7 foods you’re better off eating out than at home

Last updated on September 23rd, 2022

Aussies love to eat out. A recent report found that we visit cafes, takeaway shops and restaurants around four times a month and spend around $70 per week dining out.

Our love affair with eating out has grown over the years. 20 years ago, Australian households spent around 20 per cent of their weekly food budget on eating out. Today, it’s around 30 per cent.

So are we heading the way of the United States? A recent report claims that American’s are spending more eating out than at the grocery store.

A major supermarket brand claims that the weekly supermarket shop is dead. We now use the supermarket more like a panty with last minute shops of the necessary ingredients to whip up the latest MasterChef inspired recipe.

When we considered $70 per week is spent dining out compared with $139 per week on groceries, we thought we'd answer the following question.

When are you better off eating out and when are you better off eating in?

To compile our list, we've considered the following factors:

Time

We're all busy people. Sometimes the dollars we save at the checkout aren't work the time it takes to prepare certain foods.

Skill

Although we'd love to think we could all host an episode of My Kitchen Rules in our homes, most of us know the harsh reality. Our cooking is good but not great, particularly for meals we don't prepare often. Therefore skill required is an important factor in our lists.

Food waste

This is a hidden cost of a meal and also pretty annoying if it means you continually need to hunt down mouldy food to discard on bin day. Again, an important consideration before you plan your next meal.

Better to buy than to make

1. Fish
2. Ethnic Foods
3. Shellfish
4. French Pastries
5. Dips
6. Homemade Ice Cream
7. Nachos

Better off making than buying

1. Pancakes
2. Cookies
3. Pizza

4. Smoothies
5. Vanilla extract
6. Soups
7. Cakes

So what makes your list? Tell us in the comments section below.