Do you actually enjoy cooking every night, or is it just me who’s completely over it?

[Alyah]

I feel like I used to enjoy cooking, but lately it’s become such a chore. Between work, kids, and everything else, by the time I get to the kitchen I just want something quick and easy. But then I end up feeling guilty for not making “proper” meals.
Everyone on social media seems to be whipping up homemade dinners from scratch every night — meanwhile, I’m here trying to convince myself that oven chips and fish fingers count as balanced.
Does anyone still genuinely enjoy cooking daily, or have most people just accepted it’s about getting everyone fed and moving on?

I would hate to have to cook every night, I find it such a waste of time.

I will dedicate one saturday / sunday a month to batch cooking, and cook a ridiculous amount of food which I then freeze. I've been doing this for a while so now have a very well stocked freezer filled with decent and healthy food which I can just defrost for dinner and have with rice / pasta / potatoes.

I also do things like cut up chicken and freeze that, so its easy to pop in a salad etc.

Whenever I cook / prepare anything, I always triple the portions so it doesn't last just one meal. If I make a salad for dinner I will chop up enough of everything so that it lasts at least 2 meals, 3 if I can manage.

It really helps and I love being able to not worry about cooking dinner after a busy day because I know I can tell everyone to just look in the freezer / fridge for whatever is already prepped.

It’s the mental load I can’t stand. What do y’all want for dinner this week. I don’t know is the reply, or steak. Steak with what??

no real contributions or ideas. I used to love cooking but really hate deciding all the time what to eat. And shop for it. H went on the weekend for food as I was busy. He bought food for exactly one dinner. No fruit, no lunch stuff, nothing else. Wanker.

So bored of it. I have fussy eaters too - won’t rate potatoes, one won’t eat anything with a sauce, one won’t eat fish, the other doesn’t like meat. Bored, bored, bored

No, I hate it and can no longer be arsed with it. I usually just cobble stuff together as quickly as possible and be done with it.

😆
@HerRoyalNotness are we married to the same man????

I enjoy it! My kids are teens so I've been doing it for a while now, but I still like trying new recipes. We do have one "beige" dinner each week which I think is ok! I much prefer cooking to most other household tasks (cleaning, ironing etc).

I never minded the actual cooking but thinking what to cook every night is wearing! And trying to please everyone!

There's nothing wrong with fish fingers and oven chips once a week when you're knackered and in a rush - I used to just add some of those frozen mixed veg bags that you microwave or a bowl of salad so at least they're getting something healthy 🤣

I work ft now, having increased my hours over the years. The one thing that was hard to adjust to was the cooking. So, on a Sunday afternoon I cook for the week while im cooking our Sunday meal.

Last week I made a bolognese for Monday. Just cook the pasta fresh, a mushroom and lentil stroganoff (just cook the rice fresh) for Tuesday. Then we had shop bought quiche , pan fried herby gnocchi and salad on Wednesday (took 10 minutes from walking into the kitchen to serving) and last night was jackets. I also cooked a batch of pasta for school lunches.

I haven't spent more than 15 minutes in the kitchen one night this week and it has saved my sanity. Took me a while to get to this system but it works for me, meals are planned and prepped and I can get a meal on the table most night quicker than oven chips cook!

Yanbu but why are you cooking every night? I cook a proper meal twice a week, I make triple quantities so there's 2 meals of leftovers (one for the fridge, one for the freezer). DH isn't a brilliant cook but he cooks a big chilli about once every 2-3 weeks and makes about 6 meals worth in an enormous pot so there's plenty for fridge&freezer, and will do a basic meal (eg pasta with roastveg or sausage&mash) once or twice a week, and the rest of the time we have the meals from fridge&freezer that we made previously, with an occasional treat of pizza or breaded stuff with chips. No one has the energy to cook from scratch on a daily basis surely?

No, I don't enjoy it every night, often it's just about putting food on the table and I also go swimming or to the gym some evenings. That's why sometimes we have jacket potato, cheese and beans or an omelette, or easy things like hot smoked salmon, baby potatoes and veg all done in the air fryer.

Though Monday and Tuesday when I WFH and had more time and worked 8-4, I spent two hours making French onion soup one evening, and did roast chicken the next, and did really enjoy that. Roasted the chicken and made gravy and stuffing, left it in the oven. Went to the gym with DD, came back, cooked potatoes and veg, and we ate about 8.30pm.

I was actually more assiduous about cooking from scratch and planning what we were going to do when DDs were little and there was less time, I was less confident as a cook, and money was tighter. I'd sit down on a Friday and plan five or six meals before writing the ingredients into a shopping list.

I found that if I had a plan and the fresh and cupboard ingredients there I'd just get on with it.

Look, we all bring something to the table - excuse the pun!

I love cooking and baking. I really love it. I enjoy meal planning for the week and trying out new recipes. I shut the door and listen to music or watch a video. I find cooking for people a really loving thing for me to do because I sometimes lack this in other areas… for example, I don’t have much patience, you might have tons. I get frustrated easily, you might not. You might like playing imaginary games with your children - I hate it. I wish I could do those things, but I can’t. So I make up for it in other areas.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses, it’s just life. Just try your best and give yourself a bit of grace - everything is going to be fine.

How many are in your household though? I find it really hard to batch cook for the 6/7/8 people that are here for dinner everyday. It involves so much chopping, too many pans, and too much effort. I usually make enough of things like stew/chilli/bolognese etc to have a couple of extra portions which we then use for a leftovers night or freezer surprise night once we’ve accumulated enough but I find trying to batch cook 24 portions of something twice a week way more effort than cooking 6-8 portions every day!

Op I’m with you. I am so over the every day cooking. Mostly because somebody always turns their nose up at something and nobody agrees on anything and then the younger children take FOREVER to eat a meal. And meal planning is a pain because I have to factor in who is where when and plan accordingly as well as trying to think of things they’ll eat. Eg Thursday I’m out at work all day and then we have swimming lessons and football training and then ds1 and dh are out later so it tends to be something like stew in the instant pot that I can prep before work and that people can help themselves to as and when. But then on Tuesdays I have to think of something else in the instant pot/slow cooker that isn’t too stew like because they moan enough about that once a week (a word of advice don’t try the slow cooker pasta bake I’ve seen repeatedly on sm recently unless you particularly like soggy pasta) and then on Wednesdays it has to be something that can be cooked in under 45 minutes to be ready by 5 (including all the chopping which is the most time consuming part I think) that can microwave ok for the people that need to eat it after 8. Mondays again has to be a fairly quick meal and I know all of this is normal for a busy family but it really does take the joy out of cooking. I still enjoy special occasion cooking and cooking for guests (although sometimes then I cba either because I’m just so over it)

Edited to add that trying to stay within a budget is also a consideration when meal planning and can make it harder again.

1. What will they eat
2. can I cook this in the time available
3. are all the meals this week within budget

Ugh.

@HansHolbein what lovely words. 👏🏻

I absolutely hate it OP. I used to love cooking, but it’s just a huge burden - another task at the end of a long day at work.

My DH is also not interested and so it largely is my responsibility. I’ve dealt with that by saying they have to cook eg Tues and Thurs - they do something like a stir fry set, as it requires no thought and quick/easy).

I am then not very creative much of the time, and make meals where we can have leftovers. My aim is to feed us, not wow the table with something creative.

I'm trying to regain the love, even just to rustle up some nice food when adult dc come over, but I started hating it about 12 years ago. Yanbu.

I've never seen it as anything other than a chore. Fortunately DH does 95% of it including the planning and shopping. I do about 95% of cleaning related tasks which is an entirely fair exchange to me. I would choose scrubbing the bathroom over cooking anytime.

Indeed, and we are all different. Batch cooking then selecting what to reheat from a plastic box or bag in the freezer would certainly take all the joy out of it for me.

@DappledThings same here. Much prefer hoovering and cleaning bathrooms to cooking. Thankfully DH much prefers food shopping and cooking!

Yes or they say stuff like lasagne which a) the children hate and b) is pretty time consuming to make from scratch.

I haven't used it for dinner yet but certainly for my lunch towards the end of the week ChatGPT is quite good at suggesting what to cook based on a few ingredients I have in the cupboard or fridge. You can also set parameters, low carb, 500 calories, high protein etc. I'm sure it would do an entire costed week's menu for you with a shopping list.

Weirdly I had more interest in cooking when I was working. Now I'm retired I don't have much enthusiasm for it. I do plan my week's meals and do one big shop. I can't batch cook as the thought of spending a whole day cooking is awful plus I don't have a big enough freezer to keep it in.

It's a chore but I just get on with it.

I can’t stand it so I don’t bother.

But I don’t have children or anyone else to feed - DH sorts his own dinners (we have very different tastes) so I can basically do what I want.

Last night was a jacket potato (done in the microwave) with coleslaw and cheese.

I don't mind the cooking. It's deciding what to cook and ordering it in which I hate hate hate.

Every week I ask "what do people want for dinner this week?" And every week "don't mind". It's infuriating. So I have to spend my brain space thinking of meals, working out use by dates and then find out dc's club has changed hours so I won't have time to make the thing planned on Thursday.

We are in a massive rut with dishes which doesn't help.

Lockdown killed my love of cooking and I haven’t really got it back. I’m a very capable cook, I just can’t be arsed. It’s more so the thinking what to have every night. To be fair my kids are very good in the kitchen now and take it in turns mostly during the week, I do weekends.