Anyone else find cooking in the school holidays problematic and a bit of a drag?

[Shinycantle]

I love food and cooking and have my meal plans for the school/work week totally sorted - and I am still enthusiastic about it ifyswim (well, usually) and put time and effort in to cooking from scratch.

But cooking in the holidays I find a bit "meh" and we end up eating too many pizzas and ready meals which I want to change.

I guess it's subconsciously, because we are on holiday, I fancy a break from cooking from scratch so go "off plan" but in reality nothing has changed and we all still need to eat relatively healthily every night, but I just don't feel inspired. I don't feel like cooking the same stuff we eat in term time, plus we are all out doing different activities and loads of energy goes in to them.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or have any tips or quick recipe ideas? I guess I am asking for the holy grail though in that I'm looking for tasty, different, recipe ideas that can be thrown together in moments with hardly any effort and that don't suffer from re-heating if one of us is out ... .

[Shinycantle]

Anyone?

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

How old are your kids? Are you able to cook with them, as an activity, so that you can spend time enjoying the process rather than cooking as an additional chore after a busy day.
One thing that worked well here was to choose different restaurants, look up their menus, pick different dishes then google recipes to recreate at home. We did dishes from wahaca, Wagamama, Byron, Nando’s etc but you could go more sophisticated!
Depending on what they are into you can make menus, table decs etc and score dishes.

[Shinycantle]

Thanks Atleast I should have said I have a houseful of teens this Easter fortnight, some young teens and some older (some mine, some not). We usually do cook together but they are all out doing day long holiday clubs in a certain (quite demanding) activity this fortnight and it's taking me an hour and a half each way for me to drive them each day . And I am hanging around at the location during the day because I am helping to make costumes there. The holiday is nearly over now but I'd like some ideas for the summer when this will be starting all over again ... .

[Shinycantle]

That's a good idea to use menu cards for inspiration though!

[Shinycantle]

Noodles/stir-fry food is great for teens!

[stoneagemum]

Freezer full if extra portions from home cooked meals - ding and done, easy to sort but still cooked from scratch even if from the freezer

[glitterbiscuits]

Yes me! It’s just as you said - out of routine equals out of enthusiasm.

Tonight it was Dorritos with melted cheese and dips.

Teenagers had done nothing all day so I decided to do the same after I’d worked 11 hours.

[Shinycantle]

Stoneagemum you sound very organised. Do you deliberately batch cook or double up during term time then?

That's exactly it Glitterbiscuits!