The beginning of the new month heralds new commitments: a new budget and new eating habits. And so, with a fun day at the beach planned with my wife (but a desire to stick to our newly formed budget) we sat at one of the best restaurants in our area on a sunny afternoon deciding what to order.
Now one thing you should know about me…I love to eat! My metabolism has been able to keep me at a relatively reasonable weight, as well as five months in China eating rice and vegetables, but I usually order something off the menu for myself and my wife orders something for herself, eats half and then takes the rest home and sometimes she eats it the next day and sometimes it sits there for weeks until it stinks so bad we have to throw it out and deep clean the refrigerator. I labor through my food and sometimes enjoy it, but most of the time am so goal-oriented in my eating that I forget to remember what it tastes like.
But as we decided what to order we both chose the same thing…the “Royal Bleu Burger”. We had an epiphany! Why not share? We had just talked about eating better and saving money, what a better way to start this great new leaf than to turn it over and share a hamburger on it? So that’s exactly what we did, we split our meal and it was a revolutionary new concept in our four years of marriage. Here are some reasons why you should consider it as well.
1. You Eat Less–The natural law of mathematics applies here: When you split something, there is less of it to eat…erego, you eat less! Split meals with your spouse, friend, or the guy at the next table and you’ll eat less. America seems to be out of control with our portion sizes anyway, so you really only need half a meal to get full. Eat slow and savor each bite…you’ll appreciate your food more and get fulller, faster.
2. You Will Save Money–Another basic mathematical principle that some friends of our have understood ever since we’ve known them. They ALWAYS split their meals when we go out to eat together. Why haven’t we thought of this before? We should give our friends the Nobel Peace Prize! Instead of buying two meals yesterday, each approximately $8 and spending $16-$20 with tip, we only spent $10 on our meal! Not only did we split our food in half, but we split our budget in half. Splitting a meal will save you money in the long run. Splitters Beware: Some restaurants will charge you for splitting a meal or charge you for an extra plate. While I think this is extremely tacky, I guess it makes sense. To circumvent, just have one of you order food, then split it manually. How hard can it be?
3. Its Romantic–As we shared our Royal Bleu Burger yesterday my hand glanced hers in between bites and we enjoyed the romantic connection of sharing food together. Food has a special power of bringing people together and if you’re on a date with your spouse or significant other and want to get close, share a meal together. There is no more romantic picture than two people with two straws in one milkshake. If you’re with a non-romantic friend, laugh about how you’re not going to be romantic. If you’re on a first date, let her order her own meal or she’ll think you’re cheap.
We left the restaurant with a firm commitment to split our meals from henceforward. That was, until, we got really hungry and went to Olive Garden that night and ordered our own plates. Somehow our hunger controlled and overturned our determined minds. Yet in the end, we walked out with a grocery bag full of leftovers and the reminder that splitting food just makes sense.
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