Eating out: A Costly and Unnecessary habit

Parent Cafe
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<p>Rampant eating out is one reason that so many Americans struggle with obesity. Restaurant portions are huge and much of what is offered is unhealthy (too much fat, cholesterol, etc)…not to mention the expense.</p>

<p>I like to eat out for good ethnic food that I find hard to prepare easily at home. But for routine meals, I much prefer my own way of preparation; the fact that I can prepare fabulous meals for my family for a fraction of what it would cost for all of us to go out is another bonus.</p>

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<p>Restaurant marketers work overtime in this country to attract customers and boy are they successful! Their food is often tastier than what’s at home – because so much fat and salty spices are used in preparation. I try to limit my restaurant eating, mainly because of the large portion sizes, which compel me to overeat. I do wonder if anything will halt or reverse the American habit of eating 40% or more of meals outside the home.</p>

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<p>It is costly and unnecessary. Often it smells bad and you can get a disease.</p>

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<p>robert, that’s your opinion. i happen to think store bought frozen pizzas taste like rubber and i won’t eat them. if i want to spend my money, that i earn from working at my job, on a fantastic pizza from a resteraunt… then i’m going to do that.</p>

<p>based on your logic, you should eat ramen for every meal every day and drink water from your faucet that way your daily cost of food is 75 cents. You better not buy a frozen pizza, because you’ll save a lot more money if you just ate ramen. </p>

<p>how about we think about things rationally here.</p>

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<p>I just had a beef/pork combo at Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City. It was neither expensive nor unnecessary, as those of you who have eaten there will attest.</p>

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<p>A few responses:</p>

<p>1) I will not buy meat products at walmart. I pay more for healthfully raised, butcher cut meat from a store like whole foods. It’s not about the money. I don’t feel comfortable cheapskating it with something like raw meat.</p>

<p>2) as a student, I don’t have a kitchen to cook in, so eating at home if I’m just sick of the dining hall isn’t an option. If it can’t be made in a microwave, I can’t cook it. So we eat out for a change, and this might shock, but the food is probably way healthier than the dining hall.</p>

<p>3) I don’t eat leftovers. I don’t like the idea of food that was made the other day being glopped into a container, left to condensate and stew in the fridge, then reheated into warm, far less appetizing glop for dinner. All meals should be fresh, whether it means spending more money or not. I will eat things that have been frozen, but not if they were part of a meal made two months ago. That just weirds me out. Many people say food is better the next day, I think they’re crazy. Pasta is limp and soggy, meats are dry…it’s not appetizing.</p>

<p>4) food is not always that cheap, especially if you buy the healthier whole grain breads and fresh foods instead of processed ones. Also, it can be a nice family experience to eat out and have a nice discussion or to catch up with your friends while waiting for your food, instead of slaving over a hot stove for half an hour.</p>

<p>5) I don’t know what jobs you are working where you have more time than 50 years ago, but I leave my house at 6 am and come back at 6pm, just in time to (after working a ten hour day) throw something together for my family before THEY get home from work. By the time dinner is on the table, it’s 7 pm and we haven’t even said hello to each other. My only free time is on the weekends- so sometimes even going out to eat takes too much time. But at least it’s much more relaxing time than cooking for myself.</p>

<p>I get the feeling the original poster would simply keel over at the thought of eating $100 a plate dinners- but let me say this- you’re not only paying for the food, you’re paying for the atmosphere too, and while I could make something similar at home, I am no international chef. There is simply no comparison.</p>

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<p>3 dollar store bought pizza? I was at walmart a couple days ago and got a pizza from their deli, it was about 7 dollars.</p>

<p>Anyway, I love to cook. I really enjoy it and when I move into my own apartment I’ll be doing it often but I still enjoy eating out once a week. I live in a dorm so no kitchen. I like pizza from Domino’s, Pizza hut, etc. I enjoy eating buffalo wings from restaurants too. </p>

<p>Hell, I go to Fogo De Chao for their buffet which will set you back $30 dollars for lunch or $45 dollars for dinner. I look at eating out, especially at a fancy restaurant, as a reward. I like to pay for the atmosphere, the fancier food, and the good service. Some of the things I eat out would just take too much time to prepare.</p>

<p>And I agree with the above poster, I don’t have kitchen access in my dorm room and the only times to eat are from 11:00 am to 2:00 PM and 4:30 PM to 7 pm. This means that sometimes when I’m really busy and studying for a test I wont have time to make it to my meals and I’ll have to eat out. If I’m pulling an all nighter I’ll usually get fast food because even if I eat at 6:00 PM I’m gonna get hungry at 1:00 AM and luckily by my campus there’s a bunch of 24 hours fast food places.</p>

<p>I don’t consider a 20 dollar meal shared by 4-5 people expensive at all. Maybe some people are cheaper than others.</p>

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<p>Great! Is the meat at the butcher red per chance? Whoops, guess it has sodium nitrate and preservatives in it. Talk about healthfully raised! :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>Your dining hall does not have fruits and vegetables? Sure the dining hall can be unhealthy if you just eat the pizza caserole and chocolate cake. Eat those fruits and vegetables that the cafe offers at your school.</p>

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<p>What a shame! Chili, IMO, is far superior the day after you cook it. I have no problems with leftovers. Would you throw away leftover filet mingon, lobster, or prime rib? I sure wouldn’t!</p>

<p>“food is not always that cheap, especially if you buy the healthier whole grain breads”</p>

<p>Food is insanely cheap when you shop correctly. Of course, you pay a higher price for organic or whatever. But $100.00 of groceries will supply with at least two weeks of meals whereas $100.00 at a restaurant satisfies one meal. So, how is food not always cheap?</p>

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<p>Absolutely! I find it absurd to pay that much for a meal. But that is just me. Atmosphere? What atmosphere? Your waiter with a horrible cold coughing on your food, a baby screaming right next to you, people talking loudly, cockroaches(yes, they inhabit all types of restaurants), finding strands of hair in your food, atmosphere? Gosh, I would prefer to have my atmosphere elsewhere thank-you! :)</p>

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<p>Clearly you’ve never eaten at a restaurant like Le Cirque, The Ivy, etc. These places are five star all the way- no babies, no hair in the food, waiters who make more per year than some fellow engineers- it’s not like eating at the local applebees. First class treatment and first class food.</p>

<p>And I still won’t eat leftovers, and I eat organic meats. Nitrates are a side effect of cows eating grass and has nothing to do with where the food comes from. I certainly don’t feel comfortable buying raw meat at a place that sells it for .40 a pound. That can’t be quality meat at that price. </p>

<p>I pay a higher price for organic and locally grown because I believe in it. $100 a week in groceries is far more than I spend. I spend about $30 a week on groceries, maybe $40. There’s enough left over to eat out if I’m tired or just want to do something different or have a favorite meal (for example, there is a restaurant in Burlington that makes a pasta bolognese that I will kill for, and I gladly hand over the $14 for a plate of it in a cozy restaurant.)</p>

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<p>Well, I agree with the OP about pasta. Many people love to order it. Pasta can be purchased for .79 per pound (retail price). I don’t think the secret sauce with a few shrimp, or chicken pieces should sell for 15-20/plate. IMO, it is not worth the expense.</p>

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<p>When we go out as a family, we order three dishes for the four of us, and I get a salad, and take some of everyone’s food…yummmmmm</p>

<p>We make sure we tip well beause it is 4 people</p>

<p>And no matter how much I try, i can’t cook shrimp like they do at restaurants, and I love eating chinese, thai, vietnamese food out…you can get really good for and its not that expensive</p>

<p>as for disease etc, you would probably get sicker from a shopping cart handle</p>

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<p>For most people, eating out is a luxury. I don’t see the big deal here. Everyone who makes money gets to choose which luxury items they spend that money on. Dining out is not different than, say, buying CDs instead of listening to the radio for free. Or buying DVDs/going to movie theater compared to renting DVDs or watching television. Some people spend money on expensive cars; others buy used cheap cars. I’m glad there are restaurants of all kinds. I love to eat out sometimes (I can’t make Thai food or salsa as well as our favorite restaurants) and I don’t complain about paying more than at the grocery store. When I need to cut back on expenses, I cook more. Not sure I understand the OP’s umbrage here.</p>

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<p>I’m surprised that there are people on here who “won’t eat leftovers.” I can’t imagine being able to afford throwing away half of a meal.</p>

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<p>restaurants are a very important industry, many kids I know paid for college working as waiters etc, not to mention the dishwashers, the bakers, the farmers, the laundry people, the cab drivers, and down the line</p>

<p>eating out is fun, social, tastes good, and creates tradition</p>

<p>our family has been eating at the same italian restaurant for 20 years, my girls have eaten there since they could…we would get there as soon as they opened up at night…it was fun and my kids learned very young how to act when we are out…never running around bored or disruptive, as I have seen</p>

<p>the first time I really saw my girls flirt was with the cute waiters there, they would try more foods that they would never try at home…my Ds are very adventureous eaters and its from eating out in one of the best restaurant cities in the world…on one block we have chinese, japanese, tapas, mexican, burgers, organic, and across the street you have indian curry, a english place, and this is just in our little local neighborhood, oh yeah and the cajon place around the corner.next to the greek place</p>

<p>how you NOT eat out</p>

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<p>I found this statement hilarious. I can eat eight pieces easy.</p>

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<p>“Nitrates are a side effect of cows eating grass and has nothing to do with where the food comes from.”</p>

<p>No,no, no…sodium nitrate is an added preservative to make the meat red. Without this additive, your meat would look green and black, even if the meat is not spoiled. Your fancy butcher meat has the exact same additives as my Wal*Mart meat except without the added $$$</p>

<p>“people spend money on expensive cars;”</p>

<p>Yes, but a dodge viper has better retail value than a $15 Olive garden pasta dish. A nice house is worth more over time than a Outback Steakhouse bloomin’ onion. You see, a dish at restaurant is so, mundane and has brevity. </p>

<p>“i can’t cook shrimp like they do at restaurants,”</p>

<pre><code> Easy to make at home. I personally like using a steamer or barby to cook my shrimp. Cheaper too! Food Lion buy one get one free bags of shrimp! :slight_smile:
</code></pre>

<p>“Well, I agree with the OP about pasta.”</p>

<p>Well, it is nice to know that someone cares about saving money. Golly, gee, I thought everyone here liked to eat out. :(</p>

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<p>Golly, gee, why do you care how people want to spend their money? Eating out is a social activity and often more fun than sitting at home eating. Not to mention not everyone is a chef.</p>

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<p>we can get a roasted chicken with salad and fries (baked) and rice for 4 for 19 dollars at a local peruvian place…i couldn’t cook it for much less</p>

<p>and burritos!!! or chicken marsala!!! </p>

<p>come to our town and check out the tapas at the place with the transvestite waiters who put on the best show…know THAT is eating out!!!</p>

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<p>Chicken Marsala! mmmm</p>

<p>haha, what kind of show do those transvestite waiters put on? ;)</p>

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<p>they dance on the bar, and sing, and have ATTITUDE…its a blast and the food is great…and the clothes and shoes, who knew they made stilletos in size 15</p>