I hate making dinner

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Does anyone else hate it? Prior to having kids I enjoyed it but now it feels like daily drudgery. I think it's because everyone has specific dietary requirements so no meal is exactly how I'd like to serve it – so lots of deconstructed dinners. Sauces separate; veg all cut up separately with no dressing; hubby doesn't like dairy much; I love cheese; plain food for kids; even though they are almost teens. In fact the kids would be happy with fish fingers, pizza, bolognese and hot dogs on rotation forever… Urgh. It's almost time again!

I did. A month though, but we had a roast Sundays, pizza Fridays and baked spuds one day, so it’s only a few meals than change anyway, but it was AMAZING never to have to think about it.

Then I went the whole hog, and do huge batch cooks. I do a couple, once a month or so, and freeze in single portions. Now, when it gets to dinnertime, I’m pissed off if I have to grill fish fingers, because it’s more faff than pulling a couple of Tupperware’s out of freezer and nuking them.

There’s only two of us, DD eats like a bird and massively favours beans on toast, cheesy mash and beans, bolognese and hot dogs. If I ever eat another baked bean, it will be too soon!!

Before I contracted poverty, I went over to some ready meals. Pre-40s me would have been horrified!! If I ever recover from poverty, I’m going combine takeaways and ready meals and I’m only cooking if I feel like it and it’s something that’s way better than you can buy. I just cannot be arsed with it any more. Children and it’s relentless daily obligation have totally sucked the joy out of cooking for me.

Hate it too ... married over 35 years and although it's only two of us at home now it's just so tedious and I really don't want a 'proper' meal more than 2-3 nights a week. DH is very happy to cook but I don't really like the sort of meals he chooses ... I am quite assertive now and just do my own thing most nights whilst he cooks a formal dinner (just enjoying crisps and wine this evening ).

I used to love cooking before kids now it’s a major task, finding something we all like, making sure it’s dairy free for DS2, meat free for DS1 no carbs for DH I don’t know why they all have to be so fussy! I do ready meals a few times a week so we can all have something we want, not the greatest in regard to health but does my mental health wonders!

I enjoy cooking but have a freezer full and some tubs of prepared stuff that I use when I can't be arsed to make dinner.

Unfortunately the gut and mental health are linked and you can't separate physical health from mental health.

I used to love cooking but then I became a slave to PFB's fussiness. It's so liberating when you set yourself free. I do however hate meal planning even though it's a tremendous help. Cook what YOU like 3 or 4 times a week- for me that's a one pot. And do what everyone else likes the rest of the time. It's time for the teenagers to expand their palates.

I genuinely love grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking dinner. It's my favourite domestic chore.

😁

I hear you. Such a bloody ballache.

Although, I think the thinking of what to have is worse. I try to meal plan before shopping but hate trying to come up with ideas that will please everyone. We end up having the same stuff on rotation. I'm over it.

I usually do "If its Tuesday ,its sausages" sort of thing .Normally Roast something Sunday ,cold cuts Monday,Sausages Tuesday,Spag Bol Wednesday , Pies Thursday ,Fish Friday ,and Curry Saturday .Have cooked for ever it seems and am pretty bored with it now. Tried Hello Fresh and liked it .May do that again.

Think over various lockdowns/budgeting etc got too much of the constant thing stockchecking etc. trying to avoid food waste etc.

So now have kind of gone over to a grazing thing for my DD who is sixteen i.e. having various healthy things around that she can fix for herself/put in a wrap etc.

Enough fruit to snack on.

I realise compared to some I am in a priviledged position with this - as some are using food banks (which I did when we first came here many years ago).

So yes, I do get fed up of it. I try to stay away from takeaways but sometimes it is all too much - my favourite thing at the moment is going to a little cafe to have egg and chips for five quid. Just that thing about someone speaking nicely and bringing me food really helps!

It's painful.

I used to love cooking, and thinking about what we were going to eat. Lockdown killed it for me, 3 meals a day for 4 people finished me off.

I just stopped doing it, best decision ever. When the oldest went to uni, the little one was never home at tea time anyway.

Your arrangement is that because you work pt you cook seven nights a week?! That doesn't seem fair. If your dh didn't have you, would he starve?

Yes, I am so over it. I cook for 5 of us almost every night and I am furious that dh refuses to learn to cook properly. I had a week on my own last year for work and it was so easy just cooking for one!

I hate everything to do with it, shopping, planning, the actual cooking. So tedious.

Fortunately DH mostly enjoys it so does everything food related. I would happily do 100% of every other household task to not have to be involved in cooking.

@Potstip hah! When DH and I were together I would come home from work (when he'd had a day off) and he would ask what's for dinner 🥴

After 19 years, I am tired of the drudgery of it.

Top tips are:

1. Get up early and prep it b4 work. This takes a degree of organisation but it is worth it. There is nothing worse than desperately looking in the fridge at 7 pm and wondering what is for dinner when you are stressed, hungry and tired. Tray bakes or one pot dishes are good that can marinade in fridge during day and you can wang in oven as soon as you take your coat off at night, even if it is something as simple as a tray of chicken thighs with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and quarters of lemon.

1. Meal plan with categories for certain days as above.

Roast meal Sun. Cold cuts and veg or salad Mon (easy!) Tues: veggie rice or pasta dish Wed: tray bake sausages or chicken Thurs: veggie again (pulses) Fri : fish Sat: fakeaway or takeaway I find this plan gives much needed structure while allowing flexibility for season, level of busyness, extra curricular activities etc.

1. Prep once cook twice. So make ratatouille to have with frozen fish one night and then puree to make sauce for pasta the next. Roast chicken one day. Chinese style noodles cooked in chicken stock with sugar snap peas, baby corn, mushrooms, shredded chicken etc the next. Or cook double quantities to begin with and freeze.

1. Get your dc to cook one meal a week from the age of about 13. And up to that age, ask them to choose a favourite meal each and cook it on rotation.

1. Every so often eat an "assembly" dinner eg sausage rolls or Cornish pasties, salad, pickles but eat in a different place to ring the changes like picnic on local park or at bottom of garden or just on the floor of the sitting room on a picnic blanket. Breaks the monotony.

We did this but a 4 week rotating menu. We planned each week from the Sunday as a special meal e.g. roasts that give us leftovers at least for one meal in the week.

It is a game changer. No more arguments about what to eat, weekly shop is easy. We made sure we factored in some cupboard meals we could skip if we wanted a meal out.

20 years in here! 8 months???!!!! 😂

This Is what we do it works well and there Is no stress and we are not wondering what to eat.

@CandyLeBonBon congratulations for being older than me 🙄 no need to be rude is there?

I have found my people. I'm a good cook. I'm just sicko cooking for other people every fucking day of my life!

Oh I thought I quoted the poster who was talking about the menu!

I plan the weeks meals the weekend before and then go to the shops on Monday. I only plan Monday - Friday as the weekends we normally have leftovers or go out/get takeout. Not sure how many meals we have in rotation, probably about 10 or 12 but that's quite pared back as DS is only 6 months so at the moment I'm not cooking anything that takes longer than 30 minutes. I enjoyed cooking before he was born and would spend time perfecting recipes. I can see how it would get very tedious if you had lots of different requirements to cater for and if people weren't grateful.

I hate the meal planning. Cooking is ok but some days I’m well enough to cook from scratch and some days it has to be something very easy so I need options in the fridge! I tried the rolling meal plan thing and there’s always too much needs changing -one child home late and another needs to be somewhere early, or vegetarian student is home for a couple of nights, or whatever.

Today everyone is out but me and I have a ready meal to put in the oven, yayy.

When the kids leave home dh and I are moving to a city where you can get food delivered, and we’re going to live on takeaway and get fat. I’ve decided.