Takeaways every night !

[Lookwhostalking25]

I am sure I will be absolutely jumped on
but I just cannot get the hang of sorting dinner out 😂😂🙈
single mum of 3 ( baby and 2 primary school kids, one of which is disabled ) widowed nearly a year now.
I can juggle about everything else but food I struggled before returning back to work but wasn’t too bad but since returning I just haven’t managed it.
today was day 14 of takeouts after going back to work 2 weeks ago 😂😂
please send me tips because I’m sure the kids will come accustomed very shortly to take our lives haha !

There are no shortage of suggestions here. Maybe this isn't actually about food?

Another vote for the M&S mini meals for the kids, I eat them myself when I’m trying to eat less 🤣

I can’t afford a take away once a week let alone every day, most the meals I cook take under 30 minutes. Things like stir fry’s take less than ten minutes, most supermarkets do a stir fry deal for a good price. I do Spag and meatballs (M&S mini meatballs) which I can cook in 15 minutes. Most things I cook from fresh but there are days where I chuck fish fingers and chips in the air fryer. I like cooking but I hate the cleaning up afterwards 😬.

Eating take away every day will catch up with you, take away food is full of salt, sugar and fat, it will make you feel tired, give you bowel issues and make you gain weight. Of course it’s ok to have a take away occasionally but maybe try for once a week on your busiest day. Parenting alone and working is hard work.

Well it's about getting your head around it all, getting organised, planning the shopping and the food prep. It takes a while to establish all this.

Bless you OP, it sounds like you are coping admirably well considering the circumstances. I really like "Cook" frozen meals, they really do taste homemade. There are lots of options and they now deliver. I am not sure if you have one near you but you can fill up freezer and simply take out what you want in the morning or cook from frozen in the evening. Perhaps adding a side of veg or salad etc dependant on the meal. Tasty and I would say probably as quick as ordering a takeaway.

Of course I could suggest batch cooking etc etc but to me it sounds like you have far much more going on in your life to be bothered with that.

I'm so sorry for your loss - your kids are fed so don't be tough on yourself.

There's no harm in giving the kids something quick and easy such as beans on toast for tea. Slow cooker might change your life as does an air fryer (no hanging about waiting for an oven to heat). Something that helps me is to chop carrots, peppers and cucumbers up in bulk and have them in the fridge ready to sling out as either a side dish or, more often, a starter whilst I make the main event. I used to get hung up on them having a hot meal for tea but nutritionally there's little advantage in having a cooked carrot stick versus raw and they seem to be preferred raw too. A bag of frozen sweetcorn is also handy for adding a handful to pasta as it's cooking... gives a bit more nutrition to pesto pasta.

Good luck - I'm sure the last year has been far from easy.

Christ on a bike, did you actually READ the OP or just the title and instantly jump in to give the OP a kicking. Despicable response. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I’m confused it’s defo about food, I have taken everyone’s comments on board

and checked out the options regarding hello fresh / gousto
m&s ready meals
and even ordered an air fryer

I wonder oP if it’s best settling half way and accepting you ( understandably) won’t have time to cook and buying “ bung in the oven” meals - which are ultimately going to be better than takeaways if you choose wisely ( lots of low salt versions etc) . That way you can walk in, turn on the oven, rip off the plastic seal, bung it in and get your curry/ casserole whatever cooking. You can even get potato sides etc that just need heating . Soon the smell will likely give you the impetus to steam some pre-prepared fresh veg. You can even get mixed bags of these so you only need to open one bag! It isn’t the cheapest and probably not the absolute healthiest but I think it probably works out no more costly than takeaways but will be more balanced .

Also don’t feel the meal has to be “menu worthy.” Egg on toast with some fresh berries to follow has nutrition. You can give them lots of fruit which takes zero prep but still gets them properly fed. Even a pack of raisins for them while you steam the veg counts towards give a day.

Dear OP, you are doing brilliantly, everybody is coming up with great ideas.
What I'm trying to say is maybe its about loss and readjustment and stress.

If you can manage one night non Takeaway, thats great.

… and truthfully OP if you really get stuck children love those little submarine rolls. Let them put their own cheese, bought cold chicken, houmous, cherry tomatoes etc in them like a picnic and give them a banana or apple and that’s a “no cook” meal. It’s just about getting them a bit of protein, carb and fruit/veg into them: you don’t have to “ cook” esp with what you’ve been facing. I think you sound amazing .

Oh yeah Cook is really good! Not cheap though …

Well since you’re speaking out so unrestrainedly sabre, I wouldn’t consider some of those options to be much better than a takeaway. In fact a pukka pie I basically consider as takeaway and ready- made Mac n cheese is hardly an improvement. How is a fish finger any different from a maccie’s filet o fish?

Dont do Gusto or stuff. The packaging alone is like another job! Microwave rice is your friend. As are eggs, beans, fries. Cooked chicken.

Exactly this! I'm so sorry for your loss. You're bloody Superwoman in my eyes!
I've not read through all the posts so apologies if I'm duplicating replies but quick & easy meals are:

Scrambled eggs/ beans / cheese on toast (not all together though, unless that's what you fancy 😁).

Pasta & a jar of sauce (Dolmio).

Pasta bake jar.

Uncle Ben's rice packets.

Old El Paso Fajitas

Buy a cooked chicken, a pot of mashed potatoes, a pack of Yorkshire puddings, a tin of sweetcorn, boil some broccoli & make gravy.

Breaded chicken & chips (add cooked veg, or chopped cucumber etc if you have the energy).

Buy cooked chicken, put in wraps. Serve with chopped veggies or chips or crisps.

Jacket potato with cheese/beans/tuna (whatever is your preference).

Grilled cheese sandwiches with raw veggies.

Maggi make various packets of chicken in a bag meals. Add raw chicken & water, stick in oven for 30 mins and serve with a packet of rice.

Good luck!

"How is a fish finger any different from a maccie’s filet o fish?" @Calliopespa .
Nutritionally I'm not sure, although the frozen fish finger can be oven baked, so there is that. Financially loads of difference as anything you buy and cook is likely to be less than half the price of the takeaway version, if it's cooked in the air fryer the electricity won't cost that much.

Yes I guess the baking makes a difference.

It just seemed a bit of a rant about tge ills of takeaways then suddenly fish fingers and pukka pies got thrown out as suggestions.

Get a delivery from a supermarket of loads of tins of soups, tins of beans, ravioli, etc and a load of frozen French baton breads or half baked frozen rolls. This way you will always have a really quick meal ready in 10 minutes.

Also loads of fish fingers, ketchup and frozen sliced bread. Make into hot sandwiches.

Yes see money is the issue rather than nutritional value - I deem their diets still very much on the healthy side with the takeout choices ( yes there is an occasional McDonald’s etc ) but not a regular thing.
I do think switching to frozen chicken nuggets / fish fingers / frozen pizza etc is actually less healthy for them so need to stick to similar meals but at home because I’m spending the best part of 1000 a month on dinner, as well as food shop for breakfast snacks and packed lunches etc so your looking at 1.5 k on food minimum.

I’m going to try do a food shop online today and see how it goes and try to make a meal plan.

Apart from this being expensive this is incrediblely unhealthy for the kids and that's the issue and concern batch cook do easy things like pasta
Sausage casserole spaghetti anything you'll all eat but kick this habit of takeaways every single day crazy

You’re doing brilliantly to be working, caring for and feeding your family. You don’t need any pressure or guilt if everyone is well fed, cared for and safe.
At a time you feel ready, and it doesn’t have to be soon, I’d advise easing back to cooking by looking at the What Mummy Makes book series. She has one that has meals with no more than 30 mins hands on time, and many that are closer to 10 mins to make. They’re cheap, easy and surprisingly tasty for how healthy they are. Good luck!

Sorry for your loss

Both Aldi and Lidl do hot smoked salmon fillets (ready to serve) which it sounds like your children might like. You could serve with something like new potatoes and salad (which you can get ready made in bags) or cooked frozen peas.

They also sell precooked roast chicken which doesn't feel much more expensive than cooking one yourself at home once you allow for energy costs.

And not directly a meal suggestion but have you watched any of Big Cook Little Cook on BBC? The recipes are a mix of sweet and savoury and are easy enough for a parent to do with a child. Your older children might enjoy making some of the recipes with you and it would build up your cooking skills.

One other thing we have done in the past when we were stuck with meal planning was to get postcards and write a meal idea on each. Then we could look through the cards before going shopping and it made the whole thing less overwhelming.

It will cost you £100 to get someone in to batch cook it all for you!

Learn to make a stock of easy dinners and one pot meals like risottos and tray bakes. Don't bother with meal prep it is too time consuming when time is your most precious resource. Meat, oil, spices, potatoes and veg thrown in a freezer bag and shaken around then put on a tray and into the oven or air fryer is a really easy meal to make.