What a healthy week I’ve had! I don’t think I’ve ever had a 10-day eating-in streak in the past 5 years. Yes, minus the occasional snack treats with friends and clients, the past one week has been very kitchen-intensive. The goal is to eat-in for 30 days.

So, how has eating-in impacted my daily routine so far?

First of all, Saturday is officially the Market Day, where me and my significant-other goes hunting at the local wet market to get our one-week supply of vegetables, fish, meat and groceries. In fact, I found that we spent most on vegetables, since it’s more time-effective to cook. Meat takes longer to prepare, hence we’ll usually opt for seafood, like fish and prawns.

One of the most drastic changes of not eating out is the sudden surplus in the eating-out budget. I normally allocate RM600 to eating out. And this month, it’s still RM0. I do not know how long we can keep it at RM0, but it’s good to know that RM600 not spent is RM600 saved!

One side effect of eating-in is the discipline on frugality. Food prepared out of our own kitchen seems disproportionately priced. I would label them ‘premium food’, since you are paying quite a huge premium for it. Hence, each time I am about to spend on something, I would consciously think over it before putting down the money. Yes, when you can consciously tell yourself not eat-out, it’s not so difficult to consciously alert yourself about any other things. It’s a great exercise in self-discipline!

A meal like this can easily cost RM25, and you can't even ask for a second serving without additional charges!

Cooking continuously for the past 10 days has also somehow help me and my significant-other in our cooking skills. We are always looking for ways to enhance the taste and presentation of the dishes. Sometimes, new experiments can go awry, but heck, that’s part of the learning experience.

The only obvious downside is time spent preparing the meals. The current solution is to cook for 2-3 meals at one go. Yes, that means having okras for 3 meals in a row at some point. It does help a lot if you like cooking.

So far, the eating-in experience has been great. Another 20 days to go, more updates to come!

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