Several years ago, I had a friend who bought ONLY organic food at the local natural grocer and the food co-op. He never set foot in a supermarket. NEVER. He said only organic food would cross the lips of his kids and himself.
Then one day, he said he’d taken the family out to eat the night before. He also mentioned he did this frequently.
I said, ‘Then you are willing to eat non-organic food.’
A quizzical look came across his face.
‘That food is not organic?’ he asked. How naive, I thought!
‘No! And chances are it’s not local, either.’ Obviously, this was long before consciousness was raised about local and organic food being served in restaurants.
Eating at home is eco-friendly.
> When you eat at home, you know what you are getting. You bought it, you prepared it, and you can be sure it’s exactly what you want – calories, fat, dairy or not, meat or not, organic or not, and it’s fresh. There are no hidden ingredients, like allergens or MSG.
> Eating at home is also more economical. My daughter and I had a good laugh the other day about how it costs a few cents to make a burrito at home, but at the taco shack, it’s $5. I had a veggie sandwich recently, and it was $8 – bread and vegetables with a small handful of chips. I could have made it for less than $1. If you want to be frugal, eat out as a big splurge.
> If you are traveling, eating out is a must. You can ease that pain by buying groceries to keep in your room. And I don’t mean frozen entrees to nuke, unless you can find organic frozen food. Thankfully, there are lots of options now for organic convenience foods, so look for them. I stock up on good snacks before I leave home, but I drive when I travel, not fly. There is plenty of room for food. Look for organic food stores when you are traveling. Most supermarkets now have an organic section.
> If you eat out to be social, invite friends over. Make it a potluck for economical reasons, but also for variety. We all get tired of our own cooking. You can swap recipes, too.
> That said, buy yourself a new cookbook or google for fresh, new recipes. A 12 year old friend of mine found a site where you can plug in the ingredients you have on hand, and it will give you relevant recipes. You can have something new every night!
> Once you start to eat at home more, you may be inclined to start growing some of the foods you use most. Now you’ll REALLY know what you are eating!
Eating at home is a little extra thought and work, but you will feel so much better when you make that effort. Save eating out as a treat, and you will appreciate the decadence that much more. A little decadence now and then is eco-friendly, too….
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Good advice! I think it’s easy to forget that the cost of eating out is not just the money, but also your own health and that of the planet. And there’s something so satisfying about cooking your own meals from simple, wholesome ingredients. I figure that the time I spend cooking is an investment in my future health. It’s too bad that having (or taking?) that time is often considered a luxury in our society.
Eating out definitely has its hidden costs. My daughter worked at Applebee’s when she was in high school. When they were training, she brought home some food they had to cook and serve. It tasted really good, but after she’d been there a while, she saw how they cooked everything and got grossed out. lol She’s real careful about where she eats now, and she cooks really well at home, too.
Wow this is a great resource… I’m enjoying it… good article
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