How to stop yourself from eating out!!!

MinnieInMaine

I plan meals for the week AND I hate wasting food. So, say I have chicken thawed in the fridge that HAS to be cooked tonight or it'll go bad. When Hubby says "hey let's get a pizza" I can say "sorry, I have to cook that chicken, maybe this weekend". Voila, temptation avoided. It's only the weeks where I don't plan well when I get dragged down by the easy choices.

Maybe even talk to your friends about chipping in for meals and you could cook for them or you could all cook together? We did that once in a while back in the day. That way you still get the social aspect of it, eating a meal together, but spend a lot less money and it can be a lot more fun.

There will still be nights when you can't say no and when that happens, as someone else pointed out, just make the healthiest choices you can. Avoid fried stuff, choose more veg, less sauces, etc.

dopeysmelly

My daughter has a large, inexpensive rice cooker and she can cook almost anything in that thing. It has a slow cook setting so she makes soups, stews, chili, jambalaya and she sometimes even makes rice in the thing. She made a chocolate cake in that thing just because I jokingly said she couldn't. Like the crockpot suggestions above, a large rice cooker might be a good investment.

^^This. I have one and could easily cook every meal in it. Best thing you can use cheap, healthy ingredients (beans, pulses, rice, whole grains etc) and set a timer so it's ready when you are.

When I was a student, I used to buy meat in bulk, divide it into portions and either freeze it raw or freeze it cooked into something simple like a stew that I could quickly microwave. I now do a lot of cooking when I have time and either freeze portions or stash cooked meats/vegetables in the fridge for meals mid-week.

It's really about planning ahead. Nothing more.

dopeysmelly

Maybe even talk to your friends about chipping in for meals and you could cook for them or you could all cook together? We did that once in a while back in the day. That way you still get the social aspect of it, eating a meal together, but spend a lot less money and it can be a lot more fun.

^^This is what I also used to do. We'd chip in for one weekly meal, which one of us would cook (or all of us if they wanted help), and with the leftover money at the end of the year we'd have a huge feast.

elisa123gal

all i can say… is eating out? you never really know the true calories..they add so much fat and you'll never get to goal eating that way.

you have to find time to prepare stuff for the week that you can pack a cooler bag for the day and go. It is the single trick to staying on track. you always have snacks and food with you so you don't starve and hit the drive thru.

I do mine on sunday evening… so i tis ready for the week. good luck.

SoDamnHungry

Eggs, tuna, sandwich, salad, baked chicken breast, even hot dogs. There's a lot of quick things to make that are way lower in fat and cost a lot less. It's ok to eat out sometimes, but with Chinese food you'relikely eating more calories that you estimate it at.

dawnmcneil10

I will admit now I didn't read through all the comments so if I'm repeating I'll apologize but I have a few thoughts for you.

A portion of why your friends are eating out is for the social interaction. It's also possible they don't or can't cook so why not offer the option of come to my place to eat, have everyone pitch in $5 each then you can use that cash to restock your own supplies. You can do crock pot meals, toss everything in the crock pot before classes then at the end of the day your meal is all cooked, healthy and much cheaper than dining out. If your friends are willing to join you for dinner they still get the social event and if that isn't an option mention meeting them for coffee at a local coffee shop instead of having dinner with them each time they go out.

Batch cooking really does make a huge difference when time is something you don't have a lot of. If you're running the oven to cook a casserole toss in a few potatoes or whip up a breakfast casserole too and cook that at the same time. You can even put a bunch of bread in a casserole dish, top it with french toast batter and bake that up, that's another quick and easy breakfast or dinner option.

A few crock pot ideas for multiple meals:
Chili - great by itself or used to top a baked potato or mixed with rice
Pasta bake - toss in a jar of sauce, veggies and meat if you'd like then toss in a small box of pasta with a cup of water
Stews - toss veggies, meat and flavor packet and add water
Egg scramble - scramble up some egg mixture or use egg beaters or egg whites. Spray the crockpot with nonstick spray then pour the egg mix in and toss any of your favorite omelet items inside and let cook. All you have to do is scoop and portion it out, you can even add diced potatoes or shredded hashbrowns for more texture.

imedi01

You need to not use the whole "im too busy to cook" thing because if I can work two jobs, go to the gym, and go to school full time and still lose weight you can do it too. Pre make your meals