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But then there are dishes to wash. And cleanup to do. It's not that I'm lazy. It's just that I'm too damned tired. I love to cook but now that it's just me, there's no point and it's time and effort I can save.
I've always cooked for others. Why would I drag out all of those pots and pans for a meal for one? I've done it, but it's not a lot of fun or very rewarding. I hate to wash dishes.
A year and a half ago, my nephew moved into my house for a few months while looking for work in Philly. Let the cooking begin! I made soup, chili, casseroles, pies and cookies. He looked a little thin to me.
I prefer to eat at home. Restaurant food is ok, but makes me sick after awhile.
I make a lot of crockpot meals....soups, roasts, etc. I bet I don't spend more than 20 min a day on food prep. Cooking doesn't have to be a time consuming chore.
I don't know how people can subsist on restaurant food, unless it's gourmet quality. Most of the stuff found at chain restaurants and fast food is gross.
I enjoy eating out. If we had the money, one meal out a week is more than plenty. Currently we eat out maybe 1-2 times a month. My wife and I do love cooking though. We usually cook 3 home cooked meals per week and eat the leftovers on the off days.
I don't think a ton of people are just eating out all the time, but I am seeing a ton of people who just live off frozen microwave meals, canned goods, just heat and eat type meals. I'm happy I'm not one of those people, home cooking is so much better and worth the time!
Yeah, this is a problem for us during busy times of the year, too. Menu planning is a tremendous challenge when everybody is going a separate direction. Spring into summer is the worst! I never know who will show up for dinner.
Schedules shouldn't effect meal planning. Plan the meals, cook and refrigerate/freeze them, and pull them out at the beginning of the week. Allow the family to pull out their own portions from the pot/container based on their schedule.
That's what families do (or did) all the time. The big point is the cooked food being present and available in the fridge.
90% of our meals are home cooked, and whole food, not pre-frozen stuff. I work PT so I have the opportunity to do this. It does save money, but I also can make sure it is healthy.
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I don't mind the actual cooking but planning, buying and actually making it before it goes bad is the problem. My DH is a very specific mood eater and I'm just mentally DONE with cooking before it ever begins. The deciding what to eat is demoralizing. Even when we plan the week out, he will change his mind and I never know what he wants until 30 minutes before dinner and we usually don't have the ingredients for the very specific entree/side dishes combos he has to have. My personal favorite is when he is annoyed that we don't have something that we literally haven't eaten in a couple of years.
Whoever said it is really defeating to spend so much time and effort to cook when it isn't appreciated hit the nail on the head for this family. I want to cook more, I used to love to cook and try out new things but seriously the nightly, "What is for dinner?" is enough to make me break down in tears some days.
So no, I don't really cook a lot these days. I'm not lazy or don't know how to cook, I'm just broken.
A lot of my friends don't really cook either, they tend to assemble a lot of meals as well because of both partners working and/or kids after school activities. Quite a few of my mom friends would be satisfied with a bowl of cereal most days. I have one who has trays of assembled meals delivered to her house, she just throws it in the oven and a steam bag of veggies and calls it done. These are not lazy people, they work hard for their employers and their families, they do what they have to do to get through the day. Period.
Schedules shouldn't effect meal planning. Plan the meals, cook and refrigerate/freeze them, and pull them out at the beginning of the week. Allow the family to pull out their own portions from the pot/container based on their schedule.
That's what families do (or did) all the time. The big point is the cooked food being present and available in the fridge.
This is assuming your family will eat leftovers or stuff they have to heat up. I could have a fridge full of cooked food and still "nothing to eat" according to my family. We throw out a ton of food.
I like cooking, but there are a lot of negatives with it. Mostly, time it takes and energy costs associated. If I can buy some already cooked dehydrated sweet potatoes that I can throw into a shaker and take with me, instead of baking for 1 and 1/2 hrs and getting yam juice all over my leather seats I will do it.
Many of the ones who simply must have a state-of-the-art kitchen will be the first to tell you that they "don't cook," and proceed to wear it as some sort of badge of honor.
Not only does it reflect the demise of an important aspect of family time, but it's also pathetic to see people running to the drive-thru for meals.
Many of the ones who simply must have a state-of-the-art kitchen will be the first to tell you that they "don't cook," and proceed to wear it as some sort of badge of honor.
Not only does it reflect the demise of an important aspect of family time, but it's also pathetic to see people running to the drive-thru for meals.
A few myths in here:
1) Meal preparation doesn't do itself, the time it takes could be spent with the family enjoying other activities, not so whilst cooking.
2) Just because you do not traditionally cook a meal every night does it mean you go to the drive-thru.
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