13 reasons to eat at home

I’m sure I must drive my poor, long suffering husband crazy! He often invites me out for dinner, and my answer is almost invariably no, thank you. Eating in is just so much easier.

1. I plan my meals, so I know how much I can eat come dinner time. I don’t want to pay for an expensive meal – in money and kilojoules – if I need to only eat a light dinner.
2. I know what and how I’m cooking, so no kilojoules / calories are ‘wasted’ or ‘hidden’. Those restaurant sauces are made with cream and butter, and the veg are also likely to be buttered and sweetened.
3. If we eat at home I don’t have to get ‘dressed up’ to go out. Going out involves at least a change of shoes, jacket, handbag etc, plus I’d have to do my hair.
4. We eat healthy sized portions. Restaurant protein portions, as I’ve mentioned before, are more than double what your body needs.
5. We get our recommended fruit and veg intake for the day. Last time we ate out I ordered a steak with vegetables. The vegetables consisted of one very small rocket leaf and chips! And the (lady’s) steak weighed 200gms
6. My meals are freshly prepared. My veg have not been precooked and left sitting in a bain marie for hours.
7. I get to eat dinner before 7:00PM. Much kinder to the digestion and the waist line. Going to bed on a full stomach is likely to cause discomfort and heartburn.
8. We don’t have to wait ages for a waiter to take our order. Admittedly, I’ve chosen our meal beforehand and my husband doesn’t have much of a say… but I gave up asking him what he would like to eat when he kept answering ‘food, please’.
9. Then wait another age while the kitchen prepares the food. There is still a wait while I cook, but I am only cooking one meal and not tending a dozen different orders.
10. I don’t see other plates being delivered that look more interesting than mine. I think all menus should show photographs, so you know what to expect. I have ordered ‘fancy’ – i.e. expensive - salads at several different restaurants and been very disappointed with the actual content, some of them didn’t even contain the ingredients listed on the menu.
11. There is no bill to pay – the food has already been paid for.
12. The wine at home is less than half the restaurant price for the same bottle.
13. There are no parking problems.

 

So I will continue to happily devise new recipes and eat at home.

 

 

Question time

My niece recently asked me a few questions about healthy eating, and I thought since her questions are the kind that everyone ponders I'll answer them here. If you have questions about encouraging and/or introducing healthy eating into your home, leave a comment for me and I will answer.

So here is Natalie's first question:
We are trying to eat a lot of fish and those peppered mackerel which taste yummy! At lunch I try and have tuna on ryvita with sliced cucumber, but have to be naughty and have a little aromat. We eat those packet tuna 'John West light tuna' with the mixed in dressings - do you think they are bad?!

I don't know that the light tuna with mixed in dressing is 'bad' - I haven't read the label, but they probably contain some sort of synthetic preservatives. They are certainly very expensive. A plain old tin of shredded tuna in brine, drained and mixed with a little HELMAN'S LOW FAT mayo (with the green lid and very yummy!) and some finely chopped spring onion or red onion works out much cheaper. Add a little salt and a good grind of black pepper - and a little bit of tomato sauce and / or lemon juice if you like. Instead of mayo you could mix in some other low-oil salad dressing (Ina Paarman's range is delicious.) Aromat contains monosodium glutamate, and quite a few E-numbers - read your packaging. Try using a sprinkle of veg stock powder instead - Ina Paarman's has no MSG, and no E-numbers.

Don't get bogged down in having the same lunch every day - try and vary it a bit, or you will get very bored with it eventually. Try roasting a whole chicken occassionally, strip the meat off the bones and throw away the skin. Freeze in small portions for lunchtime use. When you thaw it, you can either use the slices, or chop up finely with some mayo.

Melrose low fat cheese slices and wedges are also a good breakfast or lunchtime food. And a hard boiled egg is hard to beat.

Ryvita's are crunchy and tasty. Have you tried all the different varieties? I particularly like the ones with sesame seed. Provita are also yummy, specially with marmite, cucumber and tomato. I have a problem with crackers and savoury biscuits - they just taste like 'more' (gotta have some 'more')! Have some bread occassionally, too - rye bread is one of my favourites.

Make the effort and make more of salad veg at lunchtime. Eating a plate of mixed salad is very satisfying, fills you up a bit more, and helps you meet your 5-a-day. And there is pretty well no limit to what you can put in a salad. Did you know that butternut and sweet potato are both good raw? Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cannellini beans and butter beans are all salad friendly. Throw in some chopped mango or pineapple and add some nuts and you have a very healthy nutritious lunchtime feast.

Vary the veg

Having turned off the TV during dinner, and enjoyed some quality conversation with you spouse/partner and/or family instead, it's time to introduce more vegetables.

If you have been looking at (better still, using) my recipes, you will have noticed that all of them have at least three vegetables in them or with them; if there is a shortage of veg on the plate, then I always suggest a salad. You don't have to serve the vegetables I recommend - you can substitute your own favourites - but I do try to include a variety that is seasonal, relatively inexpensive and colourful. A colourful plate is a healthy plate. A variety of colours indicates a variety of vitamins and minerals. But leave out the veg you or the family really don't care for; just be sure to substitute something else. I personally don't care for pumpkin (except in pumpkin pie, when it is wonderful) - I find it watery, stringy and bordering on tasteless. But I really enjoy butternut squash which has real substance, form, colour and flavour. And butternuts come in usable, storable sizes, which is always a plus in my book, unlike pumpkins.

If I use something unfamiliar to you, do try it. You might enjoy it. I bought ochra a little while ago (I'm not sure if I've posted those recipes yet), something I've never tried before. They were alright. Interesting. A little bit different. I don't know that I would rush to buy them again - but at least I gave them a chance.

Buy a different vegetable this week - something you haven't served in a while, or ever. You might be pleasantly surprised.