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 !

Completely agree with your first paragraph, teaching kids to cook is not for OP’s evenings right now. She just needs something to shove in the oven or microwave that’s quick.

So we didn’t have take out last night
kids survived the bbq food although middle DC was very cautious and the fact I was the one who did the BBQ 😂😂😂😂 he kept going “ maybe we should ring grandad “
😂😂😂
popped out today to the shops and bought dinner for tonight.
now this is the easy step because I don’t work weekends …we shall see how the Monday - Friday plans out 😂

That’s so sweet about Grandad !

We are just setting up the barbecue for this evening and I did think about suggesting that but wondered if the heat up of the barbecue is too time consuming. But when the weather is nice it’s quite a fun activity together.

But truly OP being there for them and not being at the end of your tether is the more important thing and healthy takeaways are nothing to feel ashamed of . Just be gentle on yourself .

Plan your meals and write a shopping list! Whether you shop online or go into the shop. Then you know what you're eating each day and can fit around commitments etc.
It does sound like you've had it really tough and can understand how takeaways have been easy, but planning ahead is key.

laveritable. What a vile post. Do better!

Hi @Lookwhostalking25 since you are doing shopping today, here are some things I use that you might find helpful.
ps I use ocado and strongly reccommend it for both quality and variety. prices are not too bad especially given that you won't be buying takeout as much anymore

1. stock your freezer

veggies - peas, cauliflower, green beans, carrots and sweet corn. all delicious frozen and cooks quicker from frozen not to mention you avoid chopping frozen chopped garlic, ginger and shallots - total life saver. also you can buy chopped herbs a couple of frozen pizzas and fish fingers for emergencies some ice lollies and ice cream as summer is coming - ocado has options which have almost no additives. St judes for example frozen croissants and pain au chocolate that can go directly in the oven

1. stock your cupboards

marigold organic bullion powder - add to any savoury dish and it gives it a nice flavour soya sauce - I reccommend tamari soya sauce as its more versatile. otherwise you need combo or light and dark soya sauce vinegar - white wine vinegar and balsamic for salad dressings spices - basics - chilli flakes, mint, oregano and some mixes like cajun seasoning and ras el hanout (it's a middle Eastern version of garam masala and a great addition to a lot of dishes). if you want to cook with Indian flavours - some cumin powder, turmeric and garam masala will do you. some crackers, nuts and other snacks which kids can snack on after school as you prep dinner Tins of beans, chick peas, chopped toms, tomato purée dried lentils or precooked ones- merchant gourmet has great cooked lentils in packs. they also have lovely cooked chestnuts which I eat out of the pack tinned fish - tuna, anchovies (amazing addition to many pasta sauces). try the ones by ortiz - absolutely glorious green and red pesto (by scala) for the days you can't be bothered to cook

then your perishables according to what you want to cook.

there are a lot of easy tray bake recipes on bbc good food where you chuck everything in a tray and pop in the oven.

I didn't know Chris van Tulleken was on MN

Do you have a big freezer OP? I would also suggest Cook for very good quality frozen meals. And bags of ready chopped veg to go alongside them. Good luck with it - you're doing brilliantly.

But the OP is looking for a way to stop having takeaways every night, and she's a knackered single mum of 3. Not how to avoid UPF and processed food at all costs.

Yes nobody is suggesting she weaves her own lentils. But plenty of people have suggested nuggets and sausages as healthier options compared to takeaways. If OP has bandwidth only for either frozen nuggets or takeaway, the former is not necessarily superior because it's 'home-made.'

Sounds like the OP would really benefit from batch cooking more often. Just try it for a few meals and see how you get on.
It can seem daunting at first (and time consuming!) but its a skill and the more you do it the better you get at prepping ahead of time.

Just to add to my previous comment, where I mentioned batch cooking. I can see how daunting and time consuming it may sound but I have a slow cooker that can has the capacity for 8-10 portions of food. Tomorrow I'm making sausage casserole - I just double up on my usual ingredient amounts, bung it in at 3pm - and cook on high until 6ish. (If I was more organised I'd put everything in in the morning and have it cooked on a low heat instead!). I will feed us using that fresh batch tomorrow, then freeze/put in fridge at least 5-6 portions to reheat later in the week. The slow cooker has saved me so many times in this way! It saves both time and money overall.

Seriously, go shopping and just cook a meal.
It's that simple.

My son has hot lunches at school, I just have to provide a piece of fruit for breaktime and a water bottle everyday. Maybe something you could look into? That way you could justify something like sandwiches for dinner. Mine has toast and yoghurt a couple of times a week, and cooked dinners on other days depending on how busy we are and how organised I am.

Sorry for your loss.

Sounds like you're doing amazingly. Sorry for your loss. I've found that an air fryer really speeds things up and you can blitz eg chicken thighs or salmon pieces in about 10 mins. Oven chips are lovely cooked in the air fryer. You could buy fresh pasta which takes 4 minutes of boiling up. A block of parmesan in the fridge lasts for ages. Jars of pesto. Frozen peas are really healthy as a standby. Baked beans are great for the storecupboard and apparently count as one of your 5 a day. Even the supermarket's pizzas will save you money. My boys love them. As others have suggested if there's a fave recipe that you all like it's really worth the time investment to make a couple of extra days' worth and freeze.

Meal plan to the max, if you have a spare half an hour (bless you, you sound so busy so this may be a push) stock up on loads of frozen veg, tinned food that can literally be chucked in a pan and assembled, like someone else said slow cooker will work wonders. Don’t worry about having freezer tapas every now and again and if you have a side of frozen veg that helps ease the guilt. Sorry for your loss and you sound a total trooper x

Hello Fresh takes ages to cook. Get some Cook meals and just throw them in the oven and made a side salad or vegetables. Thats what I do when super busy. Or steak and salad/sweet potato fries, or sausages. All easy meals.

Batch cooking and / or preparing as much in advance is the key

I’ve not read the thread as should be cooking my kids their tea - oh the irony - but my brother batch cooks something on a Sunday.

Eg a sausage casserole. He’ll then eat it every night that week but with different veg and different potato/rice. He says the variation of accompanying food has been enough to make the meals seem
different each night AND now means he’s not eating takeout every night which was making him feel
lethargic and generally yuk.

an air fryer and a slow cooker and you'll be fine it just takes a wee bit of planning ahead Don't be too hard on yourself You're doing GREAT

COOK is amazing, you can order online. Homemade meals and frozen but they’re delicious!

Just do convenience foods. Go to the frozen section and get fish fingers, wedges, oven chips, chicken goujons and kievs, frozen pizzas, frozen pasties, frozen roast potatoes, frozen jacket potatoes, frozen yorkshire puddings and the frozen small joints of meat that are already in the foil container, and frozen peas and sweetcorn and broccoli.

Then get in the microwaveable rice sachets, jars of pasta sauce, a big bag of penne, fresh salad or coleslaw kits, a bottle of salad dressing, loads of tins of soup and beans, tins of chicken curry and beef chilli, a couple of quiches, a loaf of sandwich bread, bags of pre grated cheese or cheese slices and some lunch meat.

You can do fish fingers chips and peas, chicken goujons and wedges and veg, quiche and salad, jacket potatoes with beans and cheese, sandwiches or toasties if you have a toastie machine with salad, roast with potatoes yorkshires and veg on a Sunday, chilli or curry with rice, pasta with sauce or pasta bake if you want to push the boat out, a pasty and soup, pizza chips and salad….

Besides the fact your setting your children up for a lifetime of awful eating habits your spending a small fortune on food that has very little nutritional value.
It really doesn’t take that long to get organised planning is key make a seven day menu, buy the ingredients & stick to it; a slow cooker or air fryer could also become your best kitchen appliance.
spaghetti bolognaise can be made in under twenty minutes.
chicken curry again under twenty minutes.
veggie lasagne roast the veg the night before assemble & it’s cooked in twenty minutes.
your other option is to use hello fresh for a few weeks everything arrives at your door fresh & ready to go everything cooks in fifteen-twenty minutes good wholesome meals keep the recipes & once your confidence has grown cooking them buy the ingredients & cook everything yourself. But stop the take aways your kids need you to advocate for them & giving the crap every night isn’t feeding them properly they’ll gain weight; be tired, not engage at school; get ill more often you owe it to them to do the right thing x

Go easy on yourself. Recently widowed, new baby and dc with disability is a full on situation. Kids are getting fed so you are winning. As you know it can't go on long term but I have found hello fresh useful. Portions are big and some meals are 20 mins to prepare. Saves time, waste and brings variety. Alternatively you could batch cook on a sunday 3/4 meals for the week then do a fish and chip takeaway Friday and frozen pizzas Saturday.

Honestly, do what you gotta do to make things work. Having said that, I’d try not to do more than 2-3 takeaways a week though. It’ll be harder to encourage your kids to eat healthy once they get accustomed to eating that way. Things you can try instead are pop in the oven meals like pre marinated chicken, salmon etc with salad or fries. Buy ready washed & chopped ingredients where possible. I also buy things like chopped veg that can just be popped into the oven to roast …easy peasy! I also tried Hello Fresh which I enjoyed…everything delivered in a box together with recipe…still some washing and cutting involved though. Ready meals might also be an option instead of takeaway. Batch cooking is great too, as is quick meals like omelettes, sausages and mash, and boxed meals like fish fingers/battered fish and fries, etc. Good luck juggling everything…You’re doing great! x

Could you not just buy ready meals from somewhere, at least they may be 'balanced' - I had a one a week takeaway rule with my 4 and cook from scratch so I'd plan it in advance, does become a bit routine but cheaper!! X