Meals per month not cooked at home
A recent news article in the local paper talked about how often people dine out, and used that to talk about unhealthy eating, but I think the way they presented it was flawed. They looked at it in terms of dollars spent. In theory, you could eat home-grown foods every day at home and go out once a month, and your cash outlay could be more for that dining out experience than for the meals eaten at home.
I think a better way to look at it would be how many meals you eat per month that aren't meals that you prepared. If you eat lunch at your desk, but it's something leftover from dinner you cooked, it's still your food. If you eat takeout at home, it's not food that you prepared.
This one is easy for me. We eat out once a week for dinner. Every other meal I eat is something I prepared myself. With the exception of restaurant leftovers. The restaurant meal might supply me a lunch the next day.
How about you?
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28 Comments:
Way too many lately. BF loves to go out and we're frequently out and about when hunger strikes. The best situation is when we're home and it's easy for me to prepare something quick so the temptation to run out to eat can't get too tight a grip.
chiff0nade at 4:59PM on 06/17/08
Maybe twice a month...
We tend to do it more in the winter than summer (I garden some and troll the market stands) but these days we hardly go out at all.
Part of it is budget..we are saving for things so the $25-30 it would cost for one take-out meal can buy an awful lot more at the grocery.
The rest is either not having the timing to go to a sit-down place, or realizing we can throw together supper faster than late-night delivery can get here.
I actually would not mind eating out a bit more IF we could go to places with new/interesting/really good food, rather than just grabbing whatever cause it was a long day and we are tired.
sadiepix at 5:16PM on 06/17/08
When I am working, I eat my lunch out. We go out to dinner when there is an event such as birthday, anniversary, graduation. Either ours or close friends. I don't eat breakfast food, so I make a protein shake or I will eat leftovers from restaurants or a dinner I have made. Lunch is my favorite meal of the day!
izatryt at 5:18PM on 06/17/08
I've been eating out way more than usual - once a week. Though sometimes I go out twice one week, then don't eat out the next.
KarynMC at 5:28PM on 06/17/08
I too have been eating out more than i'd prefer lately. When it's my husband's turn for dinner, he often "forgets" to defrost the chicken, or whatever, and we end up at Subway or Taco Bell for dinner. and they've been ordering lunch in at work a lot lately too, usually Panera, or something like that.
my goal is no more than two non-home cooked meals per week. because sometimes, i do want someone else to do the prepping, the cooking, and the cleaning!
redhead at 6:43PM on 06/17/08
The store is my downfall. They have so much there. There's hot foods including pizza, and roasted potato wedges but if we're going to do it I usually make us get the roasted veggies. Last time though they had an artichoke, feta baked pasta that was so good we went back for seconds. They have a pasta of the day too for $5 which is pretty substantial, creative, and yummy. All of it is organic. I also indulge in their salad bar and the deli salads for home. They've had a few heat and eat things that were incredible such as black bean cakes and potato cakes but those are fairly easy to make at home so those are harder to justify.
We have several food carts nearby that serve really good local and organic food for under $5 making it hard not to give in as well. So between the two we eat meals from the outside probably 2 or 3 times a week. However, the costs aren't all that out of line nor is the nutrition.
Sieseye at 7:27PM on 06/17/08
(Dinner at a friend's at least once a week, guests for dinner at least once a week).
Restaurant once a month, take-out twice a month (pizza and Chinese)..
PerkyMac at 2:11AM on 06/18/08
I cook lunch in a restaurant so when it's time to leave there at 4 or so I think about what's for dinner at home, I try to keep it simple, and it's easy to pick up a few needeed ingredients on my way home. Sometimes we just go to a local restaurant but there is only one choice because for dinner in my small town there is only 1 restaurant for dinner. Unless we drive 15 minutes to a busier town (where I work). I would say dinner out maybe once a month.
joanpieroni2 at 8:59AM on 06/18/08
I rarely eat dinner out (less than once a month) but I buy lunch at work nearly every day. I usually buy a big lunch with lots of variety and split it over 2 days. Usually I alternate between Indian and Middle Eastern, both of which I love but choose to leave to the professionals rather than cook at home :). In this weather, dinner is very simple--last night it was soft boiled eggs on a toasted english muffin.
Vegetarianka at 9:17AM on 06/18/08
We went through a really bad period where we'd go out 3-4 times a week (the credit card bills were horrifying). Now we've got it down to about two or three times a month (does going out for drinks and appetizers with my co-workers count? Cause then it's a bit more...)
embolini9 at 9:27AM on 06/18/08
We eat out two or three times a month - every other meal (including the lunches my hubby and I take to work) is prepared by me.
mrsbao at 9:39AM on 06/18/08
We eat out ~10 times per week. Half of the meals consist of 2 orders of pho and an order of summer rolls. :P
Our fridge is filled with food that my husband has cooked, but we're always out and about after I get home from work, so we stop by for whatever I'm craving. These days we've been eating at a lot of Vietnamese and Indian restaurants. The only authentic Japanese restaurant in NE Ohio closed to reopen, hopefully soon, in a new location, so that's been cut out of the mix. :(
Cassaendra at 10:09AM on 06/18/08
My family always goes out Sunday breakfast and then maybe once a week for dinner, but not always.
Probably 6 - 8 meals a month for me.
Carosone at 10:17AM on 06/18/08
I go out to eat way too much, but lately I've been staying home for dinners a decent amount. Now I'm all self conscious!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 10:27AM on 06/18/08
We eat out probably 6-8 times a month (most Friday-Saturday nights).
Then, a couple of times a month we invite my in-laws for dinner (I cook), and since for whatever reason they feel the need to reciprocate (or maybe they just get bored at home:-)), they inevitably show up several days later with either Chinese takeaway or sushi from our favourite place (don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it sure beats my MIL's cooking:-)) - so that's another 2-3 meals a month we eat that are not prepared by me. Although since we don't buy them, should I still count them?
Otherwise, I can't remember when was the last time we actually bought takeaway meals. If we feel like pizza or Chinese, I usually just cook myself (plus, we get the above-mentioned Chinese takeout fix provided by my in-laws). For sushi - we go out:-).
brooke29 at 11:08AM on 06/18/08
We eat out once every week for our "date night."
I work hard on preparing meals for my family. But there are those occasional nights where it's gotten too late, or I've been too busy to think about dinner and we'll order out. So at the most, twice a week. But we try to keep it to just the date night.
Preacherswife at 11:31AM on 06/18/08
We eat out about 4 times a month or so. My husband usually makes breakfast (fruit smoothies or cereal and berries) on weekdays, and I cook everything else.
We save a lot of money and are able to stay healthy.
bitchincamero at 12:16PM on 06/18/08
Hillary, you think you feel self-conscious. Looking at the responses, I feel guilty that we go out to eat, average per month, ~40 times. Yeesh.
Cassaendra at 1:29PM on 06/18/08
I don't cook on Fridays - that's the day I order lunch out, and usually pick up dinner on the way home. Hubby works 2nd shift, so he usually eats whatever I've cooked for dinner when he gets home, and takes the leftovers for lunch the next day. It's saves alot of $$ this way.
mepolo at 1:45PM on 06/18/08
i very rarely eat out. last week i went to dinner with friends, ordered two appetizers and dessert, and the bill for my share was still fifty bucks {they took pity on me and didn't divide the bill evenly since i don't drink and they each had several cocktails}.
i have discovered that i look and feel much, much healthier and thinner if i prepare my own food, so i have trained myself to always carry fresh fruit, cut up veggies, and other healthy snacks whenever i'm out.
cybercita at 2:22PM on 06/18/08
Takeout two or three times per month, most often when I'm slammed with work. Usually means Thai or Italian, both of which are quite good and less than a 10 second walk from my door. Oh, and Russ & Daughters a couple of Sundays a month, too.
Barbara Hanson at 9:23AM on 06/19/08
Confession time: I eat McDonald's 2-3 times per month.
Plus maybe one "nice" meal out,
and 3-4 casual meals out.
Oh, and delivery pizza or chinese once a month.
So up to 9 per month, I guess.
Kerosena at 11:13AM on 06/19/08
Twice a month, and they are usually nicer meals. Of course, I don't save very much by cooking every other meal as I will readily drop $25.00 on a pound of porcinis at the farmer's market. In college I didn't eat out for about three years, and cooked everything I ate on less than $100.00/month (except for the occassional meal out courtesy of my parents). I wish I could still do that, but an addiction to high-quality and sometimes pricey ingredients foils me.
culinaryrabbit at 12:18PM on 06/19/08
We factored our average at about 20 meals per month. I wasn't too surprised, but it will be interesting to see if we can bring this number down. I work from home and am often itching to get out of the house in the afternoon and evening. Routinely, that means eating out--sometimes we plan for the meal, other times we get caught out too hungry (it feels cruel forcing my pregnant wife to wait until we get home).
ricestein at 12:47PM on 06/19/08
We typically eat in restaurants only while on business trips or vacation. We (I in particular) really like to cook. Also, there is just one decent restaurant within walking distance or a short car ride and it's a pub, not exactly healthy eating (which of course makes it fun). Other than that, fast food or truly marginal take-out are the only other local options.
This doesn't necessarily mean we save a lot of money. As per culinaryrabbit, we seek out and are willing to pay for specialty food.
Nor does it mean I am restaurant deprived. Fortunately, I find myself back home in the SF area often for business. I like to go places that serve food I don't know how to prepare or can't get the ingredients for myself, or to places where they've perfected something I'm trying to learn.
Net: 3 times a month on average, not including take-out Indian when feeling slammed for time.
OliverRanch at 6:04PM on 06/19/08
I'm like you, one meal a week, usually on friday night when we go grocery shopping after work. But now that it is farmers market season, we will have breakfast out before the market.
rockymountainmarta at 7:09PM on 06/19/08
Wow, I'm in the camp of a lot by comparison. I live on Long Island so the dining options are wonderful. Monday to Thursday, I prepare all of my meals, cereal and fruit for breakfast, bagged sandwich for lunch and home prepared dinner. Friday-Sunday, up to 2 meals a day are out. This always includes a stop at our local burrito bar where everything is prepared fresh and mostly organic, brown rice, whole wheat tortillas and tofu are also on the menu. It is my favorite meal of the week and I look forward to it and for less than $8.00 I am full for at least 8 hours with organic healthy and delicious food. We often have breakfast out one weekend day as well. We have a few local places that serve fresh healthy food always under $25 for 2 people and we are always too dull for lunch. The other meals are random (sushi, boulder creek, pubs, mexican, casual Italian but not expensive, always under $50 for two, unless its a holiday/b-day or anniversary and we go to a special (expensive) place. My boyfriend's apartment does not have a stove or an oven and we have a ton of delicious and reasonably priced options nearby so on our weekends together we enjoy going out. His birthday is next week so I asked him to pick a special place for dinner and he jokingly asked "What's wrong with Salsa Salsa"?
KtMc24 at 4:19PM on 06/24/08
We love to eat. And we especially love to eat out. However, we usually have at least two of our six kids living home with us, most of whom are teenagers. Satisfying those adolescent appetites can start to resemble the feeding of an Army, so the vast majority of our meals are prepared by me. Of course, since we love good quality, interesting food, even eating at home doesn't necessarily save us much money. It varies quite a bit, but I'd say, when we've got kids at home, we eat out and/or take-out about once or twice a week on average.
But we're also lucky enough to get weeks at a time where all the kids are away, and it's just the two of us. That's when we tend to eat out a lot, especially fine dining. At those times, we often find ourselves eating out 10-15 times per week.
We've noticed that eventually, we reach the point of eating out so much that we suffer from restaurant-food burn-out. It gets so neither one of us can abide the thought of another meal that isn't home cooked.
Does anybody else who goes on those high-frequency dining-out jags experience that?
LoCo at 5:59PM on 06/24/08