Anonymous wrote:I eat out way more than I should. I don't enjoy cooking. We do cheaper options like Pho, Panera, Chinese...

I must be doing it wrong. Panera for me and 2 kids is easily $25. Kids get the Mac and cheese kids plate plus a drink. I get then1/2 and 1/2 and a drink. Dinner for the 4 of us at the Chinese takeout was $43 the other night. 2 entrees, a side of sashimi, and some extra white rice.

I posted earlier about making homemade pizza, but other favorites are bread and cheese nights for husband and I. I'll get a few good cheeses from Whole Foods, and this great bread from a local market. Paired with big salads and wine, it's indulgent without breaking the bank--$30 worth of cheese usually lasts two weeks.

I signed up for a meal planning service this year and it has been a life-saver. We use Cooksmarts but there are others. Most of the meals are excellent, simple and adaptable. The service gathers all the information and pulls together a shopping list and meal prep strategy. It has saved us a lot of time and money, actually. And I'm preparing food that I wouldn't normally think of, so it gets me out of cooking ruts.

I would try their free two-week trial and see if it helps.

We do blue apron deliveries on Friday. Then we have 3 meals for the weekend we typically wouldn't make ourselves and don't feel deprived since we aren't eating out.

Keep an eye on Groupon. You can find some deals for pizza and other easy meals. It really becomes worth it when they have an extra site wide 10-20 % off.

It is more fun if you do it with your kids. Toaster oven pizzas are good for this. Shish kabobs are good as well. Fondue is also fun. It can also help to drink a glass of wine while you cook

One thing that brings me down about eating at home is washing up afterwards, so paper plates can sometimes be nice.

Anonymous wrote:I eat out way more than I should. I don't enjoy cooking. We do cheaper options like Pho, Panera, Chinese...

Same here, after working 8 hr + 2hr commute.
I am tired at the end of the day and I really do not enjoy cooking and am not good at it.

making a home meal feel as special as a restaurant meal without extra work:

put out olives & cheese and crackers or something similar (no/little prep) to snack on while the meal is cooking
nice loaf of bread with dinner and good butter or olive oil for dipping
dessert
nice wine

obviously more $$ and calories than a typical week night meal but fun to do for the occasional weekend special meal, and still cheaper than going to a restaurant.

Its a known fact that food bought from restaurants has a much higher level of fat, salt and sugar in it than food you can cook for yourself at home. This expensive food is predisposing you to being fat, having heart disease and diabetes.

OP, do you and DH also eat out for lunch daily at work? Maybe you want to pack during the week and redirect that budget for going out as a family.

Cook foods that are fun, like hamburgers, pizza, anything with bacon. Or, make it easy by cooking breakfast or lunch foods: waffles, soup and a sandwich, etc. Or cut back on the number of days/meals you eat out or just choose the cheapest places.

I eat out way more than I should. I don't enjoy cooking. We do cheaper options like Pho, Panera, Chinese...

Anonymous wrote:You really don't end up saving much after taking into account all the prep work, cleaning, shopping time etc... I would opt to find more cost effective healthy places to eat out.

This is so not true.

[b wrote:Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/home.php

Since when did they start charging for the recipes? No way I'm using this website[/b].

Sorry OP, was just making a suggestion.

Not OP but I wrote this. Not being snarky, just surprised that they charge. I used this website many, many years ago for free, that's all. No need to apologize.

Try Plated or BlueApron or one of the meal delivery services. I found that at $12/ per person per meal was actually a savings, and it gave me the chance to cook meals like I was in a restaurant, but with the ingredients. Over the course of a month, ordering this for 3 meals a week for 2 adults (plus supplemental for toddler, snacks, etc) was actually cheaper.