Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Do people really eat a cooked meal every single night?

611 replies

JonesyAndTheSalad · 05/04/2017 11:24

I just can't!

I have done this week as we've got guests so it seems the polite and right thing to do...to cook a meal each night.

But the endless stream of meat and potatoes is awful!

We've had pasta one night but that was also with meat...another night we had pizzas...home made...the other nights it has been curry with chicken and rice and a variety of red meat with various potatoes.

I always ask the guests "What do you fancy this evening?" and it's always meat and potatoes of some kind!

Is this usual? Tonight I just didn't fancy it so said I didn't fancy a full meal and I ate some yogurt...they were a bit Shock

Do you eat like this every night? Or do you sometimes think "Meh I'll have a sandwich" or "The kids will be happy with egg on toast and some fruit"

Or is it only me?

OP posts:
AssassinatedBeauty · 05/04/2017 11:35

I don't think you could expect guests to only have a yoghurt for their evening meal just because you'd be happy with that.

I do an evening meal each day, but we're vegetarian so no meat and potatoes! I meal plan on a 3 week plan, taking into account what my eldest has had for his school lunch. It's not always a hot/cooked meal, it can be sandwiches or things that are quick/simple to cook but I plan the whole menu to be as nutritionally balanced as I can. I try and make it varied so that it doesn't get boring to cook or eat.

Original poster
JonesyAndTheSalad · 05/04/2017 11:35

Cory we also have a tall, hungry teen...but if I don't want to make a proper meal, she makes her own! She can cook basically anything....I don't like doing it nightly.

DH has cooked a bit to be fair. Guest has been announcing regularly that he's going to cook his famous X dish but it has yet to materialise.

I'm a bit sick of cooking every meal and have gone on strike.

OP posts:
mumblechum0 · 05/04/2017 11:35

I cook a proper meal every night but usually only one course. So usually chicken or fish, with red meat only once or twice a week.

Never make spuds as dh doesn't like them, so the carb element is usually couscous/rice/chapatti/naan/pasta.

I cant imagine having just a yogurt for dinner (but that's probably why I'm not skinny!)

mumblechum0 · 05/04/2017 11:36

I cook a proper meal every night but usually only one course. So usually chicken or fish, with red meat only once or twice a week.

Never make spuds as dh doesn't like them, so the carb element is usually couscous/rice/chapatti/naan/pasta.

I cant imagine having just a yogurt for dinner (but that's probably why I'm not skinny!)

FrenchLavender · 05/04/2017 11:36

What do you eat for your evening meals in an average week then? If DH and my youngest are out I might make something quick like cheese on toast or some homemade soup from the freezer if don't want to cook for myself, especially if I've had a good lunch. But yoghurt? Confused

Do you have a partner and children? Surely they need more than yoghurt and a sandwich, unless they eat a large cooked meal at lunchtime?

WandaOver · 05/04/2017 11:36

Yes we have a cooked meal every night, not necessarily meat and two veg though. I like food, it's my main meal and we like to sit down and eat together and chat. I don't bother with much lunch.

FrenchLavender · 05/04/2017 11:36

Sorry, just seen your last post.

Creatureofthenight · 05/04/2017 11:37

Generally yes, we eat proper dinner every night, unless we've had a big lunch eg Sunday roast. Usually at least 2-3 veggie dinners a week. Don't often do 'meat and potatoes '.

Bananamanfan · 05/04/2017 11:37

Yes, i cook every night (& I'm really fed up with it) i am veggie though. We have stir frys, curry, pasta, bangers & mash, chilli or slices of pizza/quiche with salad & baked potato. That's about it really; totally uninspired & lacking in time to add any more at this point in my life.

Original poster
JonesyAndTheSalad · 05/04/2017 11:38

I think I will suggest something vegetarian tommorrow then. If they can't cope it's tough! Red meat and potatoes nightly can't be good!

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 05/04/2017 11:39

I'm a bit sick of cooking every meal and have gone on strike.

I don't understand?

You said, "DH has cooked a bit to be fair"

Is he just cooking for himself?

blueskyinmarch · 05/04/2017 11:39

We pretty much always have a ‘cooked' meal in the evening. We might have a snack of cracker and cheese if have been out for lunch and sometime the meal is salad so not actually cooked. It isn’t always meat and potatoes though. I like to mix things up pasta, rice, potatoes, fajitas sometimes something with roast root veg or lentils/beans. My DH has little time to eat during the day and very hungry for his evening meal when he gets in.

OverlyYappy · 05/04/2017 11:39

I cook a meal every night for the DC but sometimes just have a sandwich myself. Or snack

LovelyBath77 · 05/04/2017 11:40

We do. It tends to be veg (carrots and broccoli and peas for the DCs) with some meat or fish. I think it's good for them to have a cooked meal. They also have hot school dinners at lunchtime too.

roses2 · 05/04/2017 11:41

I work full time (out of the house 6am - 4.30pm) and cook a meal from scratch every day for the family.

Twice a week we have vegetarian food eg lentils or pasta with pesto as too much meat is a bit heavy on the stomach.

Eating healthily is really important to me so I make time for it. An average meal takes me 30-45 minutes to prepare. and cook

corythatwas · 05/04/2017 11:41

Very true Jonesey, teenagers can cook too. Ds will do so if needed and dd (20) does one meal a week. However, we tend to run to quite a tight budget, which means we don't have random food in the house for fear of waste: cook for one, cook for all, because it is more economical.

In your case, I think I would have put a little more pressure on the guests in advance: "so will you cook us your dish on Wednesday then? fine, I'll pencil that in, really looking forward to it" rather than leaving them with a fait accompli.

Also, if your dh cooks, why are you cooking every single meal?

MsJamieFraser · 05/04/2017 11:42

We cook homemade food every night, however it's a varied diet, we eat fish 2-3 times a week, meat, sometimes however mostly it's veg and lentils, cheese based kind of meals

TheWayYouLookTonight · 05/04/2017 11:43

I always ask the guests "What do you fancy this evening?"

Every evening? If you are hosting them I would have thought it's reasonable for you to be calling the shots on the choice of evening meal for most if not all of the evenings, if it's you that is doing the cooking.

Yes DP and I do have a hot dinner every night (not really potatoes though!), and personally I would always serve one hot meal in a day to guests, either lunch or dinner. But then I love cooking and I've never had guests for more than a couple of nights!

skerrywind · 05/04/2017 11:43

We have a cooked meal every night, but rarely meat and potatoes.

seafoodeatit · 05/04/2017 11:44

Cooked meals every night here too, more often than not it's vegetarian though to keep the budget down and because it's easier. Apart from weekends most weekday meals don't take longer than 10-15 mins to prepare, I have a small baby to look after and don't want to spend all evening cooking.

Verbena37 · 05/04/2017 11:44

I try to make something resembling a proper meal each night but with child with ARFID and a teen girl who wants nothing less than Michelin star every night, I get weary!

Some nights, I cook for them and I manage a bowl of cereal. Sometimes tea is a jacket and salad, which you can jazz up with tuna or ham etc. DH prefers something involving meat.....every day!!

CrumpettyTree · 05/04/2017 11:44

Yes I do.

Jellybean85 · 05/04/2017 11:44

We eat a cooked meal most nights or if it's not cooked still fairly balanced etc.
I would be a bit Hmm at anyone who had been at work or looking after kids all day and just had a 'bit of yoghurt' as their evening meal. Hardly enough to sustain you is it

EllaHen · 05/04/2017 11:44

Yes, cooked meal every night.

Combination of batch cooking at the weekend, cooking from scratch and easy oven stuff like breaded fish and chips with peas.

Reasonably healthy but all of us sitting round the table is the important thing. Dh and I both work and the kids are at school. It's when we reconvene after our day.

DesignedForLife · 05/04/2017 11:45

Yes we always have a cooked meal every night. But I batch cook so ever other night it's leftovers or something I've made from the freezer.