Im fed up having shite dinners

[ssd]

Am mid 50s, working on my feet all day. Im just tired. There was very limited choice and i didnt enjoy what i made.

Oh well.

When you can face it have a prep day, couple of hours tops.
Plastic containers or glass jars with lids. Food processor if you have one.
Process as many onions as you can. . Add any other chopped veg. Divide into containers, label. Use in slow cooker with tinned tomatoes ( if you have a large freezer add tomatoes to the veg mix and freeze) add chicken pieces and you’ll have a casserole when you get home.

Chop a large head of broccoli, put in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain, plunge into cold water. Whizz in a food processor with garlic, lemon juice, basil if you like it and olive oil. Divide into 3, freeze 2. Cook pasta, add some frozen veg, stir in the broccoli pesto and add some cheese.

Empty 1 or 2 tins of mixed beans ( or soaked dried beans) into slow cooker. Add tinned tomatoes, chilli peppers or chilli powder. Leave to cook while at work. When you get home chuck in some fresh spinach or some of those little ‘cakes’ of frozen spinach.
Any of these can be made and frozen.

Oh god that would be perfect

If I lived alone I think I would live off premade sandwiches and pringles. I love cooking but after a full day at work I still struggle with the motivation.

Salmon that can be microwaved in its packaging (Aldi) in sweet chilli sauce, stir fry veg and noodles. A healthy meal Jim less than 10 minutes
or sausages , frozen mash in bread microwave , peas and gravy.

If you're working 9-5 and have a long commute, and are standing up all day, then fair enough.

I always counter balance a crap dinner with some fruit or something healthy for afters, otherwise I end up feeling rubbish

Omelette, jacket potato, a traybake to just sling in the oven? None of these require 'cooking' and are pretty quick and easy to do

Get Gousto boxes delivered.

They have 'quick' options that are really simple to cook 👍

GOUSTO
GOUSTO
GOUSTO

This is not the point but the language used on food threads really irritates me! There's so much bunging, slinging, chucking, dumping. Makes it all sound so slapdash and tedious.

Anyway, I worked in retail for years and understand what you're saying. I quite like the filled pasta dishes you can buy and add a sauce to. And then melt some cheese on the top - delicious and easy for those tired days!

I always felt like this then got gousto and makes my life so much easier. Don’t waste anything, choose meals in advance so no faffing around choosing recipes then going to buy all the ingredients and I take leftovers for lunch. You can filter by time of cooking for the recipes too, there’s often quite a few 10 min options.

I agree about the language. I think people think it makes it sound quicker if you're just whacking and flinging?

Chippy, curry, pizza, Chinese

Other half doesn't of the cooking (and is quite good) he plans the meals but sometimes I think he just runs out of steam and looks over and says take away or suggests cheasy beans on toast or macaroni cheese on toast.

Same tbh, finished my retail job at 8 came home and had oven pizza with DH. Boring

Gusto, Hello Fresh etc are expensive and OP is on minimum wage. Nice quick easy meals which are reasonably nutritious, tasty and cheap - the Holy Grail! Hummus, pitta, raw veg. Soup, bread, cheese, fruit. Pasta, pesto, salad. Potato waffles cooked in the toaster and fried eggs. Eggs done almost any way, actually. Quiche and salad.

I live on things that can be grilled or oven baked with a few veg or salad on the side
flavoured chicken or pork chops - tray bakes etc
while it’s grilling or baking I steam some veg, use microwave vegetable rice or make a salad
I like a chopped salad in Mayo and make enough that I will eat a few days later or can add things to for lunch
in winter I do more soup, jacket potato or stir fry meals
cooked meat and salad with sauce in a wrap is another favourite
all my meals have to be suitable for 1 or 2 people and cooked in around 15 minutes

I know what you mean OP. I hate cooking and if I won the lottery one of my luxuries would be a personal chef like Madonna etc have. If DH is away and DD is out sometimes I just have a large bowl of Greek yoghurt with a bit of maple syrup, homemade granola and loads of strawberries and blueberries for tea. I've never thought a meal has to be hot to be a proper meal. Certainly can't be arsed cooking if it's just for me.

There are some good quick recipes here.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/quick-and-easy-family-recipes

Or, beans on toast.
Bought pâté on toast.
Omelette with grated cheese and tomatoes.
Bought fish fingers, bought parsley sauce, frozen peas.
Sausage, egg and oven chips.
Make a batch of bolognese, freeze portions and just cook the spaghetti for a meal.
Jacket potato with cheese, or beans, or sweet corn.

None of these take ages to prepare.

I would leave out the shite and substitute it with chicken.
Maybe add peas for some colour?

Totally understand!
it’s not just the cooking but thinking, deciding, planning, shopping, storing, prepping, clearing up afterwards.
Tin of soup, hunk of bread and cheese and an apple if I had my way. Every night.

You have my sympathy. I am fed up with cooking too and lost it with DS today when he ate junk before dinner and then didn't eat dinner. And I don't work your hours, and I am not on my feet all day. It's all so thankless and endless, the cooking and cleaning and planning.

We tried mindful chef and hello
Fresh. You don't have to plan and shop just follow instructions

Maggi tender wraps are your friend. Paper infused with seasoning, you put a chicken breast inside, bang it flat and cook for 20 minutes in dry frying pan. Serve with packet savoury rice and broccoli. They come in garlic, bbq, Italian herb. What we do when we really can’t think. Or I do a quick omelette with an apple for dessert. Baked potato with LongleY Farm cottage cheese.

God I have way shitter dinners than you when I'm tired, op. I can't see the logic of faffing with oven chips to eat with half a ready meal rather than just eating a whole ready meal on it's own.

I'm laughing at the person who thinks an 8 hour day plus a long commute means they are home 8 hours and 15 minutes after they leave the house. We don't all work from home you know 😂

I completely understand where you're coming from. I have an 11 month old and have just gone back to work full time and the thought of shopping, putting food away, defrosting stuff and cooking only for it to be eaten within 10 minutes just drains me. It takes quite a while and I never feel like having the same meal all week as some meal preppers do.

I really like cooking but there are days I feel like this. The WORST for me is the shopping, sometimes I just hate it. It’s like Ground Hog day and for various reasons we don’t do online much.

pick off the shelf and load in trolley
offload from trolley to conveyor belt
load from conveyor belt into bags and in trolley
load bags from trolley to car
unload bags from car
unpack all shopping
put shopping away

so TEDIOUS.

TBH when I feel like you do someone giving me a 15 min recipe doesn’t help. I start eating things like crisp sandwiches ie. not low prep I want zero prep.