how do you stop the temptation of wanting to go out to eat?

Question

i mean, really though? 
it’s so easy to pull off the side of the road while your kids are asleep in the back and order for the entire family.
but it’s a struggle to baby wear 6 month old twins and tell a 4 and a 7 year old to set the table, don’t stab your eye out with a fork, can you please stop picking your nose? wash your hands before you eat! 
i want to eat better this year, but wow! how do you guys do it? i know how to make food, it’s just the motivation especially while we’re out and about alllll day. my 7 year old plays year around soccer games and my 4 year old has dance classes.
so please someone help me out! how can i break the bad habit of eating fast food?

Answer

Add up the amount you spend monthly or yearly eating out and itll be good motivation. It's so much cheaper to eat at home, especially with a larger family

Answer

Get an instant pot or use a crock pot.

Answer

I realized that we could get like 6 meals for the same price as 2 or 3 meals out and then I went on maternity leave so we watched closer to what we were spending. Plus we lost weight that we put on during the pregnancy so that was nice 😂

Answer

Meal planning, crock pot meals, cooking once and making two dinners, prepping fruit and vegetables all at once for the week, honestly the cost is very motivating for me, eating out is just too expensive and most of the time not healthy as cooking at home. I usually take one day a week, sometimes two and focus them on food. So say Sunday night I’ll meal prep, look in the fridge and cupboards and create meals for the plan and fill in the gaps with shopping on Monday. On Monday I’ll do all the shopping, come home cut all the veggies for snacks and meals for the week, divide bulk chicken (we don’t eat red meat) and ground meats into meal sized portions and freeze, if they are items I can freeze I’ll do that, like making up a few Shepard’s pies and throwing them in the freezer or lasagna. If it’s a crock pot meal I’ll prep the whole thing and put it into separate bags so all I have to do is throw it into the pot before headed out for the day. Sometimes I only do 3-4 days sometimes 7. Saves money, saves time, saves my sanity and I always have a frozen pizza or something if for whatever reason, I get sick, all the kids are sick, off days whatever. It’s always healthier then what you’d get at a take out place as well and usually tastes better too.

Answer

Meal plan! Or prep your meals in 1-2 week increments. Hubby watches the kids while I cook in the kitchen. We take turns shopping for the food - and yes I have taught him to navigate the grocery store on his own so I don’t get peppered with phone calls (he comes from an old family where that’s women’s work, so yes I actually had to help teach him to shop and be independent. He’s so good at domestic stuff now). 
Then on sundays hubby takes the kiddies and I’m away in the kitchen chopping and prepping everything. We eat healthy-ish casseroles that freeze well. My fav is the chicken cordon Bleu casserole that makes 2, but it’s not as healthy. 
Salad prep, meats, sauteed or baked veg. 
And if you have a 7 year old, it’s time for them to step up and take some age appropriate responsibility. They can help wash the veg, set the table, get the kids hands washed, etc. those are all age appropriate tasks. Just make sure you follow through with all the kids. A 4 year old can learn to take out the trash from a small container, match socks from the laundry, put clothes away. It won’t be perfect but you’ll be teaching them lifelong skills. 
Also, mama ain’t made of money! We can’t eat out all the time and put away for retirement and the kids college savings account.

Answer

I just think about the money savings of eating at home. Motivation enough for me.

Answer

We meal plan and have a slow cooker and an instant pot which really makes it easy. With six month old twins and two other older children I’d probably pick my battles on the nose picking and eye stabbing 😂

Answer

I think about some of the people making and handling my food lol

Answer

We werent getting fast food, we were ordering on Doordash. It was about 45-60$ a meal. So we decided to try Hello Fresh. We love it. No shopping (except for lite lunch items), no wondering what to cook, and its healthy. Cost is about $6 a person per meal.

how do you stop the temptation of wanting to go out to eat?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey