One Week Without Take Out!

I know this might not be that special to some, but as of today after lunch I have officially gone 7 days without buying fast food or restaurant food. Ray and I did have pizza on Monday because we helped someone move, but we didn't pay for it so it didn't really count.

The idea behind this fast was due to the fact that as an average American we spend a ridiculous of money eating out and then we end up having to throw away food that goes bad from our frig. I heard some crazy stats that the average American eats out for almost half of their meals (I don't think I am that bad) and a average family of 4 throws out about $1000 dollars worth of groceries every year. When you start thinking that lunch on average is 5-10 dollars per person and dinner is close to 10-15 dollars per person, this really starts to add up. And I haven't even starting talking about how bad this is for your health. I am not going to stand on a pedestal and say I am never going to eat out again, that is ridiculous. But I think this is something that would help solve a couple of problems our society is having, mainly obesity and overspending/not saving.

Now eating in for every meal is not the easiest thing in the world. I would say is takes quite a bit of creativity. Ray and I figured out to make a pretty good chili a month a ago. Fish can be expensive, but it is really good for you and yummy. I bought some asparagus and that was great. Veggies are kinda hard considering Ray will barely eat any of them, except for avocados (he is officially obsessed!). Ray and I still have room to improve, maybe we could branch out to different veggies other than avocados and asparagus. We also should eat a little less frozen food, it is just so convenient for lunch and dinners where we don't want to cook. Also with frozen food it is cheaper than take out and if you are careful maybe a little better for you.

This experience was actually pretty nice. Ray and I actually sat at our dinner table two nights this week, a official record. Our bank account is also a little happier. Not sure exactly where we are going to go from here, maybe next time we'll do it for a whole month!