Cheap tricks: how restaurant meals can make your waist thicker and wallet thinner

Muscle & Fitness, May, 2004 by Chris Sare

WANT TO SAVE AN EXTRA thousand dollars this year? Eat at home more often. The average American household spends $2,063 per year eating out, says the Center for Media Research, quoting the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's almost $40 a week, almost $172 a month. Think of the gym membership or supplements you could afford with those bucks.

Where does the money go? Full-service restaurants are obviously a culprit, even the lower-range ones with burgers that cost $6-$8 and healthier plates like grilled chicken, baked potato and vegetables running $8 and more. But younger consumers spend more than half of their eating-out dollars on fast food. They may only be spending $3 for a burger, but add a buck or two for soft drinks and $1 or more for fries, and it starts to add up.

FEED THE MUSCLE MACHINE

The obvious alternative to eating out is cooking at home, but busy schedules often make that a difficult undertaking. Fortunately, there are options. A great one is the whole chickens some supermarkets have in the deli section. They're already cooked and kept hot, making them an easy choice. Remove the skin, of course, and you have lots of lean protein-packed meat. Toss a potato and some vegetables in the microwave, add a salad, and you'll have a complete meal for a fraction of the cost of the restaurant version.

Another way of conserving both time and money is to consider batch cooking, in which you make multiple meals at once and then store them until you're ready to eat them. If that sounds like too much planning, then at least double the recipe each time you cook so you have a muscle meal ready for the next day's lunch. That way you'll be able to spend more time at the gym on your lunch hour.

Two great time- and money-saving dishes are chili and goulash. You can make a batch of chili with lean ground meat, beans, tomatoes, onion and tomato sauce for $1-$1.25 a bowl, with 30 grams of protein per serving. The goulash is similar, featuring lean ground meat and tomatoes, but with spaghetti sauce and macaroni. Adding canned tomatoes to both dishes adds flavor and nutrition while cutting the calories per serving. It's also an easy way to get in a serving of vegetables.

The moral of this story? A little bit of thought and planning can save you lots of cash.

Protein Bucks
These are actual 2004 prices from a small chain market. Prices vary, so
look for bargains and be flexible in your meal plans.

FOOD                                 SUPERMARKET PRICE
                                     per pound unless otherwise noted

Sirloin steak                        $4.99
Salmon fillet                        $3.49
Hamburger:
 Regular (30% fat)                   $1.99
 "Lean" (22% fat)                    $1.29
 "Leanest" (15% fat)*                $2.99
Chicken breast (boneless, skinless)  $2.99
Tuna (6-oz.can)                      $0.79
Whole cooked chicken (24 oz.)        $3.99

*Some stores have even leaner beef avallable.

Visit Chris online at www.ChrisSare.com