Saving Advice - Cooking at home is one of the best things you can do for your wallet and your health. Restaurants mark up the price of the food they serve by an average of 300%, meaning you could make the same meal at home for a fraction of the cost.
Restaurant meals are also much higher in calories than the dishes you cook at home. Studies have shown that a typical restaurant meal contains nearly 1,400 calories. That’s about two-thirds of your daily energy needs if you usually follow a 2,000 calorie diet. Plus, restaurant food usually has more oil, fat, and sugar than home-cooked dinners.
Although we all know that eating at home is better than going out or ordering takeout, it can be tough to motivate yourself to cook after a long day at work. Here are six strategies I use to get excited about spending time in the kitchen so I can eat healthier and save money.
How I Motivate Myself to Cook at Home
Take Some Shortcuts Cooking at home doesn’t have to mean making everything from scratch. It’s fine to take some shortcuts and use convenience items like premade pizza dough, microwaveable rice, and steam-in-bag frozen vegetables.
Although convenience items are usually more expensive than raw ingredients that require prep, using them is still cheaper than eating out. I try to get my convenience items on sale or use coupons to lower the price whenever possible.
But at the end of the day, it’s better to splurge on canned beans you know you’ll actually use than buy cheaper dried beans that will just sit on your pantry shelf. I find that buying low-prep ingredients helps me reduce food waste and cook at home more often, so it’s worth the extra cost.
Try a New Recipe Eating the same things over and over can be boring, even for a creature of habit like me who enjoys familiar flavors. Every now and then I try to step outside of my comfort zone and try a new recipe I’ve never made before.
I find new dishes to cook by checking out cookbooks from the library and searching for affordable recipes on websites like Budget Bytes and NYT Cooking. Looking forward to testing out a recipe can give me the extra push I need to step into the kitchen after a long day.
Treat Myself to a Kitchen Gadget at the Thrift Store When I’m feeling uninspired in the kitchen, sometimes I head to the thrift store and treat myself to a piece of cookware or a small appliance.
You’d be surprised at how many high-quality kitchen items you can find at the thrift store for affordable prices. I’ve found things like barely used popcorn makers, cast iron skillets, and dinner plates that looked brand new.
Having a new kitchen gadget to play around and experiment with helps me feel more motivated to cook.
Get Inspired By Fresh, Local Produce There’s something about fresh, local produce that just tastes better and inspires me to get into the kitchen. I’m lucky enough to have a small garden in my backyard that produces fresh produce like cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, and herbs for most of the summer.
But if you don’t have a veggie patch or windowsill herb garden, you can still get some inspiration by heading to the farmer’s market. Although farmer’s markets have a reputation for being expensive, there are definitely deals to be found if you go at the right time.
An hour or two before the market closes, farmers often discount their produce to ensure it all gets sold. You can sometimes get discounts for buying larger quantities of produce or purchasing blemished fruits and veggies as well.
However, I find that the farmer’s market makes me feel more motivated to cook even if I don’t leave with much produce. Having just one or two new types of fresh veggies to try can renew my interest in cooking and make it feel less like a chore.
Make It a Fun Experience Cooking doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. You can make preparing dinner fun by blasting some music, dancing around the kitchen, and maybe even inviting a friend to cook with you. If you prefer a more low-key night, open up a bottle of wine and turn on your favorite podcast while you prepare your food.
Consider lighting some candles, setting the table, and eating off the fancy plates. Or have dinner in a different spot than you usually do, such as on the porch or on a blanket on the living room floor. Shaking up your normal dinner routine and adding some novelty to the food preparation process will make cooking feel less like a headache and more like a fun hobby.
Think About All the Money I’m Saving If nothing else is getting me up off the couch, I think about the money I’ll save by preparing my own dinner instead of going out. When my spouse and I eat out at a sit-down restaurant, it usually costs about $40 with tax and tip. Even counter service and fast food restaurants charge up to $25 or $30 for a meal for two these days.
Considering we only spend about $80 per week on groceries, just one sit-down meal equals half of our weekly grocery cost. Yikes! When I think about restaurant meals in terms of cost versus value, I realize eating out isn’t worth it. Nine times out of ten, thinking about the money I’ll save by cooking at home motivates me to quickly whip up some food instead of eating out.
How do you motivate yourself to cook at home? Share your tips and strategies in the comments below!