To wonder how people find the time and money to cook from scratch

[Mummyof287]

We sometimes have a roast, cooked from scratch or Jacket potatoes with toppings and salad.Everything else tends to involve something from a box/packet/jar.
That's not to say every meal is total 'junk food' and the meals are always balanced (protein, carb, fibre) but usually include something processed.
Here are some examples of what we eat;

-Salmon/smoked basa, rice (microwave packet rice) veg
-Quiche (good quality boxed) new potatoes, veg
-Sausages (butchers or supermarket good quality butchers style)
-Old el Paso Fajita kit using quorn chicken

• Burgers (from butchers) in buns with salad

-Pizza with corn on cob/salad

• Breaded/battered fish portions, homemade chips/wedges and beans
• Lasagne (using jar sauces) & veg
• Tortellini (packet) and sauce (ready made in pot/packet)
• Stit fry using quorn chicken

I find cooking really stressful and am not very good at it 🙈 My DH likes cooking and used to do more recipies from scratch, but since having our two daughters time is stretched especially on the days we both work, and when he has done recipes they don't eat it as they are really picky eaters, so feels like a waste of effort, half of it goes in the bin.

I want to stop using so many processed foods as know its not ideal health wise, but time and especially money are fairly short, and most recipies seem to have so many ingredients, it all gets so expensive!

Any ideas of recipies that are very quick, cheap and easy please??

Especially as my issue isn't grating cheese - it's washing the *ing grater with all the hard to reach bits.

Is that not what the dishwasher is for though?

There are always still bits on it that I have to scrape out. Maybe my dishwasher is just crap

Not everyone has a dishwasher! I wash by hand so numbers of pots / pans / utensils definitely fits into my planning what to cook..

Microplane graters are your friend. Very easy to use and clean.

This post has really got me thinking and you know I do think it’s better to cook from scratch rather than go for the easy option of ready made sauces and stuff from packets. Asides from the environmental impact of all the extra packaging these readymade things generally come in, they tend to be classed as ultra processed and so have more preservatives, emulsifiers and sugars/sweeteners & salt in them. It’s so bad for our bodies and our children’s bodies (and brains actually. Check this documentary out ).

Sure, it takes more time and effort but it’s worth it in my opinion. When I think back on my own childhood it’s the times I was cooking with my Dad or when my mum made us a special cake or meal that really stand out for me. It’s a mixture of the bonding process of coming together to cook and eat, plus that it was generally more delicious and satisfying than the readymade stuff we sometimes had. Even eating out can’t compare to a homemade meal prepared with love.

I know OP you’re saying you and your DH are short on time, but I bet you have enough time to do other things like watch tv in the evenings or even scroll through mumsnet! 😉 Redirect some of that time into making something for your family and see how good you all feel for it afterwards (assuming it comes out well, that is!). Cooking takes practice, but that doesn’t mean the process of learning to do it well can’t be joyful. Get the girls involved, you never know they may enjoy it!

Cooking from scratch is way cheaper. Rice is cheap quick and easy to cook YABU

Picky eating is a learned behaviour. It’s not easy but takes time and effort, but it’s a parental thing. Get the kids involved in every meal, make it a thing, not optional. Should be fun too, never understood how hard this seems to be.

Tell me you aren't the parent of a picky eater without telling me you aren't the parent of a picky eater!

I’m not the parent of a picky eater, because I’m a responsible adult and parent.
Tell me you’re not a 2023 parent without telling me you’re a 2023 parent!! Jeeez.

So oh wise and mighty parent. How do I get my son to eat peppers? (Or any of the other things he doesn't like?)

Wtf is a 2023 parent? I'm a parent in 2023

Have you offered them to him raw, cooked soft, cooked al dente, peeled / unpeeled, roasted, seasoned / unseasoned, chopped up / sliced / in smiley faces? With DS I just kept offering him the stuff he liked until eventually he ate a preperation that worked for him. With DS he finds peppers too sweet so I need to leave the bitter white bit & seeds in - which I should have realised sooner as he loves his tangerines the same way lol. He loves green padron peppers - will eat them in any way shape or form.

Yep. Tried it all. Repeatedly.

Further to this @Snowflakeslayer how many times/how long do I do those things for until I can decide that my son just doesn't like certain foods and that I'm being a responsible parent for letting him decide that himself?

I assume you’re over 18, as you have an account, so will take it you’re an adult . Let them leave the bloody peppers, don’t sweat the small stuff. There’s plenty of other foods to eat? You seem particularly agitated about peppers. Do you need a hug, or just parenting lessons? Sounds like both.

I couldn't give a fuck if he eats peppers or not. I used peppers as an example of the many many things he doesn't eat. I could list them all but frankly it would be quicker to list the things he does like.

You claimed that fussy eating was down to bad/irresponsible parenting. So I'd like to know what I apparently should be doing? As you're clearly a superior parent.

You seem to be struggling with more than parenting. I’m going to leave you to it love, I feel, from your reply, that any positive support offered would be received with aggressive notes, followed by excessive white wine consumption. Good luck, you need it!!

I'd just like to know what I should be doing as a responsible parent to make my child eat food he doesn't like?
Force feed him? Starve him until he accepts it? Serve it repeatedly alongside other things he does like? In which case how long do I do that for?

And yes I have issues. Issues with idiots who don't know me implying that I (and anyone else who has a fussy eater) just aren't as good as you. When experience tells me fussiness around food is nothing to do with parenting and everything to do with the child in question. Otherwise I'd have 2 fussy eaters not one and one who eats everything.

I’m honestly baffled. I cook from scratch every night; it’s cheaper, it’s enjoyable and, most of the time, takes 30mins max. I run my own business and have to be mega organised around this stuff, so often I’ll cook early in day to allow for reheat in evening.
I plan meals at start of week and shop accordingly. Much less food waste, more reasonable shopping.
Cooking isn’t stressful once you’re in the swing of things and you will be fine at it. If you tell me types of food you like to eat, I’ll share some recipes. Pop on some headphones, some good music and you’ll be flying! Homemade food, with real ingredients, is so much better than shop bought.

@Snowflakeslayer
If you haven't experienced it you don't know the pain.

@MillicentTrilbyHiggins you have my sympathy. DD really does not like many vegetables and it gets worse when stressed. The plain rice period during her GCSEs (we had additional stressesas well) was particularly memorable and not exactly short lasting. "hidden" veg can be spotted within a few mouthfuls and she can tell a change in mushrooms purely by taste. Either will likely render the whole meal inedible.

Lightly steamed separate veg has sometimes even the way to go. St least rest gets eaten then

Incidentally I also have family who only eat lettuce (iceberg) tomatoes, peas, carrot and fruit. He's in his eighties and one of the healthiest humans I know.

Don't sweat it. Meal ls that get the most veg through (chilli, bolognese, stirfry) are on weekly repeat. I do a low veg version of a couple of meals for DD and every now and then she might try an additional leek in there. I figure she will either get there or she wont

Don't sweat it!!! (Forget we can edit posts now)

@Icedlatteplease I used to stress about it when he was little. He's actually 19 now and I really couldn't care less what he does or doesn't eat.

I do care about being told its a parenting issue when it really really isn't. DS wouldn't go near chilli, bolognese or stir-fry! But he's not a total veg dodger, he loves the traditional Bristish stuff (peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower etc)

He has also got better as he gets older, he at least tries things now even he declares them "disgusting"

😁😁😁

I know exactly want you mean!!! Parenting issue my foot, I have one that will eat whatever I stick on a plate, including spinack in curry and DD who absolutely won't.

DD is 17. The other day she genuinely was trying and had said to include leek, she ended up mortified when she had picked out all the leek (and anything touching the leek too much) to eat the rest.

Your DS sounds like my dad!!! 🤣🤣🤣 My mum despairs.

I would say he's like an old man, eating "meat and 2 veg". But he doesn't eat meat
He does like spinach though!

Spinach?!?! Slimey Spinach?!?! That's impressive! I'm waiting for Dd to move out for a return to Spinach!!

DD (19) loves raw spinach but hates it cooked. We just cook it separate and stir it in to curries when she’s had her portion.