Eating out habit

[Jaydoesitgood]

I have a terrible terrible habit of eating out. I live in an area where I have a couple of hot spots that have vegan food readily available and when Im stressed I eat out WAY too much.
The thing is I LIKE to cook. I have tons of recipes I like, but I just get LAZY. Its not healthy for me an its bad for my budget but its so easy.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to discipline yourself into cooking more?

 

[Lou]

I CAN cook. but I really don't like to. And it's maybe not "easy" but more than "possible" for me to eat out here. If I really don't feel like cooking - I will eat out. And sometimes I just eat out sort of as a celebration or special occasion.

But I agree with " Its not healthy for me and its bad for my budget".

I don't do this on purpose - it's not like a strategy. But the thing that keeps me from eating out is that I remember I have food in the frig that will go bad if I don't eat it.

When I go shopping, I don't buy a ton of stuff. but I make a meal plan and shopping list so that I don't waste food. Which is not only bad for the budget but bad for the environment too. So I made a plan to eat tofu, broccoli and mushrooms stir fry on Tuesday. I probably won't stop and pick up Chinese takeout on Tuesday (which would probably just be a veggie stir fry). I don't want to throw out the broccoli. Or the tofu. If I buy enough fixings to make salads for 3 lunches, I'm less likely to stop and buy a salad - I need to get thru the stuff I purchased first.

The other thing is that I almost always have "emergency meals" in my freezer. I'll alternate between making a big batch of chilli or a big batch of burritos. So that is usually in the freezer. When I make soup I make extra and freeze some. Same thing with pasta sauce. I also like to mass produce PB&Js and freeze them. So when I'm too tired to cook - there is always something in the freezer.

 

[Jaydoesitgood]

I CAN cook. but I really don't like to. And it's maybe not "easy" but more than "possible" for me to eat out here. If I really don't feel like cooking - I will eat out. And sometimes I just eat out sort of as a celebration or special occasion.

But I agree with " Its not healthy for me and its bad for my budget".

I don't do this on purpose - it's not like a strategy. But the thing that keeps me from eating out is that I remember I have food in the frig that will go bad if I don't eat it.

When I go shopping, I don't buy a ton of stuff. but I make a meal plan and shopping list so that I don't waste food. Which is not only bad for the budget but bad for the environment too. So I made a plan to eat tofu, broccoli and mushrooms stir fry on Tuesday. I probably won't stop and pick up Chinese takeout on Tuesday (which would probably just be a veggie stir fry). I don't want to throw out the broccoli. Or the tofu. If I buy enough fixings to make salads for 3 lunches, I'm less likely to stop and buy a salad - I need to get thru the stuff I purchased first.

The other thing is that I almost always have "emergency meals" in my freezer. I'll alternate between making a big batch of chilli or a big batch of burritos. So that is usually in the freezer. When I make soup I make extra and freeze some. Same thing with pasta sauce. I also like to mass produce PB&Js and freeze them. So when I'm too tired to cook - there is always something in the freezer.

Pb&j can actually be a "problem food" for me. Like if I have bread in the house thats all I eat >.>
Freezing soup sounds like a good idea though

 

[Forest Nymph]

Going to college and having to live on a budget was a great deterrent for me!

Barring that, keeping food that you actually like in your house is one of the best ways to avoid going out too much. If you technically can afford to go out you're not going to look at something you find unappetizing and say "oh gee let me eat that" unless you're determined to save money or eat a certain way for other personal reasons.

Since you like to cook and have tons of recipes, do meal prep/planning. Focus on one day a week that you have time and energy to cook. Then, make soups, casseroles, etc and refrigerate them. You can make seitan steaks and eat them with vegan gravy for dinner with veggies, or have them on a hot sandwich with pickles and Vegenaise or some mustard and ketchup. I do make bigger batches of stuff and freeze the left overs when I get sick of eating it, lentils with spices and stuff freeze and thaw really well.

You could also just keep some convenience foods around if you can afford that on a regular basis (I'm guessing you can, since you eat out a lot). Get the Tofurky or Field Roast sandwich slices and sandwich fixings. Buy a box of Boca burgers. Get the Gardein fishless filets and crispy tenders and have them with canned vegetables and instant potatoes, or a salad. You can make a baked potato in a microwave in 5-7 minutes depending on your microwave. Get Sweet Earth frozen burritos or other frozen vegan instant meals.

 

[mavrick45]

I'm in the same boat

I didnt even do my weekly meal prep yesterday

 

[ninjanurse]

Living in a cultural town, we have loads of cafes and restaurants to choose from when it comes to finding something that will fit in with our budget. We have a lot of cafes and restaurants that are vegan-friendly but have a small selection on their menu, however, I have found a small handful of places that are entirely vegan so maybe hubby and I will hit up those places on our next dinner outing.

 

[shyvas]

I have a terrible terrible habit of eating out. I live in an area where I have a couple of hot spots that have vegan food readily available and when Im stressed I eat out WAY too much.
The thing is I LIKE to cook. I have tons of recipes I like, but I just get LAZY. Its not healthy for me an its bad for my budget but its so easy.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to discipline yourself into cooking more?

Saving money is a major motivation for most of us. Keep a track of all your restaurant/takes outs for a couple of weeks. For the following two weeks eat only at home and make economical batch cooked/inexpensive meals. Work out the savings per week and then by year.

You will be surprised by the amount of money you are spending or by the amount you could be saving.

That should trigger enough motivation to make you continue to be savvy.

 

[ninjanurse]

I found a great little vegan joint that serves vegetarian AND vegan. They also serve the "Beyond Burger". Took hubby there and we loved the place