Alternatives to Eating Out

If you want to eat well, and heal health issues or age well, one of the best things you can do is prepare most of your meals yourself, and avoid or limit takeaways and restaurant foods. Depending on where you live, it can be very difficult to eat good quality food, when eating out. I find it’s always a compromise. 

Dave and I eat out once a week- we have a date night on Wednesdays. And most of the time, I am disappointed! Not in Dave- he is awesome- but in what we eat. I live between Fremantle and Cockburn, in Perth, and while you would think healthy dining out food would be in abundance in this part of the world- it isn’t. 

I find that: 

Indian is too heavy and oily, sometimes too much sugar. (I love a good dosa, occasionally, but no longer handle much chilli unfortunately). 

Italian- not easy to get gluten free, and when I do, its white rice or white GF pasta, or has little or no vegetables. ( At home, we eat a LOT of vegetables). 

Thai- most is full of sugar and lacking vegetables,  but I recommend the Spice Market in Fremantle for the best available, and full of fresh vegetables and good flavours. It is my current favourite restaurant. 

Burgers- Grill’d is ok- but expensive for what you get. 

The oils they cook with at restaurants are likely to be cheaper oils- and since the food is usually high in oil, that’s a lot of cheap oil. 

Home Cooked Meals

Eating at home is much less expensive, you can eat exactly what you want, you can eat a high nutrient density meal, we do have access to a wide range of fresh foods…but it takes some practice and organisation to plan ahead, have the right food in the house, and have the skills to cook. 

There is a lot of support online for learning the basics of cooking. It is a skill- but it is a lifelong skill that is probably the most important thing you can learn to benefit your long term health. And you only have to learn one meal at a time. 

I did some cooking courses when my kids were young- it was a night out once a week to a TAFE course, balm to a mother with small children- but mostly I am self taught. Most of us are! Often I have an ingredient I need to use up- often a vegetable- and I browse online to find ideas for how to use it. Over the years, you do build up quite a repertoire- unique to you.

Meal Kit Delivery Services

There are many food delivery services nowadays which deliver all the ingredients (in correct quantities) and the recipes to your door. You can choose which meals you want on their websites. While it costs more than gathering all that together yourself- it can be so beneficial for singles, busy couples or families where both parents work- to have that part of the job done for them. THe meals usually take less than 30 minutes to prepare. And, it also teaches you to cook, widens your palette, and keeps you much healthier than if you were to buy takeout frequently. Hello Fresh, Dinnerly and You Plate It are 3 in Perth, but plenty exist. 

Meal Delivery Services

Another alternative to eat better, as a backup, is to have a stack of meals in your freezer. I will often make extra and freeze for the future. But there are meal delivery services that have good quality meals that you buy in bulk frozen, and they deliver. I have done that for Dave when I have gone away. He doesn’t cook much and would quickly revert to takeaway. The company I have used and like in Perth is Bnourished, but there are plenty of others. Always having quality meals in the freezer is also beneficial when you come down with an illness, but it can be a long term solution for people who don’t want to cook or are busy some evenings. It is far better than eating takeout. 

Aged Care Service

My mother, who lives at home but is quite disabled nowadays (although once she was a fantastic cook), has an aged-care package that provides a weekly chef. He or she turns up for a couple of hours once a week and cooks her about 3 meals of her choice, in enough bulk to last her the week. She makes sure the recipes and ingredients are there, or agrees to the chef’s suggestions. This has helped her immensely to eat well, which can become an issue for the elderly. 

So there are many solutions to the issue of eating well, and being time poor, unmotivated, unwell, disabled or unskilled. While I encourage everyone to learn some basic cooking skills and be able to whip up a soup, a salad, some basic balanced meals, and to grow those skills over your lifetime- many alternatives can fill the gaps. If you find yourself resorting to takeaway or eating out a lot- and you realise its not the best for your health- I hope you consider taking advantage of some of the alternatives I have suggested.