Eating out

[yesiamcrazy]

We used to eat out too much too, but as more kids came along it got very expensive. I'm pretty good now with the crock pot and remembering to thaw things etc, but I still have things in the freezer that can be cooked quickly without any thinking ahead of time for those days when I forget or don't plan well enough. I second the idea of cooking at home what you might have been getting out. Tacos, nachos, burgers, pizza, are all made at home now. We still get those foods when we crave them but they don't cost as much cooked at home (even meals you think are cheap become not so cheap when multiplied by 8 people).

I am one of those "eat or don't eat" people. I serve it. You can choose to eat or not. We rarely have one dish meals, so I figure most the time you should be able to find "something" on the table that is to your liking.

 

[crazelion]

I keep easy to cook meals at home. Is they healthiest meals sometimes no. But I do cook healthy meals when I have time. We have my kids called cooked veggies and fruit night. Where all cooked is veggies and cut some fruit for dinner. Super easy. Surprise every like its even mom.

The down side to that is go through a lot fruit and veggies.

 

[superme80]

http://tastykitchen.com/ This is one of my favorite sites. It has a copy of the Red Lobster biscuits, which are amazing,and tons of other recipes. Since DH and I love candy I started making a lot of my own. Who knew my peppermint patties would taste better than the brand out there! Growing up it was always eat it or starve. I am trying to do that with my kids. It has been a battle with my 2 year old, but he is finally starting to try new things again!!!

 

[Sparx]

If you divide 571 by four (weeks) and again by four (people) you come out to about 35 dollars a person. Which is one or two meals out a week depending on where you're eating. But that quickly adds up, like you've shown us. I think instead of cutting out eating out, you should limit it to once a week, and maybe pick a cheaper restaurant. Obviously your family likes to go out to dinner, so don't completely eliminate something you enjoy. Just control it when it gets out of hand like it has.

 

[lattemomof3]

I bought the book "7 Day Menu Planner for Dummies" from Amazon, it's great! Simple, quick meals with normal food my family will eat, 52 weeks worth of menus! Love it! Also, eat at home cooks is a great site that a disboarder runs, there are menus and lots of yummy meals on that one.

 

[wide awake]

If your DH is on board w/ this it shouldn't be a problem. I'm in agreement w/ a PP who said her kitchen wasn't a restaurant. Everyone cannot have their favorite, or even one of their top three meals all the time. Make things you know you're capable of, try to avoid things you know your kids or DH don't like, and cut portions so you don't have leftovers since they won't eat them. We rarely go out, I like my own cooking better, and even on nights when I'm really tired it isn't that hard to make scrambled eggs and toast. I plan a week in advance, and I make sure I have 2-3 easy meals on hand. You're doing your family several favors 1. they expand their tastes, nothing worse than a picky eater 2. you have money for vacation or extras that you would have frittered away on soso meals 3. you lose weight w/o trying 4. you have money for really good groceries 5. you can all go home and rest on the nights you're tired instead of sitting around in a restaurant waiting to be served. When I'm really tired the thought of stopping someplace, or leaving the house after I've gotten home is more than I can stand. Scrambling eggs, making pasta w/ chilis and olive oil, good bread and cheese, grilling some meat and baking a potato...almost no effort, put a bag salad and some fresh fruit w/ any of them and you're done. The kids are old enough to rotate the clean up. If you really do need to improve your cooking, try the pioneer woman's site...all of her recipes that I've tried have been wonderful, and for the most part they're very easy. She uses some processed food, but usually it is good fresh ingredients.

 

[SLM]

This time of year is a great time to be cooking more meals at home. We marinate something for a half hour while the grill heats, start water for corn or make a salad-add a bake potato or some good bread and you have dinner. Cantelope or watermelon for dessert. I like making something Sunday that we can eat on Monday or Tuesday. Fridays we buy a fresh pizza at Sam's or Wal-Mart, add a salad and drink our own wine. Our local grocery store often has shrimp (which they will steam for free) for 7.99 a lb. With rolls and corn it's a great "fast food" and much healthier for you. Good luck and don't get discouraged-this will be a big change for your family and will take some time getting everyone on board.

 

[Mom_Rides]

We were spending gobs of money on eating out. We ate out so much that our DD would ask where are we eating dinner instead of what are we having for dinner. Then I lost my job and our income was cut by more then half. We couldn't afford to eat out. At all!

At that point I started making a menu. I went through the pantry, freezer, cupboards and fridge and would make my menu based on what we had and then would scan the ads to fill in where needed. Luckily, I found a new job but my pay was cut by a lot and we've needed to modify our budget quite a bit.

Every other week I go through all the food in our house, starting with the freezer meats. Then I hit the pantry and figure out what meals I can put together. Then I go through the ads and see whats on sale and put my final menu together. We have some basic favorites that make the menu in some way shape or form (spaghetti/baked ziti, tacos/nachos/fajitas, etc) and then we usually ad something a little fancier that involves more work or costs a bit more. This last week it was steaks. In the spring/summer we use our grill several times a week. In the fall/winter we do a lot of soups and casseroles. Any leftovers that we have usually go with me in my lunchbox for my lunches at work.

To help get the "buy in" from the family, I ask for suggestions for the menu. When my DSS's are with us for their 5 weeks in the summer, I ask each one for an idea for the menu. DSS 10 loves spaghetti, while DSS 15 hates it. DSS 15 loves grilled chicken legs while DSS 10 hates it. They are understanding of each others picks and will tolerate them. I ask DH and DD for suggestions too. It helps to keep things flowing and generally keeps the family happy. And its known that this is not a restaurant and I am not a short order cook, so eat it or grab a cereal or granola bar or be hungry!

Good luck, I know its hard to make that transition but you can do it! Just make sure that you get that buy in from your family.

 

[Abbeys_mom]

We started controlling our dine out budget by actually having a budget, lol. Now once we have hit $125 during the month, we stop. In June, we were done by the 15th. I can't wait for Friday!

BUT, now that I watch it so closely, and we are cooking at home so much more, I found that my standards are so much higher now! If I am paying good, budgeted money, I want it to be great.

We also get $50 a month each for blow. It is so sweet when DH buys me a Starbucks out of his fund or I take him out for an ice cream, it's like we are dating again.

What did it for us was the realization of how much we were spending out in a year eating out. And for what? Crap food at really high prices? Eh, I am over it. We have financial goals which will taste a whole lot sweeter when we hit them!

 

[Yoshi]

It amazes me how expensive going out to eat has become. For our family of 4, it is close to $50 with tax and tip and that is a cheap place and we never order drinks and rarely order appetizers or dessert (and if we get a dessert, 1 it is and we split it).

We have tried to cut back by finding cheaper places to go to. One diner near us has 50% off your entire check one weekday each week. It's usually around $30 total with tax and tip.

Another thing we do is try to find places that give large portions and split them. Tonight it was 3 of us and with the 4 course meal at Red Lobster for $15, we ordered 2 meals and split it and it was plenty of food for 3 people for $30 plus tax and tip.

We still try to limit it to no more than twice per week.

 

[edk35]

Boy do I need to HOP ON THIS TRAIN. We are horrible with eating out. I would hate to add up what we spend eating out. I am hoping I will get inspired by this board.

 

[Beckypooh1972]

Set some ground rules for eating out, such as:
No lunches out - everybody takes lunch or buys school cafeteria fare
Set a price limit per person - we never go over 15.00 pp and that's a special occasion
Split large portions
Always go to places where you can use a coupon or some kind of discount
Those are the "ground rules" I would start with. Another tip I'd give is to use a grill - you can cook steaks and ribs at a fraction of the cost at home.

 

[aprilgail2]

I include eating out in my grocery budget...I figure food is food and if I don't spend it at a store, we'll eat it from a restaurant. My goal is $750/mo for the 4 of us, we average a little more toward $800.

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I include eating out in my weekly grocery money--if I don't buy food then I use that money to eat out. I will NOT eat left-overs, never have and never will. If there are three of us eating I cook enough for the three of us-I don't cook extra chicken or anything because it will just get tossed.

 

[wisconsinmom]

We used to spend a lot eating out. Now I include eating out in my weekly budget, I budget $40 a week for eating out. We usually end up eating at the local mexican restaurant that we all love and we can get out of there for $30 inclulding a generous tip! I usually take the extra $10 and put it in an envelope of cash we use for Disney.