New Book Signals Growing Dining-In Movement

Cathy Erway documents two years of forgoing restaurants in her new book.

Some of our favorite meals weren’t in the trendiest hotspots or five-star restaurants, but at friends’ dinner parties — feasts of mussels, venison, duck and other delicious items. Though most of the diners, including the host, have since dispersed throughout the country, we have fond memories of mouthwatering meals, great conversations and lasting friendships. Blogger Cathy Erway writes about learning to treasure intimate home dinner gatherings in the The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove (Gotham, 2010), a memoir of her two years of not eating out in New York City. Her narrative, punctuated with some of her recipes, is just one of the signs there’s a growing movement toward eating in.

Erway’s tales are those of a twentysomething — from dating woes to entertaining in a small apartment despite a roommate’s cat with a penchant for shredding shins — but show the thought a new generation is giving to a life of takeout and “convenience” foods. In the introduction, Robert Sietsema, food critic for The Village Voice, calls the book “a bird’s-eye view of the youth culture — we might call it ‘counter culture’ due to its kitchen orientation.” We’ve also noticed an effort to extend this dining-in movement to an even younger population — both First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution cite the tripling of obesity rates and the alarming estimate that today’s generation of kids will be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Making responsible choices at home is key to changing this trend.

Let’s Move offers tips for making healthful choices and empowering consumers at the grocery store. Check out the site for news about the FDA’s plan to promote front-of-package labeling and for a link to the USDA’s  Food Environment Atlas, which offers county-level statistics about food choices. British chef Jamie Oliver recently was named the sole 2010 TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Prize winner for his nutrition advocacy. His TED Talk includes eye-opening excerpts from his upcoming six-part TV series, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (tune in to ABC on March 26 at 9 p.m. ET to watch the first episode). The interview with a 16-year-old obese girl given five to seven years to live and footage of elementary students who can’t tell a tomato from a potato are sure to bring more attention to today’s obesity crisis. Oliver notes that these issues are from kids not learning to cook at home.

Of course, there are other benefits to skipping restaurant fare for dining in, especially during a recession: saving money. When Erway embarks on “opposite week” of dining out for every meal, her food spending is increased by about five times — and that’s with a date and her family picking up a few tabs. During the course of Erway’s two-year experiment, she develops a healthy obsession with preparing her own food. “The thought of buying something premade at any of the mediocre delis near my office, or dialing up for takeout from any of the restaurants that had slid their menus underneath my apartment door, rarely entered my mind,” she says of the temptation to cheat. “It was unappealing when it did.” In fact, when she does have a restaurant Chinese meal as part of a weigh-off between waste generated by home-cooked stirfry and takeout, she notes it’s not as satisfying as she remembered. And she also makes a point about the impact of things we take for granted when dining out — from the waste of discarded plastic cutlery and foam boxes to the questionable chemical makeup of those products.

Following is a simple salad recipe from The Art of Eating In, featuring main ingredients that are currently in season. While the fat content may sound alarming due to the avocados, keep in mind that more than 11 of the 13 grams of fat per serving are made up of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which help reduce cholesterol levels and decrease risk for heart disease. Avocados also are rich in fiber, potassium and other nutrients.

Asparagus, Avocado and Watercress Salad
1 bunch (about 10 thin stalks) fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed and discarded, and chopped into 1-inch pieces on a diagonal
1 avocado, cubed
1 bunch watercress, roughly chopped
1 scallion, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a wide, shallow pan of water to a boil. Set up an ice bath in a large bowl. Place asparagus in boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove asparagus with tongs and immediately transfer to ice bath. Let cool about one minute; then drain and pat dry. Toss the rest of the ingredients with the asparagus in a large bowl. Can be covered and chilled up to 2 hours before serving.

Serves 4.

NUTRITION SCORE (per serving)
136 calories
86% fat
Fat 13 g
Carbs 7 g
Protein 2 g
Fiber 4 g
Calcium 28 mg
Iron .7 mg
Sodium 13 mg

We’re inspired by Erway’s decision to forgo dining out. While we may not be able to commit for two years, we’ll try to dine in at home more often. How long do you think you could give up dining out and takeout?

Tags: Agriculture, Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C.), Asparagus, Avocado, Bariatrics, Body shape, Cathy Erway, Chef, Chopped, FDA, food, food choices, food critic, food spending, health, Hospitality/Recreation, Jamie Oliver, Medicine, Metabolic disorders, Michelle Obama, New York City, Nutrition, olive oil, questionable chemical makeup, Robert Sietsema, Salt and pepper, The Village Voice, USDA