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Original poster

Why is thinking/ making dinner so utterly soul destroying

105 replies

sweettoffeecake · 04/05/2023 17:38

Honestly I'm just in from work and the 3 kids are glaring at me telling me they're hungry. It's my least favourite part of the day lol inspiration needed today 🙏

OP posts:
DelilahBucket · 04/05/2023 18:13

I do a rough plan every two weeks with shopping lists, then shop once a week. Takes the stress out of it. I decide on the morning what we are having that day depending on evening activities. Then DH and I split the cooking/cleaning up depending on who is home first.

mrsbyers · 04/05/2023 18:14

Freezer dive and add some veggies if you have anything or salad for some colour

SnarkyBag · 04/05/2023 18:15

This is why I use Gousto now. Got so sick of the meal planning, food shopping and total lack of inspiration and variety. Particularly when paired with kids whinging about all their many dislikes.

Mummyof287 · 04/05/2023 18:16

Can so relate...today was toad in the hole but eggs had all been used, so trip to the shop it was, but the shop had no eggs.So off to the next shop I go, finally got the eggs to do the batter, but now it's taking ages to brown.So hungry.....never usually bother with recipes and this is why!

wildfirewonder · 04/05/2023 18:16

This is why we switched to menu planning with some really simple meals planned in - hardboiled eggs, good bread and loads of salad is a nutritionally balanced meal. Soup with cheese on toast, jacket potatoes with something, pasta with tomato sauce.

Not every meal has to be high-end fusion cooking.

RoseLee04 · 04/05/2023 18:17

philautia · 04/05/2023 17:56

If I haven't made / prepared something already, my emergency family meals are:

Pasta with a quick homemade sauce or pesto

Jacket potato with cheese, beans or tuna and salad

Beans or scrambled egg on toast

Cheese and ham omelette

Fish finger sandwiches

Usually though, I plan what I'm doing at the weekend for the days we're all eating together, so things like chicken and vegetable noodle stir fry, toad in the hole with vegetables, homemade vegetable soups with nice bread and butter, cottage pie, spaghetti bolognaise all go down well in our house.

Thanks for the inspo!

hairdresserbreakup · 04/05/2023 18:20

I hear you OP. I hate it. Some nights I felt like I was running a restaurant service with people coming and going and needing to eat at different times and wanting different things etc. We're currently getting Hello Fresh - it's not the cheapest way to shop/cook but it does give me 3 meals a week which takes a bit of the pressure off. When I'm feeling really organised I try to batch cook chilli/bolognaise etc to stick in the freezer. Failing that, beige food & ketchup is completely fine.

mrsbitaly · 04/05/2023 18:21

sweettoffeecake · 04/05/2023 17:47

Yes I feel the same. I actually used to enjoy cooking when I was part time and had more time to organise something nice. Today however im only in from my full time job -I'm juggling 2 rounds of football pick ups, a dance lesson and homework with a one hour window to have dinner. Will I be judged if it's beige food with lots of ketchup 🙈

Absolutely not! Got in from work chucked some cheese and ham triangles and peppa pig potato faces in the air fryer. Some bean hoops and I'm done. I don't even care if I'm judged, children happy no Instagram ready meal this end.
But on weekends I do some batch cooking which lasts first part of the week alot healthier so it evens out

Unescorted · 04/05/2023 18:22

It should appear in Mensa / GHCQ puzzle books - Mary will only eat green vegetables, John won't eat peas, leaks or French beans. Alan only eats beige... how many meals will their wife/ mother have to make to stop the eye rolling and food stirring while preventing malnutrition? How many times will this have to change in the period between shops? Show your working.

HippyChickMama · 04/05/2023 18:26

I hate it too. I meal plan every week and have an online shopping delivery but I still hate it. Dh has a very restricted diet due to allergies which doesn't help as I try to avoid cooking different meals for everyone if I can. Both work full time and I'm suffering from peri menopause related insomnia too so am permanently knackered and can't be bothered most of the time

Mossstitch · 04/05/2023 18:29

Unescorted · 04/05/2023 18:22

It should appear in Mensa / GHCQ puzzle books - Mary will only eat green vegetables, John won't eat peas, leaks or French beans. Alan only eats beige... how many meals will their wife/ mother have to make to stop the eye rolling and food stirring while preventing malnutrition? How many times will this have to change in the period between shops? Show your working.

😂soooo true......and mine are grown up, vegetarian never left, carnivore/beige obsessed boomeranged back (& I can't complain as I'm the fussiest)🙄

WarningToTheCurious · 04/05/2023 18:30

It’s when you walk in through the door and the first thing you hear is “mum, what’s for dinner?”

GloomySkies · 04/05/2023 18:34

I hate it too. Today I cut up loads of veg and apples and blobbed some Hummus on the plate for dd, grated cheese for ds. They were hungry enough to fill up on it and I just gave them a small bowl of cornflakes. Winning. I will eat crisps and have a gin when they go to bed. Normal service will resume tomorrow.

Almahart · 04/05/2023 18:35

I agree, it drives me to despair.

I am quite excited about trying Lollipop, which links recipes to Sainsburys and is way cheaper than recipe boxes, which I love but get v expensive.

ChocAuVin · 04/05/2023 18:37

This always spoke to me

Why is thinking/ making dinner so utterly soul destroying
33goingon64 · 04/05/2023 18:37

We're having homemade shepherd's pie made with lamb, lentils and cheesy mash - my absolute favourite but the DC hate it. Don't care. I'm allowed to have what I want for a change!

Wintersgirl · 04/05/2023 18:39

sweettoffeecake · 04/05/2023 17:38

Honestly I'm just in from work and the 3 kids are glaring at me telling me they're hungry. It's my least favourite part of the day lol inspiration needed today 🙏

I've always said I come home from work and then start my second, unpaid job! I loathe it too.

crackofdoom · 04/05/2023 18:45

13 year old DS is making dinner tonight- sadly he's not as keen as PP's 13 year old, but the deal is he cooks once a week, come hell or high water. Packet tortellini tonight 😆

Yes, it is relentless and highly annoying 🙄. Making double quantities helps though, so that you have a meal for later in the week.

Original poster
sweettoffeecake · 04/05/2023 18:47

ChocAuVin · 04/05/2023 18:37

This always spoke to me

Love this!!!! Haha why do they need feed every night tho?

OP posts:
grapehyacinthisactuallyblue · 04/05/2023 18:53

If you love cooking generally, making and freezing food when you have time will be a big help. I love cooking, but when I can't be bothered, I can cook something quite nice out of my freezer. I have a ds with multiple food allergies, so take away/ready meals aren't the option. So I have freezer full of food that can be cooked and eaten within 20/30 minutes.

Onceuponatime56 · 04/05/2023 18:55

I tend to do the same meals each night of the week to fit with commitments - Wednesday is pasta, Thursday is either sausages, hunters chicken or jacket potato, Friday is always pizza.

It is repetitive (although we eat different things at the weekend) but it saves so much headspace and I’m always pleased to come home to an easy dinner on busy evenings.

Srin · 04/05/2023 18:55

An hour ago, I stood in the shop looking at the shelves wondering what to get for dinner. I end up doing this almost every day after work. I hate meal planning as well. I also hate batch cooking.

Greydogs123 · 04/05/2023 19:00

The way I manage it is to make a list of all the meals that we all eat (a few my dd “puts up with”, doesn’t hate them, doesn’t particularly enjoy them). I then sit down on Saturday and decide which ones we’ll eat that week. I do the shopping to make sure everything is in for them (no big freezer, so can’t rely on pre made stuff much). Dp cooks on Saturday and Sunday and then I don’t mind doing the weekdays so much. I don’t assign a day to each meal, it’ll depend on what I feel like, but having a meal written down seems to make it less of a chore.

MissyB1 · 04/05/2023 19:02

Unescorted · 04/05/2023 18:22

It should appear in Mensa / GHCQ puzzle books - Mary will only eat green vegetables, John won't eat peas, leaks or French beans. Alan only eats beige... how many meals will their wife/ mother have to make to stop the eye rolling and food stirring while preventing malnutrition? How many times will this have to change in the period between shops? Show your working.

🤣

gerbo · 04/05/2023 19:05

I agree greydogs. The only way I can tolerate it is to meal plan midweek and do an online order (takes...40 mins including planning?).

Then no one can moan, what's on the plan is what's for tea.

Occasional hiccups/changes in plans mean freezer food (always oven chips and a pack of frozen sausages or nuggets in!) or even just pasta pesto/quick omelette with a bit of cucumber and fruit.

We actually now have Wednesday soup night as I work later on a Wednesday, so I make ahead and freeze, then serve with crusty baguettes and a bit of cheese. Kids don't seem to mind!