salad. I would never prep 10 different things for myself, but it's easy to ask for 10 things in the salad they make for you. I would always customize my salad.
It is expensive, but so is rent and labor.
When I was working, I would often make a salad at home to take to work. If you keep the lettuce separate from what my mother calls the "nice bits", and only mix it at the last minute, it stays crisp and delicious.
I just discovered Sweetgreen a couple months ago and was a little shocked at prices. I still pay for it because of the convenience of having a great tasting salad without the effort. I’m glad you made a video I might give it a try
I love this new series/concept. Very informative on comparing takeout to what you can make at home and much more practical for everyday vs a glorified/fancy version of a burger or pizza (which is great, but not something to cook on a normal day).
Just found your channel last week and am SO impressed with your dedication, explanation and creativity. I would really love to see you make your own versions of Sweetgreen salads like this one - the Kale Caesar is the reason me and all my friends got into even liking kale but we haven't been able to master it at home. Seeing your spin on even improving the Sweetgreen salad menu would be amazing. Thanks for your awesome channel it's a blessing!
The only way I've found salads like this worth it is if I commit to almost make it a meal prep/lunch for the week kind of thing. Then you can end up using pretty much everything. I personally don't mind eating the same thing for lunch 5 days in a row, but I know a lot of people (my family included) can't do that.
The vid said the amount of ingredients he purchased made 4 salads so yeah you coukd definitely make the 4 at once for mealprep
I am finishing up a homemade salad, somewhat inspired by this video, that I made with za'atar chicken. The pop of sumac and herbs whenever I get a piece is just perfect.
A trick I learned for sweet potatoes is while you’re prepping them, keep the cooking tray in the oven as it preheats. Toss the uncooked potatoes in a bowl and give them a stir to coat the pieces with oil evenly. When oven is done preheating, add them to the pan. It helps the pieces to not stick to the pan during baking.
Even when it's a salad, Ethan still taking the biggest bites in the business
I made this recipe today and it was fantastic. I honestly think I could eat this meal everyday. Thank you so much, I really enjoys it.
absolutely love this series!!!!!! LOVE the real-life applicable grocery shopping/mealplanning tips & advice that really every other cooking channel/show overlooks!!! this is so incredibly helpful for so many people!!!! amazing work 🙌🙌
I’d love you to do more of these salad recipes! I made this and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
This is so honest and helpful! And delicious looking! The breakdown on costs is sooo important! Thanks again for a wonderful video. Love your stuff, and you help my kids learn good food habits and attitudes ❤
It would be awesome to have a quick run through at the end of videos like this, or a part 2 video where you quickly show us what you make with the left overs. Like a sandwich or wrap for lunch tomorrow and a side salad for tomorrow night’s dinner, or how even five nights later you use the sauce on a steak or a pizza
AHHHH i love this video. I worked at sweetgreen for like 2 weeks and got addicted to the summer BBQ salad. I tried making it at home and it was just as good.
This is absolutely your niche man, keep this up
One thing I’ve started doing with chicken breasts I a trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen. Cut the breast in two where it starts getting thin. Then spilt the thicker part in half horizontally. Pound until they are the same thickness. It’s great because you get three smaller pieces. Sometimes I’ll have one, if I’m having a salad like this where there is other protein. Other times two. It makes switching up portion sizes more flexible. And they fit on buns!
I really like these videos where you go into how to make restaurant dishes at home. If I am at someplace like Sweetgrass, I try to order something I haven’t tried before, so I know what it tastes like so I can make it at home. Or if there is an ingredient I won’t be buying as a one person household, I’ll get it while out.
Watermelon actually does make sense to buy for one. It’s mostly water, so you can eat a lot. If there is more than you can eat, throw it in the food processor for a tasty agua fresca. I also have a spice blend from Penzey’s to make Pica Fruta, which makes eating a lot of watermelon very easy.
To be fair sweetgreens cost factors in the logistics of working with multiple small farms rather than a large distribution company where you would normally get your produce so a more accurate shopping experience would be going to the farmers market
nice! we just meal prep'd the chicken from your chipotle video and now we'll have ideas for next week!
I started watching you because of your Macro Friendly Monday's and Low Cal vs. Restaurant Style videos. I'd really love to see more videos like that. 🥰
Honestly salad is the only thing that I won't order when eating out. I love veggies and almost always have at least 8 or 9 different ready-to-eat types in my fridge. Then it's just a mix and match game with the proteins, cheeses and nuts. Just so much cheaper and a lot more flexible.
I think what makes any takeout or restaurant salad good is that the salads are themed or have complimentary flavor profiles that an average person doesn’t make at home.
Absolutely, tried to make sweetgreen salads many times at home but it just didn’t hit the same
I have really struggled to crack the code on salads, this really helps. Love the form factor breakdowns you do.
Loved this video and breakdown. Thanks for always making very doable recipes. Please do more sweetgreen salads or just salads in general, Ethan! Your salad videos are so helpful!
I don't know if i missed it, but I didnt see the macro breakdown in this video
He's using MacroFactor now instead of MFP. In the app it includes the breakdown but you'd just have to eyeball the ingredient list from watching the video. Looks like about 40% protein, 33% fats, 27% carbs, which would be 46g protein, 17g fats, 31g carbs
The company does use food with integrity and organic ingredients, and a portion of premium sour dough bread and free filtered water, still a great video.
Bro I need more youtube videos from you
Ethan, as I often tell my young kids, "Woah, sensible bites!"
Yet another excellent video. Can't wait to try this. We were just discussing GG dressing recipes at dinner tonight, so this is def on next week's menu.
I was going to make a related comment. But the other way around. I dig how you go after it, Ethan (I assume when not on camera you eat with less haste). At least I can believe he's tasted it before rendering his verdict on results. Can't honestly say that the dish is balanced on a petit forkful that drops elements.
Just recommended your channel last night! I used your to about veggie roasting and gave had much better results. Small tip- huge difference.
Thanks for what you do.
One other component you used, but didn’t really comment on: we eat with out eyes too. Your playing is always lovely, without being too fussy or precious. I would have added red cabbage or yellow squash for additional color. All my salads are finished with leftover colorful veggies, and it makes a huge difference- especially if y end up eating the same ingredients several days in a row. Being able to add an Asian, Mexican, or Italian flare with one or two items is a game changer. Thanks for the wonderful breakdown. Once you have a method you can do mighty things with small changes.
Omg it’s so worth it to buy the goods and do it at home. What I spent at the store gave me different salads for over a week.
Thanks Ethan for this info.
Great Video by the way, I appreciate your research. Since I’ve been watching I’ve changed several old eating habits and lost 15 lbs 😁
I’m a happy Camper 😊
Your Awesome 😎
Yeah, this would be really country specific for costing. Here in New Zealand what you got there is still closer to $50. And if you add in the pantry stuff, a bottle of Mayo can be anywhere up to $9 here, the Greek yoghurt is also going to go you in the region of at least $5. Because although these are meant to be pantry items most people don't really have half of these things at the ready in their cupboard.
I’ve been hooked on Sweet Green salads and their green goddess dressing puts the icing on the cake. But everytime I go there, I spend roughly $16-$20 on a bowl of salad. I’m so happy that I can now make it myself at home for way less…Thank you so much for this video🙏🏾
When I worked there, my coworkers would be responsible for making the dressings daily, fresh and new almost every day. The dressings are really the icing on the cake.
Green Goddess was a pretty popular choice as well.
@@viktorias63sahee the recipeee😂. Anyways have a nice day
I make their exact salads in my house, and i love me my green salads.
Hey Ethan have you ever thought about doing a Keto series? I would love to see your take and approach on the subject!
Just started university, really appreciating the budget/cost analysis here. I've eaten too much takeout over the past week (:
this is my favorite series
Who knew honestly would pay off so well? Love your channel so much. Thank you
Made this today, that dressing is seriously outstanding. I changed it a bit for my tastes: added some tarragon, replaced white vinegar with white wine vinegar and added some spicy honey.
This is the ONLY recipe video where my mouth was watering the WHOLE time while watching the video! Amazing work! 😊
Hey Ethan, I’m a long time watcher first time commenter. Excellent series like everyone else is saying. A suggestion for a future series: you’d shop for multiple meals, shows us every meal that can be made with that shopping, so at the end almost nothing (especially the perishable ones in fridge) is left. With a bit of variety. This would be great for someone like me who lives on their own. I’d imagine the cost per serving would be reasonable too. That’s it! Thanks for reading
check out some of the meal planning guides on the 'Pro Home Cooks' channel for how to maximize what you can cook with one weekly grocery haul
@@upper90glory cool I’ll check him out. Hoping our man Ethan also does something similar. I like his style
Any chance you could cover how long things last? I'd love to make that ranch, but it would need to last long enough to be worth it for me. Just for future reference :)
Homemade ranch should last roughly a week. Super easy to make traditional ranch as well. Buttermilk, sour cream, mayo, salt, pepper, parsley, dill weed, chives. The only thing that you may not buy regularly is the buttermilk which at your average grocery store would likely cost $1-2 pending on size. You could also use the buttermilk for fried chicken.
Yea I can try to add that information when possible, it's a little tough to know an exact time frame, but for this one I'd say bare minimum a week. Try using it roasted vegetables...I only have one spoonful left after making it 5 days ago lol.
I'd say it varies quite a bit. Dairy products in my mother's refrigerator last a few weeks in line with the sell-by date but I've had them stay just fine in my own for far longer than you would reasonably expect, _long_ after the sell-by date because I keep the temperature lower and don't open it very often. Something that lasts months in my fridge might keep for a week in someone else's.
Sauces freeze very well! Just put it into an icecube tray and transfer to a Ziploc bag once frozen.
I just did a similar video about this with Farmers Fridge! I want to try Sweetgreen sometime, never had it as I live in a super small town 😂 Definitely trying the green goddess ranch!
Ethan single-handedly destroying big food corporations
nah. these corporations don't sell you the best, most cost-effective food. they sell you convenience. their target audience are people who work a lot and make a decent amount of money, meaning they don't have a lot of time but have the money to spend. the true cost of home cooking is time and management. as briefly touched upon in the video, buying all the ingredients at the grocery store locks you into those ingredients and forces you to manage them before they go bad and having to find ways to use them. it's not just the cooking time but also the mental effort behind all of that. getting a sweet green salad is throwing money at the problem of not having enough time for (or not wanting to spend the time on) home cooking. it's capitalism trying to find solutions for problems created by capitalism.
@@NMZS you ok?
@@NMZS I agree with everything that you have said. There's definitely times where you're just not in the mood to cook or manage the simple process of consuming food. That's where Sweetgreen, Chopt, even Chipotle, I daresay, come in clutch. That being said, it's also a costly affair, and if you can be smart about the whole home cooking experience, you can get away with some easy simple meals without a lot of hassle(having put the time in for an initial prep, there is no escaping that).
My approach has been, cook often, streamline that process (it's become therapeutic now) and save the eating-out bit for a more special occasion, but I always opt to eat something I know I can't make on my own: like authentic Ramen. I personally don't get salads from these joints, because it just is that expensive. The profit margins on these are huge. But I also understand how popular these are, especially with people into fitness and stuff. I see a trend.
@@NMZS Corporatism*.
@@JosephKun27 This is not even close to corporatism.
It would be interesting to make a comparable salad to Salad And Go. I get a very similar salad to that summer barbeque salad and it comes out to $7.25 before tax. My wife and I get two salads and two green teas for $18 after tax.
Awesome video, either way! It's always fun to see what goes into various fast foods.
I appreciate this video soo much as I'm just embarking on my salad adventures.
The other strat for the 'way too many leftovers' issue is to consciously make salads that will last all week in the fridge. Use crunchier greens (cabbage, kale etc), store the dressing separately (keep the acid off stuff that wilts, just a bit of oil on them to avoid oxidization), store 'dry' ingredients like beans/roasted vege/proteins seperate from things that get wet (chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumber etc). Then when you need just whip all together. Gets you a nice lil side salad for every meal all week.
You have it backwards. Oil is what wilts greens, but that’s actually a plus with kale
TBH the only ingredients I'd have to buy specially for something like that would be the chickpeas, everything else is already in the household essentials list. It does seem pricey though as I used to spend around £4 a day (£8 across two days) buying premade components from a local supermarket. I was only paying around £7 to sit down somewhere and eat in!
Would love to see some videos about ingredients and how to use left over common ingredients like tomato dishes, carrot dishes, potatoes etc. Obviously stock is always an option.
I love your channel! Everything you make I love and thought about making! Yum
Your channel really is a treasure trove of information and useful tips. Thanks! 😃
10:08 - eating a salad with a spoon!? my mind is blown right now. That is amazing
4:03 🤯 i wanted to take a picture of the recipe to make the dressing and they told me it was not allowed. But put this information up on Twitter?
This was incredible! Thanks Ethan!
This really blew my mind.
Thank you for the inspiration!
I really enjoyed this video and your chipotle one! I think you should do more making fast food items on a certain budget videos.
Hey Ethan could u do a vid , on organ meat they are nutrient dense and cheap , and something which ppl don't really go after , would love to see ur take on it
Yeah, I'll second that. 😎
I love your channel! I dont love salads but I would love to try and make this - it looks delicious
the traders joe's vegan green goddess dressing is $4.99 and a really good choice. Change the chicken to airfryed tofu cubes and you've got a delicious vegan meal
You can make this salad even cheaper if you shop at discount markets or look for sale items.
Once again a great video. Your content is so thorough and useful and well done
My favorite thing about your videos is you break things down to only cooking for one person, and you don’t make things with so many leftovers they’ll go bad before you can eat them all. And love your healthy meals videos!
I’m all about chopping up everything small too….every flavor in every bite!
I really like this style of video. I also really liked the last one where you did low cal high protein, more of that please!!
I think it's also probably worthwhile to consider the labor/time cost that goes into this. If you had to pay yourself minimum wage for all the shopping, prep, and cooking time, you get way over budget fast
I thought their salad looked delicious. Yours looked amazing in comparison.
The wife and I generally stick to Cobb or Ceasar salads, but I'd definitely like to branch out more. Ceasar salad is legitimately one of my favorite foods though.
To get my One salad delivered it’s about $28 and I normally get the chicken pesto. Salad is almost $16 delivery fees and tip it is about $28 to $30 depending on the tip. Walking over to get it is $15.73 plus the time
3:55
glad to know im not the only one who adds "reddit" at the end of any recipe related google search 😂😂
Adding reddit to any search is a well known trick at this point since regular searches are so SEO optimized at this point as to be nothing but sales pages.
Just started watching…I feel like no one addresses this problem, obviously it’s cheaper to cook at home, but you can’t just buy individual servings. I love stuff like Weissman’s But Cheaper but the reality is I pay much more for those bc I need to buy large quantities and then don’t have a use for them.
Thank you so much, I’m a big fan.
This format is just better of but cheaper series
If you buy the ingredients you can make more salads later.
You can also freeze the chicken and most of the salad vegies.
Why you bought heaps of lettuce is a bit surprising: you are now committed to eating it all in the week.
The cheese is fine on toast or bread or with crackers.
But you did buy oversize portions....
Only found this channel today and I’m excited! That’s how I know I’m getting old 😂
winter is coming
make a great chicken soup recipe videoooooo or any soup better if it’s low cal
please 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏
This was soooooo interesting and persuasive. I had assumed it would be more expensive to make your own, considering how many ingredients are included in their salads! Guess I need to start making my own now. Also great to know I can google their dressing recipes!
Great video. Please make more Sweetgreen salad videos, that will be very helpful.
Wow I didn't know you had 1.2million subs! I've been following since around 700k. Good work!
I love salads. It is a zen experience, healthy and it can be super inexpensive.
I am a newer viewer and I found this interesting but what I picked out of it is I never understood the blackening process and the blackening herbs and seasonings did you ever do a show or a video on it previously that I can look up and find so I understand what I'm doing better
this channel is the fucking BOMB
As someone who cooks only for myself, I much prefer this kind of video over the type where the recipes are shown to cost very little, but only if you buy gigantic portions that I wouldn't be able to finish by the time it expired
Great video! A few other things to think about, restaurants are in business to hopefully make a profit. With that in mind you left out all of the overhead such as labor, advertising, building, insurance & probably a lot more. All expenses have to be taken into consideration when pricing a plate of food at restaurants.
The answer is yes
1lb of chicken breast for $7 is crazy! You can find it a lot cheaper elsewhere where I love - very grateful for that lol
3:27 damn didn't know you were chill like that