Cooking or Eating out?

[dojo]

Our main concern is not really the money (we do spend quite a lot on groceries, since we sometimes like 'fancy' stuff), but with the quality of the food we'd be able to buy from the stores. Most of it is crappy, filled with MSG, sugar and all kinds of preservatives, while our home made meals are carefully cooked, using only fresh ingredients, olive oil, not too much salt, only quality condiments etc.

I think this is the easiest way to find motivation: if you're cooking your meals from scratch (from good ingredients) you get less 'crap' into your body, lose weight (or at least don't gain it) and you should be better overall when it comes to health.

[bzbee]

Even if we could afford eating out, it doesn't mean we have to foolishly overspend. I cook most food from scratch. The pizza dough is a good example. It only costs me like 20 cents and takes 2 minutes to throw all the ingredients into my bread maker. It would cost me at least $2 to purchase the frozen dough kind, or maybe $1 if I have a coupon for it and it's on sale at the same time. Plus, I get to choose what toppings I want on it. The pepperoni, chicken, mushrooms and cheese all at the same time, green peppers and onion for DH, more pepperoni for the kids, a thinner crust for me. You get exactly what you want instead having to put up with what is already there.

[cschin4]

Homemade is not necessarily cheaper than eating out. I think that is a common notion but not always true. And, buying premade is not necessarily more expensive than making something from scratch. If you really want to know try pricing out the TRUE cost of at home cooking. Oftentimes it is CHEAPER to pick something up to go or to get premade. They are making food in bulk and have lower costs of ingredients. And, for you to buy all the ingredients to make a restaurant dish, it may indeed be cheaper to just get a meal to go.
If you are making homemade, will you then really use up all of the ingredients you had to purchase to make whatever it is you are making? If not, your homemade costs may actually be more.
The approach I take is to buy what you need and will use. If you make a lot of homemade goods, then making it at home makes sense. If not, then buying it out may make more sense.
Either way, you have to eat, so don't beat yourself up.

[disneysteve]

I was just thinking of this thread. Wegman's, a local chain (well actually a Rochester-based chain) puts out a quarterly magazine with recipes. However, all of their recipes involve convenience foods sold at their stores. There isn't a single "from scratch" recipe in the whole publication. I always page through it and realize there isn't a single recipe in the book that I would follow as printed because I would never go buy all of the ready made ingredients they are using (flavored finishing butters, seasoned oils, preseasoned meats, etc.). It definitely goes in that "semi-homemade" category.

[disneysteve]

If you are making homemade, will you then really use up all of the ingredients you had to purchase to make whatever it is you are making?

This is a valid point. If you need to buy a jar of saffron just to make saffron rice one time, you're wasting your money. But in the vast majority of cases, this isn't true. Yes the stores and restaurants buy in bulk but they also mark up the cost by a few hundred percent. They will charge $15 for a dish of pasta when you can buy a pound of pasta for 89 cents and make your own sauce for a couple of dollars. They'll charge $25 for a chicken entree that you can duplicate at home for 4 people for less than that.

The times when it is cheaper to eat out are pretty rare and it's really only true if you don't regularly cook at home. If you do your own cooking routinely, the ingredients won't go to waste.

[rennigade]

They are making food in bulk and have lower costs of ingredients. And, for you to buy all the ingredients to make a restaurant dish, it may indeed be cheaper to just get a meal to go.

I couldnt disagree with this more...well yes you are correct that they are buying in bulk and can get cheaper prices than going to a grocery store...problem is you're still only buying one dish/meal from "them" at X price.

For example...if I go to mortons and get a filet mignon with mashed potatoes...its probably going to cost around $50 or up. I can go to costco and buy 4 filets for around $40. So I get 4 meals for the price of 1.

Lets say I go to an Italian restaurant. I order lasagna. Theres a lot of ingredients in that dish alone. I can probably get a nice slice of lasagna for $10-$15ish. How much do you think an entire 9x13 baking dish of lasagna would cost to make? Even making the dough...eggs, flour, meat, sausage, tomato sauce, cheese, spices. Lets say it'll cost $35 for all of the ingredients, plus $3 for utilities it will cost you (which is probably really high.) How many servings of lasagna do you now get from that $38? A whole lot! Plus you have all of your leftover spices, eggs, flour, etc. Literally 3 dishes of lasagna at the restaurant = 10ish dishes homemade from your kitchen.

Restaurants do get low prices on goods...but even if they pass it to the consumer, its still a lot more than what people can cook themselves. Unless you're talking about high end uncommon things like expensive truffles. That may be the only scenario that makes sense to buy at a restaurant.

All this being said...its still fun to go out to eat. Especially to places that have dishes that are really really good.

[Caoineag]

I buy convenience ingredients but rarely convenience meals(no shredded cheese but canned beans, canned tomatoes, frozen veggies, pasta sauce, dry pasta, etc). That said, we do eat out often. I try to make our home cooking as chemical free as possible to help compensate for anything we get eating out. If it was just laziness that drove us to eat out, we would do veggie trays more often instead since they are really quick but we do like to eat a huge variety of ethnic food that we have yet to master at home (still working on it). Honestly, we can cook just as quickly at home as they can in the restaurants but we still like grabbing carry out or eating out.

[Nika]

When I cook at home, I use mostly fresh ingredients - vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, nuts (I always roast nuts myself, the difference in taste is huge).

If I am going to eat unhealthy, than I better get the best possible version of that and will go to a great pizza restaurant. I won't waste my occasional nutritionally poor meal on mediocre pizza.

[BuckyBadger]

For example...if I go to mortons and get a filet mignon with mashed potatoes...its probably going to cost around $50 or up. I can go to costco and buy 4 filets for around $40. So I get 4 meals for the price of 1.

I love Costco. I really do! But I've eaten at Mortons. And I've eaten Costo steak.

They are NOT the same.

I don't know where the really nice steak places get their cuts of meat, but they are certainly nothing I can buy at Costco.

(Sorry Costco! I still love you!)

As far as everything else - if you're an excellent cook I agree that you can make things better than you could get in a restaurant. But if you're not, you really can't. When my brother the chef is in town we NEVER go out. He cooks every meal, and they are amazing. But they're not cheap, either.

There is a pretty wide spectrum of "home cooked" in both quality and price.

[cschin4]

I couldnt disagree with this more...well yes you are correct that they are buying in bulk and can get cheaper prices than going to a grocery store...problem is you're still only buying one dish/meal from "them" at X price.

For example...if I go to mortons and get a filet mignon with mashed potatoes...its probably going to cost around $50 or up. I can go to costco and buy 4 filets for around $40. So I get 4 meals for the price of 1.

Lets say I go to an Italian restaurant. I order lasagna. Theres a lot of ingredients in that dish alone. I can probably get a nice slice of lasagna for $10-$15ish. How much do you think an entire 9x13 baking dish of lasagna would cost to make? Even making the dough...eggs, flour, meat, sausage, tomato sauce, cheese, spices. Lets say it'll cost $35 for all of the ingredients, plus $3 for utilities it will cost you (which is probably really high.) How many servings of lasagna do you now get from that $38? A whole lot! Plus you have all of your leftover spices, eggs, flour, etc. Literally 3 dishes of lasagna at the restaurant = 10ish dishes homemade from your kitchen.

Restaurants do get low prices on goods...but even if they pass it to the consumer, its still a lot more than what people can cook themselves. Unless you're talking about high end uncommon things like expensive truffles. That may be the only scenario that makes sense to buy at a restaurant.

All this being said...its still fun to go out to eat. Especially to places that have dishes that are really really good.

My point is that we really don't look at the real costs. If you are making one steak, then perhaps. However if you are making mashed potatoes and then buy a 10 lb bag and the potatoes go bad have you saved money? If you try to do a variety salad like you can get a salad bar with all the extras and you buy those things and a lot of them spoil, then no you haven't saved money. I can buy a nice size lasagna for about $10 that is frozen. Is it as good as mine? No, but with mine, buy the time I buy cheeses, ground meat, sausage and all the goodies I pack in there it is at least $10 not to mention the cost of heating up the oven and so forth. My point is that convenience items when properly incorporated into your life, dont' necessarily cost more money and if it gives you the benefit of time saved may work well in your daily life.