amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

mamabear · 12-31-2007, 07:51 PM

Just curious...

I count in this: going through a drive thru (for anything), eating a meal at a restaurant, eating a prepared sandwich or salad from a deli case at the supermarket, etc. Anything where you go buy the food and without any additional preparation, consume it as a meal.

I'll answer in a reply.

EverLovely · 12-31-2007, 07:55 PM

Rarely, maybe twice a month.

One of those times it's probably for convenience sake, and the other, a planned thing, but usually with a coupon or on a discount day.

It is hard for me to justify the cost for our household. There's so many other things I'd like to have or do than to have money be gone in an instant. I know others that place a value not having to prepare a meal, and I certainly don't negatively judge them.

Storm · 12-31-2007, 08:00 PM

it varies a lot here.
When I'm off maybe once every other week.
when I'm working two or three times a week.

(my schedule is work for a few weeks, have a couple of weeks off and then I have the summers off)

We like to eat out though, and honestly would eat out more if we had better food options here. the one thing I miss about orlando is the good abundant affordable restaurants and the ease of finding non meat choices. We are in podunk maine now which I love love love other than the lack of restaurants, lol

mamabear · 12-31-2007, 08:11 PM

Oh, Storm, I know what you mean, believe me!

We eat out about once a month if that. Probably average once every 6 weeks.

Now with Matt needing to be completely gluten-free, that is going to go down. In the past months our only restaurant meals have been when we go to our Lyme doc and have to eat something w/our meds before we drive home...

We pack a lot of meals if we know we'll be out around mealtime.

I want people who eat out often to feel okay about replying too...I just want to hear...I was thinking we were not in the norm and that most eat out more. But not judging.

TeriMomOf4 · 12-31-2007, 08:12 PM

A LOT.

I think I saw a statistic once that the Dallas area has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the country. We are frequently out at lunch time and tend to stop and eat.

(When we lived in VT, we hardly ever ate out because there were so few options and the kids were so little....it was a VERY rare occasion.)

heythereheather · 12-31-2007, 08:42 PM

Once a week and a very rare rotisserie chicken. But really just once a week. It's part of our family day together.

We mostly go to In'N'Out, Chipotle (my favorite), and La Salsa. So never more than $25 for our family.

Robin · 12-31-2007, 08:52 PM

Well I will be one of the more frequent ones, we eat out at least 1x a week and usually more (2-3x week).

I hate to cook and clean up. As in dispise it with a passion. It is funny because I am actually a pretty good cook but it is a stress point for me so I don't enjoy it and I avoid doing it at all costs. So because of that eating out is a real treat for us and especially for me.

We live 30 minutes from the nearest big town so it is almost impossible for me to schedule a trip to town without running into lunch or snack time. Therefore we usually just plan that to be part of our trip.

freedomlover · 12-31-2007, 09:21 PM

We get either Wendy's, Burger King or MacDonalds once every other week or so. We eat at a mexican or chinese restaurant every five or six months. I get indian food for myself about once a month.

I like to get Subway sandwiches for my birthday meal each year.

Uh........I think that's it?!

LatteLover · 12-31-2007, 09:42 PM

I am not even going to say, but it needs to come to an end for so many different reasons.

maryalene · 12-31-2007, 10:01 PM

We have a weekly family dinner out every Sunday. We take turns picking the restuarant, and it can be pricey depending on the location. It causes a bit of financial guilt because of the cost, but it provides an enjoyable family experience so we're keeping it for the time being.

I also go out for breakfast or lunch two or three times a week on workdays, but I'd like to cut that down.

mamabear · 12-31-2007, 11:38 PM

Oh, I wanted to say, we don't have many options here at *all* as far as places to eat. And in Florida the kids were small and Jake's autism (in retrospect) made it hard to get through a meal at all. I remember Matt's parents taking us out and us dreading it because we'd take turns walking Jake and trying to keep him calm. It was like torture.

On top of that, dh loves to cook and whips up meals better than most I've eaten in top-notch restaurants.

We mostly go out when it is dh and I alone without the kids, so that alone limits us severely.

AngelaJ · 12-31-2007, 11:51 PM

We get takeout (payday, LOL) 2x a month or so, hit the Mexican restaurant on birthdays, and I have a guilty habit of going to Sonic on Wednesdays while traveling for work. DH goes to BK occasionally when he forgets lunch(2x/mo). We always get a Rotisserie chicken when we go to Costco (1-2x/mo). So, I think that might average a couple of times a week or so....but only 2x a month for the whole family. It has been a little more this busy holiday season, and I want to get back to just the takeout and special occasion Dinners out.

I feel pretty good with this amount, though, because it is a relatively small part of the budget, and I need the occasional night off. Minus the fastfood. That always happens because of a lack of planning on my part, I never actually plan to go there, KWIM?

Gypsylily · 01-01-2008, 08:44 AM

That is a good question, Lauren!

Let's see - I would say pizza - maybe 1-2 x's per month. I make our own, too, but we still wind up getting comercial pizza.

Taco Bell - I would say Garrett eats it maybe 4 times per year. I, personally eat it 1-2 times per month. Ugh. That is bad. Shame on me.

Chinese food - maybe 2x's per year. Not very often, although that is the healthiest bet imo for a vegetarian. Not organic, though, which is also a concern to me....

Now, there is this restaurant an hour away (we are going to that town for several other reasons) that we hope to hit tommorow. This is REAL food - all vegetarian, mostly organic. That to me isn't too guilty health-wise.

There is a another restaurant in the same town that is also pretty healthy, although there organic ingredients are mostly seasonal, so right now, they don't have much. But, it's also a locally owned restaurant which serves whole food from scratch (mostly burritos of many types.)

Moneywise, of course, eating out is never too smart, though.

I would like to see the Taco Bell and pizza decrease for sure.

Honestly, I think it's about me missing cheese. I'd be better off to buy organic cheese and keep it at home (our kitchen is vegan.)

countrygal · 01-01-2008, 09:16 AM

It probably averages about once a week for us. Sometimes less. Dh eats lunch out every day.

Chickapea · 01-01-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin

Well I will be one of the more frequent ones, we eat out at least 1x a week and usually more (2-3x week).

I hate to cook and clean up. As in dispise it with a passion. It is funny because I am actually a pretty good cook but it is a stress point for me so I don't enjoy it and I avoid doing it at all costs. So because of that eating out is a real treat for us and especially for me.

Same thing here. I go on buying trips (for ebay) at least 1x a week and we are almost always gone for hours, including lunch time so I tell myself it's neccesary. HOWEVER, I'm going to start making bento boxes for the kids when I bring them along so that they can eat those and maybe bringing along a salad for myself. Won't work so well in the Summer unless I buy a cooler to keep cold things cold.