AIBU to give up cooking next Monday?

I hate cooking; DH works away all week so I alternate between omelettes ( I add pre-boiled new potatoes to bulk them out), M&S mini ready meals with veg added, ( I'm 61 and my appetite is reduced), a frozen jacket potato with full fat cottage cheese, salad, and beans on toast. I also buy M&S tinned steak and have it with veg, or a ready cooked chicken breast. I can make a nice roast dinner when I feel like it, and we always cook Christmas dinner together. I eat fruit every day, and sometimes make a smoothie for breakfast.

If DH is home in the week we'll cook something more substantial for him, but if it's just me I wouldn't bother. Hate clearing up after cooking as well.

Cooking and the food planning every single day is my worst thing about being an adult so totally get what you mean. I don’t even hate cooking but it’s the every single day for ever and ever that’s so painful.

I am a single parent of teens and they now have to cook one evening a week each (I still do have to do the shopping but baby steps). When they are at their Dad’s I eat soup/cheese/leftovers too. I’d be happy to never have to cook again

Sounds like you just need a break from it. Maybe plan for a 6 week meal delivery and then see how you feel. It does get tedious especially when you have to deal with other people's tastes or cook a full dinner when you just feel like some cheese on toast.

My youngest has just started university and I have announced today that freezers and fridge will be filled but dinners will be few and far between.
I have no more interest when they are out so much.
I'm 80% done.

My DPs spend all day talking about meals/shopping and stressing over it. I never really understand it, I think they're just locked into the idea of having 3 proper meals a day. I just eat random easy stuff like eggs and tinned fish, can't be arsed with all this full on cooking every day.

Same here. My DS and DD are 16 years old now but unfortunately their difficulties mean that they’re not able to plan or cook a meal, or even part of it. Probably won’t ever be able to as their disabilities are pretty significant.

I love cooking. I love seeing everyone properly fed with decent home-cooked food….but fuck me, it’s relentless.

And because I have a lot to fit into my day, I often don’t have the headspace to properly plan ahead. It’s a vicious circle.

DP is great in many ways but cooking is just not his thing. He’s capable of chucking some beige food in the oven and he can boil basic veg, but that’s it. The main issue is that he doesn’t think about dinner so if I’m busy, he’ll come and find me and ask what he should cook. That’s the bit that drives me potty - it’s the relentless planning. Making sure I can cook something that can be adjusted to suit the different sensory issues - or more often, doing two different versions for the DC and often something completely different later in the evening for me and DP. Every bastard night. Again and again and again, and forever amen.

I don’t really help myself though - I’ve recently had some health issues and found that cutting out sugar/carbs dramatically reduced inflammation in my body, easing pain and reducing the swelling in my feet and legs. The difference has been really shocking. So in view of this, I’m very keen to reduce/minimise UPFs for the DC as much as I can as I’ve seen firsthand what a difference good quality food makes. So that rules out DP’s shitty beige cooking!

I think my DC are probably going to be with me for the rest of their lives - I can’t see them ever being able to move out and sheltered accommodation wouldn’t be for them. So I imagine I’ll still be doing bloody meal planning when I’m 90!!

Get u 100% 4 years since youngest went to uni. 20 yrs of cooking with no help from exDH has scarred me. Just can't be bothered. They are both back now. We have a rota. 2 nights each. If they don't do their share I simply won't cook for them and am happy to have crackers. 20 years is a loooong time. Therr are better ways now to spend your time

I guess for a lot of people it's related to cost, health and logistics. I could just tell my teens and DH (although he works away most of the time) to cook for themselves but it would end up way way more expensive both in terms of what is consumed and food waste, plus the teens would likely eat a lot more crap. I could also do a rota but that's going to end up with arguing over what x is cooking that y doesn't like but x wants to cook that so y should just shut up or do it themselves, so then y says they'll do it but they're cooking x which y doesn't like, and at this stage I retreat to a dark room with a glass of wine and a muesli bar.

I think what it comes down to is that I dont want anyone to cook for me. I just want to eat exactly what I fancy (like a shop bought prawn cocktail on sourdough toast) and not cook for anyone else, which I know is unreasonable and not really do-able but I just like a little vent.

My DC are in their 20’s and I started to cut down after they returned from university. It’s definitely a lot more expensive and more mess and activity in the kitchen. This is the trade of for no meal planning headspace other than what I fancy to eat. I’m pleased I did it and I’m pleased I waited until the right time (my DH’s retirement).

No one person should be doing all the food shopping, cooking, and clean up. Kids should be helping with the prep and clean up. They're usually capable of helping from about age five.

Sounds like a dream, having a family has killed any love of cooking.

My kids are still small so I’m in it for the long haul, I do use Gousto every week and it helps take the mental load out of it but while DC1 will eat anything DC2 will eat about 3 meals and will never try anything new, so I have to make separate bland meals and stress about their lack of nutrition it’s so draining.

Whenever DH goes out and DC have already eaten I make myself dippy eggs for dinner and it’s bliss.

I remember at school my friend’s mum saying she’d happily live off astronaut space food and now I get her…

I feel this. My eldest is about to go. I'm pescatarian. He doesn't like dairy/eggs/fish/most potatoes. I end up making two meals every night (or one for the other three and cobbling something together for me). But now eldest is on ADHD meds so not hungry, or is out. Husband is out at sport a lot or shift working. It was bad enough planning meals, shopping for them and cooking them, but not even knowing if/when people are going to be around - it's another whole layer of thinking. I've pleaded with husband to step up and plan and cook two/three meals a week and give me an ingredients list for the shop, but this doesn't happen. When the eldest heads off in a couple of weeks, there's gonna be changes. Youngest is much more amenable and I can't wait for the nights when it'll be just me and them. Hoping to save a fortune, haha.

Who do you live with @MyOliveViewer ? Do you eat alone too?

My DH and two of my adult DC. Yes I often do eat alone especially during the week. I have one DC who doesn’t like any veg and likes to eat early, a DH who likes massive meals which are unhealthier than things I would choose, another DC who likes the same stuff as me but now gets their main meal at work. So it’s great now, sometimes I’ll have brunch and early dinner, other days two lunch type meals, other days lunch out and a small supper late in the evening.

So everyone basically eats at different times? No family dinners?

Same, partner had a diet change last year and I made it clear that it would be good for him to start cooking himself rather than trying to follow someone else's dietary restrictions and I quickly realised I was so happy to just make a quick snack for dinner for me, or a lovely meal that only I like , just for me. I dropped a lot of other unnecessary household stuff, putting other people stuff away, hunting high and low for others lost stuff, generally just doing the same as everyone else and being comfortable with it not exactly how I like it. If lots of jobs need done in house, I will clearly discuss which jobs I have done with expectation others do same amount of housework. We are all adults in our house, all capable.

Not during the week. I’ve had almost 40 years of family dinners so am very happy now with salmon poke bowl. As part of a retired couple with two mid to late 20 year old at home I really don’t need any more family time in my life.

Ah ok… family dinners at the weekend. Who cooks then?

We eat out one lunch and one dinner, my DH will do a fry up or BBQ (I make the salad) or we’ll eat separately. Over the last few years I’ve been working on getting away from fixed routines.
We’re fortunate to go on holiday every six weeks so have lots of couple meals then.
You seem fascinated in me not cooking. What stage of life are you?

I guess in my family, eating together is something that we all love doing. So I was just curious how you could live with a partner and children and yet take all your meals alone. And you have enlightened me!

Do you each do you own food shopping? Feel free to ignore me!

I hear you and have been there. Dh works really ling hours so I was responsible for feeding everyone. As soon as you DD2 went to uni, things changed. I do actually enjoy cooking but not 7 days a week!

So now I cook a max of 2 or 3 times a week, Dh cooks on a Saturday. The other days we help ourselves to what we have in the cupboard soup/cheese/sardines on toast and we usually eat out once a week.

I’m much happier!

One of my DC will set up an online shop and we all put stuff in. My DH loves to shop and will always take requests. I never go, I’m so over it.
Honestly we have so much family time that I now go away for one week a year completely on my own to get away from everybody. My DH and I are retired, I have one DC who works from home all the time, the other two days a week. We do stuff at the weekend one day together too.
It started when my DH retired, I think he planned to play golf all day and I’d carry on doing all the dinners. I began to feel resentful, meanwhile my DC were back from uni and I just thought I’m not enjoying this. So I gradually implemented different plans. My DH will do Tuesday and Thursday and so on. I realised I didn’t like his big stodgy meals so I opted out of them but was still doing for example Monday , Wednesday, Friday and my own on the other days which wasn’t working for me. The whole process has taken about 5 years. We are very happy, everyone gets what they want.

I am so with you on this. I loved cooking and trying new recipes but after 19 years meal planning, shopping and standing over a cooker every evening after work has become a huge chore. I dont even get excited about eating a fully cooked meal anymore either. Daughters are off to uni next week and hubby's away at the moment so its going to be bacon or tinned salmon sandwiches, jacket potatoes, beans or eggs on toast, fish fingers and Greek salads. I reckon i will save a small fortune on the shopping bill too.