Takeaways

Well of course, nothing wrong with an occasional take-away. Wonderful.

But there are two worrying issues if this becomes the norm, or a very regular occurrence, for anyone, and families too.

a) the health aspect. Most take aways are either full of fat, or sugar, and often both. So occasionally, as a treat, no worries- Regularly it is a disaster, for growing children even more so.

and b) the cost. Occasionally, no worries. But again, for struggling families who get 'addicted' to take aways, a massive budget, if on regular basis.

This is not 'clutching pearls' at all- but a real concern.

For the price of on take-away for 4, I can cook for the same family for 1 week andprobably quite a bit more, and healty food too.

Grannynannywanny - you have a lovely son !

My son lives 150 miles away and occasionally he’ll send a morning text from work saying don’t cook tonight as he’s ordered me a delivery meal. I look forward to it all day. He orders my favourite Indian meal from my local takeaway ( not from his local 150 miles away, just in case there’s any doubt 😆)

It’s a lovely treat 😋

I can’t remember when I last had a takeaway, though we used to in the past. I love going to our local excellent Chinese restaurant when I have someone to go with and their takeaway food is good, but by the time you add the delivery charge it is expensive. I used to go and get fish and chips occasionally but am trying to eat more healthily these days.

… you might as well drive to the restaurant and eat at a nicely laid table and an attentive waiter, choose your meal. chat over a glass of wine until someone brings it to your table, who then clears the table and you relax over a coffee and drive/walk home to a fresh smelling house, no wrappings and no washing up, why on earth order a takeaway?

That rather presupposes that you have someone to do that with. As I said above - not everybody does.

I am lucky to have literally dozens of local restaurants to chose from as my village in on the periphery of a vibrant city. They all deliver meals charging under a £1 for delivery. If we are talking pizza, there are the big brands: Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Ask Itaiian, Zizzi, Papa John’s plus many more smaller independents including local pubs who increasingly see home delivery as an important part of their turnover.

We have found that using Just Eat, Uber eats or Deliveroo costs several £’s more per order than ringing up the shop and having them or their designated delivery company.
We are so lucky here that, although I only have Chinese, we have a huge variety of cuisine that can be delivered.

And not everyone wants to go out on a cold, dark, rainy evening and sit in a restaurant on their own.

RosieandherMaw

^Personally, by the time, you have gone online to find the menu, made the decision, made the phone call, waited for the delivery, dealt with the washing up, cleared the wrappings and got rid of the smell that pervades the house, you might as well drive to the restaurant and eat at a nicely laid table and an attentive waiter, choose your meal. chat over a glass of wine until someone brings it to your table, who then clears the table and you relax over a coffee and drive/walk home to a fresh smelling house, no wrappings and no washing up, why on earth order a takeaway^ ?
Comparing apples and oranges M0nica !
Different scenarios, different experiences, each to his or her own.
(And nobody has to forgo the wine because they are the “designated driver”)

There is also a huge difference in cost between buying a takeaway and going to a restaurant and having a meal, with wine etc.
Not everyone can afford that M0nica.

Whitewavemark2

We are lucky in the developed world that we have so much choice.

And life is about exactly that for our house.

We eat in with home cooked food.

We picnic out with home cooked food

We picnic out with bought food

We eat in from a traditional takeaway, like Indian, Chinese or fish and chips.

We eat in and go more expensive by ordering from favoured restaurants.

Then we eat out either to good pubs/restaurants.

The we go really up market and eat at posh restaurants

We are so lucky to have so much choice and we can do any or none of it.

I don’t stand on judgement on any body’s choice. I assume that no one will be so small minded enough to judge my choice.

Exactly, Whitewave.

I would always check their hygiene rating first, then I might have the odd takeaway, but only on special occasions.

It varies but about £2 usually. It might vary throughout the country though.

The closest I get to take-aways are the annoying Just Eat, Deliveroo, etc., adverts on TV.

I often wonder how much they charge for delivery. Any idea?

We occasionally have one at a DD’s - they have a very good SE Asian restaurant a short distance away. And the Gdcs all like rice, noodles and sushi.
At home, never, though we do have the odd ready meal - dh is very partial to a Waitrose Nasi Goreng.

Doodledog

I can't believe that people can't believe that others do things differently from them .

Great comment.
Strange isn’t it!

We are lucky in the developed world that we have so much choice.

And life is about exactly that for our house.

We eat in with home cooked food.

We picnic out with home cooked food

We picnic out with bought food

We eat in from a traditional takeaway, like Indian, Chinese or fish and chips.

We eat in and go more expensive by ordering from favoured restaurants.

Then we eat out either to good pubs/restaurants.

The we go really up market and eat at posh restaurants

We are so lucky to have so much choice and we can do any or none of it.

I don’t stand on judgement on any body’s choice. I assume that no one will be so small minded enough to judge my choice.

Personally, by the time, you have gone online to find the menu, made the decision, made the phone call, waited for the delivery, dealt with the washing up, cleared the wrappings and got rid of the smell that pervades the house, you might as well drive to the restaurant and eat at a nicely laid table and an attentive waiter, choose your meal. chat over a glass of wine until someone brings it to your table, who then clears the table and you relax over a coffee and drive/walk home to a fresh smelling house, no wrappings and no washing up, why on earth order a takeaway ?
Comparing apples and oranges M0nica !
Different scenarios, different experiences, each to his or her own.
(And nobody has to forgo the wine because they are the “designated driver”)

I order on the app takes about 10 seconds, and the dishes go in the dishwasher. I go out to restaurants as well! A relative works part time at a takeaway, on a weekend evening they take orders totalling thousands.

The joy of a takeaway is that it's at home. No having to dress up and go out - pleasant lounging around, sipping wine until it arrives. The wrappings go back in the delivery bag to the bin. And takeaways are
generally eaten, slob like, in front of the TV. And, the house smells when I cook.

Occasional takeaways are relaxed bliss.

For some of us, Monica, it is not as simple as going to a restaurant.
Ill health means eating in a restaurant is problematic for me. A persistent cough for years means, I either feel sick when eating, am embarrassed at disturbing others with the constant hacking cough or struggle to finish my meal.
A least with takeaway, I can do all this in the comfort of my own home. There is no pleasure in eating out, much to my annoyance.

We all have a different take on this!

P.S, I know exactly what to order and and can access the menu in seconds!

Take aways get delivered to our house!

Ppersonally, by the time, you have gone online to find the menu, made the decision, made the phone call, waited for the delivery, dealt with the washing up, cleared the wrappings and got rid of the smell that pervades the house, you might as well drive to the restaurant and eat at a nicely laid table and an attentive waiter, choose your meal. chat over a glass of wine until someone brings it to your table, who then clears the table and you relax over a coffee and drive/walk home to a fresh smelling house, no wrappings and no washing up, why on earth order a takeaway?

(Yes, there are times, of distress, emergency, ill health etc when they are the solution, but how often do those occur, may be 6 times in the last 10 or 20 years.)

We're grandparents, so we're older, but no-one has mentioned friends who struggle to stand for long in the kitchen - home-delivery cooked food is so useful.

I think it's a great idea too if you don't always want to cook.

I think my mother-in-law should order a takeaway occasionally - I'm sure she'd like it as she likes them on Christmas eve. She won't even have fish and chips because "we aren't sitting outside on the seafront" - but she does have several good restaurants less than a mile away.

For many years we have had a Christmas eve takeaway with our family. It means we can exchange gifts and take the pressure off everyone.
We've had lots of different ones - Thai, Chinese, Indian, "Ghurka", Sushi... I don't want to cook for up to 24 on Christmas eve.

The only time I've had a takeaway is just occasionally for a family party, to save me cooking now that I'm ancient.
Ive never had one on my own.
But I would if I was richer...I think it's a great idea.

Greyduster

DS and I had a Chinese takeaway in January 2023 when he was staying with me after my hip surgery. I can’t remember having another. I had something called a Wandering Dragon. It was delicious! DD has ordered takeaway sometimes when I’ve been at hers, but it’s not something I would do for myself. Not worth it if there's only you.

I used to order Indian or Chinese when I was on my own with the children, eat half, freeze half