How to Stop Relying on Takeaways

Why Do We Rely on Takeaways So Often?

Takeaways are convenient for a reason. They remove several tasks from the process of getting a meal on the table, including deciding what to eat, finding ingredients, preparing food and cleaning up afterwards.

For people with demanding schedules, this convenience can be particularly appealing. The challenge often arises when ordering food becomes a habit rather than an occasional choice.

1. You are too tired to cook

After a long working day, cooking may feel like another job. Even a straightforward recipe can seem complicated when you are tired and hungry. Ordering a takeaway provides an immediate solution without requiring much effort.

2. You have not planned what to eat

Without a plan, you may reach the end of the day with an empty fridge, ingredients that do not form a complete meal or no clear idea of what to prepare. A takeaway can then seem like the only practical option.

3. Cooking feels too time-consuming

Some meals require shopping, preparation and cooking before you can eat. If your evenings are already busy with commuting, childcare, exercise or other responsibilities, spending time in the kitchen may not fit comfortably into your schedule.

4. Ordering food has become part of your routine

Repeated habits can become automatic. If you usually open a takeaway app as soon as you get home, you may do so before considering what food you already have available.

5. You want variety without the effort

Eating the same few meals repeatedly can become boring. Takeaway menus offer a wide range of cuisines and flavours, making them attractive when you want something different without having to learn a new recipe.

Understanding your own reasons for ordering takeaways is the first step towards finding alternatives that genuinely work for you.

How to Stop Relying on Takeaways: 10 Practical Tips

1. Keep a few easy meals available at all times

One of the simplest ways to reduce takeaway orders is to make sure you always have something convenient to eat. This does not mean filling your cupboards with ingredients that require complicated preparation. Focus on food you can turn into a meal with minimal effort.

Useful options might include:

• Eggs for quick breakfasts, omelettes or simple evening meals.
• Tinned beans, lentils or chickpeas for easy salads and meals.
• Microwave rice or other quick-cooking grains.
• Frozen vegetables that can be added to a variety of dishes.
• Wraps, bread or pitta for quick lunches and simple dinners.
• Tinned fish, cooked chicken or other convenient protein options that suit your diet.
• Ready meals for evenings when you do not have the time or energy to prepare food.

You do not need to buy everything on this list. Choose a small selection of foods you enjoy and know how to use. The aim is to remove the feeling that ordering a takeaway is your only option.

2. Plan only a few meals ahead

Meal planning can help, but it does not need to involve a detailed seven-day menu or hours of preparation every weekend. If elaborate planning feels like another chore, start with just three or four meals you expect to need during the week.

For example, decide what you will eat on your busiest evenings and identify one or two easy options for unexpected changes. Leave room for spontaneous plans, meals out and the occasional takeaway.

A realistic plan should make your week easier, not leave you feeling that you have failed if your schedule changes.

3. Identify your most difficult evenings

Look at your usual week and identify when you are most likely to order food. Perhaps you regularly arrive home late on a particular weekday, finish work after a long commute or have family commitments that leave little time for cooking.

Prepare for those specific occasions rather than trying to overhaul every meal at once.

• Keep a ready-to-eat meal available for late finishes.
• Prepare lunch the evening before a particularly busy day.
• Keep quick ingredients available for evenings when plans change.
• Choose a simple meal before you become extremely hungry.

If time is your main obstacle, our guide to healthy dinner solutions for busy nights explores further ways to make evening meals easier.

4. Make convenience part of your food plan

Convenience does not have to mean ordering a takeaway. Supermarket shortcuts, simple food combinations, frozen ingredients and prepared meals can all reduce the effort involved in getting something to eat.

There is no need to prepare every meal from scratch to have a manageable food routine. If a convenient option helps you avoid an expensive last-minute order and suits your needs, it may be a useful part of your plan.

For example, you could use quick ingredients for breakfast and lunch, cook a simple dinner on quieter evenings and keep prepared meals available for your busiest days.

5. Set a realistic takeaway budget

If takeaway spending is one of your main concerns, look at how much you currently spend over a typical week or month. Include delivery charges, service fees and extras where applicable.

You do not necessarily need to eliminate takeaways. Setting a realistic budget can help you decide when ordering food is worthwhile and when another option might be preferable.

For instance, you could choose to order a takeaway on one planned evening and use convenient meals on other busy nights. The right approach will depend on your priorities and budget.

For a closer look at the financial side, read our guide to meal prep versus takeaway costs in the UK.

6. Stop waiting until you are very hungry to decide

When you are hungry and tired, the fastest available option can become especially appealing. Leaving the decision until the last minute makes it harder to consider alternatives.

Try deciding what you will eat a little earlier in the day. You might choose a meal during your lunch break, take something out of the freezer in advance where appropriate or make sure a convenient option is ready for when you get home.

This small change can reduce the number of decisions you need to make when your energy is low.

7. Choose simple meals instead of complicated recipes

You do not need to become an enthusiastic cook to reduce takeaway reliance. Start with meals that use a small number of ingredients and require little preparation.

Here are some straightforward ideas:

• Quick breakfast: Greek-style yoghurt with fruit and oats, or eggs on toast.
• Easy lunch: A wrap with your preferred protein, salad and a simple dressing.
• Low-effort dinner: Rice, vegetables and a convenient protein source.
• No-cook option: A salad with beans, chickpeas or another suitable protein, served with bread or pitta.
• Busy-evening option: A prepared ready meal that needs only reheating according to the instructions.

For more inspiration, explore healthy meals when you do not have time to cook and our guide to easy meals for people with no time.

8. Use prepared meals when they suit your lifestyle

Prepared meals can be particularly useful when your main barrier is the time and effort required to cook. Rather than planning ingredients and preparing a recipe, you have a meal ready to heat and eat.

This can help on days when you are working late, returning from the gym, managing family commitments or simply want to spend less time in the kitchen.

When choosing ready meals, consider the ingredients, portion size, nutritional information, storage instructions, price and whether the meals suit your preferences. Different products vary, so check the details rather than assuming every ready meal offers the same nutritional profile.

Our guide to ready meals for busy people explains how prepared food can fit into a demanding routine.

9. Make your shopping list work harder

A practical shopping list helps you keep useful food available without buying ingredients that you never get around to using.

Before shopping, check what you already have and think about the meals you are realistically likely to prepare. Prioritise ingredients that can be used in more than one dish and choose quantities that suit your household.

It can also help to keep a small backup supply of cupboard or freezer staples. These provide alternatives when fresh ingredients run out or your plans change unexpectedly.

If you prefer not to shop for and prepare every meal yourself, compare the cost and convenience of prepared meals with your usual food shopping. Our article on whether meal prep is worth it can help you weigh up the options.

10. Change one habit at a time

Trying to change every meal immediately can be difficult to maintain. A gradual approach is often more realistic than setting strict rules that do not fit your lifestyle.

Start by replacing one or two unplanned takeaway orders each week with a convenient alternative. Once that feels manageable, consider whether you want to make further changes.

Track what works for you. If a particular meal is consistently convenient and enjoyable, keep it in your routine. If an option requires more preparation than you expected, find something simpler.

The goal is to build a routine that works over time, rather than follow a perfect plan for a few days.

Takeaways vs Easy Meals vs Prepared Ready Meals

There is no single option that suits every situation. The most useful choice depends on your available time, budget, preferences and how much effort you want to put into preparing food.

Option	Main advantage	What to consider
Takeaway	Convenient when you want a meal without cooking.	Prices, delivery fees, waiting time and how frequently you order.
Simple home-cooked meal	Offers flexibility over ingredients and portions.	You still need to shop, prepare ingredients and clean up.
No-cook meal	Requires little or no cooking and can be assembled quickly.	You need suitable ingredients available and safe storage where necessary.
Prepared ready meal	Reduces meal preparation and can make busy evenings easier.	Check price, ingredients, storage requirements and nutritional information.
Planned meal delivery	Can reduce repeated meal planning and shopping tasks.	Check delivery schedules, total cost, portion sizes and flexibility.

Rather than choosing one approach for every day, consider combining these options. Simple home-cooked meals might suit quieter evenings, while prepared meals provide a convenient backup when time is limited.

How to Build a Simple Weekly Routine

A basic routine can make it easier to reduce takeaway orders without spending hours planning food. The following example shows how different approaches could fit into a typical week. Adapt it to your schedule and food preferences.

This is an example, not a rule you need to follow. You might cook more on weekends, use prepared meals more frequently or prefer to order a takeaway on a particular evening. What matters is having suitable alternatives available when you want them.

How Prepared Meals Can Help Reduce Takeaway Orders

For some people, the main difficulty is not knowing what to eat. It is finding the time and energy to make it happen. Prepared meals can bridge the gap between cooking from scratch and ordering food at the last minute.

They can be useful when:

Prepared meals are not automatically cheaper or more nutritious than every takeaway or home-cooked alternative. The value depends on the product, serving size, delivery costs and what you would otherwise spend.

Compare the full cost and convenience of your options. If you find that having meals ready helps you avoid repeated last-minute orders, it may be worth incorporating them into your weekly routine.

How to Make Reducing Takeaways More Affordable

If cost is one of your main reasons for changing your habits, focus on the total amount you spend rather than the price of one meal in isolation.

Compare the full cost

When comparing a takeaway with a home-prepared or delivered meal, include all relevant costs. For a takeaway, this might include the food, delivery charge, service fee and any extras. For home cooking, consider the ingredients used, potential waste and whether you need to buy items specifically for that meal. For prepared meals, include the meal price and any delivery charge.

Reduce food waste

Buying ingredients without a plan can result in food going unused. Choose meals that share ingredients, check your fridge before shopping and freeze suitable food according to safe storage guidance.

Keep your plan flexible

You do not need to replace every takeaway with a more elaborate meal. A sandwich, quick rice dish or suitable ready meal may be a more practical choice than buying ingredients for a recipe you will not have time to prepare.

Decide which conveniences are worth paying for

Time has value too. If a prepared meal saves you effort on a demanding day, you may consider that worthwhile even if a basic home-cooked meal could cost less. The important thing is to understand the trade-off and choose what suits your circumstances.

For further guidance, read our articles on weekly meal prep costs and meal prep versus supermarket shopping.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Trying to stop takeaways overnight

Setting an absolute rule can make a routine harder to sustain, particularly if you have a busy schedule. Start with manageable changes and build from there.

Making every meal too complicated

If your alternatives require lengthy recipes and extensive preparation, you may return to ordering food when you are tired. Choose meals that match the time and energy you actually have.

Buying food you do not enjoy

A plan will be difficult to maintain if it relies on meals you dislike. Choose flavours, ingredients and meal styles you look forward to eating.

Assuming all ready meals are the same

Ready meals vary considerably in ingredients, portion sizes, nutritional content and price. Check the information on individual products and select options that suit your needs.

Feeling guilty about every takeaway

The aim is not to remove enjoyment or convenience from your life. An occasional takeaway can still fit into a flexible routine. Focus on your overall habits and whether they support your priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts: Make Convenience Work for You

Learning how to stop relying on takeaways does not require you to become a keen cook or spend your weekends preparing every meal for the week ahead. It starts with understanding why you order food, identifying the situations that make it most likely and making practical alternatives easier to access.

Keep simple ingredients available, plan around your busiest days and consider convenient options such as no-cook meals and prepared ready meals. Pay attention to your spending, choose food you enjoy and make changes gradually rather than expecting yourself to follow a perfect routine.

Most importantly, keep your approach realistic. The aim is to give yourself more choice over what you eat, how much you spend and how much time you devote to food preparation. Takeaways can remain an occasional option while you build a routine that better suits your everyday life.

If having meals ready in advance would make your week easier, explore the BOZU menu to see whether our prepared meals fit your schedule.