I don’t home cook

[Jjustsancs]

I know not everyone will agree with me
I am not rich I am far from it. This year I dropped the guilt. This isn’t AIBU

once you count what your time and energy is worth and the fact you could be doing something else cooking and doing the dishes, meal planning and buying all the ingredients - and all the waste that goes in the bin when a takeaway is inevitably ordered because you’re tired and want something tasty - it’s cheaper and easier to just buy something ready made or easy food in the first place. You can get everything ready made now including sandwiches, soup, and family dinners like big lasagnes.

You talk about what your time and effort is worth. What about your and your family's health is worth?

I wouldn't know, I've never had full on flu at the age of 50.

At the very least it helps clear the nasal passages and shifts catarrh. If you have a sore throat you need to have hot drinks. It's not just to make you feel better. Onions and garlic are rich in antiviral and antimicrobial compounds like quercetin (onion) and allicin (garlic) that can help fight cold viruses by hindering viral entry, replication, and boosting immune response. Plus none of the nutrition is lost as you pour nothing away.

I’d rather have something I know is healthy and to my taste. I don’t enjoy cooking, but I cook everyday because I can cook a simple healthy meal quickly. I rarely spend more than 30 mins cooking and normally less than 10 mins of that is ‘active cooking’ - cutting veg etc.

I tend to agree OP. I despise meal planning, lists and supermarket shopping and cooking brings stress not joy. I have made curries in the past and its absolutely not worth the time it takes.
I've never made soup in my life and have never felt like I'm missng out.
I buy ready made soup, frozen veg, filled pasta, prepared salmon, pizzas, microwave oats.......
DH likes cooking from scratch - bolognese, curries etc. He wouldn't dream of buying a jar of sauce.

DC's are more likely to eat what I cook than DH's made from scratch meals.

It’s far more expensive to buy readymade and there’s no inevitability in getting takeaways, not had one in over a year. I scratch cook 90% of our food and the remainder is part prepared eg chopped tomatoes, stock cubes etc

Home made curry is better than any shop bought or restaurant food btw, if you don’t think home curry is worth the effort, you don’t know how to make it

i have a friend who lives in American and has done for over 20 years now. Her family get by on a routine of going out for breakfast or picking it up on their way to school/work,
ordering in or going out for dinner.

I also have a relative here who doesn’t cook, she lives alone and hates cooking - eats ready meals every day.

it makes me feel so grotty just thinking about it, I rarely eat takeaways and never eat readymeals but I know how I feel the day after a takeaway, usually bloated, thirsty and with a bit of a gurgly belly. I’m just not used to eating crap on a regular basis now. I did grow up on convenience food but stopped eating it as soon as I was old enough to fend for myself and have a choice.

I myself don’t really cook either beyond making salads, dh does the cooking here, fresh quality ingredients- but he really enjoys it and finds it a good way to unwind after work. If he ever left me I’d live on a diet of marmite sandwiches and salads and have a steak dinner out once a week - I fucking hate everything to do with cooking!

Today we had chicken pilaf - leftover chicken from a roast, leftover (and frozen) brown rice from last week, some spices, onion, spinach, pomegranate seeds, garlic, then served with Greek yogurt. Super quick, about 10 minutes

What has my mother got to do with it 😂

Honest answer - the lifestyle you are describing is unusual and raises valid questions regarding your upbringing (I mean this kindly).

I hate eating out as I have no idea what’s in the food.

I won’t buy bought sandwiches as I don’t want to eat UP bread. I try to avoid omega 6 oils. Or empty carbs often used for bulking.

Each to their own but I don’t waste anything, it’s cheaper and it’s heathier.

Yes Danny Baker used to say they only tasted of 'cold'.

Hate cold food.

Presumably she was the one in charge of feeding you/the family?

Same question stands if it was your dad tbh.

I think two things that really help you save money and eat healthier are being able to cook and having a freezer. I don’t mind cooking; I put on a podcast and enjoy the time that way. And I always make at least double and freeze it to use for when I know I’ll have no time to cook in the evening. So for me this is definitely cheaper and healthier than take away. But if you don’t enjoy cooking at all I appreciate it’s a different story.

Precisely. And it’s quite straightforward, once one has bought a few spices…

I’m a lone voice in a sea of naysayers but I completely relate. Hate hate HATE cooking. I could have a full fridge and I’d still order takeaway or just not eat at all because I hate it that much. Food shopping gives me intense anxiety because thinking about all the ingredients and when they need using by and whether the meal plan might change is really overwhelming. I put off the food shop for as long as possible and get the same things every time. Then batch cook the same meals, and once they’re done, live on yoghurt/fruit/toast/cereal for as long as possible before I have to shop again and repeat the process.

These threads always make mention of 'quality ready meals'.

There was a thread on here some time ago, something about good quality ready meals and me and some other posters were comparing various ready meals ingredients. The Charlie Bingham that everyone raves about had far less meat and some artificial stuff in it that a bog standard Tesco ready meal didnt, it might have been a lasagne, cant remember off the top of my head.

Lots of ready meals, just bog standard supermarket ones are not UPFs, are ok quality wise. Personally for me the taste isnt always that good but thats just down to personal preference.

Like for like compared to home cooking though, yes they are very expensive when you compare per 100g or per kg. Theres no getting round that.

It's not all that unusual.

Lots of people don't like cooking and buy in (my mother practically lived in our local deli, come to that)

It will be a cold day in hell before I make curry.

And good restaurant curry is v v good.

Nothing wrong with homemade or restaurant or takeaway curry to be honest

Although not keen on hearing people using chicken thigh in a curry and cooking for only 30 mins, thigh needs nice long slow cooking to be lovely and tender otherwise its chewy and rubbery.

Im not keen on the presentation that 'this dish only takes 20 mins'. If you're going to bandy around your home cooking credentials, make sure you cooking flavours down for a long time, thats how you create depth and richness.

Its like whne people say they've cooked a ragu in 20 mins, no you havent, you've just warmed some tomatoes and veg through!!!

I don’t love cooking but I find it satisfying to be able to make a meal. I note though that my staple meals are what people on here say they eat because they don’t cook - omelette and salad, baked potatoes, cheese on toast, scrambled eggs on toast, pasta puttanesca etc. I think those are perfectly good meals and I count them as cooking.

I do some more complex stuff as well but even the fancier stuff I do doesn’t take as long as a takeaway and the equivalent food is nothing like as expensive, unless you’re buying all the spices from scratch every time. I also can’t handle the amount of fat and salt in most takeaways now

Those dishes you quote absolutely are cooking and are substantial staple meals they should be celebrated. I hate the snobbery on here that something on toast isnt enough or is boring, same with soup and omelettes. All good nutritious foods that we've lost sight of.

I really can’t understand the thought process of people who can’t follow basic recipes on the internet. My mum fo whatever reason, likely time issues never taught me to cook. A few years into my marriage I started learning with library books and progressed with the internet. Let ts of mistakes later I love cooking its actually my favourite thing to do for my family.

The OP isn't saying she can't follow a recipe, she isn't illiterate she just doesn't like cooking.

Its pretty easy I make a different curry every week (chicken jalfazei, chana dhal, saag paneer, Lamb karachi, allo gobi, mutta paneer, etx ) i make triple portions, freeze and then we always have a huge range of curries.. so easy mostly only take 30 odd minutes. For a new one.