Some people are able to keep food costs down by making home-cooked meals. Avoiding prepared foods, take-out or the dreaded fast-food option are all strategies for stretching the food dollar.

But if planning ahead for making a home-cooked dinner is difficult for you, you are not alone. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

A recent report from the Food Marketing Institute notes that many of us don’t know WHAT, never mind WHERE we will eat two hours before dinnertime.

Some 28 percent of consumers do not know what they will eat two hours before dinnertime on weekdays. The number jumps to 35 percent on weekends.

On weekdays, those most likely to lack plans are members of Generation Y (generally considered those born between the second half of the 1970s and the first half of the 1990s) with 46 percent clueless about what to eat and single men at 43 percent and single mothers at 38 percent.

Two hours before dinnertime, many have not even decided whether to eat at home or a restaurant. On weekdays, the plan-less are led by Generation Y (27 percent), single mothers (21 percent) and single men (19 percent).

So what happens to these groups?

These consumers create a large market for fast-food, takeout and delivered meals. And all those options cost more than that home-cooked dinner.

In fact, a restaurant meal costs more than twice as much per person, a median of $12 compared with $5, according to FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report. FMI conducts programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 member companies of food retailers and wholesalers.

The research has also shown supermarkets understand this and are responding with prepared meals as solutions and are growing their quick-stop areas for dinner –– think salad bars, hot food stations and ready to go sushi.

The number of grocery stores featuring these quick-stop areas increased from 36.8 percent in 2007 to 50.6 percent in 2008, according to another FMI report.

In spite of the ease with which people opt to eat out, consumers equate eating at home with eating healthier. As many as 91 percent say they eat healthier when dining at home, according to the report. This number includes 39 percent who believe home-cooked food is “much healthier.”

So what do we do?

The easiest thing is to plan. This doesn’t have to be as specific as a stir fry dish on Monday, pasta on Tuesday and fish on Wednesday. What if you simply have some options ready? Having a well-stocked fridge and pantry and harnessing enough energy to prepare a meal are not so secret weapons in the battle to get dinner on the table.

Several of my friends and I often joke that many a night we have made dinner while still wearing our coats. Coming home to a hungry brood will do that to you. This can discourage any cook from embarking on a dinner. So don’t forget the foods that will keep everyone at bay. Carrot or celery sticks perhaps? Now I don’t have those kids but someone must.

My mother put popcorn on the table. Pop it yourself with a bit of olive oil and it tastes wonderful and has none of those salty concoctions from the microwave versions.

As for the meals, to help get you inspired, or started, check out some recipes from The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook, next page.

gciampa@projo.com