How often do you eat out?

[katlady]

I'm usually pretty handy in the kitchen. But my new job is very demanding and sometimes cooking for one is just no fun.

After a long day at the office I'm tempted to just stop by Chilis or Koo Koo Roos to satisfy my hunger.

I'm feeling a bit guilty about this, since I am still struggling with debt. But I also need time to unwind when I get home at night. If I also have to cook for myself that will eat up all my down time. Am I being a bad person?

[davoscat]

Don't feel bad. My goal is to eat out less than once a week. But I know how tempting it is to just get some unhealthy takeout when you've spent the whole day slaving away at work.

((katlady))

[Linsey Knerl]

Luckily, we don't live anywhere where you would WANT to eat out. Bowling alley and a quiki mart are the only things close. But when we go into Omaha, we will do a quick McD's or Wendy's run. We don't do happy meals, they are too much for a junky toy and some soda or overpriced milk. We will share a large combo with lemonade, and then get a few extra double cheeseburgers or fries. We don't pay for pop, all all 6 of us can eat for under $13. Not too bad.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by katlady

I'm feeling a bit guilty about this, since I am still struggling with debt. But I also need time to unwind when I get home at night. If I also have to cook for myself that will eat up all my down time. Am I being a bad person?

I hope you're not a bad person because I can totally relate! Lately though, I've discovered that kitchen time is relaxing time too!

I feel like I'm confessing here, but, umm.... Rachael Ray is a current hero.

I'm embarrassed to say the woman I used to mock is teaching me to cook for myself. Rachael Ray is definitely not an Iron Chef. In fact, she's not a chef at all. But she is practical and her recipes are easy and fast. So easy and fast that even I could handle it!

These days I appreciate quick and simple more than the mouth-watering exoticness of other Food Network shows.

(Go ahead. Let the mocking begin.)

[davoscat]

Originally Posted by Linsey Knerl

We don't pay for pop, all all 6 of us can eat for under $13. Not too bad.

Do you ever get attitude from the cashier? Some cashiers are incredulous that not only did you refuse the combo, but you don't even want to have a drink. What? Just the burger? Are you sure?

[khorrell]

Poor cashiers...I know they get frustrated as I stare at the menu board, calculating how to feed six people, spend significantly less than $20, and hopefully throw some fruit or veg in the meal as well.

The bill has been increasing as my kids get bigger, so we just don't go as often as we used to. (And my waist thanks me! ) My ten year old actually COMPLAINS when I suggest fast food. I guess I'm doing something right when it's the kids demanding that we eat in an actual (ok, like Chili's ) restaurant with better food choices. We tried doing Subway and the cost just about killed me. We don't eat out often when we're close to home, but we do travel pretty regularly. I've never gotten much enjoyment out of the sandwiches in the cooler routine.

Does anyone have suggestions for healthy and reasonably priced food?

[Kathryn]

We only eat out a couple times a month and go for quality over quantity. It helps when you've gotten your kitchen and pantry routines to the point where you can whip out something tastier and healthier and cheaper than fast food in less time than it would take to drive to the nearest burger joint.

On the road, one way to mix it up is to splurge a little in the grocery store (this works best when the weather is nice and you can eat outdoors)--buy a rotisserie chicken, a baguette, and a bag of fancy salad mix, for example. Or treat yourself to good cheese and crackers and cold cuts, plus some fruit salad. Or Hummus + pitas + a deli salad. Options like these will cost $2-3 a person, which is more than you might normally spend at home, but less than fast food *and* tastier and more memorable. If you're carrying a cooler, add in some make-ahead homemade salads like potato or pasta salad.

[lucille]

You need another button on the poll. We only eat out about every 3-4 months.

[lucille]

I really dislike Rachel Ray and find her annoying but she does have some really good tips for easy quick meals that are in the skills of someone who is not a major chef or foodie. Most of her meals are also pretty good for some basic quick throw together meals.

I used to work 15 hour days as a tech at an animal hospital but I would still manage to make myself dinner when I got home. Many times it would be some shrimp or scallops I picked up just before the seafood market at Safeway closed and some salad greens or packaged deli salad. I would sautee the seafood in butter or olive oil and maybe toss in some jar crushed garlic and parsley. Since I only bought a small portion of seafood for myself this ended up costing about as much as a fast food meal.

Grabbing some ready to eat goodies at the gourmet grocery store is also cheaper and healthier (most of the time) than take out. A decent deli packaged salad with meat in it makes a decent meal or part of one. They had lots of pasta, grain and vegie salads with meat in them. They also had a really huge salad bar. At least the one by my old house that is.

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by khorrell

Does anyone have suggestions for healthy and reasonably priced food?

I'm assuming you mean fast food. And, if that's the case, healthy is going to be relative and very much depend on what your definition of healthy is. If you're concerned about fat or sodium fast food isn't going to be healthy. If carbs are your issue, there's more options. If you're going on straight calories, there's some good options.

The big thing with most restaurants (aside from fat and sodium) including fast food restaurants is portion size. The servings that most restaurant food comes in is way too big for a single meal. But, there's ways around that. You can split a sandwich and get closer to what portion sizes should be. You could eat half of the sandwich or entree and save the other half for later (works well with Pizza Hut individual pan pizzas). Or you could skip the fries all together and just have the sandwich (not a lot of vegetable content in the fries anyway). Another options is ordering from the kids' menu. I like Wendy's Junior bacon cheese burger (off the dollar menu) and McDonalds' Mighty Kids meal with the double cheeseburger and apples. Plus, you still get the toy (I know it's a cheap toy, but it's fun to play with for a few minutes and/or pass off to a friend who has small kids).

Some restaurants have smaller versions of their regular sandwiches. Burger King's Junior Whopper is one. McDonalds has their basic hamburger and cheeseburgers. Putting two of those together is sometimes cheaper than the larger, almost equivalent sandwiches. And Taco Bell has their basic tacos. If I remember correctly, the chicken soft taco at Taco Bell is reasonable in terms of nutrition.

Some restaurants offer soup and most Wendys have chili. Sometimes you can get a baked potato. Those are usually more healthy and less costly options. Many restaurants have salads, but if you us all of the dressing, the calorie count goes through the roof. Plus, they're usually pretty expensive.

At many sit down restaurants, you can often order a lunch portion of an entree. That should save you a bit of money and get you a more reasonable portion size. although it's generally more cost effective to split an entree between two people. Some restaurants will let you order off the kids' menu even if you're not a kid. Cracker Barrel will usually do this, and their grilled chicken tenderloins aren't horribly unhealthy. Similarly, you can sometimes order off the seniors menu if you're not a senior. But this one is sometimes harder to convince them to let you do. You might also try asking for a "kids portion" of an entree. It's usually similar to a lunch portion. Again, this doesn't work at all restaurants. You can also order off the appetizer menu. These items are often ala cart options of some of the meals. Most places will also allow you to substitute sides. So, asking for steamed vegetables instead of fries can help with the nutrion of your meal.

But the biggest thing you can do to decrease the unhealthiness and cost of your bill at a restaurant is to drink water instead of soda. You can save $1-3 per person and, depending on how many refills you would get and if you're drinking regular or diet, many calories.

The other option, and this works better if you're traveling rather than running errands is to get ready to eat food at a grocery store. Many stores that have bakeries have single rolls or buns available for purchase. Combine that with a bit of meat and cheese from the deli and a bit of fruit from the produce section and you can assemble a reasonable meal for a relatively low cost. Some grocery stores even have sections of their delis where they will make sandwiches (like a Subway). You can still sometimes come out better (cost-wise) by doing it yourself, but you have less options for condiments and such usually.