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Life today is busy. We work long hours, and it leaves us little time to enjoy the better things in life, like cooking at home. So, we go out and leave the cooking to someone else. It seems like a good solution, but have you ever wondered what we really pay by getting takeout or going to a chain restaurant? You'd say just the cost of the food, and the time it takes to get there and eat it, right? Wrong. Have you ever thought of what it would be like to cook these famous restaurant recipes at home?

There's been a lot of study in regards to obesity. In fact it's been on the news on a regular basis. A recent article in New Scientist suggested that obesity today wasn't just about the food we eat, but the lifestyle we lead. That sounds like old news, doesn't it? Well, usually weight gain has been blamed on one factor, not taking into account all the others. Eating out is part of today's lifestyle. It's a good part, in moderation, but in excess just like everything else it can do more harm than good.

But what if you like eating out?

It's a good point. If it's the food you're after rather than the eating out experience, then there is another way. Let's face it, eating in a chain restaurant is a rather forgettable experience for the most part, but they do have dishes that are great and worth the wait for. If you could cook them at home then you would be able to cut out the middle man. As a bonus, you'd be able to control the ingredients, and once you got the dishes tasting right, you could substitute healthier ingredients. As well as saving your waistline you'd be saving time since you wouldn't be travelling as far. It is possible to do, even if the restaurants won't confirm it.

Have you thought about your budget?

By eating out you are budgeting your income against time. Costs are increasing. Let's face it, the price of oil hasn't come down and it affects everything else. It is a crunch on the budget, too. Those long hours you are working are so that you can make ends meet. Are you willing to fritter away that extra cash by eating out all the time? Take a few minutes and work out exactly how much you are spending in a week on takeout and then consider this comparison:

Fettuccine Alfredo from The Olive Garden: Retail Price: $10.25 Home Made Copycat Version: $4.28 You save: $5.97 Work out what that could save you a year if you could cut your eating out costs by a quarter. The fact of the matter is that it would save you a great deal of money. The above is just one example of how much money you could save by eating at home rather than eating out. If you factor in that you could change ingredients around to make the dish healthier, as well, then that is one more bonus.The Takeout Times

The option is worth considering. Even if you can only change one meal a week over from eating out to eating at home. There are copycat recipe cookbooks available that you can use to help if you still want the taste of the famous restaurant recipes. The internet is a good place to start looking. Your budget is important, in this day and age especially, when costs are rising and not necessarily in synch with your pay rises. Your health is just as important. Consider the alternatives and crack open one of your cookbooks and try eating out at home.