Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eating out a lot is not an option - we simply cannot afford it.

Also, I was raised in a culture where women cook everyday - and nothing from a box or pre-prepared. All homemade except maybe bread. My guess is that for some Americans, cooking every day seems strange because you were not raised that way.

I was raised that way, which is exactly why I like to dine out.

And yes, I will go to "American" places like Busboys and Poets or a steakhouse, gladly.

Same here. My SAHM cooked every single meal, every day.

We only ate out about 3 times a year when my son was little. He was a cranky baby, we did not have a lot of money, and we like eating healthy. So overall I found eating out to be more of a pain than a treat. Even now we eat out about once a month. Once you get used to it, it just becomes normal.

We rarely eat out because our kids are both babies/toddlers and eating out is more of a pain than cooking at home (by the time I get the kids packed up, I could have made a simple meal). And with kids, its not like we are going to go to a fine dining establishment anyway. Plus, both my husband and I like to cook and we have different cooking styles so as long as we alternate nights, we have a pretty good variety of dishes.

The kids are still pretty young (one is still eating purees) so at least once a week, we have left over night. Even if we are not eating the same dish, at least we are eating together and not having to go out.

We rarely eat out. We have the money, but we don't do it often. I am a huge believer in family dinners around the dining table at home. Three of our five children are grown and out of the house. I strongly believe that one of the reasons our family has remained so close is all those years sitting down together for dinner at home every night. You can't get that sitting in a restaurant full of people eating food prepared by strangers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My mother and aunt are Middle-eastern and live together, two stubborn old single ladies. Believe me, they can definitely afford to eat out, and women in our family are at the top of the totem pole, but they never, ever, ever eat out. They've even stopped buying bread- they make their own. The last time I took my mother to a restaurant she complained the entire time- the food was greasy, she could taste the oil, what is this made of, it's disgusting. They're extreme but I didn't even know what to do at a restaurant until I was in high school. We just did not eat out.

Cooking as a hobby is one thing. The cultural obligation to cook is another.

It used to be a "woman's job" here too. And kitchens used to be tiny and separated from the rest of the house. As soon as the cultural taboo on cooking was lifted and it became more of a gender-neutral activity, we started getting the open kitchen plans and granite counters.

Yes, but what the pp was implying was that Middle Eastern women cook because they have to. Well, guess what, they have take out and frozen food in the Middle East and a lot of people are going for those options, or they hire someone to cook if they can. But a lot of people stick to the old fashioned cooking at home, like my parents, not just because they like it, but because it's a lot cheaper and healthier. My husband and I eat out maybe once every 3 or 4 months, because we both find eating out sort of gross. Other people's cultures are not the stereotype you make of them.

Eating out is a nice break, but it is hard to trust how your food is prepared. There is a lot of gross stuff that happens back in the kitchen.

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people that don't eat out are the same ones who spend $500/month on groceries instead of $1200/month. I think I know their secret: they don't have the money!

If all you have is $500 per month for food, then that's all you can spend. And you're probably not going to eat out. It's not fun and it's not easy but it is being done all the time by millions of American families.

Yep, we're that family - or one of those millions of families

Our grocery budget is under $500 a month for a family of 4. We can also spend up to $100 a month on eating out, but there are often a couple of work lunch obligations and then a time or two when we don't plan well or have a social obligation to share a restaurant meal. It adds up to very rarely saying "hey, lets go out to dinner!" Like maybe once every 3 months.

When we had 2 working parents, we did eat out more often, like maybe twice a month. It was nice! But not worth going back to work for.

We also love cooking and eating at home and we make really good (and inexpensive) food.

Anonymous wrote:

My mother and aunt are Middle-eastern and live together, two stubborn old single ladies. Believe me, they can definitely afford to eat out, and women in our family are at the top of the totem pole, but they never, ever, ever eat out. They've even stopped buying bread- they make their own. The last time I took my mother to a restaurant she complained the entire time- the food was greasy, she could taste the oil, what is this made of, it's disgusting. They're extreme but I didn't even know what to do at a restaurant until I was in high school. We just did not eat out.

Cooking as a hobby is one thing. The cultural obligation to cook is another.

It used to be a "woman's job" here too. And kitchens used to be tiny and separated from the rest of the house. As soon as the cultural taboo on cooking was lifted and it became more of a gender-neutral activity, we started getting the open kitchen plans and granite counters.