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General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: Silkspin on April 12, 2017, 07:40:36 AM

Title: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 12, 2017, 07:40:36 AM
So this weekend we derailed badly. I love to cook, I'm a good cook, and we cook every single day and take leftovers for lunch. This month I'm on track for grocery budget to be about $450 which is amazing since we've been overspending in this area. Our schedule and energy level went a bit off this weekend, and we ended up ordering in/ eating fast food 3 times.

Trying to keep costs down, and to remain healthy, we avoid buying any prepared food. But if laziness strikes, or we're feeling off or have been super-busy, we end up ordering in. At those times I think it's better to put a few junky things in the budget - like Costco frozen pizzas or something. At least that would be cheaper, but then again, when it's in the house, it could be motivation to avoid cooking on a night where I could have hustled.

What are your best strategies against ordering in, and what are your go-to lazy, I have a craving, too tired to cook but need something delicious right now meals?
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Livingthedream55 on April 12, 2017, 07:47:42 AM
(1) The crockpot is your friend! Put frozen chicken pieces and a jar of salsa in crockpot - 4 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low. Come home and boil a bag of frozen veggies - top with grated cheese.  Heaven!

(2) Have stuff you love in the freezer. Soups and stews will reheat in minutes.

(3) As you said,allow yourself a few convenience foods (cheaper than take out or dine out) like some microwaveable meals.

(4) Microwaved baked potato and fun toppings (I love vegetarian baked beans and a dollop of sour cream, you can also do salsa, various cheeses, butter, spaghetti sauce, etc.)
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 12, 2017, 07:55:55 AM
Have to add - no microwave. But a toaster oven and a crockpot. But if you haven't thought of your crockpot meal well in advance, you're cooked!

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: big_slacker on April 12, 2017, 08:02:14 AM
In terms of overcoming laziness to not eat badly every fitness/nutrition nerd knows the answer and it's meal prep. Have full meals pre-made or at least staples like brown rice, frozen veggies, etc. Then when you get to the point where you're hungry and don't want to cook you just throw the rice, veggies and a protein into a bowl, nuke it and pour some teriyaki on top. Done.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Livingthedream55 on April 12, 2017, 08:06:34 AM
Have to add - no microwave. But a toaster oven and a crockpot. But if you haven't thought of your crockpot meal well in advance, you're cooked!

Then I would say make up a bunch of crockpot meals when you have the energy (for me it's weekends) and freeze and then boil when you need. Make it something with lots of liquid in it (Soup, casserole) and just get the frozen "soupsicle" out of the bag and reheat on the stovetop. : 0 )

I bring "soupsickes" to work and reheat there. No leakage on the train into work!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Warlord1986 on April 12, 2017, 08:11:36 AM
1. Cook large batches on weekends.
2. Reheat during the week.
3. ????
4. Profit.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: NotJen on April 12, 2017, 08:23:09 AM
I never order in, but I do eat out a lot (mostly socially).

I like to do big batch cooking and have single-serve "junk food" in the freezer.  I make my own frozen pizzas, burritos (these are actually pretty healthy, I use collard greens instead of tortillas to wrap!), pocket sandwiches, and veggie burger patties.  I do use the microwave to reheat the burritos, but the others are done in the toaster oven.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: StarBright on April 12, 2017, 08:32:07 AM
I've been doing something new recently that has helped with this and I'm a big-time meal planner and cook. With two kids and busy jobs I was burning out majorly on the prep and clean up.

I've been planning three nights of low-effort meals into my week for the past two months. I got a great discount on a three month trial for a meal-prep service (super suppers).  We've have a super suppers meal twice a week and night three is when we eat kid food or breakfast for dinner (pb&j, piece of fruit, or scrambled eggs and toast).

We ended up only eating out one day in March (vs about 4 times a month usually). Planning the easy days in advance made the other 4 days very doable.  I also try to defrost the frozen meals two days in advance to give myself a little flexibility  on when I use them.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: honeybbq on April 12, 2017, 08:52:53 AM
I'm like you and I cook fresh pretty much every night. But sometimes sh&t happens:

It's not healthy but they have 'pasta in a bag' in the frozen section you can keep rather cheaply. Usually we have one that's chicken and broccoli. Throw in a pot and add some water. Ready in 10 minutes. These are for nights where I got home late and still gotta take the kid to swim lessons, etc.

We also have a quesadilla maker (were gifted it!). It's easy to throw a can of beans and shredded cheese, maybe corn, onion, zucchini etc in between 2 tortillas and you have diner in 5.

Other last resorts: Amy's canned lentil soup from Costco.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: marielle on April 12, 2017, 09:03:24 AM
Waffles and grits are my go-to solutions for laziness, not super healthy by any means but probably better than a frozen pizza.

Of course this requires you to buy a waffle maker, but I think mine has made its money back just from the ease of a quick meal. I mix all the dry ingredients in a large bin, then day of just add water and a little bit of olive oil until the consistency is close. Done! I actually did the math and it costs 30 cents for two waffles. I buy 25 lbs of bread flour for $7 at Sam's.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: I'm a red panda on April 12, 2017, 09:20:10 AM
A bowl of cereal.


DH also makes multiple pizzas anytime he cooks so we always have some in the freezer.

We actually just bought some convience meals...about $5 for 3-4 servings of Chinese frozen food. Not something we ever do, but I just had a c section and husband an appendectomy, so we won't be scratch cooking every night. (Though we do still have a few leftovers to work through.)
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: rantk81 on April 12, 2017, 09:27:53 AM
I'm on the ketogenic diet. Most dinners for me are as easy as just pan-cooking either chicken, center cut pork chops, or ground beef... along with some frozen veggies microwaved and smothered with butter.  Or the protein cooked and cut up and thrown into a spinach salad.

Most dinners take less than 15 mins to prepare.

Breakfasts?  I hard-boil 5 eggs and have one each day for breakfast, along with heavy whipping cream in my coffee.

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: calimom on April 12, 2017, 09:40:50 AM
Annie Chun's frozen wontons. Bring veggie broth (I usually have this in the freezer) to a boil, throw the wontons in, let cook, add scallions and handfuls of spinach. Pretty good and fast!

Some pantry items I keep on hand: linguini, capers, olives, tuna, jarred sauce. For those nights when I'm too busy/tired to have much motivation to cook anything more elaborate. I can generally scrounge some fresh broccoli or a salad together and have a meal on the table  in about 10 minutes or so.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: partgypsy on April 12, 2017, 10:16:53 AM
I spend too much on groceries, but I rarely do take out, eat out, etc. Kids love the frozen potstickers, also do a frozen pizza or some other frozen entrée once a week. Made a big batch of meatballs and froze some so pasta with sauce and meatballs. Other easy meals are tuna melts or tuna pasta salad, loaded baked potatoes, quesadillas/bean burritos/nachos, and canned soup (lentil with a squeeze of lemon). Supplement with steamed vegetables or fresh fruit.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Bracken_Joy on April 12, 2017, 10:22:27 AM
I always have eggs, and I always have boxed broth. Egg drop soup can be ready basically instantly. I often also keep 'soup bags' in the freezer- that's pre-chopped veggies (usually celery, carrots, and green beans) in individual sized portions. You can dump these into broth, simmer like 3-4 min, then stir in a couple whipped eggs. Tada, dinner. If I'm feeling really fancy I might even start with rice, but then the whole meal takes longer than 5 minutes ;) Waaaaay quicker than waiting for takeout/delivery.

I also made a point, when I moved, to NOT know what would deliver to me. It is just something we cut out of our lives. We don't moderate well, so it's zero tolerance around here. We NEVER eat out for the sake of convenience. It just isn't a choice. If it was, we would do it way too often. Likewise unhealthy quick foods. If there was pizza in the freezer, we would use it on days that really don't justify it.

It's important to know if you are the type of person that can moderate or not, and on what. We know we can't. So it's a hard line. Some people can, and feel smothered by hardline options, so this does NOT work for them. Know thyself.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MrsPete on April 12, 2017, 10:25:37 AM
I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here, but I like "batch cooking".  By that, I mean cooking in LARGE QUANTITY and freezing portions for future meals.  I love it because I can work hard on one day ... and eat several other days with only minimal effort. 

Good choices for "batch cooking":

- Soups
- Spaghetti sauce
- Burritos /Enchiladas, including scrambled egg versions for breakfast
- Chicken (or turkey) and stuffing casseroles

I usually do this when I find a main ingredient on sale.

A different topic:  My new favorite cooking method is the "One sheet pan meal".  Check it out on Pinterest.  Chop meat into bite-sized pieces, add chopped fresh vegetables and roast at a high temperature for a short time.  I suggest you do Chicken and Vegetables in Balsamic vinegar (or Italian dressing) first.  We also like Sweet Potatoes and Kiebalsa sausage.  Steak was a big failure; no more beef this way.  I have some shrimp in the freezer and intend to try it next.  Look over the Pinterest sheet pan recipes, try 1-2, and you'll be ready to improvise -- you can use any vegetables you happen to have.  This method takes no time, and you'll be impressed with the effort-to-quality ratio.  You could chop the vegetables in advance and freeze them, but I don't think I'd bother.  Oh, I usually serve this with rice, which takes no effort in the rice cooker. 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Goldielocks on April 12, 2017, 10:31:49 AM
I am glad my choices mirror some of the suggestions here:

1)  Bowl of cereal
2) Container of yogurt (yes, half of the large container makes a yummy meal)
3) Eggs / omelettes  -- perfect for when I am tired, and when I need to get to the store.  I usually have left over veggies I can throw in.
4)  I always have cheese, crackers on hand.  Apples in crisper.
5)  Pancakes (when DH is away, I am tired, kids hungry, and I need to shop)

I agree that keeping some junky fast frozen food is not a great idea.   It never stays more than 5 days in there, its often what is eaten first (not last) and I end up just buying a LOT more than I really want to be eating.   The other problem is now that I have a 15 y.o. son, anything in a bright box just disappears quickly, and he develops a taste / strong preference for it, and I by a ton more.  $$ and health impact.


Another actual meal idea --  Shrimp, rice and frozen peas / vegetable.   Cook Rice on stove per normal but with garlic salt.  In the last 5 minutes add a bag of frozen shrimp and frozen peas.  Cook until shrimp are pink.   
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: dougules on April 12, 2017, 10:35:27 AM
+1 on the batch cooking + freezer ideas.

Another two
- Sandwiches.  They're easy and they go well with some previously-cut fresh fruit or homemade apple sauce in the fridge.  For some reason egg sandwiches specifically have become a thing at our house.  They're not super healthy, but they're better than most take-out. 
- Homemade hamburgers. Also not the healthiest, but still better than their fast-food cousins IMHO.  If you pre-pat and pre-season the patties then freeze them, they cook pretty fast.  I go straight from frozen with really thin patties and a searing hot sandwich press on a searing hot griddle.   I also use veg black bean patties from Aldi for a healthier option.  They're really good.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Davids on April 12, 2017, 10:36:32 AM
Once in awhile we will order a pizza. I always do carryout though. Not posting any delivery charge and tip when the joint is a 5 min drive from my home.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: TOgirl on April 12, 2017, 10:40:28 AM
We mostly batch cook a few proteins, pre-chop veggies and fruits, and make a pot of sweet potatoes and rice or pasta, all to keep in the fridge for the week (or however long they last).

I find this helps us eat well, and not spend so much effort on the "what will I make" - we grab protein, veggies, and a healthy carb, and put them together for a meal.

Additionally, we sometimes do breakfast for dinner - so easy to whip up eggs and pancakes for dinner, and I often do "picnic plates" with the kids when I don't feel like cooking - I cut up cheese, some cold meats, naan or crackers, veggies and fruits, and we pretend we're on a picnic (or if the weather is nice, we actually picnic in the yard)

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Tyson on April 12, 2017, 10:42:26 AM
Yep, batch cooking plus sandwiches is the best/cheapest/easiest method we've found here. 

One other dish I've been working on is eggs over-easy on rice.  With a good bit of salt and lemon-pepper on the eggs, it's quite tasty and super fast (and easy clean up).  I always keep a good bit of cooked rice in the fridge as a base for all kinds of meals.  My other favorite is cooked sausage and mixed veggies (and rice!).  Literally just dump them into a bowl, heat and eat. 

For me, I think about the fact that I can get the food made and cleaned up in less time than the order would get to me.  So I use my basic impatience about things to help against ordering (because it's usually 30 minutes or more to get food delivered). 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: ooeei on April 12, 2017, 11:16:33 AM
Cook up a pork shoulder (boiling is fine) and shred it into small containers to freeze.  When you want a meal, thaw it in the microwave or straight on a pan, and add a good bit of oil (frying, not olive) or rendered animal fat, and crisp it up in the pan with salt and whatever seasonings you want.  Toss in some frozen veggies, then leftover rice.  Put it all in a bowl and use the pan to fry up a runny egg to go on top.  Drizzle with soy sauce or whatever flavoring you'd like.

~20 minutes start to finish including thawing.  You just need some on hand cooked rice which I make once a week or so and have in the fridge.  You can also substitute store bought sausage links and slice them up instead of using the shoulder, I'm partial to jalapeno ones.

I'd also recommend getting a microwave, if only to reheat rice or the occasional lasagna/chicken/whatever quickly.  I use these containers in various sizes to prevent the inevitable Tupperware chaos with matching lids up: https://www.amazon.com/Reditainer-Extreme-Containers-16-Ounce-36-Pack/dp/B00HG8YTB0.  The 16 and 8 oz get the most use, the 32 oz are convenient for stock and whatnot but not really necessary.  All use the same lids, and can go in the freezer.  At any given time we have 2-5 different options in the chest freezer for a quick reheat. 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: PiobStache on April 12, 2017, 11:29:17 AM
Big batch cooking and two chest freezers full of stuff at our house, so basically the same strategy as everyone else.  I will also add we have a sous vide circulator, the ANova, and it is highly practical for the straight from the freezer cooking method.  It also does wonders with inexpensive cuts of meat if used properly.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: engineermom21 on April 12, 2017, 11:41:11 AM
Everyone has already given some great advice, so I'll just add a few more things (that may already be on here, but I might have missed while skimming down....)

* Get an Instant Pot.  Such an easy, great way to cook quick meals.  It's honestly my new favorite thing in my kitchen.
* Always freeze your leftovers before they do bad.  This has saved me many times from eating out lunch or dinner when I don't have time to make something.  I always have a few options in there that I threw in the freezer after I knew no one was going to eat them out of the fridge in time.
* And along those same lines (and the best advice already been given on here by everyone above me) is batch cooking.  I always make extras of things I know will freeze well when I am making dinner (meatballs, pot pies, pulled pork, shredded chicken, etc.).  This is your best defense against eating out - always having something on hand in the freezer that you can pull out and heat up for a quick meal.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Digital Dogma on April 12, 2017, 12:06:10 PM
My go-to lazy meals in no particular order

-breakfast for dinner with french toast/eggs, add bacon/sausage/corned beef hash
-grilled cheese and tomato soup
-costco vegetarian burrito with a packet of madras lentils
-mac n cheese with bacon bits mixed in
-coldcut sandwiches (we buy cold cuts on sale, remove them from the original package/deli paper, bag and freeze them for longevity)
-pack of hotdogs in the freezer
-canned Tuna for quick tuna salad with some onion
-large batch of hard boiled eggs for egg salad
-beans n rice

All low-intensity cooking and totally manageable after a long day of work.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: HipGnosis on April 12, 2017, 12:12:28 PM
Sorry, but cravings and crockpot just don't go together.

My go-to is chicken nachos or burrito.  Boil or broil chicken (I buy thighs unless breasts are on a good sale), onion and peppers (from frozen, aka fajita mix), tomatoes (sometimes rotel), salsa, cheese, hot sauce, jalapenos or salad peppers and seasonings.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Cranky on April 12, 2017, 12:24:36 PM
Nothing delivers except pizza around here, and I don't love pizza, so that's not a temptation.

When I run out of dinner inspiration, I fix breakfast for dinner, or grilled cheese.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: ltt on April 12, 2017, 12:25:17 PM
When you are tired and simply don't want to cook, I really like frozen pizza.  However, you have to make sure it's a brand you like.  Some are very good.  Also, a loaf of bread you like and deli sandwich meat.  Cut up some lettuce and onions and you're good to go. 

There are also some very good frozen foods, you just have to try some out, see what you like, and keep some in the freezer for those nights that are busy/tired.

There are some soups that can be dumped/mixed together--usually tomato or potato--different canned brands that turn out really good and are very easy.

Eggs, always have eggs on hand. 

I agree that a crockpot meal usually has to be planned.   
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: lizzzi on April 12, 2017, 12:52:25 PM
Cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, handful of nuts, possibly some charcuterie like those little slices of dried salami.
Grilled cheese sandwich (or just melt some cheese on top of bread in oven or microwave), tomato soup.
Can of chili, salmon, or chicken..
Instant mashed potatoes (flakes in box.) Top with salt, pepper, lots of cheese.
Burritos--I usually have some in the freezer, but very quick to throw together with flour tortillas, canned re-fried beans, any kind of cheese, canned tomatoes with chilies. Maybe green or black olives.
Cut up fresh vegetables to go along with the above suggestions, or a pack of steam-in-the-bag vegetables.
Sardines mashed up with a little mustard, mayo, worcestershire sauce to taste, warmed under broiler on toast--or just put in sandwich with bread.

I use groceries from Aldi for all of the above ideas. (Some are kind of lame, I know, but these are meant for exhausted nights of desperation--not what I eat on a regular basis--you know I'm desperate when I'm suggesting instant potato flakes!)

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: TravelJunkyQC on April 12, 2017, 01:11:59 PM
I'm a fan of the Costco frozen pizzas. I just hide them in the back so that they aren't tempting, but I know they're there when need-be. Also, frozen fish filets and frozen or canned vegetables aren't the most delicious, but they do the trick in a pinch.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Hadilly on April 12, 2017, 01:26:02 PM
Soup! Up your soup game and find some recipes you like. Double and freeze.  It is an easy way to eat veggies, filling, healthy, etc. Pair with chicken, grilled cheese, a sausage and so on and so on. Seriously, I always have a big batch in the fridge and freezer.

My second suggestion is to always have a batch of pinto beans (use Anna Thomas' recipe) and a batch of cubed, roasted sweet potatoes around. A lot of times, I also have shredded cabbage in lemon/salt/oil. With those things, and maybe some tortillas, eggs, and salsa, you can make really yummy and fast meals.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Zikoris on April 12, 2017, 01:38:03 PM
We bulk cook on the weekenda, and always make stuff that produces lots of leftovers. I also keep some supplies around that are really fast and easy to turn into a meal, like pitas or wraps.

I also think it's worth having a chat from time to time with your inner two year old (we all have one) regarding what is and is not an acceptable reason to not do something. Go with whatever you'd say to your kid who didn't feel like doing its homework or cleaning its room or whatever. I.e. "Too bad, do it anyway."
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 12, 2017, 02:31:22 PM
Such great ideas! Zikoris, so true - that conversation inside with the 2 year old. Also someone said you have to know yourself and decide if this is something you want to take or leave.

What happened this weekend was exceptional, but as a family we do have our breakdown moments where you simply want and need a messy mom and pop pizza and poutine, Indian etc. It's the psychological fight that happens here, because soup and sandwiches simply may not cut it. We sit down and have a family meal just about every single mealtime, but those breakdown times are usually Fridays, we're tired, hubby picks up the food, and we eat in the living room while having a movie night. I love those nights where we just throw it to the wind, but need better options because the takeout isn't so healthy and really not nice on our wallet.

I do make meals in advance but it comes in waves when I have extra time. I think we can do better here. I like the idea of making some of our 'vice' delicious alternatives ahead (pizza, mexican). We usually make our own pizza - but we've always eaten it fresh and I've not really considered freezing it. I think it's also about having a meal already ready to pop into the oven, versus some of the pre-cooked items that you still have to add veggies, rice, sauce etc. It's not the wait time versus prep time, it's about pure old I feel like not lifting a finger but having something super yummy placed in front of my face!!!

Awesome responses everyone, thank you!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: mm1970 on April 12, 2017, 03:07:34 PM
So this weekend we derailed badly. I love to cook, I'm a good cook, and we cook every single day and take leftovers for lunch. This month I'm on track for grocery budget to be about $450 which is amazing since we've been overspending in this area. Our schedule and energy level went a bit off this weekend, and we ended up ordering in/ eating fast food 3 times.

Trying to keep costs down, and to remain healthy, we avoid buying any prepared food. But if laziness strikes, or we're feeling off or have been super-busy, we end up ordering in. At those times I think it's better to put a few junky things in the budget - like Costco frozen pizzas or something. At least that would be cheaper, but then again, when it's in the house, it could be motivation to avoid cooking on a night where I could have hustled.

What are your best strategies against ordering in, and what are your go-to lazy, I have a craving, too tired to cook but need something delicious right now meals?

Costco pizza
Trader Joe's chicken fingers
Grilled cheese
Quesadillas
Scrambled eggs and stir-fried frozen vegetables
One pot pasta (instant pot)
Some random things that I threw in the freezer a month ago

These days we pretty much live on these things
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: redbird on April 12, 2017, 03:27:22 PM
I hate the concept of tips, so it's been many, many years since I last ordered in. You have to deal with tips at sit down restaurants too, but sit down restaurants usually give you more complicated meals (plus I also eat at those extremely rarely anyway...). Most order-in places you can actually get the same food with zero tip to a driver (and no delivery fees either) if you go pick it up from the store.

The worst thing to all of me for waiting for ordering in is that you have to wait generally 30 minutes-1 hour to get your food. Many dinners can actually be made for 30 minutes or less. And meals that take a long time you can generally bulk prep, freeze some for later, and then just have to heat it up when you're ready to eat it. The Instant Pot also helps take down cook time. I love my Instant Pot and how quick it makes stuff. I wish I had one of these when I still worked! I probably would've eaten a bit healthier then!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: FI4good on April 12, 2017, 04:24:45 PM
Think i've done it 3 times in 6 months spending £25 each time ( £20 min for delivery here )

I don't think my £150 a year habit, £3750 lump sum required for a couple of pizzas on a meal deal every other month for life at 4% SWR is going to derail my FIRE ( something i can cut back on if markets plunge) . Although i'm sure i can hear the mr money mustache on my shoulder clucking his teeth.

I might infact go mad and have 7 pizza nights in a leap year in future just because i'm so spendy pants and like being the rebel .. come live life in the fast lane risking a 5% SWR on your pizza account like me. 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: dude on April 13, 2017, 05:19:08 AM
So this weekend we derailed badly. I love to cook, I'm a good cook, and we cook every single day and take leftovers for lunch. This month I'm on track for grocery budget to be about $450 which is amazing since we've been overspending in this area. Our schedule and energy level went a bit off this weekend, and we ended up ordering in/ eating fast food 3 times.

Trying to keep costs down, and to remain healthy, we avoid buying any prepared food. But if laziness strikes, or we're feeling off or have been super-busy, we end up ordering in. At those times I think it's better to put a few junky things in the budget - like Costco frozen pizzas or something. At least that would be cheaper, but then again, when it's in the house, it could be motivation to avoid cooking on a night where I could have hustled.

What are your best strategies against ordering in, and what are your go-to lazy, I have a craving, too tired to cook but need something delicious right now meals?

Trader Joe's has healthy prepared (i.e. canned) options.  They have a Dal Masala (lentils and beans) that is delicious and has no preservatives or the like. Whip up a quick pot of rice, heat the stuff up, maybe toss in some shrimp or additional vegetables like spinach, and voila!  I use it as a go-to for a brown bag lunch when I don't have any leftovers or time to prepare something, usually with some rice and I'll bring a Japanese yam and bake it in the office toaster oven. 

Otherwise, it's all about the grill -- boneless chicken thighs rubbed down with some southwest spice is my favorite easy thing to do.  Can eat them with a salad, or quickly steam up some broccoli (tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper), or if you have a little more time, broccoli rabe (I blanche mine, quick ice bath, sauté in olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes).
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: davisgang90 on April 13, 2017, 05:36:14 AM
Lots of great advice above.

I'll echo:
Have a plan for meals for the week
Food prep ahead of time (biggest thing for me is making sure meat is thawed)
Have a cheat meal (like cereal or pancakes) that is super easy for when you are tired/late etc.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: sw1tch on April 13, 2017, 07:07:51 AM
Our go-to is usually some kind of instant noodle packs (Asian stores have a lot of variations so you don't have to settle for Maruchan Ramen) w/ hard boiled eggs and some kind of vegetable if we're not too lazy.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: lentil on April 13, 2017, 08:07:44 AM
We struggle with this periodically, and have used some (many!) of the strategies listed above. I go through periods of total disinterest in cooking, as well as times when our staple foods seem really boring, which is a tricky combination for me -- more novel flavors mean more elaborate prep for me, and I'm just not always up for it.

One thing I worked out is that there are cheaper "treats" than delivery food. Take-out for the two of us is anywhere from $10-$40 for just one meal, with maybe some leftovers. For less than that (on a per-meal basis), I can hit the grocery store and get things that are more prepared than we're usually eating, and fancy enough to feel just as good as take-out. Examples would be: cheese, crackers, hummus, & cut veggies (no cooking, and feels like snacking); really fancy, really huge salads (no cooking); sliced bread and sandwich fixings (I think you see the trend here!).

I actually did the math on a couple of these, just to satisfy my curiosity, and it tends to work out to about 3-4 times more expensive (per person, per meal) than our staples, but is way, way, way less than delivery. It helps me deal with those occasional weeks where I am just not feeling it, and I can still space things out with some bulk freezer meals.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Tyson on April 13, 2017, 10:23:33 AM
Also I noticed that sometimes I was just 'craving' Chinese food.  Or Indian food.  Or whatever.  So I did (and am doing) 2 things.  First, learn to make those types of food myself.  If you can make it regularly, it cuts down on those cravings.  The second thing I did was get some decent frozen versions of those foods.  Like fried rice - Costco has a very good chicken fried rice that comes in individual packets.  Yum. 

Other things that drove eating out was my daughter wanting to go to Sonic.  What I learned is that she didn't 'really' want the burger or tater tots, but she wanted a milkshake.  So I learned to make milkshakes and real whipped cream at home and she loves that far more and we never, ever go to Sonic anymore. 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: ambimammular on April 13, 2017, 07:35:52 PM
Scrambled eggs with salsa, cheddar, and tortilla chips crumbled in for the last minute or two of cooking.

Crepes. Seriously, not a lot of work. The ingredients go straight from the blender to the frying pan.

Miso soup. It's a tablespoon of the bullion-style mix added to noodles that boil for three minutes tops. Frozen corn cools it down to eating temp. My kids cheer and it's the laziest meal.

Apples with peanut butter

Good old cereal
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MrDelane on April 13, 2017, 08:02:54 PM
I'll add to the many people who have already talked about batch cooking.

We try to keep a combination of 'ready to eat' frozen meals as well as a stockpile of frozen components.
You don't necessarily need to cook all week to make that happen, just choose meals that lend themselves to freezing and instead cook two or four times as much as you normally would when you're cooking for the family on a day you feel like it.

For our frozen meals we usually keep:

Quiche
Meatloaf
Soups
Chili

For our frozen components we usually keep:

Pie crust
Pizza Dough
Tortillas
Shredded Chicken
Pulled Pork


When it comes to freezing, the key for me is making the thawing and cooking as easy as possible.
For quiche and meatloaf, I will freeze them in the pan they will be cooked in (wrapped in plastic wrap).
Once frozen I can pop them out, wrap, and store in the freezer.  When its time to cook you can just pop it back in the pan and it will fit perfectly... then cook.

For soups and chili I filled our usual bowls with water and then poured the contents into a big measuring pitcher - that way you know exactly how much you need for 1 serving for your family.  Then get a bunch of Ziploc or Tupperware freezer containers that are close to that size.  Make as much soup as you can and then fill the containers.  Last time I made chili I made enough for 30 servings (yeah, I'm a bit ridiculous).

When it comes to some things, like chicken noodle soup, just freeze the soup without the noodles (because they won't thaw well).  The day you decide you want that soup, just make some pasta and add it to the soup.  It won't feel like you're eating a frozen meal at all.

If you are grillers and meat eaters I would urge you to grill in quantity.  It's just as easy to grill 8 chicken breasts as it is 4.  When I grill I'll usually make extras.  We'll chop it up, shred it, or whatever we prefer and then freeze.  It can be used with rice, pasta, or any number of things.

Tortillas are amazingly easy to make, cheap, and SO much better fresh than store bought.  I'll usually make a large batch and then only cook the ones we're going to eat that night.  You can freeze them as individual dough balls and then thaw as needed.  They thaw quickly and cook in less than a minute and taste amazing.

By having MULTIPLE frozen options that require different levels of assembly you make it a lot harder for yourself to order food from somewhere.  In my house when one of us says 'I don't feel like cooking' we wind up going down the list of what we have, trying to decide how much work we feel like doing.

Don't want to cook but don't mind putting something together?  How about some chicken tacos?  Of chicken noodle soup?  Or rice and pork?

Don't want to cook and don't want to put anything together? How about some quiche?  Or meatloaf? Or chili?

Having multiple options ready to go keeps us from getting bored of one thing, and forces us to go through multiple options before we give in to the temptation of convenience foods.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: meandmyfamily on April 14, 2017, 09:39:36 PM
For us we always have stuff on hand to make burritos (homemade beans or canned-Trader Joes ones- as a last resort, cheese, onions, tortillas, etc.), pasta and pb and j sandwiches.  Lately we also pick up some frozen Costco pizzas.  This way we never "have" to order in.

It just isn't an option for us anymore.  That helps too-take it off the table as an option.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MMMaybe on April 15, 2017, 02:05:15 PM
We keep some easy options sitting in the freezer. Sausages, felafels or burgers perhaps. Some sides such as prepared cauliflower cheese live in there too. Its pretty easy to throw together a meal.

Other times, nothing but a curry or sushi will do and so we pick up the phone and order!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Shiernian on April 16, 2017, 02:32:48 PM
I have a few quick meals on hand (canned tuna to make sandwiches and frozen French fries or fried eggs and French fries). Usually if I want to order in I'm craving a quick junk food type meal so I try and have a few things which are quick like that.
But really what works best for me is to give myself permission several times a year to order in.
Usually when I give myself permission, I end up not ordering in because I know the food won't be great; I can make better tasting junk food!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Bee21 on April 16, 2017, 08:54:06 PM
Ordering in is not that convenient if you think about it. In those 30 minutes you can cook a lot of things for a fraction of the price.

Meal plan. Batch cook. These are non negotiable. It saves time and money. I started batch cooking and planning meals to save time and my sanity, and they really make a difference. Since i am doing these religiously, I never ran out of food for dinner. All I have to do is take it out of the freezer the night before on the days when I work.

For lunches, we have
Leftovers (cook more so that you have them)
Soup and grilled cheese sandwich
Stir fry veg with eggs
Egg fried rice (use frozen leftover rice and frozen veg)
Pasta salad with whatever you find in the fridge.
Omelettes.
Quesadillas.
French toast.
Tuna melt.
Anything on toast (beans with cheese are the kid's favourites)
Salad with roasted vegetables

These days we I pre roast the vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potatoes) and just add water/stock from the freezer for soup or add them to salads. I also batch cook stews, bolognese sauce, lasagna, shepherd pie and meatballs, so there is always something in the freezer. It is also a good idea to buy larger than necessary roasts and use the leftovers during the week.

Plan for the leftovers, there are some great books around about using them creatively, the River cottage guys (hugh whatshisname) has a great one, and my favourite is Suzy Bowler's Leftover handbook, she also has a blog with great ideas called Sudden lunch. I also recommend Tamar Adler's book, The everlasting meal, it changed the way I plan for my meals and prepare food.

It is really about planning and a bit of prep.

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: backyardfeast on April 16, 2017, 09:42:28 PM
Two things: big +1 to lentil's suggestion of doing "take out" from the grocery store.  It's a big improvement for us (financially), to decide we're not cooking (usually because we're out running around and not actually at home at all) and head to the grocery store.  A rotisserie chicken, some deli salads, and maybe a bottle of wine and we've spent $20-30 instead of $50-60, and we have leftovers for lunch the next day and then soup from the chicken carcass.  It's not as frugal as roasting the chicken ourselves, etc, but it hits the spot.

We eat tons of eggs for dinner as quick meals.  During a couple of our busiest weeks around here, I was eating 3 fried eggs on toast almost every day for dinner, and DH was fending for himself!  I figure if I'm still eating fruit and veg throughout the day, the occasional day without a balanced dinner isn't the end of the world!

My other suggestion for the situation you're describing is what my family did when we were growing up.  I think those end of the week family movie nights are really great and having those rituals is awesome too.  Growing up, my mom and dad would cook the staple dinner rotation through the week.  Pasta, sheet pan meal, maybe a curry night, a stir-fry, whatever.  Leftovers would go in the fridge and sometimes get nibbled on for lunches, but we would often have sandwiches or other stuff for lunch.  So Friday was leftover day!  All the containers would get taken out of the fridge, heated up, and then set out on the table buffet-style.  Presto! Restaurant night.  We could all pick what we wanted for our own plates, maybe add something special/ unusual to us (like sodas or potato chips or veggies and dip) and we had a fun, relaxed family routine.

These days I mostly try to cycle leftover ingredients through the week so as to minimize our food waste, but we're only 2 adults now, so maybe the above would work for you. :-)
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: milliemchi on April 16, 2017, 10:59:49 PM
Always have:

- bread/sliced ham and cheese and baby carrots. A sandwich and fresh vegs/fruit is not a junk meal. Grilled is a bonus, lettuce/tomato is luxuirous. (5-15 mnin)
- canned soup/stew (5 min)
- frozen pasta meals (chicken stir fry/other asian bags) (15 min)
- a pack of 'already cooked' chicken sausages or such; microwave, add instant mashed potatoes, chopped tomato - full healthy meal (15 min)
- frozen home cooked bean soup, microwave (10-20 min but minimum supervision)
- eggs; scramble; eat with bread and side raw vegetable (tomato, cucumber, baby carrots, also zucchini (unpealed) (10-15 min)
- frozen bags of steamable veggies (microwave), to go with any quick protein (eggs, chicken sausage, sardines or canned tuna/other fish, poached eggs (in microweave poachers - spray lightly with oil before use) (5-10 min)
- a batch of hard boiled eggs (I boils 6 every weekend and mostly feed the kids with those, mostly for breakfast/supper, but can have other uses
- frozen pizza; these can be broken in half and made in the toaster over (20-30 min, but unsupervised)

If these seem too simple, add instant chicken soup as the first entree. cans (5 min) or bags (10 min) work well. These are cooked in parallel with the above, so they don't add time. Finish with fresh fruit (apples, pears, peaches, berries, etc.) for desert.

But I have to say we use these mainly because the thought of ordering in is completely foreign to us. I also have to point out that it's quicker to prepare any of these than to order in. I also have to say that it's much cheaper to get a microwave than to order in twice or trice.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: ambimammular on April 17, 2017, 07:02:58 PM
Forgot about hot ham & cheese. Thin sliced ham and your favorite cheese in a bun, wrapped in foil in the oven.

Although, I'm hearing bad things about cooking with foil these day :/
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: swick on April 17, 2017, 07:23:37 PM
For us, it depends on figuring out "why" we want to order in or go out. We've discovered there is a couple of different reasons.

1. We got too busy during the day and I failed to meal plan and everything is frozen

2. My decision making brain is fried. I don't mind cooking but seem incapable of making the choice of what to make when I'm starting into the fridge and dinner should be on the table.

3. I don't want to do dishes/clean up after. We do all our cooking from scratch so sometimes I don't mind cooking but the idea of having to clean up after (or before I start cooking I was too busy) is just too much.

4. I spent the day cooking and doing dishes from batch cooking or whatever and I didn't actually plan dinner that night.

Things that we have found work:

 - We have a panini press. We have sandwich fixings in the fridge/freezer. Everything is tastier and fancier hot and toasty.

 - I bulk make an Indian food Curry-base and freeze it. Butter chicken, korma, dal are a really quick meal away and can be made from pantry ingredients.

 - We always have sausages in the freezer. They thaw fast. Sausages, sauteed frozen veggies and Instant mashed potatoes make a quick meal.

 - Instant mashed potatoes (Love the ones from costco that are just potato and salt) also make making fishcakes super easy.

 - We always have some sort of ground meat and corn tortillas in the freezer. We often have a cabbage hanging out in the fridge so slaw and tacos are a super quick meal.

 - Breakfast for dinner, usually eggs, is another quick option many have mentioned. It's a standby for a reason :)

 - We always have frozen fruit on hand for smoothies, some days when we want food and we want it now with no effort, a smoothie is good enough.

 - Egg drop or miso soup. Always have some miso or homemade powdered veggie soup mix on hand so it is literally as easy as boiling water, adding a soup base and whatever bits happen to be in the fridge that need to be used.

ETA: Having a super supportive partner helps. Hubs is always ready to step in and make a decision or help with tidying up/doing dishes while I'm cooking. Teamwork makes such a difference. We also simply ask ourselves if this convenience/taste/whatever is better than FI, and the answer is pretty much always no and gives us the motivation we need not to give into the temptation.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MrDelane on April 17, 2017, 08:20:37 PM
ETA: Having a super supportive partner helps. Hubs is always ready to step in and make a decision or help with tidying up/doing dishes while I'm cooking. Teamwork makes such a difference. We also simply ask ourselves if this convenience/taste/whatever is better thank FI, and the answer is pretty much always no and gives us the motivation we need not to give into the teptation.

That's a great point.  It's really easy to enable each other if you're not careful.

My spouse and I have a similar dynamic.  When one of us suggests we just order pizza (or something similar) the other one usually steps up and offers to take over the cooking, or reminds the other of all the frozen ready-to-go meals we have in the freezer.

By helping keep eachother on task we stop ourselves from useless spending.
Dont' get me wrong, we still probably spend more than we should by going out to eat, but we have a loose agreement that if we're going to spend money on food its going to be intentional, not just because it's the easy solution.

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 17, 2017, 08:32:05 PM
More great replies, thanks. Will try some semi-healthy, semi-prepped foods - more expensive than staples but still cheaper than delivery. I don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, too bad it sounds great. Visited the in-laws this weekend and there is a Whole Foods nearby but we just didn't have time to go.

I do make mexican and curries, but learning to do these better (so they are delicious enough to forgo the takeout from authentic Indian), and freezing, could do the trick too.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: cats on April 17, 2017, 08:49:57 PM
We always keep eggs on hand. Everyone in the family likes eggs, so that's an easy go-to: omelet, poached egg, fried egg, scrambled egg...etc.  We do a big vegetable prep on the weekends: blitz a bunch of veggies through the food processor (slicing attachment is the best!), roast a few trays to have for the next few days, and store the rest in the fridge to saute later.  I also usually have a few bags of frozen veggies in the freezer.

If I cook rice, I'll cook more than we need right then and portion the rest off into ziplocs in the freezer.  Then we always have rice on hand and can make fried rice for dinner (yum).

Any particular reason you do not have a microwave?  I do find they make the batch cooking thing a lot easier.

But really, the reason we don't order out is that I don't even know what places near us deliver.  It's less trouble for me to cook than to figure that out!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MVal on April 17, 2017, 09:41:47 PM
Somebody else mentioned pork shoulder and I've got to share a recipe I just made for Easter that is so easy and so blow-your-mind delicious, you've got to try it. Mix a packet of dry, Italian dressing seasoning, a packet of ranch seasoning (look for the dairy-free kind for "dip" not salad dressing) and maybe a packet of brown gravy with a little water and pour it over a pork shoulder in the crock pot. Cook it on low for 8-12 hours, depending on size of your roast and you will have the most bombdiggity pile of meat you've ever eaten! It's easy and you can freeze the leftovers.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Moonwaves on April 18, 2017, 04:08:01 AM
I do make mexican and curries, but learning to do these better (so they are delicious enough to forgo the takeout from authentic Indian), and freezing, could do the trick too.
Try making a batch of this curry base (http://mortgagefreeinthree.com/2012/05/curry-in-a-hurry/) and freezing it. It's really great. This, some rice, and a few frozen and/or tinned vegetables can make a pretty decent meal really quickly. And because it's frozen in small bun-size pieces, it defrosts quickly.

Another make-ahead thing I do for my sister when I visit (she has a much bigger freezer than I do, one day, when I have a grown-up freezer, I'll do this for me, too) is pastry. Just a basic shortcrust (1xbutter, 2xflour, pinch salt, cold water). I roll it out, put it on top of some greaseproof paper and then roll it up and put it into a giant ziploc bag. They defrost pretty quickly and then she can just add eggs and whatever else to make a quick quiche (bacon and cheese, and spinach and feta are the favourites in her house). You can of course buy something similar in the supermarket to have in the freezer but homemade pastry is just so much better to me.

A big thing for me at some stage was the realisation that every dinner doesn't have to be a big meal. Sometimes I don't want to cook because I'm not even that hungry. In years gone by, I wouldn't look much past the "don't feel like cooking" and would just order something. And then eat it because it was there. But honestly in a lot of cases, a scrambled egg would have been enough. Or a bowl of cereal. So, having eggs on hand and having milk on hand are pretty essential to me. I also almost always have a packet of small pita breads in the freezer - can pop one of those in the toaster and it's enough, too, sometimes. Often just with butter but there are other options if you're really hungry. Dried tomatoes and cheese. Tuna or some other tinned fish (I buy the small tins of sardines in oil and lemon from Aldi). Nut butter with raisins.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Moonwaves on April 18, 2017, 04:09:30 AM
Forgot to add, throw out any leaflets you may have for local delivery places. You can always find the information online if you really want to order something. Having to look it up rather than just grabbing a leaflet out of the drawer is sometimes the few seconds delay you need to decide to do something else.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: lchu on April 19, 2017, 07:31:48 AM
Take-out continues to be my family's biggest financial leak and it's also the biggest source of frugality friction between my wife and me.

Mostly, it's that we have a cooking style mis-match that makes supporting each other in the kitchen challenging.  My wife is an amazing, spectacular home cook that turns out restaurant-quality food without so much as glancing at a recipe.  Meanwhile, I can generally follow a recipe and get edible food at the end, but there's still the occasional "wildcard" effect where I don't season correctly or over/under cook something.  It turns out edible, but not by much.

The majority of the time are good weeks, when we're well-planned and well-rested.  I'm the sous chef to my wife and we're reasonably happy with the exchange of labor -- prep/clean-up versus cooking.

The whole system goes off the rails, though, and the struggle creeps back in when my wife plans a meal that is more complex than I can manage without a recipe, but then doesn't want to cook it (I feel too out of my depth to take over and get frustrated/resentful about it).  Vice versa, my wife sometimes just isn't interested in the simple meals I plan that I can cook on my own when compared to the huge variety of take-out we can access in our city.

I have a feeling that this will be an area that we are always working towards finding a compromise and balance for!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Aelias on April 19, 2017, 09:08:47 AM
The biggest help in avoiding take-out was learning to cook acceptable versions of my take-out cravings--pizza, Chinese, and Indian.

Pizza was the big one.  Now, my pizza is not as good as take-out pizza, but it's a great use-up for stuff in the fridge and it's cheap.

Here's the recipe I use for the crust.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/  I also figured out that I prefer crushed tomatoes straight from the can over actual "sauce"--big time saver.

Also--embrace simple meals!  At this point, I rarely cook for dinner anything that's complicated or makes a lot of dishes.  Those are "project meals" for lazy weekends and special occasions.  Everything else generally takes 20 min or less and is often 5 or fewer ingredients.

Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Hadilly on April 20, 2017, 06:27:30 AM
I find that any basic marinara sauce (I usually use TJ organic) works very well as a pizza sauce. It also keeps in the fridge so one bottle can last a couple batches of pizza.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Moonwaves on April 20, 2017, 07:59:42 AM
Also, forgot the most basic thing, but something that definitely helps. Have a written-down meal plan and (here's the important part) look at it every day. Of course, lots of people may not be as forgetful as I am but this is key. I haven't actually done a meal plan or much cooking over the last month or two, because I've had a very busy period following hard on the heels of a five-week cold (excuses, excuses). Anyway, I was craving salad and bought some the other day. Even washed it as soon as I got home so that all I'd have to do yesterday was put it on a plate, add some dressing and anything else I'd decided on, and I'd be good to go. But, didn't have it written down, had an extremely hectic day, got home almost two hours later than planned and just completely forgot that I had this lovely salad waiting. Didn't even really want Chinese. I'm looking forward to my salad this evening, though. :)
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: FireHiker on April 20, 2017, 09:21:28 AM
We try to keep certain easy meals on hand for those nights. For us, it looks like this:

pasta and sauce from Costco (try to keep frozen ground turkey on hand, or frozen italian sausage, quick to thaw and pull together a real meal)
frozen veggies (large bag from Costco) cooked up with Annie Chun's Udon noodles
frozen burritos (biggest cost-saver with our teenager, who can eat a $1 burrito late after practice instead of being tempted to grab something out)
Sometimes we keep a bag or two of Trader Joes frozen something for real desperate nights. Not the cheapest or healthiest, but better than some of the alternatives. This week it was kung pao chicken (with rice made in the rice cooker), much cheaper than take out on our first night back home with bad jet lag.

We are not the most frugal with food, not by a long shot, but we're working on it. All of the options above may not be the cheapest/best, but they are loads cheaper than take-out/ordering in for a family of 5.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: LindseyC on April 20, 2017, 09:39:56 AM
I'm with others on batch cooking. I try to do it Sunday mornings and generally I will cook multiple meals that use like ingredients that I will then freeze in single servings.

As an example when ground beef is on sale I will cook in one Sunday morning: Shepard's pie, meatloaf, stroganoff and homemade hamburgers.  At the same time I pump all my meals up with veggies so I also batch cook based upon what veggies are used in different recipes.

When there is a good deal on inseason veggies that freeze well, I will also chop and cook a huge quantity and freeze. Beets are an excellent example of this, I will buy a 10lb bag, cook, peel and freeze them all in one session because it's just easier and a time saver. Mashed potatoes freeze well too, so when a 10lb bag is on sale, same process.

I keep a list on my phone of what's in the freezer, in what quantity with the date I made it and each night I pull out something for the next night to defrost in the fridge. Typically I freeze in a serving that is good for one dinner and a smaller lunch the next day. I avoid most processed foods but do have the odd item that can be cooked from frozen pretty easy just for those nights I forgot to pull food.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Lis on April 20, 2017, 10:35:26 AM
Ugh I'm with you on not wanting to keep frozen premade food in the freezer (like the Costco pizza). Trader Joe's frozen foods kill me... I usually pick up a few when I shop there (not my regular place, too far away) for those "emergency" days, when stuff happens or I'm just too tired to cook, but when I do that, my willpower plummets, and instead of cooking whatever I had planned, I go home and eat frozen tacos - not because I was too tired to cook, but because I really wanted those damn frozen tacos.

For those lazy, "I just don't wanna cook days," my InstantPot saves the day. I keep frozen chicken breasts, cutlets or something in the freezer, and I'll just throw those in the IP with some spices, sauce or whatever's on hand. I also make homemade pizza burritos - I always have wraps, I always have cheese, I always have tomato sauce, and I almost always have pepperoni. Throw everyone on my cast iron and I get a pizza in a few minutes. I usually just roll it up for ease of eating - again, this is my lazy food :)

I also try to keep a high protein diet, so I always have canned tuna in the kitchen. Mix that up with dill relish, or greek yogurt and spices, and I'm happy. Amazon has a great subscribe and save on an 8 pack for ~$5.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 20, 2017, 07:08:29 PM


Any particular reason you do not have a microwave?  I do find they make the batch cooking thing a lot easier.


I wasn't crazy about how my food cooked mostly unevenly, and I found myself zapping the same cup of coffee when I was at home with my baby daughter, several times a day, I'd start running after a toddler and it would get cold, and I felt it became frankencoffee! So when we moved, we got rid of it, and really haven't missed it. We have a toaster oven and a small kitchen. I have a microwave at work and have the same love/hate relationship!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Silkspin on April 20, 2017, 07:25:51 PM
Also, forgot the most basic thing, but something that definitely helps. Have a written-down meal plan and (here's the important part) look at it every day. Of course, lots of people may not be as forgetful as I am but this is key. I haven't actually done a meal plan or much cooking over the last month or two, because I've had a very busy period following hard on the heels of a five-week cold (excuses, excuses). Anyway, I was craving salad and bought some the other day. Even washed it as soon as I got home so that all I'd have to do yesterday was put it on a plate, add some dressing and anything else I'd decided on, and I'd be good to go. But, didn't have it written down, had an extremely hectic day, got home almost two hours later than planned and just completely forgot that I had this lovely salad waiting. Didn't even really want Chinese. I'm looking forward to my salad this evening, though. :)

Yes, I do meal plan. But as Zikoris said up in the thread, when your internal 2 year old is talking, the meal plan looks less and less appealing lol!

We do all right usually, but I'd like to be better at not getting derailed. Someone else mentioned how a spouse or partner can help the sabotage - and hubby never declines a pizza! I have to teach him to not let into my whims!!!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: HipGnosis on April 28, 2017, 09:36:20 PM
This won't appeal to everyone, but I thought I'd share what I heard on talk radio.
One of the things (some) 'brand name' grocery stores are doing is 'take out' food.
It's a cross between a hot deli counter and a take out / order-in restaurant.
The person on the radio said it's better and cheaper than drive-thru fast food.
Nice to have options.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: scissorbill on April 29, 2017, 08:36:27 AM
Our go to 'life happens' meals are:

scrambled eggs and toast
frozen chicken nuggets
grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: GreenSheep on April 30, 2017, 06:14:00 PM
It seems like a change in mindset would help a lot, in addition to all of the excellent advice given here. I grew up in the country, where no one delivered anywhere near our house, and there were no restaurants nearby. So it just never occurred to me that one would consider eating out or ordering in on a weeknight. My awesome mom always cooked. I remember going out to eat with some friends on a Tuesday night in college, and it felt so weird and foreign to me. So... throwing away the menus, "forgetting" who delivers, etc. and taking on the mindset that it's simply not an option might help.

I love to cook, too, and I do a lot of cooking in advance and freezing, but yes... sometimes cereal, apples with nut butter, or something similar is perfectly okay to eat for dinner. There's no law that says it has to be fancy or contain certain components. :-) I think the thing that's more important than the specific food is the fact that your family is eating together. That's another thing my family always did, and I didn't realize until college that not every family is that way.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: Much Fishing to Do on April 30, 2017, 07:04:03 PM
1) Crockpot
2) Freeze stuff that thaws well in microwave
3) Freeze crockpotted stuff that thaws well in microwave.

For me, the key is truly to not make every meal some hour or more long preparation task.  There are 3 meals a day, that would be ridiculous.  If you make a HUGE pot of delicious chili, freeze lots of containers the size of your families' meal portion, then you just took care of of many meals at once.  That's the miracle of the microwave, not making hot pockets but instantly retrieving homemade meals from long ago....
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MsPeacock on April 30, 2017, 08:51:00 PM
1. Pressure cooker instead of crockpot, because it makes the same stuff but I don't have to remember to start it in the morning.

2. "Fancy " ramen -ramen plus fried eggs, American cheese, bag salad or spinach, frozen meatballs, Teri Yaki sauce, Sirracha, etc.

3. Canned lentil soup, plus cheddar cheese melted in, rice if you have some already cooked, tortilla chips, chopped onion and or jalapeño on top. Tortilla soup yumminess in 5 minutes.

4. Egg, canned re fried beans, cheese breakfast burrito 🌯

2-3 take under 10 minutes to make and largely involve shelf stable or pantry standard items.

I have a lot of Under 30 minute meals using the budget bytes website.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: sisto on May 01, 2017, 12:59:32 PM
Definitely some good suggestions and I'll pile on the batch cooking as a great option. I often buy whole chickens, Tri-tip, and pork in the big packages at Costco. I then will cook them on my smoker and I'll pull say one tri-tip extra rare to leave room for heating it back up without making it dry. Also smoking keeps things juicy even when fully cooked. I do 2 whole chickens at a time and pull off all the meat and package it up by weight with enough to make certain meals later. Then I put the carcass in the IP to make bone broth. I freeze that in 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup and sometimes I do an 8 cup one to use later for soup and other recipes needing broth. If I have leftover veggie scraps I've saved off those go in too. Basically you have some pre-made meats that you can grab and heat up and usually throw some sort of vegetable with it. I also make big batches of chili and freeze off portions of that. I've used the pork to make pulled pork, bbq pork, or carnitas. I freeze off portions for use later. I usually try to keep some frozen mahi filets from Costco on hand too, so in a pinch I can go to the store and get tortillas and coleslaw mix and do fish tacos very quickly. I also like to have a Costco pizza on the ready for when that weekend project goes over on my time budget and I need something easy. Another thing I like is some pre-made Indian food that Costco carries, it's fairly healthy and still better than going out to eat as far a budget goes. Another thing I like to do is always keep a jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce around and some pasta. It's really easy to boil pasta and heat some sauce to throw with it in a pinch. Hopefully you find some things that work well for you.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: MVal on June 08, 2017, 08:14:37 AM
Kimchi fried rice, man. I just discovered it.

I also just got a cheap rice cooker and this was my first experiment. So, you make a few cups of rice in the cooker which will last you several meals. Buy the big container of kimchi at Costco or whatever Asian grocery you can find. You chop up a cup of kimchi, sautee/stirfry in a skillet for a bit with a little oil, add your rice and then add some extra pepper sauce/paste, sesame oil and green onion. Bam, done. Totally delicious. And you can make a huge batch and just eat it all week, too.
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: 10dollarsatatime on June 08, 2017, 09:15:29 AM
I try to batch cook at least my proteins every week, and then I cook extras on top of that and freeze them.  For instance, I'll roast a couple of pork sirloins, slice them, and freeze what I know I won't be able to finish in the week.  That way, on a week I was too lazy busy to cook, all I have to do is pull a couple of slices out of the freezer and throw them on a plate with a microwave baked sweet potato and a pile of frozen veggies.

I also can proteins.  Currently working on 24 half pints of chicken breast.  It's really easy to just drain and dump on a salad.  The pork can be shredded and fried in some oil and spices for a quick cheater carnitas.  Or I can cover either of them with BBQ sauce and eat over some quick cooking grains.  I also can soups for the winter.  I don't even have to get out a bowl at that point.  Pop off the lid, microwave, and eat!
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: llorona on June 08, 2017, 01:15:41 PM
Ugh. We have the same problem too. Wednesday, when mid-week doldrums set in, seem to be the hardest day to avoid ordering takeout.

Here are some of our quick emergency meals:
1. Quesadillas (slap tortillas and cheese together in a pan; when done, cover with chopped tomatoes and avocado)
2. BLTs
3. Tuna salad over Romaine lettuce
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: aceyou on June 08, 2017, 01:35:40 PM
I watched a film on intermittent fasting.  It was fascinating.  I keep several bags of nuts around..one in the car, one at work, a few at home.  I also keep a bag of raman noodle packets at work.  If I make myself too busy to make a meal, then I tell myself that the problem is not a lack of time, it's me needing to plan my life better.  When too busy, I

- fast for a meal (the human body can go weeks, and for most of history skipping meals was normal)
- eat nuts or raman

Regarding my kids, I just make them a simple meal...pancakes, nuts, fruit, veggies, granola bars, cereal, eggs, a smoothie, etc.  Little kids like snaking over meals anyway. 
Title: Re: Your best solutions against ordering in
Post by: AnnaGrowsAMustache on June 08, 2017, 03:35:47 PM
I'm a massive fan of the slowcooker. I make huge lots of staples, like bolognese or chili con carne, and portion them into the freezer. At the moment I have 10 or more portions of each of these made from scratch: chili, bolognese, beef stew, chicken noodle soup, split pea soup, as well as frozen cooked brown rice and mashed veges. When I get home and can't be bothered cooking, which is nearly every night (let's be honest!), I can just grab whatever I feel like and add some fresh veges. I often make 100 or so asian dumplings as well and freeze them. No need to takeout, because it's there and instant already. The slowcooker is really low work, as well, not a lot of difference preparing one meal as 15. Dumplings, not so much but it's an evening in front of the telly folding them, for weeks of pay off.

The other trick is to have something edible in the car or in your bag, so when you're driving home you're not tempted to stop! I like macadamias. They're sufficiently indulgent to feel naughty, but not going to prevent me eating a decent meal.