sacrificial mizithra

sorry, somehow yesterday's post didn't go up until a few moments ago....so today is a 2-fer!

we harbertsons have a great tradition of eating out.  the whole extended family often meets at a restaurant to enjoy a meal.  i proudly admit that the old spaghetti factory is one of our favorite haunts.  it isn't the most sophisticated place in the world but it is loud and kid friendly, budget conscious, seems to appeal to everyone, and somehow having a 3 course meal for $10ish makes me feel like i've put one over on someone.  and then there's the mizithra cheese. yum. 

 

so my in laws called earlier this week to say that we could go to spaghetti factory despite the tight budget constraints because the restaurant is celebrating their 40th anniversary and for one night only were offering the original menu prices from the 60s.  this made the 3 course dinner a very affordable $3.95!  i was all over it.  but of course we weren't the only ones to jump at it and the wait was nearly 2 hours! a definite deal breaker when you have 2 hungry kids.   i hated to rain on everyone's parade but without that special deal, there really wasn't another restaurant alternative that would allow me to stay within my $15 per week budget.  it was disheartening to try and come up with a place that might work and at that price point (around $10 to feed my family of 4 and still save some cash for milk later this week) you are pretty much relegated to fast food-dom.  we all have personal favorites in the fast food department and i proudly wave my del taco flag high.  it is delicious and much, much better than taco bell and my justification is usually that it is better for you than a burger and fries.   so, being the loving people they are,  my cute family all got on board with the experiment and we all went to del taco for family dinner!  it was such a supportive thing for everyone to do and it was oddly fun.  another revelation of the experiment is how breaking patterns can make simple things seem interesting.  the evening was unexpected and memorable.  thank you family for your support!  i'm not going to lie, i missed that mizithra.     

i can see how being on a tight budget could set the stage for some unhealthy eating.  it is crazy that if you choose to go out and you live on a tight budget, fast food is your only option. i've also been struggling with how to maintain organic dairy in my life when regular milk is half the price.  i think the answer, sadly, is that you don't get to. why does healthy food and fresh food translate to expensive food?  i seriously wonder how much buying your own cow and some chickens would end up saving you in the long run?  and now that i've seen this adorable chicken coop, i might really have to consider it. http://www.omlet.us/products_services/products_services.php?view=Chickens&about=the%20eglu

maybe my next "project" awaits?