Are people really making homemade meals every night for their family?

[Lilacbluewaters]

soon to be family of 6 and I don’t know if it’s just because I’m pregnant at the moment but I had this sudden overwhelming feeling that I have to cook homemade meals every night for like another 15 years 😂
I’ve been pretty bad recently with eating out too much, the extra layer of washing up after is exhausting. We don’t have a dishwasher and can’t get one because we rent.
anyway, do you cook from scratch every night nearly? I can never think of quick easy meals.

We do a takeaway or restaurant once a week at the moment but if not and when we didn’t, we cooked from scratch. Maybe do chicken tenders and chips or a frozen pizza 5-6 times a year.

I do cook from scratch except for about once a fortnight I throw in a pizza. I'm early retired and home all day so I have time. I like cooking too. I have teens who are always hungry and sporty so don't eat junk food.

I didn’t used to, but then I discovered those videos that start: “did you know if you throw x, y, z, some herbs and spices etc into a tray, bake for 20 mins you get a delicious blah blah”. I started doing those, so easy!

Thank you for this reminder, I was starting to feel like I’m the only one slacking at the moment. It’s so draining deciding what meals to have 7 nights a week so we always have one treat day and we try keep it to a budget unless it’s a special occasion.

Yes, most nights (occasionally it’s a stick in the oven ready meal). I don’t like to cook, and now my DD is 20 she cooks on occasion (though doesn’t tidy up) which is bliss.

Mostly yes

But it's simple stuff

Salmon in the air fryer, noodles, cauliflower, asian sauce.

Last night was chicken Parma, roast spuds, green beans.

I do meal prep during lunch hour I.e. peel spuds, grate a load of cheese, make soups/salads.

I realize it's daunting at first but takeaway options are thin in the ground where we are, and I prioritize my health!

Carbonara is a fave.

Chop a pack of bacon, garlic clove, fry with an onion. Add a tub of single cream and grated strong cheese. Simmer. Lots of black pepper.

Add to cooked pasta. Makes an absolute heap, often with leftovers.

And for the purists, I know it's supposed to contain egg, but H is allergic!

Yes, apart from some nights when we've been away and come home to nothing in the fridge - we'd order a takeaway out. Usually my husband and I take turns cooking. Whoever doesn't cook that night is on bedtime duty with the kids.

Not every single night, sometimes we're too busy in the evenings and there's no time to cook but most nights I do and some nights OH cooks.

How old are your children? Old enough to start doing the washing up? It helps a lot when the children do the dishes! Could also get them to help with cooking - more work for you to begin with but in time it'll ease your load and they'll learn how to cook.

Yes they do, They are healthier and cheaper and often faster and more convenient.

Collect a stack of recipes for one pot meals or half hour vegetable based meals or meals made from mince etc.
You will have twenty or so that you prefer as a family so just rotate them.

Always the cook does the dishes at our place (no dishwasher) as then the cook is mindful about the number of pans and gadgets that they use.

Have wholesome ingredients on hand - veges, low fat proteins, eggs, milk, whole meal grains and pasta. Also some bottled pasta sauces, canned tuna and rice sachets that can be padded out with vegetables added.

Sometimes cook double and save for the following night.

Get the kids involved in cookiing a meal each week.

I had 5 kids (all grown now) and did cook from scratch most of the time. Lots of one pot dishes (curry, chilli con carne, casseroles) and oven traybakes make life a lot easier. Jacket potatoes with various toppings, Roast a chicken and have it with potato salad or salad and bread. Cooking for a family doesn't have to be massively time-consuming if you keep things simple.

Nope probably about half the week if im not working i cook. On my work days when Im not getting home until nearly 7pm its either freezer food or pasta with jar sauce and sometimes a takeaway.

I did and do, but we only had one DC who has now left home. I would not have wanted to cook and do everything else that having a large family involves.

I have several of The Roasting Tin series of books and they got me out of a cooking rut with their easy and very tasty recipes. There is also minimal washing up.

I cook two main meals every other day, one for lunch and one for dinner then eat the same thing the next day and cook again the day after. It's a bit boring but it means I am not cooking every night. I actually do like cooking but for some reason I struggle with planning my meals and shopping adequately for ingredients in advance.

Yep but we only have two kids and we work from home. So we do have the time.

my suggestion to you is to make double of pretty much everything and freeze half.

and as for washing up, stick to mostly one pot dishes an tray bakes, slow cooker meals where you bung it all in

buy frozen onion, garlic, herbs & peppers as they’re just as nutritious/tasty but it’s less chopping, washing up and waste imo

I also batch cook & freeze as I go along.

so the first week cook 4x the amount needed, spaghetti bolognaise, cottage pie, tarragon chicken, homemade pizza, butter chicken burgers & brioche buns with ready made chips ( buy enough chips for month or make frozen fries) homemade curry or Chinese chicken curry & freeze halal rice and put in the freezer for the next 3 weeks. Use the silver foil trays for less washing up. Then pasta pesto with bacon broc and Parmesan & a roast dinner

then I have frozen dinners for 3 weeks. Sometimes I let the freezer run right down and start again. Other times I will top the freezer up a couple of times a week in that 3 weeks - that spreads the workload out so just cooking 2 x a week

Family of 6, cook most nights although we do have fish fingers, waffles & jackets some nights when we have clubs that sort of thing. We have a dishwasher but the rule is whoever cooks, doesn’t wash up. When pregnant or younger DC I batch cooked, did easier stuff as above or Dh cooked (still does). As long as everyone is fed & getting a balance I wouldn’t worry.

You need to google, 'table top dishwasher' or 'counter top dishwasher' or 'mini dishwasher'
There is no plumbing.
The size of a large microwave, sits on the draining board, plugs into mains, pour water in the top, a short hose drains into the sink.
I live in a rental and have a 4 place setting dishwasher. Best thing I have ever bought. Oh, buy it from from a cashback website!
It takes the same amount of water as a small washing up bowl.

Mostly home cooked. 4 of us but often having to do 2 dishes because of dietary needs

I like cooking but seeing what others are making I could make life easier by doing more one tray or slow cooker recipes.

yes but when i had a family of 5 occasionally we would have pizza
it is not hard

Yes always. I do all the cooking and dh washes and cleans whilst I do bath time.
Usually roast, curry, paella, risotto, salmon, pasta or chilli con carne - in varying forms.

I did for years - also a family of 6 BUT with a dishwasher...is there no way you can ask your landlord for one??

I used a lot of 'one pot meals' from Anna's Family Kitchen - she has a couple of books out and a great website and her whole shtick is 'family cooking made easy' - have a look for some inspiration. She also does some great 'fakeaway' recipes too.

As the children got older, they would ask to help and they are now all great cooks - which means that I cook far less now. When they were little, we did eat a v small repertoire because it was easier and some were fussier than others. We probably ate more pesto pasta than was healthy, but often the pesto was homemade so it felt less 'naughty'.

To be honest, just keeping 4 small humans alive (I had 4 under 7 for a brief period) felt like an achievement some days, so don't be hard on yourself. Meal planning, food shopping, prepping and cooking is IMO one of THE most relentless bits of having a large family....teach them to cook and instil a lovely of food/cooking in your children and you can eventually outsource!!

Mostly yes. The children clean up afterwards though and have done since they were about age 10ish. They’re older now so share the cooking too, my lad does a lovely chicken pasta dish. Simple but good.

Yup. But I also taught all the kids to cook. DH did one meal at the weekends. And the kids did one each too. Weren’t allowed to do one on repeat either.
Everyone helped clean up properly too. I did a lot of batch cooking at the weekends so would have about 3 ready for the week. Often did something like a massive ratatouille that would go onto become bolognaise.

It can feel like a treadmill, there’s just me and DH now and still there’s nights when I think, oh god, do I have to cook again? (He shares the cooking). Everything is a balance, burger and chips and peas is ok. Not every night but in the mix.

I was the youngest of 4 and my mum had pretty much given up on cooking by the time I was 6. She was a great cook but enough was enough. We had bread, ham, cheese and salad a lot!