tips for eating out less?

**Sara Noel** · 06-09-2005, 08:41 AM

I think eating out was one of our largest expenses to cutback on.

It's so easy to grab something quick.

My weight gain really helped me curb eating out when we started to slowly start eating out more often again. I think about that fast food and think ugh no way.

What tips do you have for people trying to cutdown on the number of times they eat out?

We do still eat out. We tend to do pizza takeout or Chinese or the occasional fast food. It's always an area we can do better on over here.

**halo475** · 06-09-2005, 10:32 AM

All of the above...Fast Food Nation and Supersize Me has a tremendous impact on my family...to my knowledge I have not used any of my $ to purchase fast sood since.

Menu planning and having a couple of things in the freezer to pull out when you absolutely do not want to cook have been the 2 most important things for me.

It's much easier once you get into the "habit" of NOT eating out

**Mojjo** · 06-09-2005, 02:23 PM

I always eat out less if we have a few quick meals on hand. Also, I'll make my take out favorites. We buy pizza dough or the boboli and everyone gets to make their own. Or we'll get frozen soft pretzels and everyone can make their own dips.

But I always have chicken nuggets, lloyd's, and spaghetti sauce in the freezer on lazy nights.

**sunshine** · 06-09-2005, 02:39 PM

Menu planning, bulk cooking and simply not budgeting any money for eating out. If the food envelope is empty- we have to eat at home.

**pip** · 06-09-2005, 03:20 PM

Using my crockpot and having meals planned out for the week are most helpful for me. That being said, we do have a tendency to want to eat out often...it's always a struggle in this house!

**AmyMCGS** · 06-09-2005, 06:20 PM

Eating out is our biggest problem~ we love Taco Bell, and there's one within about a mile of our house. We live just outside of the city limits, and, to go into town we have to pass that darned Taco Bell. It practically calls my name...

Then, once you get past Taco Bell, there are about a dozen fast food places on the first main road that you come to in town. It's a BIG temptation!

For me, the best way to avoid eating out is just not get into the car.

I know that sounds silly, but, it really works in my situation. I try to run errands in the morning, then, remind myself that it would be easier to walk out to the freezer in the garage than it would be to get everyone cleaned up, mess with the car seat, and drive into town for supper. I still pick up something for lunch if the errands take too long, though.

I try to put a meal in the crockpot on days that I work to avoid the temptation. Probably 3/4 of the time that I don't have something in the crockpot, I will pick up fast food on my way home from work. It's a bad habit that I'm trying to break.

**bridge** · 06-09-2005, 06:36 PM

My hardest area on eating out is on my lunch at work.
I had been doing better but this week has been very very stressful. Today I brought my lunch but I felt like I needed to get out of here and I needed to vent to my friend so we went to eat and talk. I really need to do better on this!! I'll eat my lunch for today, for tomorrow!!

**Mamaw** · 06-09-2005, 10:16 PM

This is a big trouble spot for me. We eat out at least once a week and it is way too expensive. Not to mention I am gaining weight and my husband is a diabetic. We really need to start eating more at home. I will try to find some crockpot recipes and make a weekly menu.

**bamamomto4** · 06-09-2005, 10:34 PM

Menu planning,crock pot,making my own (as close as I can anyways) and date night. Ashley babysits and Steve and I go out every Friday (Saturday if he's on 2nd shift). Gives me something to look forward to every week. I realize eating out every week is costly (we save when we can...coupons,free gift cards online,no dessert etc...) but Steve and I NEED the time to ourselves with no kids.

We have cut back on eating out.We use to eat out 2,sometimes 3 times a week.... Sometimes more when I was pregnant

**jlxian** · 06-10-2005, 09:41 AM

All of these are great ideas. I need to find one of the great crockpot cookbooks for some inspiration. When I use the crockpot it is usually for beans or a roast -- I wouldn't have believe it would work for lasagne! Cool.

I also need to find a copy of Fast Food Nation -- it must be eye opening!

Lunch hour eating out is a hard one for me too. I have a weekly date with a good friend which is the only time I see her. So I consider it a good spend -- and we don't always make it each week. Currently I am trying to diet so my "lunch menu" for a brown bag lunch is a tuna sandwich and some cut up vegetables --- not too hard to throw together before I leave in the morning. And my work location is not In Town -- we are out of the city limits so a drive in to get something not only costs money for the purchase but for the gasoline as well -- a good deterrent right now.

Then there is the "It's Friday night, I deserve to eat out I've worked all week long and don't want to cook" --- If I don't plan ahead I fall into that mind set very easily. And now that my kids are eating "adult menu" items it is more expensive to eat out! So I'm trying to plan ahead ---and tonight we will have grilled hamburgers. But the planning ahead is my downfall .... an area I really need to work on!

**Jerrie K** · 06-10-2005, 10:00 AM

Originally posted by pip
Using my crockpot and having meals planned out for the week are most helpful for me. That being said, we do have a tendency to want to eat out often...it's always a struggle in this house!

**Michele Annette** · 06-10-2005, 10:20 AM

DH and I like to eat healthy. I try to make meals with whole foods that are simple, delicious and don't take much time to prepare. We grill about four times a week in the Summer months and eat a lot of fresh produce. We do occationally get Chinese, but I find my pizza is much better and way cheaper than takeout. We are trying to save as much money as possible as well, so that has a lot to do with it!

**Rhaynefall** · 06-13-2005, 05:32 PM

We set aside one night a week for "date night" and allow ourselves to eat out then. I try to never eat fast food; I usually end up feeling sick, so why put myself through that.

Also, date night usually happens on Saturday afternoon; we can get the Matinee movie price and I keep a close eye on websites of my favorite restaurants for coupons/offers. I've had a free onion from Outback, free cheesecake from TGI Fridays, our local favorite Mexican joint often has buy one get one free deals or free queso. It's just a a matter of planning those outings, planning quick things on nights you know you'll be tired or strapped for time (Wednedays, for example, DH bowls. By the time we get home from work, time is limited. I try to do a quick pasta, or, if too tired, I keep microwave meals on hand (get them on sale and with a coupon, they're next to nothing that way. Healthy Choice meals were $1.84 at my Kroger and I had $1.00 off coupon)).

And my hubby makes a killer french bread pizza from scratch that I'd take over any frozen or take out pizza around! I try to keep the ingrediants on hand for that so all I have to do is bat my eyes and I get awesome healthy cheap pizza!

**AmyBoz** · 06-13-2005, 07:53 PM

Well, as for fast food, see my SuperSize me post.

For eating out in general...we've been getting better, but it is a struggle. Our central air is out and the kitchen is a thousand degrees if I cook. Still, we've been doing well, but then there are days when I'm fried. A classroom that's almost 100 degrees during the day, then home to a hot house. Cooking is the last thing on my mind. Yesterday was the first night we've paid to eat out in awhile (my parents took us out on Friday night) and it was because we had a big day...breakfast at my father in law's with all the cousins, then Julia had a playdate over, then we had to do the food shopping...we just wanted out. So, we went to our favorite restaurant and plunked down the Amex for a $50 meal, that today I am kicking myself over because we certainly could have had something easy like mac and cheese at home for about $1.00 total. I also could have crockpotted something which would have solved the problem. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

**Early Bird** · 06-16-2005, 01:53 PM

You know, I was trying to think of quick and easy snacks for when we get hungry running errands. I think boiled eggs would work. And bananas.

Don't want to hijack the thread though...I should start another.