It’s fun and sometimes entertaining to eat out at restaurants. Everybody likes to go to a lively place that serves anything that you would like at your request. For Mom it is doubly nice because she doesn’t have to cook, or shop, or wash the dishes. When it comes to the bill, however, the reality of the situation sets in – if you’re paying attention, that is. The fancy restaurant, the air conditioning, the array of fancy foods, the servers, the cooks, and everything that you have enjoyed has to be paid for by those who have partaken. In these unsettled economic times it is a dubious treat to go out to eat. Things are so expensive that it starts to take the joy out of the experience. If you like wine or other alcoholic beverages with your meal, you can expect the price of your outing to double. Oh, and did I fail to mention that in order to get to the restaurant that you have to spend money for gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and extra time dressing up and putting on makeup? And if you don’t have to dress up, is the restaurant someplace special? Probably not. So, just like most of life, you never get something for nothing; there is always a bill to pay in one way or another.

From the standpoint of health eating out does not work. Who orders Oatmeal at a restaurant? We always order the "forbidden fruit" telling ourselves that, "well, I don’t eat like this all the time, so just this once will be okay." Unfortunately, it isn’t just once, we tend to go out more and more because we are told to do this by the advertisers. Restaurants can be addictive. It takes a bit of will power to turn down the fancy dessert tray that beckons to us, especially when the server is suggesting yet another chocolate covered, flaming extravaganza that looks as though Heaven itself is just inside the flames. Those desserts are one of the costliest parts of the meal. In fact, between the wine and the desserts, half your money is seduced away. Of course you know that the scale tomorrow morning will not be kind to you. You may have been dieting all week just so you can "pig out" on your special night. Is it worth it? No. Your budget takes a hit, your waistline expands, and your health has not been served.

Eating at home can work well. And, lest we forget, the food is better, the fare is cheaper, the wine is a bargain. You can buy a reasonably priced bottle of wine in the grocery store and then enjoy several glasses of it at your leisure for the price of a single glass of the same wine at a restaurant. No one can match Mom’s cooking; everyone knows that, so why not dine where the food is at it’s best? Most people don’t realize that Mom loves to cook (all good Moms love to cook – it’s a tradition) so we do her a favor when we opt to eat at home. Of course, Mom would like a little help setting the table, help with parts of the cooking, and help with washing the dishes. This way the whole family can enjoy doing something together that is meaningful. When the weather is bad – like summer in the South – it is much more comfortable to stay in the home air conditioning instead of paying for the restaurant’s air conditioning too. Besides, if the restaurant is busy you may have wait in line, or sit a table that is not of your choosing, or you may have to sit in a noisy dining room while you wait for a server to notice you. Eating at home is better in every way. You eat healthily, you save money, you are with the ones you love, and you can raid the refrigerator at midnight for that last piece pie left over from dinner – try that at a restaurant!