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.

Handful of rocket, 1x mozzarella ball popped through an egg slicer, slice a tomato, handful pine nuts, balsamic glaze and / or drizzle of olive oil add pesto too if you like.
Quick, easy, tasty and good for you.

I totally empathise OP, that's how I often feel. A lot of times I'll just skip dinner altogether as I can't bear the thought of trying to figure out what to have, making it etc.
I don't know if any of these ideas are any use, but here are some quick ideas:
-my standard is a 'bowl' (sometimes called Buddha Bowl or similar): basically a grain/carb, a protein and various veg, and a sauce/dressing, whatever's in the fridge. Only works as a quick meal if you have stuff ready to put in the bowl though.
-hummus, pita/bread, raw veg
-tinned lentil or bean soup with bread
-sandwich eg peanut butter
-cheese and bread in some configuration with raw veg (or glass of tomato juice)
-beans on toast
-mashed avocado on toast (or pita) sprinkled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds
-quick quesadilla: tortilla, cheese, salsa, mashed kidney beans, fold over or top with another tortilla, heat in frying pan on both sides unti heated through
-quick curry: tin of drained chickpeas in a pan, mash some of them for texture; add dried onion, garlic paste, dash of salt or soy sauce and a few dashes of garam masala; heat, add some baby roma tomatoes (or any tomatoes) and handful of spinach, bit of water and stir until cooked through, serve with pita
-packet of pre-cooked noodles or rice + peanut sauce (jarred, or quite easy to make) + raw veg or cooked frozen veg

A government minister moves among us

Why don’t you just have jacket potato every night then, with different toppings? If that’s what you like and can face…

If you aren't in the mood to start preparing veg etc for a meal after work. Then your only option really is to either have a ready meal or meal prep on your days off. I made a lasagna from scratch. Took some effort but then once the ragu was ready I was then able to move onto other things whilst it simmered for a few hours. Cooked it in a huge dish and then portioned it off once cooled. That lasagna did me 8 extra meals plus the one I had for my dinner. Slow cooked cottage pie. Hardly any prep involved as I used the left over chopped veg from the lasagna. I just had to peel some potatoes to top them off. Sometimes I'll cook a whole chicken. I can generally get a good 5/6 meals out of it so usually some mini roast dinners, chicken chips and beans and a few chicken sandwiches. I do literally strip the entire chicken off the carcass though. If you didn't want to cooktop chicken get a ready cooked one from the supermarket. Another simple one to make and you could prepare the veg before hand when you're off. Is sautéed celery carrots and lazy garlic. Add in chicken stock and some cooked shredded chicken then break in some egg noodles and you've got a simple but delicious chicken noodle soup. I work 15 hour days and much prefer homemade pre cooked meals re heated then shop bought ready meals

Nah. I worked in poverty wage jobs for two decades, then I thought ‘what the fuck am I doing?’ and quit, now have zero commute, about £1 more an hour, and no shitty customers to deal with.

What do you do now

Just pre cook loads of jacket potatoes on your day off and have one of them with a topping when you get in if that’s what you fancy , at least it’s not a lot of effort , relatively cheap and probably healthier than a ready meal / chips .

Took a while for the everlasting Mumsnet chicken to arrive but here we are 😅

OP - I noticed you are mid 50s and wondering if you are feeling menopausal/peri-menopausal symptoms? There was a recent thread where other posters were also feeling very tired and CBA too do as much as they used to.

Be kind to yourself. Do what you can.

For speedy meals I like the Cook range of frozen ready meals. It is the only ready meal I have experienced that does not taste processed and is quite nutritious and filling too. I usually get one of those with a microwave pack rice or bagged salad. Eggs done multiple ways are also quick and easy.

I think OP would struggle to afford Cook, Gousto or Hello Fresh on minimum wage.

What I do is cook my meal the night before and put it in a takeaway tub for the next day. Then it's just a matter of 3 minutes in a microwave. This is quicker, cheaper and less effort than any other method. Better than waiting 45 minutes for Deliveroo, JustEat or UberEats only to get lukewarm, shaken up food.

Cooking from scratch I manage to pay less than £1 per meal, and it tastes better than anything I can find anywhere. Win win!

But you need to have the mental and physical energy to cook.

Incidentally, that's why I suggested a rice cooker. You don't have to think about what you're having - but you do have to like rice.

Anyway......I've got a chicken in the slow cooker.....so go me..

Well done. What are you having with it?

Me? Make a cheese and tomato sandwich. Put in microwave until cheese melts. Eat with a knife and fork with olives and sliced cucumber while watching junk TV. Sorted.

Isn’t this what microwave meals are for???

A version of that which I like is cheese and tomato in a pitta bread, microwave for 40 seconds.

Sometimes I can even be arsed to put salt and black pepper on it.

I had potatoes green beans and a great gravy.

Bloody lovely. Thats the sort of dinner i love, but it all takes time and effort and sometimes i dont have either. I guess cooking since i was 18 is just wearing a bit thin...

I know exactly how you fell. I'm a good cook, but when I've had a long day, I'll end up eating pizza so I don't have to think of anything else. Which makes me disappointed in myself, when I do cook it's lovely, but those days are few and far between

I've just primed the "Quick Roasting Tin" book and am doing one of the recipes next week.

My favourite quick meal is mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. Bloody lovely.

The lentil/rice + mixed beans combo upthread sounds genius

If you’re cooking full meals for the family and then something plain for yourself, they should be eating the plain food, too!
They can spice it up with bottled condiments and jarred sauces, cold meats and cheese, tinned tuna with beans, leftover roast chicken etc.

A weekly meal plan is good for reducing the mental load and avoiding “Muuuuum what’s for dinner?” “Look at the bloody list I sent you on WhatsApp!”.

The cooking needs to be shared. Anybody can make microwave rice and scrambled eggs.

But I understand how people CBA to cook just for one. I’ve regularly bought myself a pint of whole milk and had that for dinner. Or uncooked ravioli. Or a lump of cheese and some tomatoes. And enjoyed the freedom from drudgery.

I was only saying to my husband tonight I wonder how much it would cost to pay someone to come into my home and batch cook for us & 2 young kids for the week…I’d need them to send me the shopping list / ingredients etc but then said person could come once or twice a week and cook for me. It was be amazing IMO.

...uncooked ravioli. Yum! It's a wonder there's any left by the time the water boils!