![\"BBQ](\"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/bbq-chicken-pizza.jpg\" "\\"BBQ")
<\/p>\nAs you know, I’m a big proponent of meal planning and cooking at home as ways to save money and eat healthy.\u00a0 Most days of the week I prepare our family’s meals and it’s no doubt cheaper than going out.\u00a0 But the cook (that’s me) needs a break every once in a while.\u00a0 With a tight family budget this year, finding affordable ways to enjoy a meal out has been my mission.\u00a0 Here’s what I’ve found:<\/p>\n
Weeknight Deals. Several of our favorite restaurants offer specials on specific weeknights. \u00a0Our local pizza joint sells medium pizzas for $5 a piece on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.\u00a0 And I’m not talking cheese pizzas, but fancy pizzas like BBQ Chicken Pizza.\u00a0 A medium definitely fills up my husband and me.\u00a0 If we are craving pizza, we always manage to wait until a Tuesday or Wednesday night.\u00a0 Another spot offers $5.99 burgers on Thursday nights, which is about $3 off the regular price.\u00a0 They come with fries but you can get steamed veggies for no extra charge.\u00a0 Find out if your local restaurants have special deals.\u00a0 Just remember the tip for your server should be based on the regular price.<\/p>\n
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Skip the Beverages.\u00a0 I recently went out to lunch at a chain restaurant.\u00a0 I had a fabulous Southwestern Chicken Salad and a Diet Coke.\u00a0 I normally just have water, but my friend’s soda looked awfully good so I ordered one too.\u00a0 I was curious how much the drink would be since the price was “conveniently” not listed on the menu.\u00a0 When the bill came, my salad ended up costing $6.99 and my soda was $2.50.\u00a0 Beverages are one of the most marked up items at restaurants.\u00a0 Enjoy ice water with your meals.\u00a0 If you really want a soda, enjoy one at home.<\/p>\n
Keep Coupons Handy.\u00a0 Fast food restaurants, sandwich shops, pizza places and chain restaurants often have coupons in the newspaper or weekly ads.\u00a0 I used to get so frustrated when I’d clip a coupon and then not have it with me when I could’ve used it.\u00a0 The key to taking advantage of coupons is to keep them in a handy spot. \u00a0I now have a file box with a few labeled folders including one labeled “restaurant coupons”.\u00a0 I toss the coupons in the file and then the file box goes in my car.\u00a0 It’s always there when I need it.<\/p>\n
Save Going Out for Times You Can Enjoy.\u00a0 It’s amazing how picking up lunch every day during the week can add up.\u00a0 And do you enjoy it?\u00a0 Many of us grab something because we have to eat something, not necessarily because we enjoy it.\u00a0 Packing your own lunch at least some days of the week is a great way to save a lot of money.<\/p>\n
What are some of the ways you save money while dining out?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As you know, I’m a big proponent of meal planning and cooking at home as ways to save money and eat healthy.\u00a0 Most days of the week I prepare our family’s meals and it’s no doubt cheaper than going out.\u00a0 But the cook (that’s me) needs a break every once in a while.\u00a0 With a tight family budget this year, Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[790],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-i","cat-790-id"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/waitress.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8687,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714\/revisions\/8687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nutritionknowhow.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}