How do you stay motivated to cook at home?

**savvy_sniper** · 08-14-2010, 05:06 PM

Having a well stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer helps A LOT. Knowing what it costs to eat out helps even more. ALWAYS have some quick and easy meals you can serve up with very little time and trouble.

I don't have a weekly meal plan. I just decide what to have and pull it out of the fridge, freezer, pantry. When I find new recipes that we like, I make sure to stock up on any new ingredients that are needed.

I generally cook enough to feed us twice (sometimes more). The second serving is in the fridge to be heated a couple of days later. AND/OR enough to feed us is packaged up and frozen. Then it can be thawed and heated at a later date with very little effort.

From time to time when hubby likes a meal, I tell him how LITTLE it costs. THAT is enough to keep him motivated NOT to go out to eat.

If and when we do go out to eat (seldom), we use coupons. I keep them with me at all times. Most of them are thrown out because they expire. But when we do need to eat out, I have the coupons handy and we have choices.

Getting to this point did not happen overnight. I started out stocking up on a few extra cans of this and that. Also over time I learned to cook from scratch. So I don't buy much in the way of packaged meals, I buy ingredients to make those packaged meals. They are fresher, better for us, taste better, and save TONS of money.

**mauimagic** · 08-14-2010, 05:12 PM

When I plan I am more successful in cooking at home, but must admit that my ace in the hole is my DH - he always picks up the slack and then more. What also helps is that we absolutely do not have the money to eat out - even at fast foods. Sometimes poverty is a blessing.

**Minner77** · 08-14-2010, 08:00 PM

I have found renewed inspiration in my continued quest for better health and better stewardship of my and the earth's resources. Sounds so high-falutin', I know, but I just have reached the point where I get sick of the waste of eating out -- the waste of the food when I have good food at home, the extra calories, the extra money, the extra packaging, and so on.

Too, my husband travels extensively so he eats out a lot and really appreciates a home-cooked meal, and we end up eating out more than we'd like when we travel for our son's soccer. Since high school season is now starting, that's staring us in the face, and I'm dreading it! (Believe it or not, although I am more than willing to pack us food, hubby thinks I shouldn't have to go to "all the trouble" and says it's just easier to buy along the way. I did finally break him into bringing sandwiches and trail mix for the car, though!)

**stinkbug** · 08-14-2010, 08:23 PM

I'm a weirdo....I don't really like other people touching my food. And dh eats out a lot because he travels for work, so when he is home, he wants home cooked meals. Not a problem...I would be happy to never eat out. I know I am odd.......
If I don't feel like cooking a full meal, we do breakfast foods. Dh cooks a lot when he is home.

**prudent lass** · 08-30-2010, 11:44 AM

I agree with everyone that preparation is key. It's definitely easier for me to enjoy cooking when I have time to do it. That's why I do most of the week's cooking on Sunday afternoons. I also try to make it fun by using new recipes, cueing up a good movie on the tv, playing the radio, etc. A nice glass of wine also helps. ;-)