# How many days in a week do you have dinner cooked in your home? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394 "2013-08-05T14:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/21 "2013-08-05T23:06:35Z")
Never have a proper dinner. Four people in the house, all eat different things at different times, in different rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/22 "2013-08-05T23:11:23Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > Work used to pay for my lunch. \ > > So don’t be afraid to transfer that paid lunch into bagged lunch + stipend.\ I’m curious to know where you are, that a paid lunch is something that actually happens at your work on a daily basis. Any place I’ve worked, you’d get a paid lunch a couple of times per year (a Christmas potluck or pizza day after inventory or something). > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > We do a weekly date night. All other nights I cook at home, and if we’re lucky, we can get by on leftovers one of those times. That’s pretty much what we do. We usually go out Sundays, too, because for some reason I just don’t want to cook that day. > [@jayrey](#): > > \ > My brother does not know how to cook and has no interest in learning. He eats out EVERY meal, EVERY day, unless one of his grown daughters invites him over for a home-cooked meal. I’d go out of my mind. I couldn’t live like that, either. When we go on vacations, it’s usually eating out lunches and dinners for two weeks, and at the end of that, I just want home cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/23 "2013-08-05T23:13:20Z")
I work 1 pm to 9 pm and I usually have dinner at work or eat out for dinner on the weekends, so I’m never there for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/24 "2013-08-05T23:13:22Z")
I dislike planning and cooking daily, but then I really dislike spending more money on food that is less good or healthy. So, I cook daily. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/25 "2013-08-05T23:14:40Z")
I cook dinner five to six days a week, usually, and we go to my parents’ most Sundays for dinner there. I’d guess we eat dinner out twice a month on average, and that’s usually a couple pints and a burger or pizza at the bar. Hell, even when I’m on vacation, I like to cook some days, if possible, using the local ingredients, because that’s just fun for me. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/26 "2013-08-05T23:17:15Z")
…aaaaand I voted wrong. I seldom eat out but got the poll backwards and clicked 0-1 before I knew it. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/27 "2013-08-06T00:26:53Z")
I eat my food cold and raw. No cooking. (It’s a lettuce-based cuisine.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/28 "2013-08-06T01:05:55Z")
My wife and I like to cook meals that last over 3 or 4 days. Last week, I made a meat loaf that we ate three dinners and then a lunch off of. A couple weeks ago, she made a chicken curry that divided into three meals that we ate two days of and froze the third that we had tonight. We eat out once or twice a month and every couple weeks we bring home a B-B-Qed chicken. But even then she will cook veggies including sweet potatoes to go along. A one kilo chicken always provides three meals and I will make soup with the bones that becomes the stock for more. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/29 "2013-08-06T01:07:47Z")
I don’t know what I do. Dinner is usually a bowl of cottage cheese, and later a bowl of oatmeal. Quick oats, but not instant. It’s not a “proper” dinner, but it’s not eating out, either. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/30 "2013-08-06T04:33:43Z")
We eat out two to three times a YEAR. Somehow it ends up a larger pain to eat out than in. It doesn’t help that we have a Hardees or a Subway to choose from. We have a Pizza Hut too, but it’s known for poor service and rich prices. It’s just easier, cheaper and more satisfying to grab a few things and throw them together at home. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/31 "2013-08-06T04:35:41Z")
Mostly zero. We don’t cook, although once in a blue moon I’ll make pancakes for the wife. Picking up Thai food in the market is so cheap that you’d have to love cooking to make it yourself, and we don’t love cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/32 "2013-08-06T06:35:37Z")
Used to be 3 - 4 days a week. Now it’s 7. What changed? We moved somewhere where there is no choice but to cook if you want to eat. The nearest takeaway food outlet is over a 1/2 hour drive away. Only occasionally, when a Thai craving hits, do I miss living near multiple takeaway dinner options. I find I enjoy home cooked more (my palate has definitely changed a bit too) ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/33 "2013-08-06T07:35:14Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I don’t know what I do. Dinner is usually a bowl of cottage cheese, and later a bowl of oatmeal. Quick oats, but not instant. It’s not a “proper” dinner, but it’s not eating out, either. Nice, but I meant when some time, effort or expertise goes into making dinner by any member of the house. 😃 I should have cleared this, sorry. These days I eat dinner at home 6-7 days a week on average made by my mother. Usually the dinner is [\*Roti \*or Rice with _Daal_(lentils)](http://images.mapsofindia.com/my-india/Daal-Roti.jpg). There are 4-5 different types of lentils they can be eaten alternatively on different days. And when we eat outside food, we usually order it at home. Like noodles, Manchurian etc. When I was in a different (Indian) city for around 4 years, we were 4 flatmates in a 4 bed room flat. All of us worked in (American) software companies. We rarely cooked at home, ate outside most of the times because of our laziness. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/34 "2013-08-06T10:04:11Z")
I have a weird schedule; I work at a restaurant from 6 pm til around 2 am. I have a big meal for “breakfast” at around 3 in the afternoon. Sometimes it’s breakfast food, sometimes it’s not. It’s home cooked stuff around half of the time, otherwise fast food or just sandwiches. Sometime during work, I cook myself some sort of meal. And then I go home and eat leftovers or whatever snacks I have handy, but that’s not usually a big meal. So I’m cooking 7 days a week, but it’s not really “dinner” and it’s not always at home. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/35 "2013-08-06T11:35:53Z")
Since we’ve retired, it’s virtually every night. Same for lunch and breakfast. It’s a huge change - we used to have breakfast out on the weekend, almost always had lunch out while at work, and maybe 2-3 times a week, we’d go out for dinner or order takeout. We were spending hundreds a month on restaurant meals. Now, we might grab a quick lunch if we’re out running errands, but mostly, we eat at home. So our grocery bill has gone up, but not nearly as much as our assorted dinner tabs. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/36 "2013-08-06T12:02:35Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > Nice, but I meant when some time, effort or expertise goes into making dinner by any member of the house. 😃 > I should have cleared this, sorry. > These days I eat dinner at home 6-7 days a week on average made by my mother. Usually the dinner is [\*Roti \*or Rice with _Daal_(lentils)](http://images.mapsofindia.com/my-india/Daal-Roti.jpg). There are 4-5 different types of lentils they can be eaten alternatively on different days. And when we eat outside food, we usually order it at home. Like noodles, Manchurian etc. > When I was in a different (Indian) city for around 4 years, we were 4 flatmates in a 4 bed room flat. All of us worked in (American) software companies. We rarely cooked at home, ate outside most of the times because of our laziness. Never, then, in that sense. My husband makes a big mess of beans and rice and sauce at some point during the week that we both eat off of. He cooks me a bunch of chicken breasts once a week or so. He cooks himself a nice meal once a week. He eats yogurt daily, I eat cottage cheese. We keep the house stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables. But we both eat on our own schedules. So never a full sit down family meal, but also not at all like eating out 3 meals a day. Everything we eat was prepared in house, pretty much. He has lunch out on Monday and Friday. We might eat Chipotle 2-3 times a month. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/37 "2013-08-06T12:11:24Z")
Traditionally, my gf cooks Sunday dinner and I cook Monday dinner. Friday and Saturday are always restaurant meals. The other three nights vary with our schedules. I said four or five, but three or four would be more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/38 "2013-08-06T12:21:40Z")
For years my husband worked at home. When I came home from work he was ready to be someplace else. We developed the habit of eating out nearly every night. We still do now we are retired. I’m not at all sure it’s a lot more expensive since when we cook we end up with leftovers we don’t eat (easily bored we are) and since we get “senior discounts” everywhere. I’m not so sure it’s a great deal less healthy either since nearly every place we go now has healthy options. What I am sure of is that it’s paid for from our entertainment budget (we never go to movies, rarely to concerts, never to bars) so no doubt we will continue! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/39 "2013-08-06T13:25:40Z")
I do most of the cooking and I’m a pretty good cook if I do say so myself. We do go out to eat about 2-3 times a week other than that I make a home cooked meal. About every six weeks or so, I kind of get burned out with all the cooking and then we go on an extended run of eating out or ordering in; if we order in it is usually Thai or pizza. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394/40 "2013-08-06T13:48:59Z")
I said 4-5, but it may be more than that. It’s almost always Sunday-Thursday for either fresh-cooked or leftovers, and then Friday tends to be either pizza or takeout, and Saturday lunch is usually eaten out. Saturday dinner is a tossup; sometimes we go out, sometimes we cook a little more extravagantly and sometimes it’s leftovers from lunch. Sunday lunch is usually leftovers, canned soup or going and getting hamburgers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-days-in-a-week-do-you-have-dinner-cooked-in-your-home/665394.md?page=3)