Date Nights

 

We've never been real big on eating out in this house, occasionally, but not on a regular basis and even more rarely is it fast food.  Instead we choose to enjoy a "higher end" meal at home for a fraction of the cost.  I can do an entire steakhouse dinner for four with wine and dessert for the price of one restaurant steak entrée so it is really hard for me to part with my hard earned cash eating out.  To me, the value just isn't there, even if it means I have to wash my own dishes.  Plus, I think I prefer my own cooking.

 

Homemade Chinese food

Date nights are important so we just do them at home.  Friday night is our night and I will cook a nice meal, we have a glass or two of wine and stream a free movie or listen to music.  We are not that hard to please really, except that the food has to be delicious.

 

Every once in a while we make a small pizza with homemade crust and sauce

Because date nights are special I will often add a carb to our meal and we don't usually have a dessert.  If we do it is a low carb option to balance off the carb I included with the meal.  One thing about the carb I serve however, it is usually just a small serving of rice, potato or occasionally pasta.  I prepare a meat, sometimes with a sauce, but there is always a salad or vegetable that takes up half the plate.

 

Sirloin steak & salad with bleu cheese
Most of the time we just eat low carb because that is our preference

Special date night meals can still be delicious and satisfying without completely derailing a healthy lifestyle as long as we keep things balanced.  It is okay to enjoy carbohydrates as long as the ones we choose are nutritious and the servings are in moderation.  Having date nights at home means we can control what we are eating as well as the amount we are spending on those meals.