How often do you dine out? For lunch? For dinner?
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Those of you who don't eat out much, do you have families to feed? If so what are things you eat for dinner when you are super busy and don't have time to cook a big meal?? That is what I struggle with.
Family of 3. I prepare dinner daily.
Eggs
Pasta
Bean and cheese burrito
Tacos
Big salad
Fish
Sloppy joes
Bbq pork, beef or chicken sandwiches- leftover cooked shredded meat & bbq sauce heated through
Grilled cheese sandwich or quesadilla
Grilled food like burgers, chicken or vegetables
Pizza using tortilla or garlic bread for crust- bake about 10 minutes
Leftovers- make a big pot of soup once a week, reheats and freezes well
Packaged frozen foods- vegetables, veggie burgers, battered fish fillets
Use slow cooker. Dump stuff in and walk away for 8 hours.
It takes a few minutes to prep a chicken breast or potato and put it in the oven to bake. While it may take longer to cook I do not need to be in the kitchen while it is happening so I can do other things.
Prep some things in advance. Keep cooked meats in your freezer to quickly add to dishes. Use frozen vegetables.
Cook double and freeze the extra for a busy/sick day. Look up feed the freezer or OAMC (once a month cooking).1 -
WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »I have dinner in a restaurant no more than twice a week. It's just too caloric and stressful to try to eat reasonably in restaurants in order to manage weight. And I never "do lunch" at better restaurants. They are caloric nuclear bombs. I'll have a hot dog at BK or a hamburger at McD's, but no more than twice a week. A small percent of my clients insist that they must dine out a lot for one reason or another. The ones who do usually give up trying to eat responsibly pretty quickly and go back to gaining weight. They literally choose to gain weight rather than change. A few do OK dining out a lot, but it's rare. Most successful clients fix their own meals. What do you do?
You can eat out and still lose weight. Just have to make the right choices.
This past March, I did all my lunch and dinners eating out....
Posted about it here, if you wanna look.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10534218/fast-food-for-the-month2 -
Ideally I eat at home because it's cheaper (most of the time) and I like to add better quality fats to my food but I love having the option to choose something outside of the home when out and about or just plain lazy!1
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Those of you who don't eat out much, do you have families to feed? If so what are things you eat for dinner when you are super busy and don't have time to cook a big meal?? That is what I struggle with.
It's much faster to cook than to eat out, lol. Put some meat in a pan/on the grill, microwave some frozen veggies, that takes maybe 15 minutes total... vs going out and waiting for your food. No brainer. Even buying premade meatballs to have on pasta or whatever will still be cheaper than going out (except sometimes when kids eat free and you have a bunch of those, lol). I don't like meat in the crockpot unfortunately so it does limit my options.
For me though the issue often is that I'm picky and sick of the same meals after 4 years and too lazy to cook something fancier... so I want to go out (and regret it instantly when my kids start complaining about everything).2 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!0 -
WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!
No, you're mistaken. My original quote of 300 calories was for the Chicken Rice a Roni, since you hadn't specified which type. The Spanish one *is* a bit less, but is still a hefty 230 calories for a 1/3 cup, not 85 as you state.1 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!
No, you're mistaken. My original quote of 300 calories was for the Chicken Rice a Roni, since you hadn't specified which type. The Spanish one *is* a bit less, but is still a hefty 230 calories for a 1/3 cup, not 85 as you state.
I think you're just confused about dry vs cooked. 1/3 cup dry is 230 calories, so cooked it would indeed be close to 85 calories for 1/3 cup.
That being said, a serving of seasoned rice pretty much everywhere is going to be close to 300 calories as well.1 -
snickerscharlie wrote: »WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!
No, you're mistaken. My original quote of 300 calories was for the Chicken Rice a Roni, since you hadn't specified which type. The Spanish one *is* a bit less, but is still a hefty 230 calories for a 1/3 cup, not 85 as you state.
I think you're just confused about dry vs cooked. 1/3 cup dry is 230 calories, so cooked it would indeed be close to 85 calories for 1/3 cup.
That being said, a serving of seasoned rice pretty much everywhere is going to be close to 300 calories as well.
There's two sets of nutrition facts on the back of the label. One for "As Packaged" and another for "As Prepared." Both are based on the rice when dry. One reflects the calories for just the basic rice and seasoning mix. This is done for those who may not want to add the the butter or margarine or the can of tomatoes. The second includes the added butter or margarine, and, in the case of Spanish Rice, the canned tomatoes. As packaged, the caloric count is 190 for 56 grams. Prepared, it jumps to 230 for 56 grams, equivalent being 2.0 ounces or 1/3 of a cup.
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snickerscharlie wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!
No, you're mistaken. My original quote of 300 calories was for the Chicken Rice a Roni, since you hadn't specified which type. The Spanish one *is* a bit less, but is still a hefty 230 calories for a 1/3 cup, not 85 as you state.
I think you're just confused about dry vs cooked. 1/3 cup dry is 230 calories, so cooked it would indeed be close to 85 calories for 1/3 cup.
That being said, a serving of seasoned rice pretty much everywhere is going to be close to 300 calories as well.
There's two sets of nutrition facts on the back of the label. One for "As Packaged" and another for "As Prepared." Both are based on the rice when dry. One reflects the calories for just the basic rice and seasoning mix. The second includes the added butter or margarine, and, in the case of Spanish Rice, the canned tomatoes. As packaged, the caloric count is 190 for 56 grams. Prepared, it jumps to 230 for 56 grams, equivalent being 2.0 ounces or 1/3 of a cup.
Right, but what we're saying is that that "as prepared" information is for "take 2 oz (or 1/3 cup) and prepare it". It sounds like you're suggesting that the nutritional information is for a 1/3 cup serving of prepared rice not for a serving prepared from 1/3 cup of rice.1 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »
For the almost 300 calories that a scant 1/3 of a cup of Rice a Roni costs, eating out isn't such a bad option.
Actually 1/3 cup of prepared Spanish Rice a Roni is about 85 calories, not 300. Rice can be a great deal!
No, you're mistaken. My original quote of 300 calories was for the Chicken Rice a Roni, since you hadn't specified which type. The Spanish one *is* a bit less, but is still a hefty 230 calories for a 1/3 cup, not 85 as you state.
I think you're just confused about dry vs cooked. 1/3 cup dry is 230 calories, so cooked it would indeed be close to 85 calories for 1/3 cup.
That being said, a serving of seasoned rice pretty much everywhere is going to be close to 300 calories as well.
There's two sets of nutrition facts on the back of the label. One for "As Packaged" and another for "As Prepared." Both are based on the rice when dry. One reflects the calories for just the basic rice and seasoning mix. The second includes the added butter or margarine, and, in the case of Spanish Rice, the canned tomatoes. As packaged, the caloric count is 190 for 56 grams. Prepared, it jumps to 230 for 56 grams, equivalent being 2.0 ounces or 1/3 of a cup.
Right, but what we're saying is that that "as prepared" information is for "take 2 oz (or 1/3 cup) and prepare it". It sounds like you're suggesting that the nutritional information is for a 1/3 cup serving of prepared rice not for a serving prepared from 1/3 cup of rice.
No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm actually saying the same thing you are.
That one serving, which sprang from 1/3 of a cup of the dry ingredients will be 230 grams when prepared. The rice/pasta will usually double its volume, which occurs from the rice/pasta absorbing water and expanding while cooking.
If you only ate 1/3 of a cup of the finished product instead of one serving, yes, the calories would decline. But 1/3 of cooked rice is about three level tablespoons - nowhere near the portion size - and certainly not a satisfying amount.
My point is - and was - that for the calories in a serving of Rice a Roni, I could eat out at a restaurant *and* do better calorically than stay home and eat that. Rice a Roni is pretty much a caloric bomb. The very same thing the OP was criticizing restaurants meals for.
Bottom line? People need to educate themselves so they can make better choices. And better choices are everywhere to be found. At home *and* when eating out.2 -
Easy.
WAY. TOO. OFTEN.
Problem is all the wonderful varieties of ethnic cuisines in my city. And my inability to say no to them. I am weak.
Worst part is I love to cook.
I swear I would lose 10 pounds if I stopped eating out and another 10 if I stopped drinking wine. Although the latter ain't happening.2 -
There's way too much confusion about the calories in rice here. Let's clear it up. Rice is usually 100 to 150 calories per 1/2 cup serving the way you eat it. It's a great deal! Here are the facts:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/rice-a-roni-spanish-rice-as-prepared-112735639
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/vigo-saffron-yellow-rice-authentic-spanish-recipe-199076622
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/rice-a-roni-chicken-fried-rice-26420357
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snickerscharlie wrote: »No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm actually saying the same thing you are.
That one serving, which sprang from 1/3 of a cup of the dry ingredients will be 230 grams when prepared. The rice/pasta will usually double its volume, which occurs from the rice/pasta absorbing water and expanding while cooking.
Okay. Cool. So, the confusion was coming from the fact that you were describing the 1/3 cup-turned-into-a-prepared-serving as tiny. I haven't eaten Rice a Roni in a very long time, but I regularly eat basmati rice and I don't find the serving produced by cooking 1/3 cup to be tiny at all. Admittedly, I'm sure it did when I first started weighing it out.
(The way we cook it, it triples in volume, and I don't squish it so it spreads out nicely across the plate. I've learned to use smaller plates so that 200 calories of rice actually looks like a decent portion.)1 -
When I feel too lazy to cook (which has been too often lately).
Unfortunately going out for dinner always puts me over, because I rarely have over 500 calories left for it. I get hungry earlier in the day so a big lunch out typically works better. It's extremely hard to eat out for under 500 calories too unfortunately (I don't like chains, typically not worth the calories to me).
And yeah... $14 for grilled meat, veggies, and potatoes, vs $8 for a 1000 calorie burger and fries. Sigh.
Can you go with someone else and cut the 1000 calorie burger and fries in half? That's what my parents do nowadays.
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When I feel too lazy to cook (which has been too often lately).
Unfortunately going out for dinner always puts me over, because I rarely have over 500 calories left for it. I get hungry earlier in the day so a big lunch out typically works better. It's extremely hard to eat out for under 500 calories too unfortunately (I don't like chains, typically not worth the calories to me).
And yeah... $14 for grilled meat, veggies, and potatoes, vs $8 for a 1000 calorie burger and fries. Sigh.
Can you go with someone else and cut the 1000 calorie burger and fries in half? That's what my parents do nowadays.
Yeah but then I get hungry, lol. Honestly though I very rarely eat a burger, I typically go for the lower calorie stuff but even then, it typically ends up 1000+ calories a meal!0 -
Lunch, maybe once a pay period. Dinner.......once or twice a month. Not very often at all. I like to cook. For the most part it is cheaper than eating out. My husband and I both work full time, our schedules are different and we have side jobs so time to go out is a factor too.1
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WilliamAndersonLMHC wrote: »I have dinner in a restaurant no more than twice a week. It's just too caloric and stressful to try to eat reasonably in restaurants in order to manage weight. And I never "do lunch" at better restaurants. They are caloric nuclear bombs. I'll have a hot dog at BK or a hamburger at McD's, but no more than twice a week. A small percent of my clients insist that they must dine out a lot for one reason or another. The ones who do usually give up trying to eat responsibly pretty quickly and go back to gaining weight. They literally choose to gain weight rather than change. A few do OK dining out a lot, but it's rare. Most successful clients fix their own meals. What do you do?
Personally, I never eat out for lunch. For breakfast, we'll do brunch like twice a month and for dinner, we eat out like once a week on average. If my S.O. decides to bring dinner home (usually Chipotle, subs or something along those lines) I usually opt for making my own food. I just enjoy knowing exactly what goes into my food and being able to track it 100% accurately vs. estimating and guessing at a restaurant. When we do go out (for example, tomorrow we're doing dinner with our neighbors) I'll ideally look up the restaurant beforehand, pre-log everything and stick to that. Tomorrow, I'm not sure of the restaurant we're going to but I'll stick to grilled meat and steamed veggies. That's my go to. I will most likely skip alcohol, bread and dessert.
I think it would be hard to eat out for all meals, or even more than a few times per week, unless you were eating only at restaurants that had calorie and nutrition information available online. Even then, how accurate is that!? Would be difficult to stay on track that way1 -
Today I'm going out to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant with some coworkers. Can't wait, I've been there before and the food is great. Huge portions, so I will likely take half or even two-thirds of it home as leftovers.3
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Two or three times a month. Usually it's dinner, and usually it's a "bag o' death" burgers and fries from our local really awesome burger joint that does gluten-free.
Sometimes I do lunch out with a friend, but it's the salad bar. Because it costs so damn much, I usually go easy on the stuff that defeats eating well at the salad bar like dressing and cheese and high fat stuff. I do indulge in a little sprinkling of bacon.1 -
I try not to because I will inevitably wreck my calories even when I try to make good caloric choices.1
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Reducing my restaurant patronage has been the main cause of my weight loss. I was eating out about a dozen times a week, now I try to keep it under two times a week.
Saving a lot of money, too.3 -
Sometimes I eat out twice a DAY. Mostly Subway, though. Or Grilled Chicken from McDonalds, Chicken Fajita Pita from JITB, stuff like that. When I do eat at home it's usually something I don't have to make, like a protein shake/bar and a greek yogurt. I gained all my weight from drinking so sit-down restaurants are hard for me because I want to drink and the drinks I like have too many calories.1
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Those of you who don't eat out much, do you have families to feed? If so what are things you eat for dinner when you are super busy and don't have time to cook a big meal?? That is what I struggle with.
We don't do anything elaborate on weekdays generally...in the winter we do a lot of soups and stews...this time of year we usually grill some kind of protein or another, veg side, and a starch/grain.
Often my kids eat earlier because they get home from school and whatnot around 4 and they're usually hungry by 5 and I typically don't get home until after 6 and sometimes 7 so my wife just feeds them. I do much of the cooking and I can have dinner ready in pretty much 15-20 minutes or so. Family meal nights are pretty much the same...it doesn't take me any longer to grill an extra couple pieces of chicken.
I think cooking at home is actually faster than going out (unless you're just talking about going through the drive through)...and it's much more relaxing for everyone to be at home doing their thing.2 -
Too often.1
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about once a week. We're new to the town we live in, so we may start eating out a couple times a week to try all the new restaurants we're around.1
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I am surprised at all the comments that eating out is more expensive. For me, the cost of eating out often matches the cost of making a meal. However, when I eat out I go to cheaper places and don't buy drinks. I live in a small apartment and don't have space to stock up on items like I used to. I used to buy carrots 20 lbs. at a time and keep bins of dried beans- I miss those days of cheap eating.
Anyway, I eat out, on average, once a week. I'll treat myself to coffee or lunch at work because I work in a place where diverse dining options exist for the first time in my life, and it is a real treat to try them out! Occasionally I'll eat out with friends or the bf for fun. The only time it's a problem is on road trips- he LOVES fast food and LOVES getting fast food on road trips. I've eaten more burgers in the few years I've been with him than I have the whole rest of my life and then some. Fast food was only considered an emergency before I met him, so I am still working on how to best honor our different preferences when we travel.1 -
Lunch - rarely but go out every Friday for dinner. My day of not having to cook (even though I do enjoy cooking). Also pretty much the only time now I drink alcohol. Still have to have either that martini or glass of wine or both.....
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Those of you who don't eat out much, do you have families to feed? If so what are things you eat for dinner when you are super busy and don't have time to cook a big meal?? That is what I struggle with.
- Swing by the grocery store on the way home. Grab a roast chicken, a tray of microwavable macaroni and cheese and a head of broccoli. Mac and cheese gets microwaved according to instructions (and is mostly for husband and kids; I get a small serving). Broccoli gets chopped and put in a glass bowl with a dash of water. Microwave for 3-4 minutes while the mac and cheese is cooling. Dinner in less than 10 minutes. If you don't like broccoli, pick a different green vegetable. A dash of soy sauce on the broccoli goes a long way to help picky eaters.
- Boil water. Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, pour a jar of prepared pasta sauce in a bowl and heat in microwave. Chop a head of lettuce. (We get the three packs of baby Romaine.) Add dressing and bacon bits to the lettuce and toss. (I use the Bolthouse Farms yogurt-based dressing, Caesar flavour.) Remove your portion then toss in croutons for everyone who's not watching their weight.
- Back bacon is low in calories and very tasty. Dry fry either back bacon or ham. Cook eggs. (We like over easy, but it doesn't matter how you cook them.) Make toast. Breakfast for dinner is yummy.
- In a large cast iron pan (or other oven-safe frying pan), saute some ham or salami or bacon. Add veggies (I like onions, sun dried tomatoes and capers as a base. You can add greens or peppers or broccoli or whatever you like.) In a bowl, whisk 6 eggs (if feeding 2 adults + 2 toddlers; use more eggs if you're feeding older kids). Pour over the veggies and meat. Stir briefly. Grate a little cheese on top. Bake at about 425 F for about 5 minutes. Instant frittata! Serve with salad or veggies (cooked from frozen in the microwave, if you like) or kale chips*. Yum!
- Kielbassa or ham sausage can be dry fried quickly and served with baked beans (from can; heated in saucepan or in microwave) and a vegetable.
- Dr Oetker makes thin crust pizzas that are relatively low in calories and cook in about 10 minutes. Serve with salad (as described in my pasta entry) or kale chips* or edamame or other vegetable.
None of those things take longer to cook than 10-15 minutes. Just make sure you keep frozen veggies on hand. Eggs can be a life saver when you have no time to cook. To dry fry, just put your sausage/ham/salami directly into a nonstick or cast iron pan with no oil.
*Kale chips: tear leaves off kale and dump in bowl. Drizzle on about 20 g olive oil per bunch of kale. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Spread on foil-lined baking sheet so that they're totally spread out. Bake at anywhere from 375 to 400 F for about 10 minutes. They should be crispy but not black. My kids *love* them, and they're superhealthy as long as you're not worried about sodium intake. We line the baking sheets with foil once and reuse the foil for as long as we can get away with (i.e. until it tears too much). Keep the foil-lined baking sheets in the oven and half the work is already done for you.
Frankly, I found the "it's easier to eat out" issue to be a bigger problem when I was single. Taking the kids out to eat is more work than feeding them at home. And we always keep yogurt in the fridge and fruit in the fruit bowl for days when one or both is being unreasonably picky.3 -
I am surprised at all the comments that eating out is more expensive. For me, the cost of eating out often matches the cost of making a meal. However, when I eat out I go to cheaper places and don't buy drinks. I live in a small apartment and don't have space to stock up on items like I used to. I used to buy carrots 20 lbs. at a time and keep bins of dried beans- I miss those days of cheap eating.
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If you're cooking for more than one, AND you don't price out your cooking based on having to buy every thing for the meal, it's very difficult to eat out for less than an equivalent meal costs.
I can do really good burritos for my family of four, with local organic meat, black beans, sour cream, and fresh guac for under $15. We can't get out of Taco Bell for less than that these days, and if you compare it to similar quality in restaurants you're looking at $30+3
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