Tell me how often you cook ??

[bettyflinn]

I am really struggling with how often to cook to feed my family ! We are 4 people, 1 year old, 3 year old and two adults.

1 year old eats everything. I eat everything but try to keep it healthy/ low calorie. 3 year old is fussy and husband is fussy.

I'm cooking twice a day at the moment and it's really frustrating.

I need to work on a better routine. I work from home, just often cook in my breaks and it's annoying.

The evening meal will usually be two things at least. I don't want to cook twice a day. Or is this what everyone does ?

I think cooking once a day should be enough. The kids eat lunch at nursery etc. husband doesn't want to eat what I give my kids or what I eat. So it's still two meals. I'm tired.

We share the cooking but often cook 2/3 different meals for dinner to make sure everyone has something they’ll eat. We’re used to it but you have to find something that works for you.

Twice a day. I also work full time and clean the house and do the garden (my favourite) and clear up after the aged cat. One family member is coeliac so everything is from scratch. Sometimes it's just scrambled eggs or omelette or soup. It's a marathon. My friend calls me a duty cook.

Now once a day and leftovers for lunch.

When I had small kids I did a couple of big meals on Sunday that covered most of the week. I was a single mum with a 2&3 yo, working 4 days a week. With dogs. So it was a scramble in the evening.

I suppose it depends what you mean by "cook"
But at no stage in my life would I have routinely cooked separate meals for another adult. I occasionally might if one of us really hated something the other loves -at the weekend DP cooked himself a piece of liver and because I hate it he did me some fish. But separate meal for a picky adult? Absolutely no way.

I cook 3 times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner
However if there is leftovers at dinner, I'll probably use them for lunch next day :)

Personally, I think the more you indulge 3 year old and husband, the more problems/work you will have. I’d say, DH what do you want to eat, give me 10 meals you’d like. And have those for dinner on rotation. If 3-year old doesn’t want anything you make, there are pieces of fruit, bowls of cereal, etc. You are not a catering firm.

Twice a day at least. Sometimes 3 times if we are having eggs, quesadillas, or pancakes for breakfast and soup for lunch for example, then dinner is always cooked too.

I hear you OP.

For me, once, but there is flex as I get what you're saying about accommodating fussy children. It's easy to say 'don't do that' but they need to eat.

I'll often cook the same meal, but slightly flexed. Same potatoes and broccoli for all of us, but I'll do salmon or chicken with sauce for the grown ups and plain for the kids. That kind of thing.

Never. I hate cooking and haven't made anything from scratch since Home Eco classes in the 70s. I live in a retirement village where the cooking is done for us, thank goodness!

The zest for cooking was knocked out of me by raising children.

Before they came along I loved cooking, would unwind after a hard day at work would try out new recipes, buy exotic ingredients, take my time, prepare something tasty.

But family cooking has meant pleasing the lowest common denominator, so endless rounds of spag bol, chilli con carne etc, foods that I knew would be eaten so no waste.

Now my children are grown my enthusiam has picked up again, but I mostly cook for myself- there are other adults in the house, but no -one likes the type of food I enjoy.

Just me and DP, and we split cooking. We average about two nights a week where it is something that just gets bunged in the oven - a shop quiche and jacket potatoes with salad or similar - and I always try to do something on a Sunday that will have leftovers for Monday. I tend to make soup once a week which does lunches if WFH. We do a meal plan on a Sunday.