M & S (or equivalent) or from scratch....

[SamanthaHD]

'What is wrong with spending a little extra time, cooking from scratch?' these were my DH's exact words. Aside from the fact that is very rarely 'a little extra time' I hate cooking, and were DH not around I would feed myself and the kids on bulked out (with veg, pasta, potatoes etc) ready meals, preferably nutritionally sound ones.


DH thinks this is very wrong.


Who, in your estimable opinion, is right?

[ElbowPrincess]

Your DH, because I love cooking and hate ready meals, no matter how "nutrionally sound" they are.

[Fakebook]

I don't think many ready meals are nutritionally sound, no matter how much veg you bulk it up with.

I agree with your DH. Does he do most of the cooking? Why don't you have enough time?

[SamanthaHD]

He doesn't do most of the cooking, usually weekends. I have enough time, but I really hate wasting it by chopping, peeling, frying, boiling stuff that my kids won't eat. I really do dislike cooking, it's such a chore.

[WorraLiberty]

I agree with your DH too.

Just because you hate cooking, doesn't mean you shouldn't take your turn doing it.

[MichelleRouxJnr]

this is very wrong is a bit strong, but I agree with your DH's general opinion.
Ready meals just don't compare to cooked from scratch meals.
Really cooked from scratch - not a jar of this and a jar of that.

[CoffeeTea103]

Yabu, why do you hate cooking? You do know that ready meals are not very nutritious. Cooking from scratch is just not that difficult as it's made out to be.

[SamanthaHD]

I'm not sure why I hate it so much, but it's definitely on a par with cleaning the oven or the fridge or similar. Tedious.

I know it's not that difficult, but my heart sinks at the thought of it really. Like my day's going pretty well, and then the thought hits me 'Oh God I've got to cook something'.

I'm sure someone, somewhere will back me up here!!

I told DH I would show him this thread, I was pretty confident I was going to have a triumphant moment. I hope he forgets I told him I was going to ask MN

[Fakebook]

So you're just lazy then. Everyone hates the chopping and peeling part but you can get your children to help out and have it as family time. Also the prepping is not wasting time, it's part of cooking!

My dd is nearly six and I get her to cut up some lettuce or peppers whilst I'm doing boring stuff so I don't get bored standing alone in the kitchen.

I think you've already decided in your head its a chore when it shouldn't be. Doesn't matter if you buy from waitrose or M&S; the food still has additives and other stuff to preserve it.

[WorraLiberty]

What Fakebook said.

[LisaMed]

OP - you need to get this, the I Hate To Cook Cookbook. It is written by someone who hates to cook, who understands and while you have to translate the recipes from American you can never cook them, just enjoy the great writing and the fellow feeling of someone who would rather do anything than cook.

I hate cooking as well. I can cook, I will sometimes swap recipes. I can even make a souffle. Still don't like cooking. It is perhaps the most depressing job in the house.

[KirjavaTheCorpse]

Cooking's a part of life, imo. You don't have to enjoy it. I do, incidentally, but I didn't always - still had to do it.

No matter how nutritionally sound your ready meals are, it's not going to set your children a great example.

If your kids grew up to have fridges stocked full of ready meals, would you mind?

[bunnymother]

No. You are not just lazy. You just don't like cooking. Neither does my DH. So he doesn't. I like cooking so I cook all our meals, but I sympathise as its not great to have to do something you don't like, a few times a day.

If I was you, I would look for shortcuts, too, that didn't compromise the nutritional content of your meals.

[littlewhitebag]

Ready meals are just not as nice tasting as home cooked ones. Sometimes i get fed up with cooking so i have a repertoire of quick and easy meals like fajitas which can be done in no time I even buy diced chicken for that so it is only chopping some pepper and onion.

[NoComet]

I get the 'and the kids won't eat' DD2 walking and saying "oh!your cooking" in a crestfallen voice does not make you feel like bothering.

I'm a perfectly reasonable cook, but DD would rather chicken dippers or Pizza than stir fry or anything interesting. It might have veg or sauce!

Since chopping onions really makes my eye's hurt I do think of fuck it less have baked spuds again.

[noblegiraffe]

I hate cooking too. Nothing to do with being lazy, when I hear people say they find it relaxing or they enjoy being creative I am baffled.

You can buy frozen chopped onion, frozen crushed garlic and frozen chopped veg. This takes some of the pain out of it.

[harticus]

I am not lazy but I fucking hate cooking too.
It isn't compulsory to enjoy it and millions don't.
The thing is I also hate convenience food.

We eat well and love fresh veggies so I just crank up some loud music and get it done.
I am a very lazy cook and eater - I can't be doing with faffing of any kind. So we eat large amounts of fresh pasta sauces and curries and slow-cooked stuff that you can knock up quickly and shovel in.
You can have fresh and nutritious without spending hours in the kitchen.

Don't underestimate frozen veggies btw - they are consistently shown to have higher levels of vitamins etc than some moldy old "fresh" cabbage that has been sitting on a shelf for a week. Also make up batches of fresh pasta sauces, dhals etc and freeze them.

I have to side with your DH. But I agree that cooking really can be a tedious pain in the arse.

[pixwix]

Ach - I sympathise. I work shifts as a HCP, and am the resident parent of two boys, and coming home after 'x' number of hours to start scratching my head about what to make for us makes my teeth itch.

I get round it by setting aside say a day a month, when they are at their dads. I go shopping early, put the radio on, pour myself a glass of wine, and get cracking! I make burgers, casseroles, curries, pies, fish pie, lasagnes, chilli, spag bol, fish mix for fish en creoute, pastry into 4oz lumps, dumplings, cheese sauces, chicken dishes etc - then freeze the bloody lot. I have a chest freezer in the garage, and a precarious mountain of plastic pots, ice-cream cartons in my cupboard..

Then the night before we decide what's for tea, get it out to defrost, and bung in oven the next day. Some nights we might just have a jacket potato, or soup and sandwiches, or pasta and cheese sauce, sometimes it's more substantial. Sometimes the kids just want sausage and chips, and we have had the odd ready meal, but I find the idea of cooking less onerous if I set aside time to do it all in one go. And wine helps

[HorryIsUpduffed]

I quite like cooking but I completely agree that chopping etc is mind-numbing.

Buying frozen chopped vegetables eg onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, etc will provide just about the same nutrition as cutting up fresh yourself, without your wanting to kill yourself!

You could also try batch cooking so that you do the cooking once but the eating twice (or three times, or four times). For example, cook a big casserole once, split into four, freeze three, then that's three casseroles in the freezer for days when you don't even want to assemble food let alone work "from scratch".

[QueenStromba]

I was going to suggest frozen onions, garlic and other veg but giraffe beat me to it. I love cooking but I can't be faffing around with peeling and chopping garlic.

Waitrose do a nice range of prepared and frozen herbs etc - I've got chopped ginger, chopped garlic and a nice mix of Italian herbs in the freezer.

If you're at home an hour or two before dinner needs to be ready then a roast dinner is really easy. Put a chicken in the oven (with a lemon up it's bum if you can be bothered) and then half an hour before it's ready take some new potatoes, cut the bigger ones in half and chuck them in the oven with some goose fat/olive oil - they come out like a cross between jacket potatoes and roast potatoes and are blooming lovely. Then you just need to cook some broccoli or whatever when the chicken is resting and make up some bisto. It's no more effort than a ready meal - you just need to be a bit organised.

You could do the same thing with fish - wrap it in tin foil with a bit of butter and lemon (optional) and put it in the oven with the potatoes.

Home cooked, nutritious food does not require slaving over a hot stove for ages (or even at all).

[Sparklingbrook]

I hate cooking. It's a massive chore.

[PuppyMonkey]

My name is PuppyMonkey and I also hate cooking.

I am also a bit lazy.

This is not illegal.

[Viviennemary]

I hate cooking too. And am not a very good cook unless I spend ages and try really hard which I'm not often prepared to do because I don't see the point. It's a chore. If somebody wants home cooked food like their Mother used to make let them do it themselves.

[Sparklingbrook]

Dh has suggested I go on a cookery course to awaken some enthusiasm for cooking. My idea of hell.

[FrequentFlyerRandomDent]

I like cooking.

It is producing 365 days worth of lunches and dinners that brings me to despair.

Could you find a win-not lose too much solution? Maybe purchasing chopped frozen vegetables? When I lived in Belgium. You could buy absolutely envy thing chopped and frozen: onions, broccoli, carrots, etc. it saves a lot of time and the freezing process saved the nutrients, etc.

[mrsjay]

I detest cooking my heart sinks every dinner time and shopping for food URGH I am not a v ery good cook I just can't get it together the timings are all wrong, but I do cook meals from scratch I suppose just they are not very exciting meals and yes we will have the odd frozen pie here and there, it really is no biggie . I know people who are passionate about cooking spend hours and hours cooking I just don't enjoy it, I think I am meant for staff