Sometimes it's really easy for me to say "we'll just get something out to eat." I come up with reasons why-
"It's so much faster"
"It's not that much more expensive than buying it and making it at home."
"I don't think it will hurt every once in a while."
and the infamous "Let's treat ourselves."
But really, are any of these points valid?
Lets deal with each one in turn:
"It's so much faster"
Do you know where I live? I'm in the middle of nowhere. It takes at least 10 minutes to drive to the nearest town and the choices there aren't all that great. No one in the family wants fast food, so we have to drive a few towns away. Lets say I drive 20 minutes one way (a very conservative estimate from here), order my food (even if I already know what I'm getting it still takes a few minutes to do this). Non fast food restaurants take about 20 minutes to prepare and package the food, then another 20 minutes home. I've spent an hour getting food that's not even hot once I get it home, another 5 or so minutes to un-package it, etc... You get the idea.
What about when I lived in town? Still, a few minutes to drive, 20 minutes to get the food and a few minutes to drive back home. So let's say half an hour? I have seen "Meals in 20 Minutes" cook books. But really, who says faster is better? I'm almost always at home to cook slowly if I want to.So I guess that excuse is out the door !
Next time I'll tackle "It's not that much more expensive than buying it and making it at home."
I'm getting so I don't even enjoy eating out that much anymore. I have to be SO careful not to eat something that's going to make me sick the next day. What does still appeal to me about going out to eat is just being In a different environment for a while. This time of year, it's easy for me to feel a bit housebound at times. I miss the old location for Black Bear Books. I could go there with a friend (like you!) and have tea or coffee, sit in nice chairs to chat, without having to eat to just to earn the privilege of sitting in those chairs. (In a restaurant, you are pretty much expecte to eat if you're going to take up space in their chairs!)
ReplyDeleteI think that is a reason many feel the need to eat out. I know that it's supposed to be a "treat" to go out, but I'm trying to change my thinking about that. There's always Panara or Tuckers to sit and have a nice cup of tea with a friend. :) It's still a treat to see friends though. <3
DeleteI love going out to fun, trendy restaurants now and again, but cooking at home makes me very happy, too. And since we eat vegetarian, gluten-free and sometimes raw foods, it's hard to find restaurants outside of the major cities that even understand what that looks like. I don't know that our eating at home is a whole lot cheaper than eating out since we buy only organic foods and eat super healthy, but I think it's worth it to cook at home for the health benefits.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live it's still cheaper to cook from scratch at home- even organic foods! BTW, I am not that near any major cities. Lately I have discovered with our long list of allergies, it's not only cheaper immediately, it's less problems we have down the road. Happy eating! :)
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