Today I’m going to help you avoid ordering a takeaway when you really, really want one!
You know those nights when you can’t be bothered to cook and really want to just pick up the phone and order a takeaway? Well, I have a few little tips that will help make it easier to resist the urge to share with you today…
OK, can you tell I’m struggling myself this month seeing as I’m writing this post! I’m trying to get myself healthier and save money so a takeaway is absolutely out of the question at the moment.
At the same time though, I’m absolutely wiped out as I’ve been poorly (not the dreaded Coronavirus) for the last couple of weeks and the kids have both been ill too (with the dreaded Coronavirus) so sleep has been sadly lacking and energy levels are low right now.
The temptation to order a takeaway has been ever-present but so far we’ve resisted. I’m not saying we ate well though – last week, we had dippy egg and soldiers twice for tea, soup and cheese toasties one night, jacket potatoes with cheese and beans another night and random freezer teas for the other nights so it was minimal effort teas all around to get us through the week.
We’re all starting to feel better now though so I might even be ready to write an actual meal plan for this week. Maybe. 😂
Anyway, on to the main purpose of today’s post…
How to avoid ordering a takeaway when you really, really want one!
1) Make it as hard as possible for you to order a takeaway
An obvious one but delete all apps from your phone and throw out all of the takeaway menus that you have in the kitchen drawer! Also, make sure that your card details aren’t stored in sites where you can order online. Anything that makes you have to work a little bit harder to order buys you a bit more time to consider whether you REALLY want one.
2) Consider the alternatives
If you know you like a cheeky pizza for example, then there are two options – the first one is to buy a frozen pizza from the shop and keep that in your freezer. There are some great takeaway style pizzas now and every now and again we see them on offer so we buy one or two to pop in the freezer – not the most frugal option but as it costs less than a takeaway then we’ll let it slide this time.
The second option would be to make your own homemade pizza which we enjoy more than a takeaway every single time we make our own. I reckon we can make a whole pizza for around 50p so it’s a huge saving!
3) Have some homemade ready meals in the freezer
Make sure you always have easy food in the freezer that you can cook with little effort – batch cooking is great for this! I usually have some ready prepared lasagne and cottage pies in my freezer as well as batches of chilli and bolognese. I also always have things like waffles that we love to have with just a fried egg on top for a quick tea.
4) How long will you have to work to pay for your takeaway?
Work out in your head how long it will take you to pay for a takeaway and see if you still want one! I do this a lot when I have one of those un-frugal moments.
5) Don’t get to the point that you’re so hungry that you make poor decisions
Have a snack mid-afternoon to stop you from being starving when it comes around to tea time which will help massively as you’ll never make a good food decision when you’re really hungry.
6) Plan your meals!
This will save you money every week and also if you have a meal planned that you know you’ll enjoy then you’re less likely to order a takeaway.
7) Think about the health benefits
OK, this one is extreme but work out how many calories (syns or points if that’s an easier way for you to quantify) are in your favourite takeaway and put that somewhere you’ll see it. I hate making people think about calories but if it saves you money then it’s worth it. Just an FYI – a standard 10 inch pizza is around 900 calories. 😉
8) Do your research
Read all the bad stories in the news about takeaways and the risk to your family’s health – I googled ‘Risk of takeaways’ and got a huge list of cheery stories to read. They may be some that are exaggerated and some that may not be entirely true but regardless, they make you think.
9) Keep track of spending
And if all else fails, keep a track of how much you spend on takeaways for a month and work out what you could have done with that money!
So there’s my favourite tips to help you avoid ordering a takeaway! I hope they help as much as they’ve helped me this last week or so!
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Do your future self a favour – Pin this post for later for when you need some tips to avoid ordering a takeaway 😂
