Comments on: Teaching Your Family to Eat at Home More

By: kathy

kathy — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:23:20 +0000

We used to eat out alot but no longer do so. Partly because I was working on losing weight, partly because I didn’t want to spend the money for lousy food when it’d cost me less than half to make something tasty at home, and partly because of watching an excessive amount of “restaurant makeover” shows on TV. Every restaurant kitchen they show is filty with mice all over the place! It has completely turned me off to eating out.

I bought a few issues of Cooking Light magazine and made alot of recipes from them. I decided that even if the kids didn’t eat completely healthy every night, we’d do “restaurant night” at least one night a week. The plan was to spend money on the best and freshest ingredients and to try something we’d never had before. We’ve been doing it for almost 2 months now and my kids love it!

By: In It Together {helpful links for raising teens/tweens}

In It Together {helpful links for raising teens/tweens} — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:36:10 +0000

[…] Your Family To Eat at Home More at Reluctant Entertainer.Â This stage of life our kids are busy with school and church activities.Â It is hard to eat at […]

By: Christa@thecookingblock

Christa@thecookingblock — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:01:35 +0000

We have a yo-yo method with this one. Planning is the key. When we don’t have a plan our methods fall apart. Recently we have started “making extras”. We find that each time we make a meal there is just a little bit extra. Every other meal we will freeze the extras. This way we don’t have a weeks worth of leftovers that tend to bore us.

Then when the groceries are getting a little low we reach into the freezer and pull out something. Now this method tends to leave us with a dinner table with a buffet style menu. There is a little of this and a little of that, added to the veggies in the fridge. Sometimes the flavors go together…sometimes not so much. The kids like it because if there is a little left over of something they really didn’t care for…the parents eat it.

On busy days we also try to pack a picnic…the cooler is a life saver. Sometimes it won’t fill our stomach, but it gets us past the drive thru and back home before tempers fall apart.

By: Kirstin

Kirstin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:37:25 +0000

We rarely eat out mainly because we just prefer home cooked, know what you’re eating meals, but also the cost involved. We will go out on occasion or grab something quick, but like you I try to plan ahead to have meals ready when we get home from games/practices and when we have tournaments or more than one game a day I try to always pack food with us…sandwiches, fruit, nuts, granola bars, etc..we may go out for one meal with the team but we don’t eat every meal out. Yikes.

By: Dayle

Dayle — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:09:04 +0000

With an empty nest, there’s only the two of us now, but we still try to eat at home more than we eat out. We don’t always succeed, but thankfully we both enjoy cooking.

Patting yourself on the back is in order. :)

By: Mandie

Mandie — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:55:26 +0000

I plan out our meals for the upcoming week on Saturday morning while looking at the calendar so I know who’s on first and what’s on second each night :-) I usually make something big on the weekend and either have planned leftovers during the week, or, if it’s a rare calm week, throw the leftovers in the freezer for crazy time. This works well. My DH and I also trade off one night a week where I will take a son to lessons while DH cooks dinner. Every Wednesday is a “fend for yourself” night. The kids can have peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers, cereal, or whatever they can find. DH and I do our own thing.

Two nights a month, DH takes our younger son for lessons – they have to leave about 4:45 and don’t get back until 7 p.m. On those nights, I send DS with a sandwich to eat in the car, and DH eats whatever I’ve made when he returns.

Once in a blue moon on a busy night I will plan for Five Guys. It’s rare, so it’s a great treat.

I find it’s all about the planning. As long as things are on the calendar I do okay. If something unexpected crops up on the schedule, I struggle. However, I’ve been keeping extra packages of Trader Joe’s soup in the pantry, and I always have frozen homemade rolls in the pantry. I put those to use in real emergencies.

By: Heather :) :) :)

Heather :) :) :) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:01:33 +0000

Surprisingly, my family and I are really disciplined in eating all of our meals at home!!! It’s partly out of necessity, it’s more economical. It’s also because we believe that eating “real food” is the best for our bodies…so yeah, it takes more time in the kitchen…for sure…but you know what? It’s also created more time to spend together, because we’re hanging out in the kitchen and talking while we’re preparing meals :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

By: Rachel K

Rachel K — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:27:28 +0000

I struggle with it so badly! It is just my husband and me and we eat out almost every night! My problem is forgetting to get something out or doing so and not feeling like eating what I pulled out of the freezer. We live 5 minutes (if that) away from many restaurants. So it is really easy to go get something. I would love to start cooking at home more! It’s just getting that umph to do so. I think I’ll start actually making some of those recipes I have pinned on my Pinterest board! :)

By: FestivePartyGirl

FestivePartyGirl — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:23:12 +0000

We eat out 3-5 days a week. It’s our guilty pleasure. We use it as an excuse when my daughter has an activity to just eat out instead of cooking. We don’t do fast food for dinner so at least we’re not eating too unhealthy but too many dinners out can be tough on the budget. We are trying to be better at cooking at home. We even bought some new cookbooks to inspire us. I love to cook as long as it’s something new. :)

By: Jodi

Jodi — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:30:59 +0000

Our boys are just starting out in school so our schedule is still pretty easy… But I’m trying hard to establish good habits now so when we are in that season, not much has to change :-) I often double a recipe and freeze half, right now I use those frozen meals on nights I have meetings, then I don’t have but a few dishes to clean before I leave the house. I menu plan every week and choose crock pot meals on busier nights and meals that take a bit of preparation on nights when I’m home in the afternoon and have the time. I think that’s been my biggest learning curve, plan your meals for when you’re most likely to have the time to cook. Eating out as a family is truly limited to once or twice a month, it’s a treat. It’s better for our budget, waistlines and time!