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! 😴🥱🥔🥪🍳🌭🫘

I feel your pain.

I started on-line shopping last year. It does save money as I had a tendency to stick random things in the trolley. But the downside is that I no longer see something we haven't had for a while and get prompted to get it.

So sitting in front of my laptop, chewing my nails, trying to think what we are going to have for dinner in five days time is torture. I did work out a 5 week rolling menu plan so I could just order what was on the list for that week, but that fell by the wayside on week three. I should dig it out again.

I bloody LOVE this thread.

Nice work @Goodgravythisisfantastic 😎😃😝

This is why when I get the occasional urge I cook massive batches of stuff to fill the freezer of homemade from scratch food that will last me a couple of months of not being arsed to cook/plan. My freezer is currently full of portions of chilli, spag bol, lasanga, sticky pineapple chicken, creamy chicken spinach, cauliflower cheese, chicken tikka curry, thai red curry, beef stew, chicken fajita filling, sesame chicken & broccoli and other randoms. I won’t HAVE to cook for at least two months now but if I feel like I want to I’ll make a massive batch of something else or whatever is running low. I do have some chuck roast beef to use to make kleftiko when I can be arsed.

I live alone and just rotate stuff
Each week I batch cook one thing in 5 portions, leave 1 out and 4 for the freezer
Usually cottage pie, beef stew, sausage casserole, lasagne, pasta bake, something with chicken

Then weekly I eat a couple of the batch cooked meals, a couple of salad meals, a supermarket pizza and some quick meals like jacket potatoes or omelette
Everything from scratch except for the pizza

This is a good approach. Cook like a mad woman when motivation strikes.

We have a tiny freezer atm so batch cooking isn't an option but we are getting a chest freezer soon.

Unhelpful!

YANBU if you are already sorting out decent lunches then dinners can be more low key. Better fed than not

I'm a shit cook with a shit tiny kitchen and a shit tiny freezer. I hate it all.

Someone up thread said their kid would happily exist on jacket potatoes.. so would I!

Amen.

I hate it too, the headspace, the time it takes to prepare, the shopping and the clearing up afterwards.

Do you see the problem?!

Even thinking about thinking about cooking is fucking tedium.

Bollocks to it all!

🫘🫘🫘🕺🏻🫘🫘🫘🫘💃🏻

sitting in front of my laptop, chewing my nails, trying to think what we are going to have for dinner in five days time is torture.

Omg YES - this! I despise this so much I can't even begin to find the words to get it across 😂

Who can even think of so many different meal plans?! Who are these people???

Yeah it is fucking dull. DH does more than 50% of the cooking here, he really enjoys it. I don’t enjoy it, so the 40% I do is an absolute chore. I don’t think it’s beneath me, like a PP accused us of, I just don’t enjoy it. In fact I actively hate it.

Yeah, it works for me. I did have to invest in a decent, biggish freezer but it was worth it to avoid the daily / weekly faff knowing how not arsed I am most of the time.

100 fucking percent.

My dad said recently that he grew up on gammon egg and chips, mince and tatties, soup and bread, and fish suppers.

Salad didn't exist. He's fit as a fucking fiddle.

When the DC leave home I'm never cooking another meal. I'll just graze on salady bits, fruit, nice bread and humous/cheese/pate and wine. I will be so happy.

Fucking thinking about dinners that are yet to exist. Hypothetical future dinners.

🫠

I'm with you OP. Sick of cooking roast dinners/fish and veg etc and putting it on the table for my 2 and 4 year olds to declare they don't like it and husband can't tear himself away from his computer to sit at the bloody table.

F that. I've stocked up on smiley faces, fish fingers and beans.

I always refused to cook for my ex husband of 20 years, I hate cooking and don't eat in the evening or I can't sleep. The thought of coming home and cooking for years on end made me feel sick so I told him he must cook for himself. He was pretty moody about it.
I enjoy simple food too. I don't cook anything complicated although its all fresh.

Greek yoghurt with added bits (seeds, nuts, berries and honey) is my meal of choice. I could happily live on this most days, with the odd cheese toastie for good measure.

I agree. Two of my kids are autistic and fussy and a lot of food goes to waste. They are often starving after school and like an early dinner not long after they get home. I try and make sure I provide some form of veg with every meal and do at least 3 homemade meals a week.

Yes to motivation. I get the odd urge so will do 4 portions of chilli and we'll have one with jackets and one with rice, freeze the others.

I do envy people whose kids will go to Wagamama and eat a giant pile of spicy noodles with beansprouts and edamame beans. Maybe when he's 15.

There are no decent potato’s around for proper jacket spuds anymore though. I like a biggun but they’re all really small nowadays.

I absolutely love them wrapped in foil in the slow cooker but yes - they need to be whoppers!

This is me! But out of guilt I always chuck some salad on the side - lettuce, tomato, cucumber etc. and a piece of fruit is non negociable.

One of my children is autistic so elaborate meals are not a thing.

Also it really depends on what else you are doing. I'm working 8-6 and picking up children every day. I'm done by the time I get home. Children get cooked lunches at school so a sandwich tea or leftovers or omelette is fine! No judgement. Having two cooked meals is probably excessive

My DH has taken over most of the food cooking and shopping now he’s retired - it’s pretty great. I recommend it. I think you’d get pretty bored of your sausages / burgers and beans though. They’re only fun because they’re a change from the norm. I don’t think you’d feel great eating all that processed food if you’re used to loads of veggies. I think you need to share the burden or get into batch cooking.