3 Stay-In Date Night Hacks for Millennials

By Sponsor in Food on Apr 9, 2015 5:00AM

This post is a sponsored collaboration between Plated and Gothamist staff.

Everyone loves a good date night. It’s that easy. Our myriad nightlife options can be overwhelming, which makes it easy to fall into the trap of going out just to go out. Those dinners and drinks not only add up (and possibly jade you), they remove an opportunity for a good ol’ stay-in date night.

Plated is all about making the best of a night in. This startup delivers ready-to-cook meals right to your door, so you can have chef-designed meals at a surprisingly low price. They are currently offering Chicagoist readers 4 free meals with their first purchase, so it’s a perfect time to get cooking. While a great start, any good stay-in date requires more than one activity, so pay attention.

Give Cooking Together a Go
There's nothing better than the sense of accomplishment you get from cooking an incredible meal. Prepare it with your partner and the feeling only gets multiplied, since communication, trust and coordination are vital to a tasty meal. Plated's ingredients are pre-portioned, and each recipe card is clearly laid out with photos, so you two can divide and conquer an awesome dish you might have never attempted before.

Try Bonding Over Nostalgia
Who doesn’t love talking about things they loved growing up? The 80's and 90's were a great time to be a kid, and those memories are instantly linked to good times. Bust out a classic board game (or the app version) and rediscover how fast a round of Uno or a quick bout of Sorry can turn into hours of laughter. Talk about how stoked you were when you set the Bop-It high score or how weirded out you were by Rugrats: All Grown Up. Better yet, stream an episode or two of old favorite shows and see if they still hold up.

Give Mixing Drinks a Shot
Don’t be afraid to move away from the tried-and-true 6-pack of beer or bottle of wine for a night in. You’ve been to cocktail bars. You know it just involves grabbing the right stuff and pouring. Couldn’t be that hard, right? So look up a cocktail recipe or two and try to perfect it. They might start rough around the edges, but when you get it right, a self-made cocktail tastes of pure victory.

Plated is extending a great deal to Chicagoist readers for their very own stay-in date night: Click here to receive four meals free with your first purchase!