To give up on dinners entirely?

[Goodgravythisisfantastic]

So bloody sick of thinking about food. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, every day, every week, every month. Who cares?

Tonight we had beans on toast with sausages and fried egg. Son (nearly 3) ecstatically happy. I realised everyone is happier with the simpler meals and I'm happier for cooking them.

I'm ready to give up and cook only beans on toast, baked potatoes, tuna pasta, fish finger sandwiches, toasties with soup, and chicken burgers.

YABU- stop being lazy and cook a decent meal ffs
YANBU- embrace the lazy dinners. Everyone's happier. In fact here are some lazy dinner ideas of my own...

Thanks in advance! 😴🥱🥔🥪🍳🌭🫘

Interesting thread.

It's a funny one. I was brought up in the 70s and my mother and father were excellent cooks and very interested in food. I was brought up on excellent food, local and seasonal, but Interesting and delicious.

We also lived overseas when I was a child so I saw other food cultures.

I'm interested in food, I love eating delicious things, well cooked.

I realised at a young age that the only way I could guarantee good eating every day was to learn, not only how to cook, but what good food was.

Good food, and good eating doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to take headspace, it requires an understanding and a desire to understand.

I think the problem with the UK is that we were early industrialisers. Yes it meant the UK had a huge empire, and culinarily, that brought us much.

But it also meant we had to feed the machine of progress. It needed workers, who needed fuel. In Northern countries fuel is roots, grains and meat. That's what you have available. That's what you feed your family on.

Near the coast oysters, winkles, cockles, fish, eels.

I like food. I don't like rubbish food. That's why I learned about food .

If you say so. And no thank you, my family eat well.

Depends on circumstances, if you're coming home from.work then slow cooker set in morning is perfect or batched and frozen meals. If a sahm the same!!! Also having an airfryer is brilliant, can prepare meals less than an hour before dinner time. X

I'm at the other end of the age spectrum to most of you. I've cooked since I was 18 over five decades ago and mostly enjoyed it. 10 years ago, my idea of a celebration was to spend all day cooking and get everyone here to enjoy it. I now find I just can't be bothered. My DH is older and has dementia. Some days he eats everything on his plate, some days he just mushes it up and leaves it. I've decided to cook when I feel like it. Other days, beans on toast will do nicely. And before anyone starts about UPFs, I'm not planning to live forever but thanks for the advice.

Even when at Secondary School I used to have a jam sandwich for my. Even now I sometimes have just that.

Not always a child oriented issue. My 95 year old dad will quite often tell me on the phone that he’s “just having a bacon buttie/beans on toast etc” for dinner - in a resigned and disappointed voice. Mum used to do a cooked lunch and dinner. To which I reply ”great! Enjoy … I’m having some muesli /scrambled egg/soup etc”. He does have a freezer full of food but sometimes just can’t be bothered… and he doesn’t think anything less than meat and two veg counts.

@RhiannonTheRed

Well make your feckin seared scallops with pomegranate glaze and go then 🤷🏻‍♀️ More beans for me.

👋🏻

Frozen prepped veg for me was a game changer, so much less time spent on chopping and prepping.

Yeah see that's exactly what I meant. Lovely.

I don't think I've chopped an onion this century...

A middle ground is probably the best way forward, Monday to Thursday simple meals, then cook "proper" meals on the weekends? You could batch cook say one weekend a month so you have some quick pasta sauces/bolognese type stuff in the freezer that you can just heat up.

@RhiannonTheRed

You think because you're passive aggressively rude, that you're not being rude?

I'm sure everyone here is pleased for you that your "family eat well" 🙄 away and bile yer heid man.

I'm not being passive aggressive, I'm giving the opinion you asked for! Don't ask for the thoughts of others if you don't want them! I won't be replying further.

C'mon now.

I get @Goodgravythisisfantastic that feeding people is tedious.

And I get that a long thread validates your PoV.

Don't be a dick though.

@RhiannonTheRed

Your first post to me was "make your beans and go" followed by you feed your family "well", insinuating that I don't.

Of course you're being passive aggressive.

And yes, I'll feel free to be rude to anyone who's rude to me first, even if they think they can hide behind just giving their opinions.

I'm not looking to have my opinions validated. I'm fine with them. I was having a lightheaded moan, put posters like you take it far too seriously and simply enjoy feeling superior that you'd never stoop to feeding a child bake beans. Heaven forfend.

Wind your neck in love. Planning and cooking meals is an absolute pain in the arse.

@Goodgravythisisfantastic

Look. You started a thread.

Don't be a chippy bugger.

You silly sausage.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

It's a BIG challenge!
https://www.tiktok.com/@femmeitforward/video/7311243208250641710?lang=en

As for ideas, I like soup. Easy to make your own and quick. Or from a carton or tin if you're really shattered.

We often do dinners like this: baked potatoes, simple pasta, fish and salad wraps etc. I honestly think it's fine, and tbh consider them to be "real" dinners. We enjoy them and they are (well, sometimes) nutritious.

I don't think it's a question of being "above" meal planning as a PP has suggested: it's about where I choose to spend my time. It's usually 7pm by the time the kiddos bedtime is done and after that, I don't want to be in the kitchen cooking for ages every evening. Even with simple dinners you're in there for a while (when you factor tidying up afterwards, and making the packed lunch for the next day).

This is the hill I'm willing to die on.

Don't bring up chippy burgers and sausages on my thread about fine dining.

We are boring AF! We have a weekly food plan, one, and we eat the same thing week in week out, no planning! It's the hardest bit I think.

There's bits and bobs of everything on there, from spag bol to jacket spuds! It's not exciting but it works.

Why would you say that?

Don't call other women 'love'.

'Wind your neck in'

Is an horrible phrase.

YANBU for me this is hands down the thing I struggle with the most. I am bad at cooking, meals always take me double the time it should no matter how many times I do it, I don't enjoy it and it creates loads of washing up - the runner up thing I struggle with!

I had been thinking about it for a while but just went for it and started ordering from Simmereats two weeks ago, as a meal prep service seems to be the only option for easy + healthy - and oh my gosh, it's making such a difference!

My thoughts process was, loads of people have cleaners, i much prefer cleaning over cooking so seemed like the way forward!

I will say though my daughter is three so doesn't eat much of dinner apart from some veggies, snacky bits as she eats well at nursery. She wouldn't really eat it but similarly doesn't eat much of what I make either!

No actual advice for meals sorry 😂

I have started looking again at some teeny tiny ones that do not have to be plumbed in, they sit on the drainer bit of the sink and you fill them with water and they have a drainage tube that empties into the sink. some of the reviews say they are fab and others say not to bother, will carry on with my research. If anyone on here has experience of these I will be grateful to hear from them

Everyone calls each other ‘love’ round me.