So fucking fed up with cooking - 28 years and 8,000+ meals!

[Quirkyturkey]

Just that really. DH and I for supper tonight as DD out. Thinking pork chops with some kind of mushroom sauce. Discovered there are no chops in freezer. Can't be arsed to drive 20 minutes to supermarket just for a couple of pork chops, but what else should I do ....? Out of eggs, don't fancy chicken, had lamb night before last ...

Whilst sitting here and basically avoiding doing anything about it, I have worked out that I've probably cooked upward of 8,500 meals since DH and I have been together - probably more. That's based on eating out or him cooking at least once a week.

I've always done the lion's share of the cooking as DH works v long hours, so if he did it we'd be eating at 9 most nights.

Does ANYONE still love cooking after so long? (Mary Berry, you are not invited to reply.)

I think the planning is probably worse than the actual cooking. It's not helped that for the last year I've cooked in a teeny tiny kitchen with 3 doors and a metre of work top. We're in the middle of a big extension project and I'll have a pretty big kitchen diner, so that should be an improvement. I rang DH earlier and we're now going out for dinner!

I do not enjoy cooking but I also do not enjoy ready meals and want to limit processed food.
I like my family to eat nutritious and healthy meals (mostly) that don’t cost too much. Dh works long hours. It looks like there’s only one conclusion....

beans on toast here!

I used to love cooking. DH and I would happily while away a couple of hours after work in the kitchen, experimenting and trying out new dishes. Always cooked from scratch. Having kids, in particular a very fussy eater who would literally starve himself rather than eat something he can't cope with, has killed my passion for cooking. It's a complete chore, and tbh we spend more than we should eating out because I find it so soul destroying. We always eat places with offers but still....

After the best part of 25 years of meal planning and cooking, I broke my arm and couldn't drive so Hello Fresh were pushing at an open door when they came round - I signed up on the spot.

People say its expensive but for me the best part is not having to think about what to make. My fussy ( almost adult) children just have to put up with whats given and some evenings just get handed the receipe card and told to get on with it. It was supposed to be a short term subscription but 3 years later I still have a delivery every week.

I enjoy cooking, don't mind the shopping but find the meal planning monotonous and tedious. And that's when I involve the family too!

In terms of variety, it's usually based on things people have seen on cookery programmes/You Tube/bloggers. A couple of summers ago we did a week's meals based on one cuisine - Italian, Chinese, American, etc. - at the suggestion of DD2. It was great actually - they researched recipes from things they had heard of, got involved with the actual cooking sometimes and then we debated the results! Some dishes were never to be repeated! Some only on occasion (mostly the American ones due to being unhealthy!) and some have been incorporated into our regular planning.
Most recipes came from BBC Good Food so I could find the simple version!

That said, Dh and DS also do some cooking too.

I absolutely detest planning, food shopping and cooking. I did enjoy the novelty when first married and also loved my Annabel Karmel books when DD1 was a baby, but 4 children later, urggghhh, I die a little inside even thinking about it. Still do it of course but by god do I begrudge it! My fantasy would be to never have to cook again. I would quite happily live on tea and toast forever.

I also hate recipe books and all cookery programmes! I think it would be my personal equivalent of water torture to be forced to watch YouTube videos of people cooking 🤣