Day 66: 7 Reasons to Eat at Home Vs. Eating Out

What: Eating In

Why: Six Reasons Why You Should Eat In
1. Save money – meat, vegetables, and even ice cream, are cheaper to buy in the store, prepare, and then eat, versus dining out. You can save thousands of dollars in a year by choosing to eat ONE less meal out/week.

2. Healthy Choices – pouring over a menu at a restaurant can be fun, but also overwhelming when you realize how many choices you have. Unfortunately, many of those choices are extremely high in fat and calories. Many restaurants are now offering low-fat options and may even provide the calories for that meal. Even though they are helpful, it doesn’t beat the ability to make the same meal, even healthier, at home.

3. Proportional eating – while dining out, the proportions are typically much larger than what you would eat at home. If you are trying to watch your weight or not become a glutton, it is easier to pass on this temptation while eating at home.

4. Family Time – fast food restaurants can be dangerous because they are the “easy fix” for the hunger bug. Despite the fact that fast food can be extremely unhealthy, fast food eating takes away from that quality family time, spent around the table. Even though you are still sitting around a table at a fast food restaurant, the quality of time spent together is rush in, rush out. What happened to hour long meal times? What happened to just sitting down and eating a meal together? Work

5. Environment – have you ever been to a restaurant where it is so loud that you can’t even carry on a conversation with whom you are dining with? Have you ever had a table “neighbor” having a juicy conversation or use vulgar language while you are trying to eat your meal in peace? When you choose to eat in, you obviously can choose the environment and not worry about those who will ruin your dining out experience.

6. Pass on Traditions – by eating in, you can teach your children (or even your husband!) how to cook and bake. Your children will one day thank you for the time you took out of your meal preparation, to teach them a few new tricks – traditions they will eventually pass onto their children. Those favorite recipes of yours? If you show them how to make them, more often than not, they will become their favorite recipes as well. Passing on traditions and favorites are timeless!

7. Time – it may take time to make your meal, but when you eat out, think of the time it takes to go to the restaurant, wait for the server, wait for your food, wait for the check, and then drive home. There are many quick meals you can make in less time than it would take for you to eat out!

Confession of the Day: My husband works with youth on a daily basis and one thing we commonly hear from kids is their desire for more family dinners together. We live in a go-go society and sitting down for a meal together as a family, is becoming a past-time. I think we sometimes don’t even realize it. What is intruding on your family meal time? In order to eat together, will it take some adjusting of mealtimes? Some sacrifices? Since moving to a smaller town, my husband and I have only been out to eat just us two, twice in 2 months. Because there are not any restaurants we can quickly drive to, we find it much easier to just make something at home, which we have learned to appreciate – and our bank accounts thank us too! Not that we ate out that often before, but even more so, we appreciate the time spent around the dinner table together. Living with less can mean saving money in areas you didn’t expect, while also improving on your priorities, such as family time.

What changes do you need to make in order to eat at home more often?