People say to me regularly, " I don’t know how you eat at home as much as you do, I'm too busy to do that."
But what if I told you, you already spend an average of 4 minutes in the drive thru per visit. If you’re a breakfast, lunch and dinner drive-thru person (I see you with that grande mocha latte in the morning) you’re spending 16 minutes a day waiting for a quick meal or beverage.
16 minutes may not seem like a lot but let's also look at the other things you're wasting.
Money
According to the site, The Simple Dollar, the average American spends $12.75 per person each meal out. For a family of four that’s $48! (Don’t forget this is an average. some meals will be cheaper and some will be more expensive.)
The average meal at home costs $4 a person. This number is slightly high to allow for fresh fruits and vegetables. For a family of 4, that $48 meal just turned into $16, a savings of $32 a meal. Just 1!
Energy
Contrary to popular belief, a calorie is not a calorie. If you are under the impression that 100 calories of french fries and 100 calories of broccoli are the same then please watch this video to understand how you are robbing yourself of energy.
Waistline
If you've been trying to curb your saturated fat, sugar and sodium intake, eating at home can help. In doing so, you are in control of the amount of unhealthy fat, salt and sugar that goes into your food.
When my husband and I began eating at home regularly he dropped 15 pounds and I dropped 5! It was unreal! How could simply eating at home more often do this? We were aware of everything going into our food. I also can't make french fries to save my life.
Next Steps
The easiest way to change your life is one habit at a time. Take 1 meal a week and change it into a meal prepped meal at home!
Step 1: On Saturday or Sunday prep your meal. This involves pre-chopping vegetables, cutting meat into the correct portions or even making an entire meal ahead of time for heat and eat purposes.
Step 2: Come home instead of hitting up the drive-thru and make dinner.
Step 3: Bask in the glory of saving time, money, and calories while giving yourself more energy. (fist bump!)
My all time favorite meal is a sheet pan meal. Click here to download a free recipe book of sheet pan meals.
Enjoy getting this time and energy back!