Eating Out

One thing I am trying to do to be healthy is limit the meals that I eat in restaurants. I have been making a detailed menu and the sticking with it which helps with that late afternoon "I don't want to cook" feeling. Since I am following the meal plan that I made and shopped for I have been less tempted. I am really trying to make sure I eat foods where I know what the ingredients are. For the longest time I did not realize that restaurants added butter to steaks and other meats. I thought they just cooked theirs better than I did and theirs stayed tender while mine were more dried out. That butter really packs on the calories too!

I remember when I was growing up we didn't eat out a lot. Sometimes on Sundays after church and then an occasional Friday night or so. As I got older we ate out more, but when I was younger it was a real treat. If you drew a circle about two miles around my house there are probably at least 40 restaurants. There are times when Kip will ask where I want to eat and none of them sound appealing. I would like to get back to where eating out is a little special and is actually something to look forward to. 

We are having another Sunday Dinner this weekend and will be having four additional guests. I am having so much fun with this, planning the menus and pulling out some of my serving dishes that haven't been used in a long time. I didn't do this for our first one, but I am going to start setting the table using real linens and everything to make it feel even a little more special. We are celebrating friendships so that certainly deserves the good stuff!