(Since Brie is either sleeping or at the hospital, I pulled the next question)


Will I cook at home?

well- that is the only thing I do. it is very easy now that I do it all the time. for example..tonight I had leftover ckn. i keep frozen corn tortillas in the freezer. I thawed a few out, sprayed w/ evoo and salt and then put in 425 oven flipping ever couple of min. Sauteed a bit of onion. tossed in ckn and a can of beans. open salsa...eat. and it was gluten free. On Sunday I made a roast- then Monday we had leftover tossed w/ some tomatoes and avocado (cold.) I really can't eat out- no choice because of allergies...and once i was 'forced' to do it- it became much easier. Like eating well- I know some folks write down the day before what they will eat- so I have gotten in the general menu habit. I HATE the cleaning- which is why i told DS to go watch a dvd while DH went to church and I'm on the 'puter instead of cleaning. I am SO not perfect here...but it is like anything else..a habit. I wish I could transfer this to my day-to-day eating because I have not weighed myself in a few weeks.... don't wanna...waaaaa!!!!

I have to admit that the answer to the question for me is "All the time?, or even most of the time? Then the answer would be different.
My answer is not all the time. I hate my kitchen I hate the fact that cooking for two is a emotional thing, and that I am not a cook, I am a baker. But do I cook at home, am I willing to cook healthy at home, very much so yes. But it's never going to be an all the time or even most of the time for me. I've learned to pick healthy, ask for healthy, almost demand healthy from any place we eat, so generally it's not a problem for me.

I cook at home most of the time and do believe that it's necessary for on going "success".

"Cooking" though can be defined like Denise - boiling some water, throwing in some pasta and some chopped veggies - done, meal at home ; )

We usually eat one to two dinners out per month and I usually eat one lunch out per month. I pick one dinner out that I want to splurge on and the rest of the time, I eat at locally owned restaurants that will make me what I want, how I want it and come pretty close to the calories I would be eating at home.

We've been going to more ball games this year but there is a subway there so I always get a 6 in veggie, no cheese, no condiments so that's pretty calorie contained. I've found that being able to find healthy alternatives when eating out to be very helpful because sometimes I just want to be waited on and not have to cook and clean up.

Since my body loves to maintain high levels of salt induced water retention, I try to eat out as little as possible. At worst, I'll eat a salami sandwich from home, which is still better than I'd manage eating out anywhere.

I think I end up eating out once per week on average. This weekend will not be pleasant as I'm heading out to Amish country for our church's women's retreat and there are all kinds of good restaurants down where I'm headed. I will not be pleased with the scale on Sunday (and maybe Monday) but I'm not stressing out about it thanks to the Beck book.

But I prefer to eat homecooked food, for the same reason as someone else mentioned. I can usually make it better. Plus, I have so many homemade frozen dinners in the fridge that I honestly don't have any excuse to eat out because I'm too tired to cook.

Will I cook at home?

I thought I would get off easy today and be able to pop in and say, “yes” and be out of here. But not so!

I guess part one of the question, might be, “Do I believe that I need to cook at home in order to lose weight?” I’m a definite YES… to this question.

quote:

Originally posted by Nbox:
I enjoy cooking most of the time, but it's the repetitiveness and the time spent shopping and prepping that get me sometimes. I want to come home to a homemade, healthy meal cooked by someone else. In short, I need a wife

Or a dinner co-op.

Realistically, I cook on Monday night… and then 3 other “wives” cook for us on Tues, Wed, Thurs. The Thurs person and I probably cook at about the same level of low fat/healthy. The Wed and Tues person send items that are more calorific and have more fat… but I adjust. If Thurs or I made the enchiladas… I’d probably have two… If enchiladas come on Tues or Wed… I might have 1 or even a ½… depending on my goal for the week and where the scale is.

Last week, I don’t think that I ate out at all… I know that we didn’t go out for dinner. Nope, I don’t think I ate one meal out last week.

This week, Nelson brought me lunch yesterday… and a friend is playing at a restaurant in town, so I want to go out to eat on Friday.

Also… it depends how you define “cooking”. On a Sunday night, plopping some pasta in boiling water and opening a jar of sauce qualifies as “cooking”.

I’ve been on a chicken breast or Boca sandwich kick for lunch… “cooking” a Boca… is cooking, to me. Although, I wouldn’t send Bocas for dinner to dinner co-op. But for my lunch or Sunday dinner… it is fine.

i love cooking at home. when i eat out, i am often disappointed, thinking "i could make this better."

my brother is a chef. i love the food channel. i get Cooking Light magazine. i could cook for hours and be perfectly happy. it is also healthier, better for the budget and it tastes better.

I go in spurts of cooking a lot to not cooking much at all. Right now, I'm cooking and taking things from home for lunches, most weeks, all 5 work days. This is a HUGE turn around from never taking lunch (or VERY rarely).

Right now I would say I've gone from eating out 5-8 days a week to maybe 2. (Once during the week for dinner and maybe one weekend dinner.)

This is easy to do working part-time, I just have to make sure I stick with it when I go back to my full-time schedule.

Dawn

Pre July 1, 2003, I ate out in a restaurant or fast food establishment AT LEAST 5 X week and probably more likely 7-8 X week. Obviously, I was not doing much home cooking in those days! LOL

Post July 1, 2003, I eat out in a restaurant once a week most weeks. I have an egg & cheese wrap at my worksite's deli once a week. Some weeks, I also have one fast food meal. Otherwise, all meals are prepared at home.

Since I have kids who aren't old enough to cook for themselves, and since they don't enjoy eating out all that often and we can't/won't afford it anyway... there's no choice.

I enjoy cooking most of the time, but it's the repetitiveness and the time spent shopping and prepping that get me sometimes. I want to come home to a homemade, healthy meal cooked by someone else. In short, I need a wife

But in answer to the question: Yes, I will cook at home, and will continue to do so for quite some time. (Now if I could only come up with something for tonight...)

Not a problem, Brie, consider them covered for as long as you need!


Will I cook at home?

Initially, "most of the time" was dinner 4 nights a week, and lunch 5 days (Lunch that I made and took to work).

That moved to dinner 4 nights a week, lunch 5 days, and breakfast 3 days a week.

It's changed over the years, and is now breakfast 7 days a week, lunch 6-7 days a week, and dinner 6 nights a week. I eat better when I cook at home. I can control the fat, sodium, and serving sizes better. I know where the food comes from (generally), and when it was purchased.

I also know that while it's easy to order a salad with ranch dressing, it's much harder to MAKE ranch dressing, so if I eat at home, I'll have a low-fat, low-cal dressing that's in the fridge or an olive oil/vinegar dressing made up on the spot. Both are healthier than restaurant ranch.

I am willing to cook at home. Like a lot of other things, I've educated myself on techniques, found what works, and while I stretch myself at times, I can usually tell if we won't like it or if it's something so complicated I'll never make it again.

At any given moment, there's probably 10 things I can make for dinner from the pantry, freezer, and fridge. Some things got made once a week until I KNEW the recipe inside and out...then they got added to the rotation. We've been in the house for 5 years, and there's probably 30 things that rotate. I like variety, so that's good for me; he likes to eat, so it's good for him.

I've found there aren't many women my age who know how to cook like this any more, and it makes me a little sad. When my parents visit, we cook together. When nephews visit, they'll pick out a cookie, cupcake, or cake recipe and we'll bake (and decorate!). When friends eat with us, they sit in the kitchen while I cook.

Yes, I will cook at home, and I'll be proud of that. It's more economical, healthier, and a great life skill to have.

Thanks for posting Diana. I got up early to run as I knew I wouldn't have time later. I'm out the door to get dd to school and then straight to the hospital. I don't expect to be back on line at all today and possibly not tomorrow.