No More Grocery Shopping PLUS

I'm out of the grocery store again. I examined my master menu, compared it with my master shopping list, checked off the things I needed to make every meal on that menu and went to the store. I spent just under $300 for the needed items and don't plan to go back again for a month. I will stop at the Sunflower Farmers Market if I need produce in a couple of weeks, but since my garage has turned into a big just-above-freezing refrigerator, my produce is staying very fresh outside, and hopefully I won't need to go.

Now, in addition to NO More Grocery Shopping I am also doing No More Eating Out this month. Eating out is one of my favorite past times. I could go on and on about why I love it; from not having to cook and clean to having so many awesome options and getting to try new things. But, this month I have a few goals I want to accomplish with my budget and my creativity so I'm taking a closer look at my expenditures outside of the grocery store. Eating out, for our family, is the next big drainer of resources after grocery shopping. Let's consider it.

Aside from possible nutritional concerns, the only draw backs I see to eating out are first, the budget drain and second, the creativity cop out. The first requires no explanation. You eat out, you spend money that might more wisely or benevolently be spent elsewhere. Enough said. The second is a little more subtle. This is my experience. The two reasons we eat out are these:

1. I have no grace under fire. If we have a very busy day and I am unprepared to feed the masses, I have a tendency to cave in to carry out.
2. Eating out is our automatic, first and favorite way to start our date.

On closer examination here's what we find. If it's a crazy day I generally cop out to take out. In so doing I rob myself and my family the creative opportunity of planning ahead and devising cheaper and easier meals for my family. The fewer of these meals I plan, the fewer I have in my repertoire for the crazy days I'm hoping to improve. It's a vicious downward spiral (I say with a smirk, because as far as vicious downward spirals go, this one could be considered quite benign). Honestly stated, the less I prepare, the less prepared I am if times get tough or I wise up and I don't want to be dependent on the local grab-n-go joint to bail me out for dinner. So, this month I want to kick my creativity into a higher gear and learn some kind of presence under pressure.

As far as date nights go, I'm a little stumped. We don't usually splurge and only spend about $20 on a date night meal. I generally consider this money well spent. We get to go out, away from our beloved brood and reconnect weekly without kids clamouring for needful things. How can I meet this need to get away/reconnect and reach my financial/creative goal of making something better for us? I don't know the answer yet, but I do know that one of my most romantic dinners ever was made by my husband and served in my bedroom at a little table set by the kids. They got to see us light the candles, plate our food and then shut the door. They still remember it, too.

Anyway, I have one more reason for wanting to save the money this month. My husband has a business trip to Amsterdam. Usually when he goes abroad he goes for a long time and is hopping from city to city. This time he has one meeting and is only going to be there a few days. He called me, asked if I'd accompany him (how could I turn him down), bought my ticket (his flight, food and hotel are all paid for, I get to tag along for the price of airfare) and we are set to go. In order to stay within budget we need eat in and eat frugal.

What are your best eat-in suggestions, or date-night ideas beyond eating out? I'm dying for ideas.