How do you convert a family addicted to restaurant food to prefer home cooked food?
A friend of mine, a lady who is a decent cook, has told me that her husband is so used to eating out that he no longer craves a hamburger, he craves a Hardee’s hamburger, that he no longer wants chili, he wants Skyline Chili, and so on. All the eating out he has always done as a bachelor and as an eat and run guy on the job has trained him well to think of home-made food as less appealing and less ‘real’ than the fake concoctions you buy at fast food joints.
My question is this: Have you ever faced this situation, and did you manage to conquer it? If so, how?
By the way, part of the equation is that her family likes to eat someplace on a spur of the moment decision. They don’t like planning, which also makes home-cooking hard to do. They can have Mom cook it for an hour, or they can hit the drive through and start eating right away. She is having a hard time selling them on home-made food, all around.
In advance, thanks for thinking about this problem and sharing your experience.
Tagged with: bachelor • concoctions • decent cook • fast food • food joints • hamburger • hard time • hardee s • home cooking • job • mom • moment decision • skyline chili • spur of the moment
Filed under: sell my timeshare
We used to have this problem as well. The biggest deterrent to eating out, especially fast food, is to get a copy of "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. It’s not so much for the shock value (it is very disturbing) but for the fact that it illustrates how much safer you are eating at home.
I used to work in restaurants and I know what goes on in the kitchens sometimes. It’s far too disgusting to elaborate, but I’m sure you can guess………
It will take a lot of hard work and perseverance on her part to wean the family off restaurant food. Here’s what I did:
1) Get everyone involved – someone makes the salad, one gets the veggies going, one sets the table, while mom cooks.
2) Buy a slow cooker. I throw everything in the ceramic insert the night before and pop in the fridge. Next day I put it in the cooking part, turn it on, and do whatever. In the evening dinner just needs a salad & fruit. Very easy!
3) I set aside a day just to cook. I make big batches of tomato sauce, meat balls, buiscuts, muffins, chicken, baked potatoes, and so on. Then I cool them, wrap, and either freeze or fridge them. That way when I’m stressed or pressed for time, most of the cooking is done and dinner is on the table faster.
4) I have a Food Saver vacuum packager. I use this to make my own "T.V. Dinners". I use divided plastic plates and put leftovers on them, seal, and freeze. That way, if someone needs a quick dinner I have some handy.
Good Luck!
Well The Situation is Very Hard I’ve Been Through This BUt Now I JUst Have It ONCE ONLY a Week. You See Of I Want Fries From McDonalds. Yet i preheat the oven put fries on a cooking pan put in th moven tll there ready. Sprinkle Some Cheese And Thats It.. Try Adding More Flavour Or Have Meals Done Before The Husbands Get’ Back. Another Option Make The Husband Make Food
Wow, that’s too bad. One thing she could do, is ask him for a romantic evening at home, and they could cook together. Good luck.
Yes I will cook my meals get in better shape
and in better health than them and if the want to eat junk let them- they will come around
Tell them you are eating at home and eat this or go hungry!
You need to have him still eat hamburgers, but instead of deep fried, make them grilled and at home. Or have him try chili, with noodles and HOT peppers. You just have to experiment. And still take him out to eat like, oh say, once every 2 weeks in the beginning, and once a month towards the end.He’ll hate this at first, but keep with it. He’ll be okay in the end.
I don’t have personal experience with that particular situation, but how about a compromise? I find in any family compromise is a wonderful way to settle differences. Maybe eat out 3 or 4 nights a week, and have the wife cook at home the other nights. Maybe he’ll get more used to the taste of home cooking and decide it’s at least as good as greaseburgers. But, even if he doesn’t, his wife will get her way half the time, and he’ll get his way the other half.
You didn’t mention if they have kids or not, but if they do, or if they’re planning on it, surely he realizes that fast food all the time is very unhealthy, and even if he doesn’t care about his own health, surely he cares about his wife and kids health. Or at least I hope he does!
They could start out by designating 3 nights a week as absolute "eating at home–no matter what" nights. So maybe Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday they all eat at home. They all get input as to what meals to cook. The food can be healthful or (since it sounds like they eat pretty crappy, fattening food) it can just be their normal greasy fare, but the point is that they can all meal-plan and if they aren’t interested in meal planning then they have to just sit there and eat it.
They will still get 4 meals a week out. And in addition, they should calculate what they will save ($$$) by staying home. Maybe start a savings jar and in a 3 month period take the money they saved and maybe go for a weekend vacation or buy a new family present or just divide up the money and let every family member have a mini shopping spree.
That could be a motivator!
Things at home that are cheap and good are:
Taco night, Fried chicken, Spaghetti & grilled italian sausage, BLT sandwiches & soup, Breakfast for dinner (make big omlets & hash browns), Fish fry, Homemade Mac & Cheese casserole.
My suggestion would be to try and attempt the recipes they love at home. As for the planning she needs to just put her foot down…They cant always have it their way.
http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/home.asp
Here is a site that I have used before and I also had the book. I liked it a lot and so did my husband I was able to make a chili that was alomst a exact copy of one he loved. There is a recipe for skylines chili and also another for Hardee’s. Good luck I hope for family enjoys them.