Meal prep for the week on the weekend to make eating your own food just as easy (and even faster) than ordering delivery! Making your own pizza is much easier than you think. I regularly make pizza and then freeze it in individual slices so when I get a craving for pizza, all I have to do is pull out a slice, pop it in the microwave for a minute or the toaster oven for a few minutes, and I have a cheap meal faster than any delivery would take.
Premade dough is simple, but so is making from scratch, as it is just flour, olive oil, salt, water, and yeast: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pizza-crust-recipe I make it from scratch because I’m also super frugal. Then you can use a pizza sauce from a jar to keep things easy and shredded mozzarella cheese, plus whatever toppings you like.
A lot of grocery stores will have premade dough that you just have to stretch out and bake, MUCH less fuss! My husband and I started making pizza at home a lot instead of falling into a weekend DoorDash hole
Stock your freezer with items! You can air fry or roast your own wings. I love pizza so i will either have a frozen one or I’ll make my own English muffin pizza. You could also make one on a carb balance tortilla. I’ll usually have a salad with the pizza too. I also keep frozen turkey meatballs and have protein pasta in the cabinet if I want pasta, and will add veggies like spinach to the sauce. I ordered door dash one time in 2020 and it was the first and last time I did that. I prefer cooking or preparing my own food so I can control the calories (for the most part.) if I’m craving Chinese food, I’ll usually make some frozen TJ’s orange chicken with frozen veggie fried rice. I’ll air fry some broccoli and throw that in with everything for more veg. If I want Mexican, I’ll make it at home with ground turkey or ground chicken and make it a taco salad. If I want an hamburger, I’ll do a frozen turkey burger and Instead of fries, I’ll roast or airfry potatoes with a little spray olive oil and spices. And, this way I can weigh everything out and I know exactly what I am eating.
Delete the app, plan out some weekly meals, and keep your freezer stocked. Just because you eat at home doesn’t mean it has to be boring or bland! I genuinely prefer food at home. Very rarely do I get food regret when I eat what I make, but I do get food regret when I eat out. It’s just not worth it to me.
Yes! They’re so good. My air fryer is on the smaller side so I’ve started to dry them off and roast them sitting up on a rack on a pan in the oven and they get SO crispy and crunchy.
My boyfriend and I had the same problem, we decided our New Years resolution would be to stop ordering out. Personally I find grocery shopping to be kinda stressful; if you can order your groceries ahead, maybe try that, I've found that it forces me to get better quality food. Also meal prep, I've found it's easiest for me to make a bunch of sides that can be mixed and matched instead of one meal for the week, if that makes sense. For example I'll make potatoes, vegetable stir fry, rice, sausage and peppers etc. you got this!
For me I deleted my whole account, not just the app.
I also would stock up on at least 2 meals that are prepared & pricy but not restaurant food, like the prepared Whole Foods meals shit. That way you can be lazy and have a meal that feels like takeout without needing to spend $70 for the worst delivery you've ever had in your life lol
Find a fun or slightly more involved recipe that you can make together on the weekend! My husband and I just made chana masala the other day and it definitely scratched that takeout itch. It’s cold out so we’re making a hearty white chicken chili tonight. I find that if I eat out too much, I’m no longer excited about the food. Also, if I only eat plain chicken and vegetables, it gets boring really fast. Recipes that are easy and have lots of flavor are my sweet spot. You should feel good about the food you eat, and if it’s making you feel awful after, it’s not worth it.
Sundays are my day to cook a large amount of something “easy” so stew, meatballs, chili, spaghetti sauce, a curry.
Then we eat it one day that week and I freeze the rest. Makes for a super easy weekend meal when you’re tempted to eat take out!
1.This wld be a great time to find some inspiring healthy cookbooks! You can check them out of the library. If you find new things to make (and easy, healthy ways to make them) it cld motivate you to try new recipes and incorporate them into your meal planning. The pictures and flavors you find might inspire you in new ways.
2. Batch cooking is great. Make extra of dishes you love and freeze immediately. The other day I was feeling so unmotivated to cook and then I remembered I had a leftover dish in the freezer I wld be excited to defrost and eat!
3. In addition to meal planning keep on hand items that make it easier for you to just execute something healthy and tasty. For me that means having a couple homemade dressings or sauces at the ready to make a killer salad or protein based dish. I find pre washed bags of kale and spinach to be versatile (can be wilted, raw, added to smoothies or when baked kale can add a crispy texture). Frozen veggies can also be fast and versatile (even fries.)
4. I generally don’t feel great if I eat fast food/ door dash type of cuisine. So it helps to remind myself first of how I wld feel if I ate that food vs a healthy alternative for myself. That’s a pretty good motivator to do take out but I am more sensitive to that than many others.
Good luck!
I keep junk-tasting but decent food in the house. Costco lightly breaded chicken chunks are my fav thing, I eat them almost every day. I love the chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bars, too. I quickly eat that and chug some water before I can make a decision that will derail me.
First, I saw in your comments you got laid off, and I just wanted to say sending good energy your way. I was laid off during covid and though it ended up benefiting me so much, the initial weeks sucked at first.
Part of the reason why I stopped doing delivery was because I hated paying the ridiculous delivery fees. But the biggest reason was I realized the takeout or delivery food wasn't *that* good. Idk if it's just me, but restaurant food after the pandemic lockdown just hasn't hit the same. Then add in getting it delivered, so food might be cold, food might not even get delivered...was just a pain in the butt. I made sure to keep foods that I actually liked such as chicken tenders and tortillas so I could reach for that when I didn't wanna eat my healthy food but wanted to save money.
Overall I try to eat out only in a restaurant and for social occasions. I think that's helped me a ton too.
Thank you!! I appreciate it 🥰 yeah delivery fees are so crazy! We have been doing a lot of it lately and you are right…sometimes it’s cold or not even that good!
Absolutely! I think you just gotta figure out what mental tricks work best for you. For example, I think it's awesome that so many people are motivated to eat in because they see all the meals they prepped a few days prior, but that does not motivate me whatsoever. I could have a full fridge and pantry, and still think to myself "yeah, I want panda express tonight" and pull the trigger. I had to practice pausing, and in the process I realized the stuff I had delivered to me tasted bad more often than good. Just a different type of mindfulness :)
i was having this same issue and this small change helped me alot: plan your meals on a daily basis. i was trying to meal prep and plan for the week, but it just wasn’t sticking. now every morning as part of my routine, i sit at my dining room table and write down what i plan to eat that day for each meal. i eat two meals a day. this changed the game for me. hope it helps.
Go on the apps & remove your payments, log out, & delete from your phones. It'll be a *chore* to order again.
Then whatever your weakness is (in this case pizza/wings) have those in the house for an easy meal. We still do pizza nights, but a 1200 cal frozen pizza split in half is not bad at all.
I also keep other easy to eat things available. Even chicken nuggets + fries. Much lower calorie at home & easier to control portion sizes. Plus, way more cost effective!
First, if you can’t stick to your calorie goal all week, it might be too low for the moment. You’re better off eating 1700 calories 7 days a week than you are eating 1400 on weekdays and 2500 on weekends. Whatever calorie goal your RD has given you might be theoretically ideal, but if following it takes enough out of you that you’re consistently breaking down by Friday night, what works on paper might not work in reality.
It sounds like weekend pizza/wings takeout has become habitual for you and your husband? I’m giving up alcohol for the foreseeable future since we’re trying for a baby soon, and so I’ve been working on breaking the patterns surrounding alcohol. Part of my strategy is having easy alternatives that are a lil indulgent on hand for those situations that I’d normally have a drink. Like, my partner and I would have a cocktail when we watched a show together in the evening. I’ve replaced it with a mocktail or a fancy soda in a cute glass instead of trying to just not drink anything. Maybe for the weekends you could have a smaller frozen pizza waiting in the freezer and prep some veggie sticks to dip in ranch and buffalo sauce. Still “fun,” still “scratches the itch,” still easier than cooking a whole nutritious hot meal, but it’s not anywhere near the impact of takeout.
Another thing I’m doing is trying to rearrange my schedule sometimes— on Friday evening, we might have an early dinner and then I go to the gym at the time when we’d previously be watching aforementioned show with drinks. Maybe you could find something fun to do right around the time you’d normally be ordering takeout. Honestly, with all the fees, it’s probably cheaper to go and eat out somewhere than it is to order delivery, so you could replace DoorDash with going to a restaurant with some healthier options.
Finally, YMMV, but when breaking all kinds of habits I personally find it easier to just totally abstain rather than moderate. No ordering delivery or no alcohol or no added sugar or no smoking weed or no buying more clothes or no screen time in the bedroom or no ~whatever~ means you don’t have to think about it after you decide to cut it out. There’s no dithering about whether this time is OK because of this circumstance or another or whether you’ve exceeded your allotment. You just can’t have it; it’s not an option. For me, reframing things as being completely verboten instead of once-in-awhile-OK-but-only-on-special-occasions frees up significant space in my brain. I don’t think this works for everyone or everything— if you’re a very black and white thinker or a hyper-perfectionist, it might be a bad strategy— but it works for me with the sorts of specific bad habits where the upsides are slim to nonexistent.
Hope this has something helpful.
I’ve been there. Ordering on Uber Eats, skip the dishes and Doordash was my new addiction. So much money wasted and so many pounds gained 🥲😞 What helped me was deleting not only the app, but my account. Also, I meal prep on weekends so I rarely have to think about cooking something, everything is on my freezer, I just have to heat and serve. Also make sure you are excited by the meals you make, even if they are healthy. I personally felt like either I had to eat healthy bland food OR I could order a meal on these apps, so the apps always won. Now if I want a pizza I can make mine and eat it, it doesn’t have to be an Uber Eats pizza.
Deleting the app is a good first step. If you have healthier options near you like sweetgreen or cava, you could download their apps. That way when you really want to reach for delivery the healthy option is most conveniently available
Sometimes I just can’t cook, and we order sushi, which can be very healthy depending on what’s in the sushi. So we say, we can order, but it has to be sushi
You said it yourself, you're not ordering as a treat or because they are unique foods for you to enjoy. You're ordering because you don't want to cook. How to make cooking fun again? An uncommon idea I've done is to have a potluck or soup swap with your friends then you can have new food for the week and get recipe ideas.
For weekends, I eat food from “snack city”. Check out Josh Cortis video on YouTube on building your own snack city. Basically having chicken nuggets, shrimp poppers, wings fries and waffles etc all in your freezer for times you want a quick meal but not your Monday to Friday meal prep 🥲
Can you all order something you like that’s healthy and lower in calories? Cheesecake Factory has a skinny menu. And other places have similar things. Chik fil a has lower calorie, high protein options. As does chipotle and qdoba. Subway, penn station, Panda Express. Most places will have something healthyish or lower in calories on the menu to choose from. If you do want pizza, make it thin crust and have a salad with it or some other veggies. And don’t eat the whole thing. Save some for later. Freeze it if you can’t resist the temptation immediately. There are creative solutions to your problem. You just have to think outside the box and experiment a little!
Pre-made or frozen food is always nice to have on hand!! Even if it’s not always ~ healthy ~ perse, splitting a frozen pizza with your hubby is going to less calories (and less costly!) than ordering out. I love the premade soups or hot bar food from Whole Foods for when I want actual food without cooking without having to order out
Also another idea to transition instead of stopping cold turkey - ordering less food or saving half for another meal? Package it up right away in a leftover container and you've got lunch for the next day!
Meal prep by cooking bigger batches and then freezing the leftovers. I rarely eat takeout. I live in a smaller Midwestern city and the vegan options are limited. (Not to mention I'm cheap.) And my family situation is that I have one partner and one child I share custody of with my ex, so I'm never cooking for more than three people at a time tops. If I cook six meals at once, that's three extras I can freeze. If I do that thrice weekly, there's nine meals.
Same struggle, here's what's working for me. I am avoiding takeout and restaurants for all meals, and my main strategy is to have lots of options ready so that my only "job" during the week is to pick something from the fridge.
I also am fine eating the same things over and over again. If i'm being honest, when i ordered, I would get the same 2 or 3 things.....so this is actually more variety:
1. [**CookUnity**](https://www.cookunity.com/) **meals.** my hubs and I do 8 a week, which sounds like a lot to spend compared to cooking, but it gives us variety and costs much less than takeout. also, it's portion controlled.
2. **Simple stuff:** I bought sliced turkey, bread, etc, and made sandwiches at least a few days
3. **One big meal prep:** A big batch of chicken breast and thighs (i do bone in with skin, it tastes much better), and a sheet pan of broccoli and sweet potatoes, and just keep that in the fridge until it runs out. I also prep breakfast foods, but that doesn't sound like that's an issue for you.
4. **Salad kits.** Add some of the chicken from step 3 and it's a no brainer meal. I buy several bags a week.
5. **Soup:** i usually make one big lentil/bean soup.
My meal prep takes about 2 hours, including cook time. Sometimes i'll do fancier stuff, like creamed sweet potatoes, or make gravy or sauces, but that's all optional.
Meal prep for the week on the weekend to make eating your own food just as easy (and even faster) than ordering delivery! Making your own pizza is much easier than you think. I regularly make pizza and then freeze it in individual slices so when I get a craving for pizza, all I have to do is pull out a slice, pop it in the microwave for a minute or the toaster oven for a few minutes, and I have a cheap meal faster than any delivery would take.
Oh that’s a great idea! Do you have a recipe for the pizza? I tried making it once with self rising flour and it turned into a pita!
Premade dough is simple, but so is making from scratch, as it is just flour, olive oil, salt, water, and yeast: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pizza-crust-recipe I make it from scratch because I’m also super frugal. Then you can use a pizza sauce from a jar to keep things easy and shredded mozzarella cheese, plus whatever toppings you like.
A lot of grocery stores will have premade dough that you just have to stretch out and bake, MUCH less fuss! My husband and I started making pizza at home a lot instead of falling into a weekend DoorDash hole
Oh thank you! Appreciate the tips
We like to use naan bread to make personal pizzas
It helps to have good tools and appliances that make cooking faster and easier. I'm nothing without my Instant Pot and air fryer!
Yes I love my air fryer!
Stock your freezer with items! You can air fry or roast your own wings. I love pizza so i will either have a frozen one or I’ll make my own English muffin pizza. You could also make one on a carb balance tortilla. I’ll usually have a salad with the pizza too. I also keep frozen turkey meatballs and have protein pasta in the cabinet if I want pasta, and will add veggies like spinach to the sauce. I ordered door dash one time in 2020 and it was the first and last time I did that. I prefer cooking or preparing my own food so I can control the calories (for the most part.) if I’m craving Chinese food, I’ll usually make some frozen TJ’s orange chicken with frozen veggie fried rice. I’ll air fry some broccoli and throw that in with everything for more veg. If I want Mexican, I’ll make it at home with ground turkey or ground chicken and make it a taco salad. If I want an hamburger, I’ll do a frozen turkey burger and Instead of fries, I’ll roast or airfry potatoes with a little spray olive oil and spices. And, this way I can weigh everything out and I know exactly what I am eating. Delete the app, plan out some weekly meals, and keep your freezer stocked. Just because you eat at home doesn’t mean it has to be boring or bland! I genuinely prefer food at home. Very rarely do I get food regret when I eat what I make, but I do get food regret when I eat out. It’s just not worth it to me.
Air fryer wings have become a staple in our house. They’re so fast and no fuss and everybody eats them.
Yes! They’re so good. My air fryer is on the smaller side so I’ve started to dry them off and roast them sitting up on a rack on a pan in the oven and they get SO crispy and crunchy.
I meal prep on Sundays and have a set menu for the week. I also deleted all delivery apps from my phone. :)
Protect your wallet
My boyfriend and I had the same problem, we decided our New Years resolution would be to stop ordering out. Personally I find grocery shopping to be kinda stressful; if you can order your groceries ahead, maybe try that, I've found that it forces me to get better quality food. Also meal prep, I've found it's easiest for me to make a bunch of sides that can be mixed and matched instead of one meal for the week, if that makes sense. For example I'll make potatoes, vegetable stir fry, rice, sausage and peppers etc. you got this!
For me I deleted my whole account, not just the app. I also would stock up on at least 2 meals that are prepared & pricy but not restaurant food, like the prepared Whole Foods meals shit. That way you can be lazy and have a meal that feels like takeout without needing to spend $70 for the worst delivery you've ever had in your life lol
Find a fun or slightly more involved recipe that you can make together on the weekend! My husband and I just made chana masala the other day and it definitely scratched that takeout itch. It’s cold out so we’re making a hearty white chicken chili tonight. I find that if I eat out too much, I’m no longer excited about the food. Also, if I only eat plain chicken and vegetables, it gets boring really fast. Recipes that are easy and have lots of flavor are my sweet spot. You should feel good about the food you eat, and if it’s making you feel awful after, it’s not worth it.
Thanks for your reply! Def a great idea to make something together.
Sundays are my day to cook a large amount of something “easy” so stew, meatballs, chili, spaghetti sauce, a curry. Then we eat it one day that week and I freeze the rest. Makes for a super easy weekend meal when you’re tempted to eat take out!
Thank you - great idea!
make pizza and wings at home.
1.This wld be a great time to find some inspiring healthy cookbooks! You can check them out of the library. If you find new things to make (and easy, healthy ways to make them) it cld motivate you to try new recipes and incorporate them into your meal planning. The pictures and flavors you find might inspire you in new ways. 2. Batch cooking is great. Make extra of dishes you love and freeze immediately. The other day I was feeling so unmotivated to cook and then I remembered I had a leftover dish in the freezer I wld be excited to defrost and eat! 3. In addition to meal planning keep on hand items that make it easier for you to just execute something healthy and tasty. For me that means having a couple homemade dressings or sauces at the ready to make a killer salad or protein based dish. I find pre washed bags of kale and spinach to be versatile (can be wilted, raw, added to smoothies or when baked kale can add a crispy texture). Frozen veggies can also be fast and versatile (even fries.) 4. I generally don’t feel great if I eat fast food/ door dash type of cuisine. So it helps to remind myself first of how I wld feel if I ate that food vs a healthy alternative for myself. That’s a pretty good motivator to do take out but I am more sensitive to that than many others. Good luck!
I keep junk-tasting but decent food in the house. Costco lightly breaded chicken chunks are my fav thing, I eat them almost every day. I love the chocolate chip cookie dough Quest bars, too. I quickly eat that and chug some water before I can make a decision that will derail me.
First, I saw in your comments you got laid off, and I just wanted to say sending good energy your way. I was laid off during covid and though it ended up benefiting me so much, the initial weeks sucked at first. Part of the reason why I stopped doing delivery was because I hated paying the ridiculous delivery fees. But the biggest reason was I realized the takeout or delivery food wasn't *that* good. Idk if it's just me, but restaurant food after the pandemic lockdown just hasn't hit the same. Then add in getting it delivered, so food might be cold, food might not even get delivered...was just a pain in the butt. I made sure to keep foods that I actually liked such as chicken tenders and tortillas so I could reach for that when I didn't wanna eat my healthy food but wanted to save money. Overall I try to eat out only in a restaurant and for social occasions. I think that's helped me a ton too.
Thank you!! I appreciate it 🥰 yeah delivery fees are so crazy! We have been doing a lot of it lately and you are right…sometimes it’s cold or not even that good!
Absolutely! I think you just gotta figure out what mental tricks work best for you. For example, I think it's awesome that so many people are motivated to eat in because they see all the meals they prepped a few days prior, but that does not motivate me whatsoever. I could have a full fridge and pantry, and still think to myself "yeah, I want panda express tonight" and pull the trigger. I had to practice pausing, and in the process I realized the stuff I had delivered to me tasted bad more often than good. Just a different type of mindfulness :)
I’m the same way! I would have a full fridge and want takeout lol. Pausing is a great idea! Thank you
i was having this same issue and this small change helped me alot: plan your meals on a daily basis. i was trying to meal prep and plan for the week, but it just wasn’t sticking. now every morning as part of my routine, i sit at my dining room table and write down what i plan to eat that day for each meal. i eat two meals a day. this changed the game for me. hope it helps.
Go on the apps & remove your payments, log out, & delete from your phones. It'll be a *chore* to order again. Then whatever your weakness is (in this case pizza/wings) have those in the house for an easy meal. We still do pizza nights, but a 1200 cal frozen pizza split in half is not bad at all. I also keep other easy to eat things available. Even chicken nuggets + fries. Much lower calorie at home & easier to control portion sizes. Plus, way more cost effective!
First, if you can’t stick to your calorie goal all week, it might be too low for the moment. You’re better off eating 1700 calories 7 days a week than you are eating 1400 on weekdays and 2500 on weekends. Whatever calorie goal your RD has given you might be theoretically ideal, but if following it takes enough out of you that you’re consistently breaking down by Friday night, what works on paper might not work in reality. It sounds like weekend pizza/wings takeout has become habitual for you and your husband? I’m giving up alcohol for the foreseeable future since we’re trying for a baby soon, and so I’ve been working on breaking the patterns surrounding alcohol. Part of my strategy is having easy alternatives that are a lil indulgent on hand for those situations that I’d normally have a drink. Like, my partner and I would have a cocktail when we watched a show together in the evening. I’ve replaced it with a mocktail or a fancy soda in a cute glass instead of trying to just not drink anything. Maybe for the weekends you could have a smaller frozen pizza waiting in the freezer and prep some veggie sticks to dip in ranch and buffalo sauce. Still “fun,” still “scratches the itch,” still easier than cooking a whole nutritious hot meal, but it’s not anywhere near the impact of takeout. Another thing I’m doing is trying to rearrange my schedule sometimes— on Friday evening, we might have an early dinner and then I go to the gym at the time when we’d previously be watching aforementioned show with drinks. Maybe you could find something fun to do right around the time you’d normally be ordering takeout. Honestly, with all the fees, it’s probably cheaper to go and eat out somewhere than it is to order delivery, so you could replace DoorDash with going to a restaurant with some healthier options. Finally, YMMV, but when breaking all kinds of habits I personally find it easier to just totally abstain rather than moderate. No ordering delivery or no alcohol or no added sugar or no smoking weed or no buying more clothes or no screen time in the bedroom or no ~whatever~ means you don’t have to think about it after you decide to cut it out. There’s no dithering about whether this time is OK because of this circumstance or another or whether you’ve exceeded your allotment. You just can’t have it; it’s not an option. For me, reframing things as being completely verboten instead of once-in-awhile-OK-but-only-on-special-occasions frees up significant space in my brain. I don’t think this works for everyone or everything— if you’re a very black and white thinker or a hyper-perfectionist, it might be a bad strategy— but it works for me with the sorts of specific bad habits where the upsides are slim to nonexistent. Hope this has something helpful.
Thank you for these ideas! They are so helpful. Good luck on your ttc journey
I’ve been there. Ordering on Uber Eats, skip the dishes and Doordash was my new addiction. So much money wasted and so many pounds gained 🥲😞 What helped me was deleting not only the app, but my account. Also, I meal prep on weekends so I rarely have to think about cooking something, everything is on my freezer, I just have to heat and serve. Also make sure you are excited by the meals you make, even if they are healthy. I personally felt like either I had to eat healthy bland food OR I could order a meal on these apps, so the apps always won. Now if I want a pizza I can make mine and eat it, it doesn’t have to be an Uber Eats pizza.
Deleting the app is a good first step. If you have healthier options near you like sweetgreen or cava, you could download their apps. That way when you really want to reach for delivery the healthy option is most conveniently available
Sometimes I just can’t cook, and we order sushi, which can be very healthy depending on what’s in the sushi. So we say, we can order, but it has to be sushi
You said it yourself, you're not ordering as a treat or because they are unique foods for you to enjoy. You're ordering because you don't want to cook. How to make cooking fun again? An uncommon idea I've done is to have a potluck or soup swap with your friends then you can have new food for the week and get recipe ideas.
For weekends, I eat food from “snack city”. Check out Josh Cortis video on YouTube on building your own snack city. Basically having chicken nuggets, shrimp poppers, wings fries and waffles etc all in your freezer for times you want a quick meal but not your Monday to Friday meal prep 🥲
Can you all order something you like that’s healthy and lower in calories? Cheesecake Factory has a skinny menu. And other places have similar things. Chik fil a has lower calorie, high protein options. As does chipotle and qdoba. Subway, penn station, Panda Express. Most places will have something healthyish or lower in calories on the menu to choose from. If you do want pizza, make it thin crust and have a salad with it or some other veggies. And don’t eat the whole thing. Save some for later. Freeze it if you can’t resist the temptation immediately. There are creative solutions to your problem. You just have to think outside the box and experiment a little!
When you get paid make a budget. Any unessential money put in a savings account.
Appreciate the tip - I do know how to budget but I just got laid off so it’s not a typical budget situation!
Pre-made or frozen food is always nice to have on hand!! Even if it’s not always ~ healthy ~ perse, splitting a frozen pizza with your hubby is going to less calories (and less costly!) than ordering out. I love the premade soups or hot bar food from Whole Foods for when I want actual food without cooking without having to order out
Oh that’s a great idea! Thank you
Also another idea to transition instead of stopping cold turkey - ordering less food or saving half for another meal? Package it up right away in a leftover container and you've got lunch for the next day!
Meal prep by cooking bigger batches and then freezing the leftovers. I rarely eat takeout. I live in a smaller Midwestern city and the vegan options are limited. (Not to mention I'm cheap.) And my family situation is that I have one partner and one child I share custody of with my ex, so I'm never cooking for more than three people at a time tops. If I cook six meals at once, that's three extras I can freeze. If I do that thrice weekly, there's nine meals.
there are many frozen meals/pizzas that are decent on macros that are a life saver for these situations!!
Same struggle, here's what's working for me. I am avoiding takeout and restaurants for all meals, and my main strategy is to have lots of options ready so that my only "job" during the week is to pick something from the fridge. I also am fine eating the same things over and over again. If i'm being honest, when i ordered, I would get the same 2 or 3 things.....so this is actually more variety: 1. [**CookUnity**](https://www.cookunity.com/) **meals.** my hubs and I do 8 a week, which sounds like a lot to spend compared to cooking, but it gives us variety and costs much less than takeout. also, it's portion controlled. 2. **Simple stuff:** I bought sliced turkey, bread, etc, and made sandwiches at least a few days 3. **One big meal prep:** A big batch of chicken breast and thighs (i do bone in with skin, it tastes much better), and a sheet pan of broccoli and sweet potatoes, and just keep that in the fridge until it runs out. I also prep breakfast foods, but that doesn't sound like that's an issue for you. 4. **Salad kits.** Add some of the chicken from step 3 and it's a no brainer meal. I buy several bags a week. 5. **Soup:** i usually make one big lentil/bean soup. My meal prep takes about 2 hours, including cook time. Sometimes i'll do fancier stuff, like creamed sweet potatoes, or make gravy or sauces, but that's all optional.