Food takes over your life!

I think some people genuinely struggle with things but others just make a big deal of things like this, also things like emails from school etc as they like to make themselves sound busy.

For us, food has never really been a problem, despite one of my children having an allergy, one being incredibly ‘fussy’ with textures, and having a mix of meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans in our household. One of us puts a bit of thought into the week ahead when we order the shopping, we do check labels due to the allergy and preferences, but then we just make meals with the food we have ordered.

Yeah, I guess I'm lucky. I do get a bit of a kick out of planning meals, but the plans nearly always don't quite work out! I've one very fussy eater and one very unfussy one. I'm somewhere in the middle but I do nearly all the cooking in the house by choice.

I was that way before I had kids, but with two other people’s preferences to consider, and plan around it becomes a job of work especially during school holidays. Oh for the days when I didn’t need to think too far ahead.

I enjoy thinking about what I fancy eating next. If a craving doesn't pop up I rack my brain for yummy things I haven't eaten in a while. Then I fantasise about how it will taste. Then I go and get it/cook it and eat it and usually love it! Then the cycle starts all over again.

I can't understand some people who could just take a food pill. No interest whatsoever, just know they need fuel to survive.

I know some people find it distressing but I think it's just fun and comforting and interesting thinking about food!

It’s the deciding what to cook that irritates me. No one suggests anything, then everyone moans that they didn’t want whatever I cooked. And when you have a big late lunch at the weekend and everyone asks me what’s for dinner and I tell them I’m not hungry so not having any and they still expect me to prepare something.

top tip - get teens to do cookery as their duke of Edinburgh skill.

Food doesn't take up much of my time or thoughts. I do a weekly shop where I buy a selection of straightforward, basic breakfast and lunch foods -cereals, bread, nut butter, hummus, fruit, yoghurt, tinned beans etc and prepare and eat them in 5 minutes as needed at meal times, or stick them in a lunch box if going out. Dinner takes a bit more thought and time, but very much the same principle. Weekly purchase of a selection of protein and carb options and loads of fresh, frozen and canned veg, then turn it into a meal each evening, taking on average 30 minutes. I think about food when I'm hungry or asked for food, and just go and get something as above. Or sometimes when I see food I might do some opportunist eating, but I need to pass the cake shop or food stall for the idea to be planted in my head.

They do in my son's school. He's taking it as a GCSE so I get to sample his creations once a week at the moment 😋

Me and my kids love curry..we could eat it most days. Unfortunately my husband is really annoying and moans that we have curry too often. He also doesn't like pasta. My oldest son doesn't like mash. Meal planning drives me bonkers. If it were up to my husband we would have annoying shit like mixed grill or meat and 2 veg every day

That’s hard with a little one - you have my empathy!

My little one has CMPA and the amount of time spent reading labels is fucking soul destroying.

Food is one of the most easily available life pleasures for me, and I don't feel the same.
I actively dislike having to make meals for my children because of the pressure to balance the nutrients and the difficulty of dealing with a fussy eater, but it's one meal a day (2 at the weekend) so I wouldn't say it takes over my life. Breakfasts are cereals/porridge/yoghurt and that doesn't really count as a meal to prep.

A food "pill" doesn't exist, but there are plenty of "meal shakes" options. Ready made shakes in little bottles perfectly proportioned to cover all key nutritional values of a full meal. Balanced, healthy and filling. If enjoying your food is not something you would miss, that's an option you could look into.
I would personally feel really sad to miss out on a tasty meal though

Wonder if they will ever come up with a food pill or something where it dosent need to take up so.much of your time and energy?

Back in the day one of the school mums I was pally with had zero interest in food but she would join in meals at get-togethers and eat whatever was put in front of her and didn't make a fuss.

I think she's the only person I've ever met who said she really would have preferred to just take a pill to survive, rather than eat.

I have just been diagnosed with celiac disease. Believe me, if you have no food allergies/intolerances, food life is a breeze for you, enjoy it! I will be forever meal planning and label reading for the rest of my life.

Do children still have food tech at school?

Though a friend’s 10 yo makes a decent pizza. I live in hope.

Mine are still little sadly - it was a royal “someone”

I too never considered how much of parenting is cooking! I don’t mind it but it’s a low dawning realisation.

what are the ages of your children @JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch when I can hope They might make ME “eggs or pancakes??

Yes, I realised too late that parenting is an 18-year catering operation.

Too true 😄

This is the main reason I pay for DDs to have school dinners so I can book them on the app a month in advance and don't have to make packed lunches!

Breakfast in our house is almost always Weetabix, Shredded Wheat, porridge or greek yoghurt with fruit and seeds. All but the porridge are two mins max to prepare and if I do make porridge I make double and dish up two days worth into bowls to keep in the fridge so it can just be heated up the following morning.

For lunches DDs have the aforementioned school dinners and then otherwise we tend to a rotation of "things on toast" with a piece of fruit. Eggs, beans, mushrooms, tinned plum tomatoes, pate, hummus, avocado etc. DH and I both WFH so lunch needs to be quick and the above works. Or if I'm in the office I'm incredibly uninspiring and take a tin of soup to heat up. We get fruit and biscuits provided fortunately so if I forget lunch or can't be bothered to prepare anything I won't starve 🤣.

Dinners are a bit more of a faff but online shopping and having four separate shopping lists so I rotate them each week definitely helps. As well as having quick recipes in rotation that take 15 mins max to make for busy weeknights. Chickpea and mixed bean fajitas, stir fries with noodles and various pasta dishes where the sauce is made while the pasta cooks all feature heavily.

wait...just 3 times a day? (I knew I was going wrong somewhere!😆).

I simplify things by eating the same things for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch and supper. Then its only dinner to worry about (and I'll often batch cook for the week). Means I have to think about it less.
But then I spend way too long every day watching people eat things on YT which kinda defeats the purpose.😕

I agree OP - I used to love cooking but now it’s just a massive chore.

Particularly at the weekend when everyone seems to expect me to plan all of their meals.

I’d just eat a can of soup for dinner in the evening but then there are complaints.

Hate it.
I like eating it and that's about it.
It's relentless.
Hate planning, buying, cooking, tidy up. I only cook one meal a day, tea, because we're all out at school/work. And I hate that one meal. The rest are dinners bought out or school dinners. Sometimes my dh cooks and I love those nights. My dc get their own breakfast.
I don't mind any other chore/errand. I could bulk cook but I also don't want to spend a chunk of my two days off a week doing something I detest. I'm not even a bad cook, I can cook and I can cook well.
Another thing that annoys me about it is when I've cooked a meal (say, a roast), I go off it and then struggle to eat it when plated!

Totally agree - if it was me I would find it much easier and just snack but with kids you need to serve filling, balanced meals! And drinks! And then clear it all up … and replace the food .. and rinse and repeat .. ALL THE TIME… gah!