I am so tired of people complaining that dining out in restaurants is just too expensive.

Is it really a big savings if you clip coupons like a mad woman and save $$$ on food you wouldn’t normally buy? Are you being totally smart by eating cheap junk food, or GMO-riddled highly processed items made by the Friends of Monsanto? Just because they’re “on sale”?
Maybe you could get a bit more creative with slow-cooked stews and pastas most of the week, and then go out to your favorite restaurant feel terrific afterwards?

Point is, dining is not pigging out. It is entirely possible (and satisfying) to have a light dinner of appetizers joined by a glass of interesting wine. That won’t break your budget but it will make you feel a lot better about Life and the state of the world. Burger King mega-calories are not part of prosperity consciousness. Neither is an endless procession, night after night, of frozen mystery entrees from Costco.
Scrimp somewhere else. On electronic toys or designer boots. But be good to your body (which, in case you hadn’t noticed, is directly linked to your sense of spiritual happiness).

At our house, we’ve cut back on high end wine, on fancy condiments, on anything imported, on meat, on clothing (last decade’s sweater is still wearable) and travel. There are no more daily trips to the latté cart. No “convenience” foods that someone else has chopped, and mixed, and packaged for you. But we always go to the farmers market. We eat organic produce and natural, free-range poultry, fresh fish. If you neglect your body, your whole wellbeing goes south. Nutrition isn’t a frill, it isn’t optional. Look around at all the people you know suffering from poor health — the kind that might have been prevented by a better diet and a hell of a lot more exercise. I bet they wish they hadn’t pigged out on potato chips, nachos, donuts and burgers.
Invest in yourself!