Anyone else worn down by deciding what to make for dinner daily

[MyBusyUser]

I honestly think one of the most draining parts of ordinary life is having to come up with dinner every single day forever. Not even the cooking necessarily — the deciding. What everyone will eat, what we’ve already had this week, what’s actually in the fridge, whether I can be bothered, whether there’s time. Please tell me I’m not the only person weirdly worn down by the constant “what’s for dinner?” problem.

Wouldn’t you miss food though? Life would be so sad without eating, it’s such a joy. (I know not everyone feels that way).

Why is it weird @Banishthebeige?

how many meals are stuffed in to this jar?!
I don't see why it matters. I presume she shops/plans so she can always make whichever ones come out.
If you're someone who finds the mental load of thinking of dinner taxing, this seems like a good solution.

Yes and there’s only 2 of us. DH cooks, quite well, and shops, but doesn’t really do the thinking. I think we’d have fish chips and peas every night if it was left to him. My response of don’t know to the question what’s for tea? Gets met with a panicked look.

I think my mum is like you, we take her shopping she sighs a lot as she shoves the same things in the trolley, my stepdad has a limited diet now so it is often bland food, my mum just seems fed up of the whole hoha.

I meal plan and we never "Don't fancy what's planned for that night". OH just eats what i make for him

Stop thinking about food being anything except nutrients: not fun, not interesting, not novelty. Then pick 7 recipes everyone likes, or at least tolerates, and cook them on rotation. Add a new thing every so often and retire an old one.
Homes are not restaurants.
Probably not a popular opinion, but children shouldn't be asked what they want to eat.

Thinking of food as just "nutrients" is probably the most miserable thing I have read on here!

That is an aggressively joyless approach to life 😳

I bloody hate it. Twenty years I’ve been at it. And it’s now compounded by DSS2 being an incredibly picky eater and looking at literally anything that isn’t a plate of pasta in tomato sauce or a roast dinner as if I’ve just served up a plate of poo. Dd1 is not much better to be fair but she is 20 so can make her own damn dinner if she doesn’t want what ever I’ve made. The whole thing is is just so tedious and time consuming. I like cooking when I know people will appreciate it.

Food and eating is a joy to me too...but not the day to day cooking, it does get a bit much really. My mum was a single mum of 4 (who was an excellent cook) who as soon as M&S brought out ready meals - that was it! I don't think we ever had a home cooked meal again.

Yes I'm so bored of having to juggle my partner's food issues, me trying (unsuccessfully) to lose weight and my son (in the words of my Grandma) 'needs feeding up'

You can google the clip of Aretha Franklin being asked about her biggest challenge. She said 'Trying to figure out what to cook for dinner nightly, ya know? Just night after night. What is it going to be tonight?'

I'm so fed up I have a list and we pretty much stick to it - so keeping the fridge and freezer stocked is the only weekly challenge. Very simple things: Roast chicken dinner, Chicken soup, Steak with potatoes and green veg, Fajita Salad, Chicken Caesar salad, Sea bass with salad and sweet potato fries, Homemade pizza (well cheats version with costa mollica base) and home made burgers (just squish decent mince together and you don't need anything else). Breakfast is fruit (fresh, frozen or dried) and honey topping either yogurt or porridge, beans on toast or the occasional bowl of cereal.

That is it.

Want anything else... cook it yourself or take me out for dinner!

As an adult I now understand why my mother made us the same food on a weekly rotation. Monday’s tea was x, Tuesday’s tea was y, always the same every week and so on. I think we just need to go back to that approach and stop bamboozling ourselves with too much choice.

We have Mexican Thursday. I also rotate Mexican bean stew, fajitas and Mexican chicken traybake

I don't find anything joyful, personally, about someone (highly likely a woman) having to go food shopping at the last minute/make different meals etc because people are picking and choosing what they want all the time.

I do agree though Stop thinking about food being anything except nutrients: not fun, not interesting, not novelty. is joyless, and not a message I'd want to live by, or impart to anyone in my household.

Hello Fresh is my answer to this!

No. I enjoy cooking and do a loose 4 week plan. Sometimes I do a week based around a particular region or country.

When my last child left home I vowed to eat nothing but ready meals thereafter.
I did get my cooking mojo back after a while because I really prefer healthy home cooked food but after 55 years of cooking meals I'm jaded.

Tough shit
If you dont say what you want then I decide

In fact I just do a weekly meal plan
Dont like it, dont eat it
ZERO tolerance for whining and fussiness

As my mother used to say, "You've got 2 choices - take it or leave it"

Yep !

Have just re read this
Just tell them dont make suggestions