To think no one eats out everyday?

[1AngelicFruitCake]

Lighthearted pondering about meals over summer holidays.

Yesterday talking to my friend about making lunch and tea everyday during school holidays. I love my children but it does feel relentless! Shop at Aldi or Lidl and buy varied food to keep it interesting. My friend knows someone who goes out everyday and eats out so the evening meal is simple. I’m like ‘how?!’ How does anyone afford that?!

I knew a couple like this neither of them cooked had no interest in learning had no children so just ate out everyday. Nowhere fancy just chain restaurants, local pubs etc they didn't have to do a food shop so they saved their plus not using gas and electric for cooking plus being out the house every night saved them money so I think the costs more or less evened out

I eat out about twice a week. Not fancy places. I have a taste card and get 50% off and look for offers of pre theatre deals. I just love getting my food cooked for me.

I have two (female) friends who never use their oven. One has lived in the house 10 years and it's still wrapped in plastic.

Yes, this is us nowadays. We live near a lot of independent cafes and local pubs that we use daily. We save money and time not driving and parking at a supermarket and grocery shopping. Not having to unpack it, or cook it, or wash up or clean the kitchen. No food is ever wasted.

Can attest to this. My kitchen is tiny. The only thing I ‘cook’ is boiled eggs, occasionally an omelette, and protein smoothies with my Nutribullet. Have never used my oven. Groceries are really expensive here, so if you live alone and don’t eat much, going out for a sandwich or salad from a deli is more cost effective than cooking for 1.

Regarding the ‘I can’t be arsed dressing up’ comments, I literally walk to said delis in shorts and flip flops, that’s if I don’t pick something up on my way back from somewhere (which is usually the case). No different from taking the rubbish out.

I do miss cooking though, would definitely go back to it if I move out of the city.

I’ve eaten out a lot with the kids this holidays, some places are doing 2 free kids meals with one adult meal, I like spending my money on eating out, we don’t go on foreign holidays and drive cheap old cars though.

We do, generally. Even if it’s just a Spoons breakfast or a pub lunch of wraps or something. We like to be out and about and we have to eat, so sometimes it’s a splurge and sometimes it’s a Spoonys.

Do restaurants not serve vegetables? 🤣

I wouldn’t. Even if I could afford to, restaurants generally add lots of salt and fat to enhance the flavour of their food. It’s a (pardon the pun!) recipe for disaster.

DH works next to a bar/restauraunt and goes in every lunchtime, has done for 20 odd years, add to that a takeaway we get on a Friday night. It’s a lot.

Restaurant food to me is very rich, with added fats from cream, oil or butter to make it taste good. I would only cook with a little at home. The quantity of vegetables in a restaurant dish would always be less than I’d have in a home cooked meal. I couldn’t eat out every day or more than once a week - unless on holiday and even then I’d struggle!

But surely that depends entirely on what you order from the menu? And you can always ask for extra veg?

We used to in the early 2000’s

@Arraminta yes it does to an extent I suppose!

I used to date someone who ordered Deliveroo every day, sometimes twice a day. Very rarely made a meal for himself. Insane.

When I was single in London I ate out for at least 1 meal a day, pretty much every day. It just wasn’t worth cooking. We had a brilliant staff restaurant with great (and healthy) options and I’d just have a snack in the evening. At weekends I was always out with friends.

Can’t do it now, live in the sticks with no takeaway deliveries and don’t have the cash. But it was great at the time. I absolutely could cook btw, but didn’t want to spend the time on it.

Reckon it depends on where you are. If you live in the middle of a city in the UK and have plenty of disposable income, you'll be spoiled for choice. If you're in a rural area outside a small market town, and your options are limited to standard curry, Chinese, fish and chips, pizza, you probably aren't as tempted to do it more than as an occasional treat (that's just me anyway).

Meanwhile I have family in Taiwan where you can get really good, healthy, almost home-cooked style meals everywhere for cheap and lots of people literally never cook as much as a fried egg. You pop out to get a spring onion roti and a soy milk for breakfast, then a soup noodle for lunch, then a night market for whatever tickles your fancy, steamed buns, dumplings, you name it. You likely won't spend more than a tenner a day getting all 3 meals out. I can see the appeal in that if I lived in that kind of food culture.

I find eating at home much tastier and definitely cheaper. Each to their own.

I get food delivered Monday-Thursday during term time. Not takeaway, just a wonderful local lady who does “meals on wheels” type things. So much easier.

I disagree. Even so called healthy places the calories are sky high. 800 calorie salad from M&S anyone?

Regardless of whether you can afford it or not, it must be so bad for you. Takeaways/restaurant meals are usually larger in portion and full of saturated fats.

I had a boyfriend once who always ordered takeaways and/or ate out. Sometimes he’s justify that it was healthy (sushi, or Nandos = just a bit of chicken & some chips & salad) but it’s not really the case that it’s healthy, and for him led to weight and cholesterol issues.

Plus it’s nicer and more interesting to know exactly what you are putting in your body!

Exactly this. Why is that so hard to understand. Not everyone is struggling.

I’d be thinner, well I am thin so no bigger I suppose. Like being on an all inclusive holiday , that’s great for losing a couple of pounds. Holidays generally are.

I do this in the holidays. Usually take the kids out daily, and we eat out. The holidays are for enjoying everything!

During term time, we eat out or get takeaways on the weekend only.