Family Dinners Can Trump a Restaurant Outing

Last Saturday I assisted in cooking a 'family dinner' with some friends on New Year's day.  Together we made a Caesar salad with garlic bread, spaghetti in gravy (yes it was real Italian gravy), and Chicken Parmesan.  The meal fed seven people and only cost a grand total of $46 dollars.  That's pretty impressive when you think about what it would cost seven people to have a nice and filling dinner out plus drinks.  You're getting into the $125-$150 range for that type of eating, but we were able to enjoy delicious and filling food without having to go out.  Plus we were able to save on drinks, one of the most marked up items in the consumer market.  Consider this, a glass of wine at a restaurant usually costs around $6 while a 1.5 L bottle of a typical house wine usually runs around $13.  Such a bottle usually contains about 8-10 glasses of wine.  As you can see that's quite a mark up, and shows how enjoying a meal at home can be a big money saver. 

Not only are home-cooked dinners more cost effective but they are usually healthier than meals cooked at restaurants.  All of the ingredients that we used were fresh, and because we cooked the meal ourselves we knew exactly what we were eating.  Restaurants often use heavy doses of butters, oils, and fats to give their foods taste plus high levels of sodium and other preservatives.  By cooking out meal at home we knew that is was both inexpensive and healthy for the most part.

Another positive aspect of cooking group dinners at home is the satisfaction that results from laboring over such a meal.  It felt great to look at the food spread out on the table knowing that I helped to prepare such a feast.  Accomplishments like this really make you feel like you did a nice thing, especially when everyone at the table really enjoys the food.  It feels great not only to accomplish something for yourself, but also knowing that you're hard work provided an enjoyable experience for others.

Now I'm not saying that people should never go out to eat but maybe consider hosting a dinner party or having friends over for dinner next time you think about meeting out at a restaurant.  Sure on special occasions it's nice to skip the effort or preparation and the clean up required by a nice meal, but it can also be very rewarding to have friends and family over for a home-cooked meal.  The home should be a place of happiness and security, and provides an atmosphere of privacy for yourself and your loved ones.  Consider a group dinner at home next time you want to share a meal with friends because it's more affordable, healthier, and can give one a greater feeling of satisfaction.