To hate cooking and the relentlessness of it all

[nogella]

Bloody cooking meals. thinking of new meal ideas. Meal plans, fucking meal plans. The mess. DC not liking what's on offer and then not eating it. The mess. The clean up. EVERY SINGLE DAY

Abso-f*king-lutly agree.

I once complained my DH how much of a chore it is to sort out the food every week. (I. E. meal plan for different diets, do shopping list, do the shop, cook all the food etc) and his response cracked me up. He said 'well, if you give me a list, I can do the shopping for you' 🙄😂.

1. It's not 'for me', it's for all of us.
2. The shopping for the food is the easiest bit! It's the thinking about what to have and cooking it and making sure people bloody eat it is the issue!

I absolutely hate it. Im a terrible cook anyway and I'm quite fussy myself. I like simple meals, imagine easy pub food, pie and chips, gammon egg and chips, baked potato, spaghetti bolognese, a roast dinner. I don't like spicy food, I don't like vegetables.
My son eats most things but my daughter doesn't like potatoes in any form including chips. This causes alot of problems as that takes away a lot of a meal. She also doesn't like butter or anything with cheese so again rules a lot of things out. I hate having to cater to 4 different people who want different things. I never cook from scratch apart from a roast. We use a lot of freezer food, pizza, nuggets, fries etc for quick meals

I’ve always said that 90% of parenting is food preparation.

I bloody hate it.

I love cooking.
What I hate is having to cook quick things that can be reheated easily or eaten cold to fit in with everyone's routine. It's so boring and monotonous.

It's a lot of work. I try to double batch at least one meal that will last in the fridge so that gives me a night off later in the week. Also try to do a couple of freezer meals (pizza, breaded chicken wraps, ready meal curry) so then I'm only left with a few days of proper cooking in the week then it feels more manageable! My kids are 4 and 2 so maybe their opinion will come on later in life but so far they just get what is given and if I don't think they've eaten enough they will get a weetabix before bed.

I love cooking and would gladly be someone's live-in cook!! Any takers? I do great dauphinoise potatoes... I love food in general though so cooking is a great joy to me. If anyone in my family doesn't finish it, I will snaffle it!

Yes! YANBU!

I can't stand it, if it was up to me I'd just eat sandwiches every day. On the days DH cooks and he wants to talk dinner plans at 9am I want to cry in a corner. I love food but it is relentless and draining, particularly since DH has to have a hot meal every day with meat and carbs or he thinks he'll starve to death 😭

I felt the same until the children grew up and left home. Now it is just me and DH and I love it. It's not the cooking I hated, it was the thinking. I used to cook for 9 people every evening - DH, 5 DC's and my DP's. One DC had food issues. Another DC and DH worked shifts. Three DC's had clubs and activities and needed to eat around those. It was a nightmare.

Now I am on my own in the kitchen, no one calling or wanting anything from me. I cook things that DH and I enjoy and if he is on a shift that means he doesn't eat in the evening I experiment and do something for me.

But feeding a family is possibly the least rewarding part of family life.

*I hear you.
I always swore that once the kids left home, I'd never cook another meal again.
The youngest left home 11 years ago and I've not cooked a meal since.

If it doesn't go in the microwave then it's not happening.*

This is my ambition.

I lost the plot about this around a year ago when DSs were mid-late teens. I got pissed off with the wife work, the thinking about the meal plan, the booking the delivery, the cooking, the juggling work and after school activities and trying to get good, cheap, nutritious food into everyone. To be fair, I chucked the cleaning up toys out of the pram previously, and we have the rule that if you don't cook, you clean. They were about 12 when we started that, but they always had to clear the table from teeny.

The result of the losing of the plot:

we have a family WhatsApp group for shopping - if you don't ask for snacks to be added the shopping fairy doesn't provide. You have to tell me what you want for lunches otherwise you get five straight days of cheese sandwiches. If you use the last of something and it doesn't go on the list you have to go to the shops and buy it yourself.

Saturday lunchtime the Sunday delivery is organised. Snooze you lose - if it's not requested by Saturday lunchtime you're on your own.

Sat lunchtime we sit together, look at the week ahead (work travel, after school activities, hobby travel) and everyone has to suggest a meal that will fit in a slot. If I'm traveling or busy, teens are required to choose something they can cook for everyone, as well as eat. They sometimes ask for things I don't buy for ethical or cost reasons, but then we have a chat and work out an alternative. DH is expected to cook whatever is on the list if he's free and I'm not - he's a competent adult in all other areas so he can just get on with it, but this approach means he now contributes ideas.

So, I still do the bulk of the organising, but at least the rage has gone. And my DSs seem to have got the message that dinner isn't my problem. And, very occasionally, one if them will take a turn to themselves and the minor miracle that is homemade pasta will happen, as if by magic, with no input from me.

I should have lost the plot years ago. (eyes up the overflowing washing basket...)

A lot of it is drudgery that you can’t get out of. But meal planning and thinking of new meals is martyrdom 😉
7 or 14 meals, on repeat. Anyone wants a different meal to take over from an old staple - they can research it.

I can't bear it either. Many sympathies, but like hot weather , gardening and general shopping trips I'm not a fan and people are shocked I'm not forever baking cakes or knocking up roast dinners every day like my ln laws and mum did
It's a necessary evil in my book!

Me too. I do it because it's a necessity. Fortunately, DH is very easy to please food wise, and does more than his fair share of the cooking.

I'd much rather be in the garden.

I live alone - so only have to cook for myself. I still can't bear cooking. Ive realised that I don't have to have hot meals.
I just have sandwiches all the time now.

Singleton here with no kids and I f*** hate cooking as well. Can't be bothered with the faff.

My H use to do this. But then he stopped eating at all with the family (DC are too tired to eat with him), so I just do it for DC

Yep!! Tiresome and boring! I would be happy with a snacky easy meal for half the week (beans on toast, soup etc) but living with 3 boys all they do is moan & want massive dinners!! Hubby prefers home cooked dinners but doesnt get in until 6-7pm. I refuse to stand there cooking a home cooked meal every night!!

I actually quite enjoy doing a meal plan ( sit down on a Sunday & write it out for the week). We don’t always stick exactly to it but it makes a big difference. DD13 has sensory issues & is very likely on the spectrum. She won’t eat with us & nearly always caters for herself. DH is a very good cook & baker. He works full time & tends to only make one meal a week. He cooks more when he finishes early. I only work 16 hours a week. The shopping is mainly down to me & I am considering going back to a delivery as I tend to spend too much doing top up shops. As we go into Autumn I’m going to use my slow cooker more & try to batch cook once I make space in my rammed freezer! If I’m in the mood & uninterrupted, I quite enjoy coooking.

It gets easier with older DC. Once they can get their own breakfast and lunches. Also in my case the fadiness wore off and as teenage boys the only problem was filling them. They were always very appreciative of my cooking which helps.

Nevertheless once they were off to uni it was ready meals all the way.
I did get a new interest in cooking in lockdown and I now quite enjoy it.
The key is never to ask what anyone wants and never offer a choice 😜

Cooking even!!

Hmm I quite like it, but then when I think about my week, I don't overdo it! Mon and Wed I cook dinner, but it is something simple that I can prepare quickly after work/before clubs eg stir fry, pasta bake. If in a rush I'll do something like egg and beans on toast. Tue and Thurs DH cooks and he does things that take longer as he has has more time eg chilli, homemade soups and stews. Fri we have pizza whoever has the energy at end of week sticks it in the oven. Sat and Sun either of us will cook and we both enjoy it as we try new things. DD has started cooking occasionally too.

I used to love cooking, now I'm sick to death of it. Luckily now there's only two of us it's not so bad, whenever I make anything I cook a big pot so we've always got things to fish out of the freezer.

I have made it clear to my family that when my son turns 18 I will be retiring as family cook and only sorting myself out. I go away on my own once a year and it is heaven to please myself foodwise, my meals revolve around all the things that the children hate, basically butternut squash, sweet potato and aubergine heaven. I envy reptiles, only having to eat every so often.

Cooking is just another chore. It’s got to the point where I’d be happy to graze rather than cook a meal.

I quite like cooking, but:

1. I don't have kids
2. my husband eats anything and never complains

Although I think cooking, washing the dishes and other housekeeping stuff is another part time work.