How many nights a week do you cook from scratch?

[Ceolas]

My DD (10yo) was saying yesterday that most of her friends' mums used ready made foods instead of cooking from scratch. It got me thinking about why we do it. We have probably 2-3 dinners in the month that aren't home cooked. Usually one take away night and 1-2 bought pizzas.

Mostly it's to keep the food budget manageable but it's also how my mum cooked and I suppose for health reasons too.

Don't want a judgey type thread, just interested in whether most folks do and why

Probably 5-6 nights are home-cooked. Sometimes if it's just me I'll have a jacket potato and beans - does that count as home-cooked?! Sometimes we'll have a no-cook meal such as cold fresh fish and bread.

Like you - its how my mum cooked - meal plan to use leftovers too.

Oh yes, meal planning was one of the best lessons my mum ever taught me!

The thing is most people who read a food thread on mumsnet are likely to be the type who cook from scratch so don't expect to get an unbiased response
We cook from scratch about 4-5 times a week. Sometimes these are really simple though (jacket potatoes for e.g.) Don't do ready meals much but do do takeaways and meals out.

It's only been in the past 6 months or so that I've really been putting the effort in with home cooked meals
Previously it was chicken dippers or fishfingers and I let my ds1 eat like this for narly a whole year! From when he came off of the purees until he was about 2.
I hadn't really thought much about it until ds2 was ready for weaning. He hated spoons so I took the BLW route which got me thinking more about ood and what's in it.

I was/am a very fussy eater, so when I was at home, if all I'd eat was fish fingers then that's what I'd get.

I'm struggling a bit now to get ds1 to eat proper food, but hopefully he'll get better

its hard to define what a home cooked meal is thouggh

is pasta, grated cheese, vegetables and shop bought pesto a home cooked meal for example?

I've got to DC's and also cook for my mother and grandmother so 6 of is in total. I normally cook from scratch 5 days out of 7, mum cooks on one of the other and DH on the last day. Sometimes i'll make a double portion and freeze one/use one. Perhaps once every couple of months we'll have fish and chips but other than that I have everything down to a fine art of what I can pre-prepare during the day or night before and then finish it off in the last half hour before we have dinner.

I'd count that compo You cooked it yourself, it didn't come from Birdseye factory

I guess I was thinking about home cooked as food starting from its natural state. So jacked spuds definitely, but pasta and pesto prob not (unless you have the veggies of course ). But like I said, not wishing to judge!

3-4 nights a week depending how busy we are, it doesn't take long to make a home made pizza or cook some pasta.

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I cook nearly every night, but often quite simple meals.

I put every last pot, pan, plate and utensil in the dishwasher.

I cook from scratch most nights, no less than five nights a week, but more often six or seven. DH sometimes cooks too, and he also cooks from scratch.

panorama show on recently said that 2/3s of mum s never cook from scratch.

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I cook from scratch a lot more often than I used to.

We have a takeaway or eat out perhaps once a fortnight.

Other than that I don't buy any jars of sauce, no preprepared breaded stuff etc etc.

I really don't like the taste of pre-prepped shop bought. I think because my mum never bought anything like that so I grew up not eating it at all. DD doesn't like any of that stuff either, probably for the same reasons.
I'm not keen on most takeaways either as they tend to be of the bulk bought neon coloured sauce poured over chewy meat variety round here.
Much prefer a decent restaurant if I'm not cooking.

Most nights, i have had to force myself to remember to get meat etc out of the freezer the night before. In cold weather we eat a lot of pot roasts as i stick it in the oven before i go to work at 10a.m and its ready for dinner at 6p.m. The dc fave is pot roast chicken with lentils and root veg. yum yum.
we have a takeaway or cook from frozen meal once a week on average usually a friday or saturday night. this means i've run out of ideas for the week and so chinese or pizza it is

I cook 6 nights of the week - I have one night off at the weekend when we will go out or get a take away.
I always cook from scratch, if we are busy usually fish, if in some of the day perhaps a casserole, moussaka, fish pie etc. Prepare it during the day and finish it off in the evening.

Dp or I probably cook from raw ingredients about 2 or 3 times a week, twice a week we have home cooked food at my mums, and once a week we have home cooked foodat his mums.We're very lucky
We tend to have a takeaway on a friday, so ds has something frozen (turkey dinosaurs and potato wedges or something similar) or occasionally he'll have a toddler ready meal.

Yes I cook at home in the evening - if we are short of time then an omlette for dinner with some cheese and tomatos. I cook stews and casseroles and make curry using a paste and tin of tomat. Pasta meals I use creme frache and sweetcorn, cherry tomat. I have a wonderful recipe for ragu sauce that is easier and much micer than a jar, the smae for sheapards pie or cottage pie.

if I make ragu and pasta or shepards pie I will make two so we have it again later in the week

My dd1 cooks for herself, she doesn't use ready meals so it is possibly just what you are used to at home.

I have a bread machine so make pizza aswell.

I will say though I like cooking and enjoy spending a little time in the kitchen and don't bother ironing much to balance it out..

Christiana - your mother is talking out of her *! Saucepans love the DW - it gets them really clean. I have lovely saucepans that are now getting on for 10 years old and they are as new.

My saucepans go in every time too. Had them for 10.5 years and they're showing no signs of damage.

7 nights a week. I cook on weekdays, dh at weekends.

No takeaways near us and not a fan of ready meals.