How Often Did You Eat Out As A Kid?

I rarely ate out as a kid. McDonald's was usually an award for helping with chores, etc, lol.

As soon as I was able, I OD'ed on fast food (especially in college)! Not good.

edit because I just have to

I was blessed to have a stay at home mom, so most meals were at home. I also think it was cheaper because even back then, taking 6 people out to eat was not cheap! Nowadays I eat out more with my husband and daughter mainly because I do not like to cook (I can cook, just don't like to). Also our schedules are so busy (we normally do not get home until 8 PM). I am trying to get into the habit of making multiple meals on the weekend for the weekdays. It will be healthier and cheaper in the long run.

There were a couple stretches of time when we were pretty poor and didn't get take out at all, but I think in general we probably ate fast food once a week. Eating at legit restaurants was only a special occasion thing. I remember my mom used to take me out for all you can eat shrimp on my birthday. I never really had or went to birthday parties.

I do know that every single penny I ever earned when I was a kid was used to purchase candy and soda.

One time I found a $10 bill on the ground and OMG the haul I brought back from the candy store was... spectacular!

ETA: Except for one summer when I was 11 and worked a "real job" and saved all my money to buy a bike. :P

I lived in Cyprus from the ages of 5-11. We ate out quite frequently but the portions weren't what they are in the UK and it was so so cheap in the late 80s early 90s (it isn't now). They were family run restaurants with quality food. Lots of meat, chips (fries), fish and salads.

The one thing we were though was very active (who wouldn't be with all that glorious weather?). Lots and lots of swimming, lots of extra curricular activities after school. No wonder I struggled with my weight when we moved back to the UK!

Reading this article:
http://news.yahoo.com/youll-gladly-die-children-why-wont-cook-them-155639748.html

got me to thinking. I was just wondering what your experiences were. Not judging tghem good or bad, just what were they? Is the writer of the article correct with the trends she says?

My experience as a child, age infant to 14 years. As a family we ate out once a week for Sunday lunch. It was always a kid friendly place, sometimes fast food, sometimes Friendlys or similar where we could have ice cream sundaes, or sometimes a pancake house.

Other than that all meals were at home. Breakfast was sometimes cereal, sometimes scrambled or poached eggs and toast, and on Saturday morning my Dad made pancakes. Lunch was a sandwich with pretzels or fruit or leftovers if it was a weekend. You had to bring your lunch to school and we ate in the gymnasium. We generally had sit down dinners, but not everyone was present all the time due to afternoon or evening activities, so food was kept warm on the stove until after everyone had eaten.

Birthday parties were held in people's houses or backyards or both and usually were just cake as far as food, but occasionally they involved hamburgers and/or hotdogs on the grill during warmer months and pizza during the winter ones.

What were your experiences?

The minute I read your post I knew you were my age (:huh: ) LOL. We lived in a little one red light town about 15 miles from the "big city". My mother would go to town once a week for groceries. If you wanted to ride with her you'd better have your butt in the car ready to go "because she did not wait for you". If she had money left over from groceries we might get lucky enough to have a cheese burger from Carols or Red Barn? Any of these sound familiar? LOL Well think of them as the "first fast food joint - "pre McDonald's" LOL.

Dinners at home were "the real thing" - no ordering a pizza or subs. If we wanted those we made them from scratch. Sunday dinner was a roast or baked chicken with mashed potatoes. If my mother bought pop it was the 2 lt. bottle but that was a treat - usually it was Kool-Aid. If we didn't buy our lunch at school and we "brown bagged it" (yes an actual brown paper lunch bag) most of the time it was PB & J with a piece of fruit and maybe a baggie of chips or pretzels and we bought white milk at school. On the weekends if we had popcorn it was made from kernels in the cast iron pan on the stove...shake, shake, shake. LOL And you'd better be shaking that pan - if you burned it then everyone sitting in the living room waiting for it would start yelling "Your burning it." Okay, now I'm really going to "date" myself. The first time I ever heard of chicken wings my thought was "who would pay for such a thing?". Of course once I had them that answered that question.

So after going down memory lane I remember reading something about the number of overweight people today compared to when I was a kid. Back then it was something like 1 in 10 or 1 in 25 and now it's what? 2 out of 3? There were about 80 people in my graduating class from high school and I can count on one hand the number of people in my grade that were overweight.....and still have fingers left over. :noway:

Favor = returned

As a kid, we never ate out except when travelling. Fast food was a rare treat which we got sometimes if we behaved on long car trips. Otherwise we ate at "real" restaurants.

FOr us it was maybe once or twice a year if that. My parents were about saving money. And my dad hated Mcdonalds!. It was very rare we ate out at all unless it was some family get together and my family never got a long to have many of those

I started eating out when I was about 16.

Since then I do it every chance I get.

late bloomer... I was probably 14.

That's because you hadn't met me yet greggie.

Almost never, which created a sort of a forbidden-fruit response as an adult once I had a few coins to spare!

As a kid I was rarely allowed soda's, or fast food - only on special occasions, like birthdays. But as soon as I got older and had money and a car and friends that could drive, I just went nuts on the stuff. Also, had a friend my brother and I'd go over to his house twice a week for homework and his mom made the most deliciously sinful food you'd ever tasted... I think that's where I gained a lot of weight, too.

But up until those two points, I didn't eat unhealthy at all! My mom and dad were health freaks, so to speak.

The minute I read your post I knew you were my age (:huh: ) LOL. We lived in a little one red light town about 15 miles from the "big city". My mother would go to town once a week for groceries. If you wanted to ride with her you'd better have your butt in the car ready to go "because she did not wait for you". If she had money left over from groceries we might get lucky enough to have a cheese burger from Carols or Red Barn? Any of these sound familiar? LOL Well think of them as the "first fast food joint - "pre McDonald's" LOL.

Dinners at home were "the real thing" - no ordering a pizza or subs. If we wanted those we made them from scratch. Sunday dinner was a roast or baked chicken with mashed potatoes. If my mother bought pop it was the 2 lt. bottle but that was a treat - usually it was Kool-Aid. If we didn't buy our lunch at school and we "brown bagged it" (yes an actual brown paper lunch bag) most of the time it was PB & J with a piece of fruit and maybe a baggie of chips or pretzels and we bought white milk at school. On the weekends if we had popcorn it was made from kernels in the cast iron pan on the stove...shake, shake, shake. LOL And you'd better be shaking that pan - if you burned it then everyone sitting in the living room waiting for it would start yelling "Your burning it." Okay, now I'm really going to "date" myself. The first time I ever heard of chicken wings my thought was "who would pay for such a thing?". Of course once I had them that answered that question.

So after going down memory lane I remember reading something about the number of overweight people today compared to when I was a kid. Back then it was something like 1 in 10 or 1 in 25 and now it's what? 2 out of 3? There were about 80 people in my graduating class from high school and I can count on one hand the number of people in my grade that were overweight.....and still have fingers left over. :noway:

LOL! I coud have written ALL of this myself. Ditto for me!

Hardly ever, money was tight growing up. So it usually was only for a special occassio - and it was usually to Pizza Hut. They had this promotion where if you got A's on your report card you got a free personal pizza. Who knows, maybe they still do it.

We did eat out very often, but our meals weren't healthy either. I lived off of microwave meals and ramen most days. My mom might cook once a week, and it would usually be baked chicken (overcooked!) with mashed potatoes and onion gravy or heaps of pasta in fattening white sauce (alfredo, not homemade) or fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and pork gravy. I think that was all my mom knew how to make. We never got into the habit of eating breakfast. Mom didn't so we usually didn't either. But if we did it was poptarts or Captain crunch. Lunch was school bought (Burritos most days!). Drinks was ALWAYS koolaid. Never plain water. When I was a teen we switched it up and added sweet tea to the mix (w/ 2 cups of sugar a gallon).

I starting getting fast food myself after I got a car. Now it's a habit that is hard to break.
I'm horrible at cooking and I hate doing it. AND I hate doing dishes. Lol. I'm broken and trying to work on it.