A study that was done by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) last week said that people who ate the healthiest foods were the most likely to eat at home. The study found that 71% of shoppers "believe the food they eat at home is healthier than meals consumed out" but it also found that 68% prepared dinner from scratch on a daily basis, showing a bias in their sample for people who already prefer to eat and cook at home.

This doesn't mean that eating at home is necessarily any healthier than eating out. As with all things food-related, this issue boils down to choices and in the case of eating out vs. eating in, the two biggest ones are what we eat and how we prepare it. The people in the survey are probably correct in thinking that the food that they prepared at home is healthier. They have complete control over what goes into each of the dishes they serve and what the portion sizes are. Many people will choose healthier preparations at home, using nonstick cookware and not keeping a squeeze bottle full of oil next to the stove (a pro-kitchen item that caused problems on a calorie-sensitive Top Chef episode), reaching for it more often than salt or pepper.

So is eating at home better for your health? Not necessarily, but it can be healthier than many restaurant or prepackaged alternatives, especially if your definition of "home cooking" isn't the same, on a daily basis, as Paula Deen's.

The frequency with which the study participants, as well as people in general, eat out is one of the biggest causes for concern. The participants went to a restaurant or got take out on half of all the days they were in the study and when meals out get that frequent, they are no longer "special occasions" calling for indulgence, though that is the mindset than many still have. Another problem is portion size which, when combined with restaurants' "ample delicious food cues," can cause even a disciplined eater to press on with eating when they should have stopped.

It is not surprising to note that a meal eaten at a restaurant is more expensive than one eaten at home. You are paying for the cooking and service, as well as for the food itself. What is surprising is that people are actually spending more money eating out than eating at home overall.

Official figures released in Britain show that people are spending £2 billion more on restaurant food than on food that they might cook themselves. On top of that, spending on food and drink has more than doubled in the same time period, which indicates that people are eating more food, more often.

With the rise in popularity of cooking programs and the ever-growing trend for gourmet home cooking, it is possible that the numbers will hold as they are, though few people want to give up "exotic" foods that they think they can't cook at home, like curries and sushi.

Maki at i was just really very hungry posted a great guide on how to take food photos in restaurants and other public places. A prolific blogger and writer, she has extensive experience and, judging from her photos, is good at what she does. Now, with some practice (and a good camera), getting quality photos at home isn't too difficult because you have the control over the lighting and there is not time pressure because there isn't anyone at the next table peeking over to see what you're doing.

Restaurants can be challenging places to shoot if they're dark, quiet or crowded, and because they are places of business, it is important to be unobtrusive. Maki uses three different cameras, ranging from a professional model to a camera phone for taking her photos. While she prefers to use the pro camera, there are situations were the other two are simply more appropriate, such as trying to be discrete with a camera in a restaurant. Beyond camera selection, here are a few of her tips for taking good food photos away from home:

Lately, the problem of portion size has been all over the news. Unsurprisingly, the general consensus is that in order to curb the "obesity epidemic" and improve the heath and nutrition of most people, especially Americans, portion sizes need to be kept under control.

Great idea - but how can it be put into effect?

Since it is impossible to control how much people pile onto their plates when they're at home, thoughts are turning to restaurants to monitor how much they dish out to patrons. The theory is that if a diner isn't served 3 pounds of pasta, s/he can't eat 3 pounds of pasta. But this means that every single restaurant would have to reduce their portion sizes and risk losing customers, because customers are attracted to whatever they feel is a good value. If only one restaurant did not reduce portion sizes, customers would continue to patronize it because the temptation of a good value (and thus the opportunity to overeat) is incredibly hard to resist.

Though it make take more time, continuing to educate people about proper nutrition and healthy eating habits is a better way to go. Trying for force people to accept smaller portion sizes won't resort in happier, healthier people, but in a lot of people who resent being told what to eat. Once everyone wants to maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle (one without 3-pound dishes of pasta), things like portion size will sort themselves out. Value will be in the quality and taste of the food more than the quantity.

It's not often that you see Dr. Joyce Brother's answer a question pertaining to food, but this seems like an issue that could be a problem for many foodies. No, it's not a 9 1/2 Weeks sort of thing. The question is about what to do when an adventurous eater is interested in someone who is not only picky and unadventurous ("the culinary tastes of a 6-year-old) in their eating habits, but is also entirely uninterested in changing.

Dr. Joyce said that the foodie is better off finding someone who can share her interest in food, since cooking and meals are not only important to her, but are a huge part of everyday life. It can be difficult to choose restaurants and menus when dining with friends if one or two people only ever want a cheeseburger and fries - imagine how much more frustrating that would be in a relationship when the issue comes up three times a day. Even if she could put aside her interests from time to time, it would only cause friction in the relationship as time went on.

It's sound advice. But the temptation must be there to try and convince the unwilling eater to expand his or her horizons. Has anyone succeeded in converting the PB&J devotee to something a little more exciting?

Every so often - by which I mean frequently - a thread (or three) comes up at Chowhound about tipping. Since Chowhound is a community of people who not only love food, but love to eat out in restaurants, the debates can get pretty heated. Though some feel that the new minimum tip should be 20%, the standard tip is about 15% of the check. Since most places have a significantly lowered minimum wage for tipped employees, tips are not bonuses, but a substantial part of the income of servers.

Tipping philosophies vary widely with age, life experiences and even personality. Some people tip the same percentage - no matter what. Others take into consideration every aspect of the service, as though they have a formula that deducts or adds percentage points accordingly. A few seem to begrudge the fact that they have to pay to eat out at all (despite the fact that these people often eat out frequently) and tip little to nothing.

In California, where the sales tax is fairly high, I double it to get the tip amount and usually end up tipping somewhere from 16-18%, depending on which county/city I am in. If I'm visiting friends in a state with low sales tax (6% or less), I'll triple it. This makes my calculations short and sweet, though I'll definitely consider tipping extra for excellent service or if a member of my party was difficult for some reason.

How much do you tip, and would anything about the service change the amount?

Michael Bauer posted a very interesting story from a reader on his SF Chronicle blog, Between Meals. The gist of it is that, on Mother's Day, the reader and his family showed up at a restaurant, arriving at the time of their reservation, to find that their table (and name) had been taken by another, already seated, party. The manager must not have believed that this family had actually placed the original reservation because, instead of offering to seat the displaced patrons as soon as possible, offering them free drinks in compensation, or even double-checking the cell phone number on the reservation, he said "you need to wait until a vacancy occurs in the reservation list. As it is Mother's Day, and we have only so many tables available, it may be an hour or so." 

According to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association, people say that they want to eat healthier than they really do, especially when it comes to eating in restaurants. In fact, only 36% of people ask for healthier substitutions and fewer than 50% of diners will order off a "healthy" menu when it is offered. People eat more meals out of the home than ever before, diminishing the idea of a restaurant meal as "special occasion" food, which may have once justified indulgence. 63% of diners do not want to see nutritional information on the menu, looking for permission (by omission) to eat whatever they want to.

Why is there this willful ignorance of what goes into a plate of food? Is there some stigma attached to ordering something healthy (or at least, less bad) at a restaurant?

Does design matter when you dine? Or perhaps more importantly, does it impact where you dine?

Travel + Leisure gave their 2006 Restaurant Design Award to Mix, in Las Vegas. Pictured here, it isn't a design that would work just anywhere, but for Vegas, its over-the-top glamour is simply perfect. And that is how design comes into the dining experience.

Design contributes to ambiance, and having an appropriate atmosphere can be a more important factor than we realize when choosing a restaurant. In an unfamiliar city, you might glance through unfamiliar doors to see if it's "your kind of place." But design isn't limited to expensive, fancy restaurants, either, though the term is certainly thrown about more when taking about higher-priced venues. Family-friendly places, for example, still want to look family-friendly to help draw customers in a make them feel welcome. They might use bright colors and will try to have comfy seating.

It is true that design alone isn't likely to bring you back if the food and service aren't up to scratch, but, like a photo in a cookbook, it can definitely draw you in.

Apparently, some "experts" want Mother's Day to be canceled on the grounds that there "should be no such thing" and mothers should be appreciated every day. True enough, but in my experience, everyone likes to feel special sometimes, and having one day that is a little extra special is a very enjoyable thing. It's like treating yourself to an ice cream cone on a hot day instead of just having a Coke to cool down. It is possible, however, that things are getting a little out of control - especially when it comes to dining out.

Mother's Day is the most popular day of the year for dining out, followed by Valentine's Day. I've already speculated as to why this is, but that's not the issue. The issue is where people are eating. I remember walking down the street to have a pancake breakfast with my mom, or perhaps driving out to the beach to be near the water. I was definitely not paying $70 per person for a prix fixe menu, as touted in my local paper by some establishments, nor do I intend to in the future. It's not that my mom doesn't "deserve" that, it's just that Mother's Day is about spending time with your mom and appreciating her, even if it's just over a cup of coffee.

Are you taking your mom out to eat this year? Is it somewhere really "special" or just somewhere you can enjoy her company?

With very few exceptions, I have never had a problem getting a reservation at a restaurant that I wanted to eat at. Holidays like Valentine's Day can pose their own problems, of course, but I am speaking of an ordinary night out. If I have not been able to get a reservation, I go somewhere else. If the restaurant is closing when I walk in, I go somewhere else. Some people don't want to go somewhere else, though, and either bribe the hostess or outright lie to get in. They have fake reservations. A fake reservation is what some diners use to get into restaurants that are full or closing, knowing that most restaurants will not question their claim. But here's something they may not know: they're not fooling anyone. The restaurant knows that you're faking.

No matter how much you want to eat at a restaurant, it's not going to be as satisfying if you're faking. Service will be slower because the staff is slammed. The staff will be annoyed that they have to hang around for hours after closing. You'll get annoyed because your waiter is brusque, or not all the specials are available. Try using OpenTable.com to make your reservation based on existing availability. This way you won't have to fake it.

Your son or daughter never eats bread crusts and refuses to tough either peas or pasta sauce. Picky eater, right? Maybe not. As children age they develop preferences about their food, based on flavor, texture and, eventually, political and nutritional preferences. Simply because a child refuses a food once, they are not necessarily a picky eater. Often, a food will have to be offered to a toddler or child from 5 to 10 times before they become accustomed to it. The kids who eat the foods are not really picky eaters. No child has been fooled into eating a carrot because it was crunchy like a potato chip – and any parent whose child was “tricked” into that had a child that wasn’t entirely averse to the carrot in the first place.

The really picky eaters are the ones who refuse to eat anything beyond boxed macaroni and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches well into their teens, possibly into adulthood. These eaters become more and more reluctant to try new foods.

But there is one thing that can convince them, even when parents cannot: the “cool factor.”

After successfully promoting the supper club trend that has become so popular in the past could of years, Cooking Light highlighted a new concept in this month's issue of the magazine.

Many people who work outside of their homes eat lunch out almost every day. The days that they don’t eat out they are as likely to grab a candy bar and a bag of chips out of the hall vending machine as they are to have brought something from home. Beyond a peanut butter sandwich, sometimes it can seem daunting to prepare a whole meal in the morning before you leave for work. The concept of the lunch club is that different people bring in foods on different days of the month, dividing up the cooking duties but still providing everyone in the office (who wants to participate) with a full, healthy lunch.