For those who have a DH who comes home late in the evening.....

[MakemineaGandT]

Do you wait and eat late? Or do you eat earlier and then prepare something for your DH later? Or do you cook once and microwave leftovers for DH? I'm finding I'm not eating properly in the week because DH works such long hours and it's just me in the evening (DCs eat earlier about 5pm - I can't face eating that early...)

I cook for the kids between 4-5 and later I cook again and DH and I eat after they go to bed about 7. He is home 6.10-6.30pm.

I do as Fab does. Son eats at 5. Husband comes home about 6.30 and puts son to bed. We eat around 8.

However I don't think 6.30 is that late. Are you talking about 8, 9, or later maybe?

Dh gets home on average around 8pm but sometimes earlier (slightly) and sometimes later (considerably). I cook once, plate up his meal and he warms it in the microwave. I am certainly not doing it twice - life is too short.

same as fab too, but we eat more like 9-10pm...

ah. You see DH is never home before 9. Usually it is about 10/10.30. I often wait and eat with him but by the time he's back I'm not really hungry and don't want to be eating so late. But if I eat earlier I feel bad for him - he works so hard and has so little time at home - and he loves it when I wait for him and we can eat together. so hard..

either

cook something like chilli/pasta sauce and do separate rice/pasta for dc's at around 5 and for dh and i at around 8

or

cook separately

dh gets home at around 6.30

If DH is going to be home before 9pm then I wait and cook something for the two of us, if he's going to be home later than that then I eat earlier (with ds about 6.30).

I tend to get a snack when I do the kids tea, a cuppa and a piece of cake, or some toast, something like that. I actually enjoy eating [much] later these days, we sit down with a curry or whatever and a glass of wine, peace, ahh bliss!!

You could do half and half.

DH wouldn't mind if I ate with the kids and him later but I like us eating together and trying to eat with the kids isn't relaxing. by the time I would sit down they would want something else, spill a drink, want pudding, etc etc etc.

Well, what I sometimes do,I'll eat earlier with children (between 5 and 7pm). When dh comes homes just sit with him and chat have a little bit just to "snack".

my DH finishing work at 9 tonight, for example!

Fab - home between 6.10 and 6.30 isn't late.

Makemine - I tend to cook something for both of us if DH is expected home before 8pm, but I will eat it when I'm hungry and don't worry too much about him. It's usually curry or casserole which will reheat quite well. If he's expected home after 8pm then I don't cook anything for him and just let him forage. DH is very unreliable about coming home when he says he will, he is almost always late by between 30 mins and 6 hours. I try not to put much effort into food because of that as I used to get upset by cooking something wonderful to be served at the time he was due only to have him roll in 5 hours late when it was ruined.

What I eat quite often is a ready pack of stir-fry fried up with whatever is left from the DC's dinner (chicken strips or sausages or similar).

I took the title to mean too late to eat with the kids.

Why on earth do you cook twice? - unless it is some cop out easy meal for the kids like fishfingers and proper cooking for the grown ups?

I made paella tonight - ingredients chopped red pepper, chopped yellow pepper, diced onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, chorizo, bomba paella rice, cubed chicken thighs, saffron, paprika, prawns, peas etc etc. I am buggered if I am doing that at 17.30 for the dcs and then all over again for dh at 20.00.

If he was home by 18.30 I would get the dcs to wait until then and do it all at once - but they can't go any later than that with school the next day....

What I mean is - I did that meal at 17.30 for the kids and I and dh had the same when he showed up just after 8pm. In fact he had it cold (not trusting reheating the rice!).

I cook - eat, leave some of it for DH to warm up when he gets in (often home around 9.30/10ish -too late for me to wait to eat). If he's going to be home earlier - say around 8.30/9ish - will try and hang on to eat with him.

ids have school dinnersso they have sandwiches, toast etc at 5pm

me and dh eat once they are in bed at about 8pm

at weekends we all eat togther

hmc, you obviously don't know me at all if you think I give my kids cop out meals all the time!

I enjoy cooking, it really isn't a problem.

Oh, I see. (about Fab's coments)

You must do - to do the full monty twice!

I eat with the children at 5 - terrible really, but I can't wait any longer these days!

Then DH has his warmed up later, or if it's something that wouldn't warm up well, I will cook parts of it later (or phone him to get him to come home early!)

Nights like tonight when he's going to be really late (no idea how late but he's not home yet) he can either reheat what ds's and I had or fend for himself.

If he's home before 8 I'll feed the boys then cook again for us. Or make something we can reheat later.

We do make sure though that atleast 1 evening a week all 4 of us sit and eat together.

I fecking hate cooking. Our cooker blew up about 10 days ago and the new one hasn't been wired in yet. It has been liberating.

makemineagandt

I tend to eat twice - once when I get home from work then again when DH does. however this is obviously Not Good for my figure.

So in theory what I do is, eat some healthy snacks when I get in, then eat with DH but have a smaller portion.

Mind you I don't have problems with eating late. If I did, I suppose I would eat when I got home but save a bit so as to eat with DH and be sociable.

Multiple meals in this household.

I cook for the dcs at 5ish (often 2 meals because ds2 eats most things and ds1 very few).

Then cook again at 7.30 for me and dh if he's going to be home by 8/8.15. If not I prepare as much as I can and he's on his own with cooking when he comes in. We eat mainly curries (which reheat well) or stir fries (v.quick) in the week.

At weekends we have one main meal with the dcs and one just the two of us (usually something special).